With 10,000 people in the United States turning 65 each day according to AARP data, what does the future hold for the region's health care organizations, which already struggle with technology, operational change and cost containment challenges, as well as an ever-growing shortage of physicians?
These concerns, top-of-mind among caregivers, government policy makers, insurance companies, technology providers and investors, will be discussed in-depth by a panel of nationally known experts at a special meeting of the Medical Main Street Network on Tuesday, March 26, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., at Automation Alley, 2675 Bellingham Drive, in Troy.
"As the baby boomers continue to age, the question everyone asks is how we provide them with adequate, responsive health care and help them age gracefully, ideally at home," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "All of these solutions, according to the experts on the panel, involve advanced technologies to improve efficiencies and lower costs. It should be a fascinating, timely discussion that is long overdue."
Titled "Technology Advancements that Extend Senior Independence," the panel is moderated by Kevin Lasser, founder and CEO, JEMS Technology, a medical device provider of HIPPA-compliant mobile live-streaming video. The technology permits clinicians to safely use mobile technology, such as smartphones, to deliver medical diagnoses to patients.
The panel will cover the impact of an aging population on health care delivery, from what care providers see as the most pressing health concerns as people age, to the decisions being made by government leaders and health care insurers that will affect public programs like Medicare. Panelists will discuss the innovative technologies being introduced to deliver HIPPA-compliant medical services, and the investment decisions made to bring the most promising products to market.
Lasser said the impact of the physician shortage, especially in specialties, can be lessened through such TeleHealth technology, made possible by advances in artificial intelligence. It will never replace doctors, he stressed, but supplement their services plus help keep costs in check.
AARP reports by 2030 the United States will have more residents 65 and older than children, based on Census Bureau projections. All baby boomers and one-fifth of the total population will have reached the traditional retirement age of 65 at that time.
"Our country is really struggling with what to do with this huge influx of people reaching retirement age and entering the system," Lasser said. "We're really not prepared from a policy or systems standpoint. The panel will discuss what is being done now and coming soon to address this challenge. The new technologies may be very disruptive but will help fix the system."
Panelists joining Lasser include:
- Barry S. Cargill, CAE, president & CEO, Michigan HomeCare & Hospice Association, Okemos. He is an expert in public policy, legislative relations and government regulatory affairs in health care.
- Steve Prucher, CEO, National Coding Center, LLC, Troy. His company provides diagnosis code sequencing services, essential to health care billing, to home health care and hospice agencies nationwide.
- Kari Rennie, associate executive director, Henry Ford Village Life Care Services, Dearborn. She helps manage the state's largest long-term care facility.
- Rick Kraniak, investor, strategist and business developer, Cavendish Global, New York. He is an internationally recognized expert and investor in medical and health care technologies.
- Irma O'Brien, director of government programs, Health Alliance Plan, Southfield. She leads HAP's care management with a focus on government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Attendance at the Medical Main Street event is free, but people must register at AdvantageOakland.EventBrite.com.
Those with questions about the panel discussion should contact Chelsea Schutz at schutzc@oakgov.com or 248-858-0978.
Medical Main Street is an alliance of world-class hospitals and health systems, universities, medical device, biopharma companies and some of the country's leading medical professionals creating a global center of innovation in health care, research and development, education and commercialization in the life science industry.
Published: Wed, Mar 20, 2019
