One of the subplots at the HIMSS 2013 healthcare technology conference was the absence of hundreds of federal employees who did not make the trip because of the federal government sequester.
Several major exhibitors who focus on the government noted that the sequester cuts meant they didn’t get a chance to showcase their emerging health IT solutions to some federal officials, who told them the sequester kept them away.
MedCity News feels the government’s pain. So from now until the sequester is over, MedCity will offer “Sequester Rates” to its conferences to anyone with a .gov or a .mil e-mai laddress. They’ll get 50 percent off tickets to MedCity ENGAGE, on June 5-6 in Washington, D.C. that unites payers, providers, policymakers and other members of the healthcare ecosystem dedicated to improving patient engagement and innovations in healthcare delivery.
We’ll offer the same option to MedCity CONVERGE on July 9-10 in Philadelphia, which delivers the most accurate picture of where healthcare innovation is heading by uniting all the sectors in healthcare.
That means for sequester-suffering government employees, you can get an $850 ticket for $425. To take advantage, those who qualify need simply use code “seqhalfoff” when registering for either event. Again, a .gov or .mil e-mail address is required.
Policymakers will get a double win with these prices at ENGAGE. The event is bringing together a collection of the big-thinkers focused on innovations in healthcare delivery and patient engagement. Plus, the event is in Washington, D.C. and our partners include Health and Human Services, the Office of the National Coordinator and UnitedHealth Group, among others. Among the speakers are:
- Peter Levin, chief technology officer from the VA
- Dr. Joseph Kvedar, director of the Centers for Connected Health in Boston
- Dr. James Merlino, director of patient experience at Cleveland Clinic
- Dr. Robert London, national medical director at Walgreens
- Lygeia Ricciardi, director of consumer engagement at the Office of the National Coordinator
- Roys Laux, general manager for healthcare from Angie’s List
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The sequester will end and so will this rate. But government officials will still want to attend. So get these tickets now at a rate even the current government budget can afford.
[Photo courtesy of Flickr user Robert Couse-Baker]
