Healthcare reform--with a timely side dish of lessons in optimism--will be the main item on the agenda for the keynote speakers. In other words, attendees can look for some hard truths and inspiration, as well as some high-level, big-picture guidance on how to meet the challenges of health reform head-on.
Ian Morrison, the healthcare author, consultant and widely known futurist, will open the conference on Sunday. Morrison will address "The Future of the Healthcare Marketplace," giving hospital CFOs and other financial professionals a glimpse of what the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel (otherwise known as the rollout of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) could look like so they can more effectively plan the steps their facilities must take to survive the transition to the new healthcare system.
On Monday, conservative political columnist George Will will take to the podium to explain the political factors that have influenced, and could continue to impact, healthcare reform policy and implementation in "Politics, Policy and the Healthcare Debate."
HFMA President and CEO Richard L. Clarke on Tuesday will take on "The Implications of Healthcare Reform" from a financial perspective in his introductory remarks for physician and former Republican Sen. Bill Frist. Frist will focus on what the next steps are for providers now that healthcare reform is the law of the land in "Health Reform - From Debate to Action."
Before the conference wraps up on Wednesday, keynote speaker Christopher Gardner, author of the bestselling book "The Pursuit of Happyness" (made popular in a movie starring Will Smith), shares some much-needed lessons that CFOs can use to push themselves toward excellence and to inspire their employees and partners to find opportunities in an uncertain environment.