NASHVILLE, Tenn., and WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Some of health care's biggest names throughout the U.S. have joined forces to launch The Health Care Solutions Group. A unique blend of health care experts, policy makers and representatives of various stakeholder groups, the Health Care Solutions Group will use their collective experiences to design and test "real world" improvements to the U.S. health care system.
"The goal is to develop real solutions to the problems and to make an impact on the health care system. We want to drive thought and action," says Dr. Harry Jacobson, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and industry trade organization The Nashville Health Care Council founded The Health Care Solutions Group, which will be unveiled at a reception at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. tonight.
"We intend to pick up where other groups have failed and start finding answers to problems such as quality, safety, and cost, among others," Jacobson says.
Located in Nashville, the Solution Group's agenda and membership are national, with board membership and leadership spanning the country.
"We want to be the place where the best minds intent on improving the U.S. health care system can meet, discuss, explore and test solutions," Jack O. Bovender, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HCA, the nation's largest hospital company.
The Health Care Solutions Group will focus on the challenges of improving the quality of care that is delivered, controlling health care costs and resources, and creating more access to care for the uninsured.
"Our intent is to focus on only one or two areas in which we can truly make a difference and achieve results," says William W. McGuire, M.D., President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealth Group. "We want our work to lead to tangible, measurable improvements."
The group also intends to serve as a sounding board for health care and government leaders who need an informed perspective on proposed health care policy changes or legislation.
"One of the things we've heard as we've talked with policy makers is that they need an objective, informed perspective from people who truly understand health care from the inside out," says David Osborn, Ph.D., Executive Director of the new Health Care Solutions Group. "We believe we will be able to provide good advice that reflects the views of the key stakeholders who will be impacted by changes to health policy or new legislation."
The group, which is gathering ideas and feedback from individuals across the country to determine the initial areas of focus, will meet in early 2006 to create an agenda for change, finalize the specific focus areas and begin work on specific solution areas.
The Health Care Solutions Group is also set on becoming a clearinghouse for accurate, up-to-date health care-related information, and to share this information freely.
"There are mountains of data and conflicting materials regarding the health care system, which makes it incredibly difficult to find reliable answers," says U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper. "We want to be an unbiased source that people across the country can rely on for valid information."
Board Members of the Health Care Solution Group include: Jack Bovender, Jr., Chairman and CEO, HCA Tom Cigarran, Chairman, American Healthways Jim Cooper, U.S. House of Representatives Janet Corrigan, President and CEO, National Committee for Quality Health Care Mac Crawford, Chairman and CEO, Caremark Rx Nancy-Ann DeParle, Senior Advisor, JPMorgan Partners Robert Galvin, M.D., Director, Global Health, General Electric Jane Henney, M.D., Senior VP/Provost for Health Affairs, University of Cincinnati Harry Jacobson, M.D., Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Vanderbilt University Ken Melkus, Senior Advisor, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe Bill McGuire, CEO, UnitedHealth Group John E. Wennberg, M.D., Director, Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences; Professor, Dartmouth Medical School Uwe Reinhardt, Leading Healthcare Economist, Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University (Additional Board Members from across the U.S. will be added.) For more information, please visit: http://www.healthcaresolutionsgroup.net
Nashville Health Care Council
TheCONTACT: David Osborn, Health Care Solutions Group, +1-615-936-3460
Web site: http://www.healthcaresolutionsgroup.net/
