Physician symposium to focus on healthcare reform (Update)

The Ministry of Health and Environment would like to remind the island’s physician community that they are invited to attend a health symposium this Saturday entitled, “Healthcare Reform: Choosing Wisely for Quality and Sustainability”.

The symposium is a collaborative healthcare event, jointly produced by the Bermuda Health Council, the Ministry of Health and Environment and the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

It will be held at The Fairmont Southampton Resort this Saturday from 8:30am.

The symposium will provide an opportunity for attendees to hear important information regarding Government’s vision for healthcare reform. This will include an assessment of current challenges facing the system, sustainability issues underlying the need for healthcare reform and proposals for potential reforms that address quality of care, patient safety and cost containment. The meeting will also explore innovative care-delivery models and approaches to population-health management that are successfully employed in other jurisdictions.

Continuing medical education credits will be available to those who attend the full session.

The Minister of Health and Environment the Hon. Trevor Moniz JP MP said, “This symposium provides the ideal opportunity for physicians to put forward their views and visions for the health system of the future.

“I would therefore encourage all invited physicians to attend.”

Topics will include: Healthcare Reform in Bermuda: Improving Population Health, Ensuring Quality and Achieving Cost Containment; Healthcare Financing, the Need for Cost Containment and Strategies for a Healthier System; Utilization Management: Its Role in Containing Healthcare Costs; The Science Behind Care Guidelines; Implementing Precertification in the Cayman Islands: Our Experience; and Changing Payment Models in Healthcare Delivery.

The featured guest speaker is family physician Dr. Jeffrey Brenner. Dr. Brenner founded the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers and is a 2013 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

Bermudian Dr. Victor Scott, an internist specializing in gastroenterology and the retired senior vice president for health sciences at Howard University, will moderate the symposium.

There is no charge to attend.

To register now, go to the symposium website, www.healthcaresymposiumbda.com. Alternatively, you may call or email Mr. Dean Parris, event manager, at (441) 239-1690 or [email protected].

A symposium for local physicians to discuss healthcare reform in Bermuda is taking place this Saturday 22 February at the Fairmont Southampton.   “Healthcare Reform: Choosing Wisely for Quality and Sustainability” is a collaborative healthcare event, jointly produced by the Bermuda Health Council, the Ministry of Health and the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

The symposium will provide an opportunity for physicians to hear important information regarding Government’s vision for healthcare reform. This will include an assessment of current challenges facing the system, sustainability issues underlying the need for healthcare reform and proposals for potential reforms that address quality of care, patient safety and cost containment. The meeting will also explore innovative care-delivery models and approaches to population-health management that are successfully employed in other jurisdictions. Four continuing medical education credits will be available to physicians who attend the full session.

Time has been allotted during each session for interactive discussion with the speakers. This provides physicians with an opportunity to share ideas and provide valuable feedback to policy decision-makers who work within Bermuda’s healthcare system.

The featured guest speaker is Dr Jeffrey Brenner, an American physician who is working to control healthcare costs through patient engagement.   Dr Brenner founded the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers in New Jersey, in order to establish a new way for hospitals, healthcare providers and community residents to collaborate on health.  As the Coalition’s Executive Director, Dr Brenner meets with stakeholders and policymakers, advocating for models of care the Coalition has developed and demonstrated through evidenced-based results. Dr. Brenner is a 2013 MacArthur Foundation Fellow. Dr. Atul Gawande wrote about Dr. Brenner’s work in “The Hot Spotters,” an article published in The New Yorker magazine, 24 January 2011.

Bermudian Dr. Victor Scott, an internist specializing in gastroenterology and the retired senior vice president for health sciences at Howard University, will moderate the symposium. Dr. Scott recently served as the interim Chief of Staff at BHB.

Other presenters include:

• Minister of Health, the Hon Trevor Moniz, JP MP: Healthcare Reform in Bermuda: Improving Population Health, Ensuring Quality and Achieving Cost Containment

• CEO of the Bermuda Health Council, Dr Jennifer Attride-Sterling: Healthcare Financing, the Need for Cost Containment and Strategies for a Healthier System

• Interim CFO for Bermuda Hospitals Board, Mr David Thompson: Hospital Financing and Sustainability

• Dr. Victor Scott: Utilization Management: Its Role in Containing Healthcare Costs

• Medical Director, American Health Holding, Dr Roland Griggs: The Science Behind Care Guidelines 

• Medical Director, Health Services Authority and Chief Medical Officer, Cayman Islands, Dr Delroy Jefferson:  Implementing Pre-Certification in the Cayman Islands: Our Experience

• Panel Discussion on Utilization Management: Dr Griggs, Dr Jefferson and Dr Joanna Sherratt Wyer, President, Bermuda Medical Doctors Association

• Chief of Staff of Bermuda Hospitals Board, Dr Michael Weitekamp and Dr. Victor Scott: Changing Payment Models in Healthcare Delivery

Minister of Health, the Hon Trevor Moniz JP MP comments: “This symposium gives physicians a chance to discuss where we are heading as a healthcare system and the best ways for Bermuda to develop a more efficient service, one which provides better clinical outcomes for patients, and helps control rising premiums.  This is a unique opportunity for physicians to be a part of reform in Bermuda, as we seek to better manage utilisaton and build healthier communities.  These are serious issues to be addressed.  As a country and as individuals, we cannot afford the current cost of healthcare.  There are better ways to coordinate, cooperate and collaborate that will reduce costs and benefit the people who matter most – the people in Bermuda.   I am inviting physicians to help shape the way ahead.”