URAC Releases Issue Briefs Examining Stakeholders Views of Care Coordination Along the Healthcare...( Briefs feature URAC's 8th Annual ...),Health

Briefs feature URAC's 8th Annual Quality Summit speakers Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D. of Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease; Cristie Travis, CEO of Memphis Business Group on Health

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Overhauling health care is a front-burner issue among the presidential candidates, but one top expert believes any serious proposal for reform must address preventable chronic disease. Kenneth Thorpe, PhD., helped launch the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) and will be a featured panelist at URAC's 8th Annual Quality Summit & Exhibit, Oct. 3-5 at the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson, NV.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030501/URACLOGO )

Thorpe, who is also chair of health policy and management at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, assembled PFCD earlier this year. It has grown to include 78 leading health care, business and labor community experts and organizations committed to positioning chronic disease care as a key health care issue in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Coordinating care for the chronically ill is one of the most daunting challenges in health care management today. Gaps in care too often lead to patient safety issues from medication errors, and from miscommunication among patients, care givers and providers. The URAC panel, entitled Industry Trends Toward Alliances in Integrated Care Coordination, will highlight national alliances and partnerships designed to address improving the quality of health care management and coordination.

The panel will be moderated by Cristie Travis, president and CEO of the Memphis Business Group on Health (MBGH). Care coordination is a critical issue for employers. For instance, businesses are increasingly focused on value-based purchasing, which holds plans and providers accountable for cost and quality. This appro
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