Efficiency in Health Care: Effectiveness & Value
April 13-14, 2012
The Vanderwoude Family Seminar
Americans are faced with an ever-growing array of health care options. New guidelines for screening and treatment seem to appear almost weekly, and now most Americans undergo numerous screenings, face various treatment options, and struggle to understand their relevance to their own health. Our seminar will feature four experts who will address the issue of efficiency in health care from a number of perspectives. We’ll learn how guidelines are formulated and how consumers can make sense of them. We’ll explore next the benefits of health screening with an emphasis on making informed decisions armed with a healthy dose of skepticism. The economics of health care will provide the backdrop for our next talk, which will explore the paradox of how consumers can make rational decisions in a system made irrational by insurers and providers. And finally, we’ll consider how practitioners can use evidence to inform decisions as to the effectiveness of treatments. Our goal with this seminar is to help consumers make better decisions about their personal health and gain valuable insights into the issues of effectiveness and value in health policy.
Topics and Speakers
Drowning in Guidelines: Whom Should You Listen To?
Russell Harris, Professor of Medicine and Director, Health Care and Prevention Concentration, Gillings School of Global Public Health
Health Screening Gone Wild: Predicting Heart Disease, Cancer, and Osteoporosis
Nortin Hadler, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology
Rational Health Care Decisions in an Irrational System
Mark Holmes, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health
The Way Forward: Better Decisions and Better Research
Tim Carey, Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Medicine and Social Medicine and Director, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
Efficiency in Health Care
A panel discussion with our speakers
Time and Cost
4:30 p.m. Friday, April 13, through 1:00 p.m. Saturday, April 14, 2012. The tuition is $125 ($110 by February 3). Tuition for teachers is $62.50 ($55 by February 3). 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit. The optional dinner on Friday evening is $20.00.
For information about lodging click here.
Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association.
For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.