2009 NHIA Annual Conference & Exposition
General Sessions & Opening Entertainment
Sunday, March 1
3:30-5:15 p.m.
OPENING GENERAL SESSION
The Future Of Alternate-Site Infusion—Charting Our Course For Success!
Sponsored by Hospira Worldwide, Inc.
1.0 Contact Hours—Pharmacy and Nursing
ACPE # 207-999-09-111-L04-P
As we gather in Baltimore, we find ourselves once again at a time of both risk and opportunity. NHIA members are faced with economic challenges, staffing shortages and Medicare reimbursement coverage difficulties that grow greater with the aging of our nation’s population—all while, at the same time, there are solid advancements in care, a deep pipeline of infusible drugs, an expanding marketplace and perhaps our best chance yet at achieving productive legislative outcomes. Now, more than ever, alternate-site infusion stakeholders must be committed to quality, while igniting their professional passion to plan a thriving, preferred future!
Join key leaders from the NHIA Board and Executive Team to obtain an update on the crucial ground that has been covered in the last few years—and what is being planned for the future. We will closely examine the most critical trends in our field, the state of your association, the strategic directions that require us to better partner around moving forward, and what these many diverse factors mean to you and your alternate-site business. Understanding the past, present and future of both NHIA and the field will help each attendee better comprehend how we must all collaborate effectively to chart our course for success!
Opening Entertainment—The Capitol Steps
After initially rolling-up our sleeves to prepare for all the hard work that lies ahead of us at “NHIA 2009” in Baltimore, and in Washington, DC on March 5th for our Legislative Hill Day, let’s take a moment to gain a humor-based perspective on the state of our government when the immensely entertaining comic team, the Capitol Steps, brings their unique brand of comedy to the NHIA stage!
Over twenty-five years ago, the Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them. In the years that followed, although not all of the current members of the Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together the performers have worked in a total of eighteen Congressional offices and represent 62 years of collective House and Senate staff experience—just the type of “inside intelligence” we need to secure a clear advocacy success at our 2009 NHIA Legislative Hill Day (not to mention a smile or two along the way…)!
The Capitol Steps…"They're the best. There's no one like them, no one in their league."
— Larry King, CNN
Monday, March 2
9:00-10:30 a.m.
GENERAL SESSION
Exploring The Vital Role Of Home-Centered Health Transformation In Health Care Reform
1.5 Contact Hours—Pharmacy and Nursing
ACPE # 207-999-09-108-L04-P
Faculty: Mike Magee, M.D.
General Session Education Overview:
With clear certainty, health care reform is one of the prime challenges facing the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress, as no one questions that major changes are needed in a system that consumes almost 17% of our country’s Gross Domestic Product. Given this reality, a vital element of the reform debate is the prospect of moving more health care services into the home—and while many are only now starting to explore how to offer such home-based services, NHIA members have been bringing complicated treatments into the home setting with dramatic, seamless success for the last 20 years! Will the move to home-based care open up new opportunities for providers with the clinical knowledge and strategic business savvy to take advantage of them? And can these significant health care reform discussions help lead to correcting the flaw in the Medicare law that denies appropriate reimbursement to Medicare patients for home infusion treatments?
Mike Magee, M.D., a recognized leader in the health care arena, is well known for his unique perspectives on championing patient rights, principled leadership, access to scientific discoveries and a populist vision for health system reform in the United States. His work on creating healthy and productive cross-sector partnerships between government, industry, academia and non-governmental organizations is well known and often quoted, placing him at the center of health care reform. He has also provided testimony to Congress, hosted his own weekly Internet program covering health care news and appeared on many national broadcasts (including The Today Show, CBS Morning News and Larry King Live). Dr. Magee will analyze the future of home-centered care, the need to serve the entire family (multi-generational) and the emerging business options for alternate-site providers delivering care into the home!
Tuesday, March 3
9:00-10:30 a.m.
GENERAL SESSION
Now Is Our Time—This Is Our Opportunity For Meaningful Legislation
Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Innovatix, LLC
1.5 Contact Hours—Pharmacy and Nursing
ACPE # 207-999-09-121-L04-P
Faculty: NHIA Leadership and Advocacy Experts
Program Description:
Looking towards 2009, health care reform is sure to be a major topic of the 111th Congress. And while the motivating force for change may well be cost control rather than quality of care, that Congressional mentality actually provides us with a unique opportunity to differentiate our cause. Yes, there will be a huge number of health care organizations pushing their agendas (many much larger than us, with more dollars), but we have one significant advantage. Our story is one of quality care associated with costs savings—and we can jointly leverage that reality to play productively to the discussions and contemporary directions of the new Congress. Now is our time to be fully guided by quality and driven by our professional passion, as we seize this legislative opportunity before us!
With our legislation being reintroduced in early 2009 in both the House and the Senate to correct the Medicare home infusion reimbursement challenge, it is essential that every NHIA member has a solid comprehension of how the 111th Congress is addressing health care reform, what Congressional activities are taking place that can impact the home infusion field, and how Congressional priorities being established will affect all stakeholders in our field. The NHIA Legislative Team and a Panel of Advocacy Experts will review the latest developments taking place on Capitol Hill, assess what is needed to achieve advocacy success and demonstrate what each attendee can do to make passage of our Medicare legislation in the 111th Congress a reality. Interactive in nature, this advocacy general session format will be conducive to open discussion with the audience and offer a chance to address specific questions about how current legislative activities may influence you and your organization. Working together, this is our moment to stand up, be heard and make a difference!