Medical Technology Leadership Forum Sparks Technology Conversation
For more than a decade, the Medical Technology Leadership Forum (MTLF) has been bringing innovative bioengineers, physicians and researchers together with leaders in academia, medicine, health plans, manufacturers and patient organizations to spark discussions on critical medical device health policy issues.
In May, the group descended upon Boston to learn how medical leaders are coping with policy changes relative to medical devices in the state while trying to improve affordability, access and quality health care during its forum: “Managing Costs/Maximizing Value: What can we learn from Massachusetts?”
“The forum was a success, drawing nearly 70 leaders and starting the conversation about this year of significant policy change,” said Lawrence Cohn, MD, director of Medical Device Technology for Partners HealthCare, professor of Cardiac Surgery at HMS and a cardiac surgeon at BWH.
Leadership forum attendees discussed the climate for innovation in Massachusetts given the state’s Health Care Reform law and how health care changes may influence future innovation.
Michael E. Porter, PhD, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School, spoke about developing models of balancing innovation and cost. John Wennberg, MD, founder and director emeritus of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, presented an overview of health system performance in the greater Boston area using an extensive database from the Dartmouth Atlas project on practice variation and clinical effectiveness.
Other speakers included JudyAnn Bigby, MD, secretary of Health and Human Services for Massachusetts, and state Rep. Peter Koutoujian. The forum also included remarks from Cohn, as well as BWH President Gary L. Gottlieb, MD, MBA, and Partners Chief Operating Officer Thomas Glynn, PhD.
“These forums and discussions are important not only for industry leaders and policy makers, but also young and promising innovators who may be discouraged by the many rules and policies they encounter,” said Cohn.