On June 23 and 24, 2011 the 1st Forum on Health Policy & Management brought together national and international leaders from academia and practice in a “care-tank”, merging the ideas of “think-tanks” and “do-tanks”. The purpose of the forum was to initiate discussions of management issues and the application of research to the organization, financing and delivery of healthcare. Through the forum presentations, group discussions and networking opportunities we established working relationships for ongoing efforts to use management research to build better healthcare systems.

Topics discussed at the conference included:

  • Does Pay-for-Performance pay off or what else motivates us?
  • What do doctors need and what does the healthcare system need? – the medical profession between aspiration and reality-check
  • What’s the evidence of evidence-based medicine and what role do professional routines play?
  • Will integrated care ever become reality and what are the prerequisites to cooperate along the healthcare value chain?
  • How much do we have to know to take care of the patient and how do we manage the wealth of knowledge?
  • Does innovation have a chance in healthcare and how do we accomplish change?

Leading off the day was Lawrence D. Brown, Professor of Health Policy & Management, Columbia University, New York. Further keynotes include Michael S. Sparer, Professor and Chair of Health Policy & Management, Columbia University, New York, Thomas G. Rundall, Professor Emeritus, University of California at Berkeley and Walter Kopp, CEO of Medical Management Services, San Francisco. Additional presenters came from major European and American universities as well as from the provider and payer side.