The Nashville Health Care Council has closed the book on another highly successful Leadership Health Care Delegation to Washington, D.C. The NashvillePost, as always, did a great job of covering highlights of the Delegates' discussions with numerous elected representatives, business leaders, regulatory officials and "inside the beltway" journalists with whom the group met.
Our firm was delighted to serve as a sponsor of the trip for the third consecutive year. We couldn't help but notice mood in D.C. was similar to the weather: partly cloudy and predicted to stay that way. Though several speakers expressed optimism about the bi-partisan, bi-cameral agreement reached regarding the Sustainable Growth Rate, everyone acknowledged that getting it paid for will be another tough climb. There's not much optimism - or much fun - in our nation's Capitol, these days.
In addition to the key takeaways reported in the Post, I found a few other items worth noting:
And as a professional communicator, I was struck by how many of the Delegation's discussions circled (if peripherally) on the topic of communications. The need to educate the newly insured on how to access care. The need to make healthcare quality and cost data not only transparent, but understandable. And the perennial need for both systems and individuals to connect - virtually and personally - to better share data with the end-goal of improving patient care and enhancing the patient experience.
If ever there was a time when healthcare communicators could make a difference in our society, I'm optimistic the time is now!
Rosemary Plorin is President of Lovell Communications. You can view more of her blog posts here. Connect with her at rosemary@lovell.com or @plorin.
It’s a tale as old as time… Your hospital wants to grow or add new services, but your competitors are keen to protect their turf. The outcome often hinges o...
Lovell Communications Selected as Nashville Business Journal’s 2019 Small Business Awards Honoree...