Press Release
Contact: Robert Albright |
Phone: 919-549-7500 ext.123 |
CED's Second Engage Session to Highlight Healthcare Trends
Are Rising Healthcare Costs a Concern for your Business?
Is your Company Interested in Healthcare Partnerships or Market Potential?
March 4, 2004, Research Triangle Park, NC - The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is presenting its next Engage program on a topic - healthcare - that is playing an important role in the high-growth economy. CED's Engage: Healthcare Industry, set for March 31 from 4-7 p.m. at Duke University's The Fuqua School of Business, will explore current trends driving this sector's impact on cost decisions, employee benefit packages, as well as high-growth business opportunities.
Recent studies show that healthcare is the single largest segment of the U.S. economy. In 2003, Americans spent nearly $1.7 trillion on healthcare, according to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The 2004 Segal Health Plan Cost Trend Survey notes that healthcare cost trend rates are three to five times the rate of the general consumer price index (CPI). Prescription drug benefit costs are increasing at a rate of about 18 percent, according to the Segal Group. By 2012, BCBS reports that healthcare costs are expected to almost double to nearly $3.1 trillion.
In response to these healthcare trends, CED's next Engage will provide insight into healthcare partnering opportunities, cost cutting practices and market potential for innovative technologies and services.
“Our entrepreneurial community is unique in that we are viewed as companies as consumers and developers of healthcare products,” said CED President Monica Doss. ”Engage: Healthcare Industry is designed to address these items, as well as other industry trends, that affect the high-growth economy.”
Bob Greczyn, President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, will provide keynote remarks at the event. Engage: Healthcare Industry will also feature concurrent panels with successful entrepreneurs, attorneys, educators, investors and healthcare industry experts. Confirmed speakers and session topics include the following:
Partner Management Mechanisms for Successful Healthcare Alliances
- Kevin Schulman, Moderator, Director, Health Sector Management Program, The Fuqua School of Business
- Will Mitchell, J. Rex Fuqua Professor of International Management, The Fuqua School of Business
- Dr. Carol Ohmstede, Vice President of Collaborations and Planning, Trimeris, Inc.
- Jon Stonehouse, Vice President of Corporate Development, EMD Pharmaceuticals
Healthcare Marketplace Opportunities for Enterprising Entrepreneurs
- Tim Gupton, Moderator, Founder and Partner, Hughes Pittman and Gupton, LLC
- Rick Brajer, President and CEO, LipoScience, Inc.
- Robb Cadwallader, President and CEO, United Emergency Services, Inc.
- Bud Whitmeyer, Chairman, Noverant, Inc. and General Partner, Research Triangle Ventures
- Donald Fortin, President and CEO, Versagenics, Inc.
Cost Cutting Strategies and Implementation Pitfalls: A Company Perspective
- Lori Spivey, Moderator, President, Financial Directions Group, Inc.
- Mel Asbury, Vice President of Human Resources, SpectraSite
- David Curtis Smith, Attorney, The Benefits and Insurance Law Center
- Robert McKenzie, Partner, Rankin McKenzie, LLC
Engage: Healthcare Industry kicks off with these three interactive sessions at 4 p.m., followed by Greczyn's keynote address at 5 p.m. The program concludes with a networking reception from 6 to 7 p.m. The program cost is $50 for CED members and $75 for non-members.
CED hosted Engage: Finance, the first in the new program series, on Jan. 15. CED will hold the third installment of the Engage series, Engage: Marketing, in May 2004. All Engage programs consist of three core components: Knowledge (expert-led, interactive sessions conveying insights for business success), Networks (high-energy networking environment with trendsetters from all industries and company stages) and Trends (keynote who will highlight of “big picture” opportunities and obstacles). Additional details are available online at www.cednc.org/engage.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004, is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,500 members representing 1,000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org.
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