Health reform is topic of San Diego conferences

Health Care Financing Review, Winter, 1993

With health care reform looming on the horizon, health administration educators must ensure that they keep their students abreast of a myriad of changes. How can educators prepare for the changes sure to come? This crucial question will be addressed at the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) 1994 Annual Meeting, to be held at the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel in San Diego, California from June 10-12.

Thomas Chapman, M.P.H., the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and former president of Greater Southeast Community Hospital, also in Washington, is featured in the Abbott Forum. Sponsored by Abbott Laboratories, the Abbott Forum provides an opportunity for the meeting participants to engage in discussion with an extraordinary individual whose perspectives are important to the fields of health administration education and practice.

Robert Evans, Ph.D., professor of economics at the University of British Columbia, will give the Andrew Pattullo lecture. The lecture will provide educators with a privileged look at the insights of a leader in his field. This session will bring to the meeting practical insights from outside the usual focus of health administration education.

In addition, the Ninth Annual Baxter Health Services Research prize will be awarded at the annual meeting to a selected individual who has made significant contributions to the improved delivery of health care through health services research.

Attendees can take advantage of a variety of sessions at the annual meeting. Scheduled topics include: Strategic Alliances in Health Care; Defining Health Services Management Core Concepts; Preparing Health Care Managers for a Changing World; Issues Facing Part-Time Programs; Teaching Team Skills in Health Management Education; Evaluating New Ways of Managing Quality; Improving Ethics and Values Teaching; and many others.

The AUPHA Annual Meeting will precede the Association for Health Services Research (AHSR) and Foundation for Health Services Research (FHSR) Annual Meeting, which will be held June 12-14, 1994. AUPHA and AHSR will cosponsor four skill development sessions and two research presentation sessions. AUPHA and AHSR anticipate that this joint venture will facilitate participation in both meetings and build on areas of mutual interest and expertise between the memberships.

At the 11th annual meeting of AHSR and FHSR, health services researchers from a variety of disciplines will join public and private decisionmakers to discuss the cost, quality, and availability of health services.

Conference participants will have the opportunity to attend different types of sessions. Issues workshops (invited papers and call for papers) will feature presentations on topics of current interest and importance to researchers and users of research. Methods workshops will provide a forum for researchers and policymakers to exchange technical information and knowledge on established and emerging techniques of health services research. Policy roundtables will give participants a chance to hear and participate in a discussion of major health policy and management issues with leading experts in the field. New research sessions will provide a forum for participants to delve deeply into the scientific issues involved with major new pieces of research. Meet-the-expert sessions will provide an opportunity for junior researchers and those early in their careers to meet informally with senior health services researchers.

In addition, there will be a variety of special sessions and other activities. There will be research agenda sessions, which describe the funding opportunities and priorities of Federal agencies and private foundations; research resources workshops, which offer information on data bases and other resources for health services researchers; skill development workshops on grant writing, publishing, and establishing university-based health services research centers; and research updates on rural health services research and the trends in technology assessment. Finally, the poster session will include a special section for pre- and postdoctoral research, and the exhibit hall will feature information about AHSR and FHSR organizational members, publishers, academic programs, Federal agencies, commercial vendors, and career opportunities.

For more information on the AHSR and FHSR Annual Meeting, contact Marian Mankin at (202) 223-2477.