Nashville Technology Council

For  those of you on the fence about attending, check out the final agenda with speakers and topics for tomorrow’s 2nd “Naked Hospital” event being held in Jamison Hall at The Factory at Franklin.  The best and the brightest in our healthcare community will be hosting a frank, revealing discussion about transparency and eHealth.

Interested in attending?  We’ll have limited walk ups, so ensure your seat at the event by registering now! If you can’t attend tomorrow, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@nashtechcouncil, hashtag #nakedhospital) for pics and discussion highlights.

Special thanks to our Titan Sponsors HealthSpring and Peak 10 for underwriting tomorrow’s event. We hope to see you there!

Today we are very pleased to have David Jarrard, President and CEO of Nashville Technology Council member company Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock, give us a sneak preview on some of the compelling discussion we will be having at our upcoming Naked Hospital event on August 26th at The Factory at Franklin.  We sold out last year, so be sure to register now to reserve your spot!

Facebook is changing the way we run hospitals. Or, it ought to, if we want to keep our best people, provide the best care, and remain, you know, in business.

Here’s a proposition from the world of the obvious: The “new normal” of information transparency has changed the way we live, how we work together, and what we expect from each other.

It’s also changing the way effective leaders lead today.

At the upcoming Naked Hospital conference, I suspect you’ll rightly hear how healthcare “reform” has made attaining information transparency especially urgent to America’s hospitals — even as it strains rusty IT systems and the sanity of CIOs. Quality of care and quality of balance sheets all hinge on success here, and it impacts just about every operational decision.

But while transparency is changing the healthcare industry, it’s also worth considering how transparency is changing us.

An example: In its 2010 Pulse Report, Press Ganey reported on its survey of 235,000 employees at 383 hospitals. Among its findings:

“Gen X employees (born between1965 to 1983) want frequent and real-time conversations and Gen Y (1984 or later) wants to continuously receive real-time information. They both want to be involved in decisions. Gen X employees place more importance on managing themselves while Gen Y employees have high expectations for full participation and collaboration.”

Sound familiar? It’s a short path between the power of social media (where dialogue and transparency and collaboration is king) to the expectations of today’s workforce. Those Gen X and Gen Y employees want a relationship with leadership; they want engagement; they want information and honesty; they even want some measure of control.

The good news: When hospital leadership engages with these employees in this way, the results can be astounding. We’ve seen hospitals transformed by the power of real transparency and honest engagement with their workforce. A comatose workforce can become an army of leaders and advocates. Market share shifts. Satisfaction scores rise. Votes come in.

Wait…they want some control? Yikes. This can be a very scary proposition for hospitals, by nature conservative and skeptical. But the successful “naked hospital” – the ones that truly embrace transparency in every aspect – will tap a powerful resource that can transform their organization.

How powerful? Ask your Facebook friends.

7:00 – 7:50 – Continental Breakfast/Coffee in Curb Center

7:50 – 8:00 – Welcome & Announcements

  8:00– 8:20 – Mike McWherter, Gubernatorial Candidate

Hear from a Gubernatorial Candidate who will discuss the pressing issues of technology, and the platform for Technology in Tennessee. Issues to be discussed:

-affordable energy costs for data centers
-continuation of strong economic development initiatives to attract new technology companies region
-creation of new economic development initiatives to attract new individuals to the region in technology jobs 
-Continuation of Internet Tax Credits on sales tax
-Security/Privacy for all citizens
-Broadband growth and wireless incentives
-Tax credits for incumbent workers who need to be retrained for technology jobs

8:20 – 8:30 – Nashville Technology Community Update (Jobs, Wifi, Professional Development)

Tod Fetherling, President & CEO, Nashville Technology Council

8:30 – 8:50 – State of Tennessee Update

Mark Bengel, Chief Information Officer, State of Tennessee

8:50 – 9:30 – CEO Panel

Don Enfinger, Managing Director/ Production Services – Technology Services Group, BNYMellon
Ron Samuels, CEO, Avenue Bank
Tim DuBois, VP & Managing Executive, ASCAP
Jason Grant, Healthways

Moderator: Steven Howard Smith, President & CEO, Zycron

Hear from four Enterprise Level CEO’s representing four key industries: Health Care, Music & Publishing, Retail and Transactions. The purpose of this panel is to tell the Nashville Technology Story. The panel will answer questions such as:-What impact does the economic environment in Nashville have on your business?

-As a CEO, what challenges do you have in the technology industry, and how have you overcome them? 
-As a CEO, how do you ensure your business is innovative, while maintaining a profit margin? Is innovation about building new or creating efficiencies in operations? 
-From your perspective, how is the technological landscape changing in Nashville?

9:30 – 9:45 – Exhibitors/Break

9:45 – 10:30 – Breakout Groups

Listen as one entrepreneur and one enterprise level CTO or CIO from each of the 4 key industries share their perspective on technology in Nashville. This will be a “deeper dive” into each industry, and the challenges associated with technology in that respective industry. Choose from: Health Care, Music & Publishing, Retail and Transactions.

Healthcare
Scott Blanchette, CIO, Healthways 
Christopher Parks, Co-Founder & CEO, change:healthcare

Music/Publishing
Rachel Barnhard, Founder, Big Data Marketing
TBD

Retail
Ed O’Kelley, Director of Information Systems, Goodwill Industries
Jeff Orton, CIO, Genesco

Transactions
Todd Joseph, CIO, Comdata
Darwin Melnyk, President/CEO Iron Solutions

10:30 – 10:50 A Platform for Tennessee

Zach Wamp, US Congressman and Gubernatorial Candidate

Hear from a Gubernatorial Candidate who will discuss the pressing issues of technology, and the platform for Technology in Tennessee. Issues to be discussed:

-affordable energy costs for data centers
-continuation of strong economic development initiatives to attract new technology companies region
-creation of new economic development initiatives to attract new individuals to the region in technology jobs 
-Continuation of Internet Tax Credits on sales tax
-Security/Privacy for all citizens
-Broadband growth and wireless incentives
-Tax credits for incumbent workers who need to be retrained for technology jobs

10:50 – 10:55 T3 Update

David Suply, Student Congress Representative

10:55 – 11:30 Higher Education Panel

Dr. Curtis Armstrong, Tennessee Technological University
David Welch, Nashville State Technical Community College
Dr. Edward Anthony, Trevecca Nazarene University
Glenn Acree, Belmont University

Moderator: John Kepley, CEO, Teknetex

Hear from a panel of University Presidents and Business Leaders as we discuss the following:

-How do get more students into the technology field?
-How do we retain college graduates in Nashville?
-How do we make sure Universities are teaching students the right skill set, so when they graduate they are ready for employment?
-What programs and applications skills are most needed in the technology industry today?

11:30 – 11:45 Exhibitors/Break

11:45 –12:00 – Lunch

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch Keynote: Music Mash-Up – Artists, Writers, Media & Digital discussing new opportunities for growth in Nashville’s Music Business

Cory Gierman, Founder of MuzikMafia
Mark Montgomery, Entrepreneur, Founder Echo Music
David Mead, Professional Writer, Recording Artist, and Music Journalist

1:00 Buses to Reception at Cha Chas (Reception is 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.)

2:00 Shotgun Start/Golf at Legends Golf Course

3:00 Party Bus returns Curb Center/Cha Chas

The Nashville Tech Story (1/11/10)

Social Fresh rolls into town today. This is the first time it has been to Nashville and promises a stellar line up of main stream brands and their stories of social media.

Why all the fuss over social media? According to the Pew Foundation, 46% of adults are now on social media sites and 65% of teens. By the way, the total number of adults in America on the Internet is now at 80%. Who’s left? Unlike the Internet in its early days, there is less racial differences in who is using Social Media. This is a very positive trend as we look to the next evolution of the Web and communication online. Women are more likely than men to use Social Media sites.

Our own Tod Fetherling will be moderating a panel on Social Media in Healthcare today. Tod will be joined by Tracey Van Der Spuy from HealthSpring, Chris Fenoglio from LifePoint Hospitals, Bayard Saunders from i7, and Steve Parker from Level Wing Media. Social Media can be a great way to innovate and see into the lives of patients, especially those with chronic diseases.

“Social media is simply the current expression of patient activation and engagement,” said Susannah Fox from Pew Foundation. “But this time e-patients are part of a larger cultural change that assumes access to information, enables communication among disparate groups, and expects progress.”

Nashville Tech Story (12/23/09)

If you haven’t noticed, the role of the CIO is changing rapidly.  Spurred by the recession, IT shops are being asked to do more with less, like everyone else, but they are also taking on more business processes than before.  These are the results from the recent 2010 State of the CIO report from CIO Magazine.

CIOs reported their Top Priorities of 2010 to be following:

• Aligning IT and business goals
• Controlling IT costs
• IT governance and portfolio management
• Business process redesign
• Leadership development/staff training
• Marketing IT’s business contribution
• Rationalizing or centralizing the application portfolio
• Protecting customer data privacy
• Scaling IT globally
• Regulatory compliance

Most CIOs are thinking today about how are they going to get the job done with less resources?  The answer so far has come from outsourcing and contract service providers.  “21% is the average percentage of IT labor provided by outsourcers or contract service providers,” according to CIO Magazine.  In Nashville, this industry has continued to grow with local leaders like Emids, Wipro, Zycron, and Syntel leading the way.  In addition, the contract labor market is strong with companies like Vaco, Teknetex, and Tek Systems.

One of the more interesting statistics is the decrease in average salaries.  Average salaries are dropping 10-20% in certain industries.  Below is the average salary data for CIOs.
’06 . . . . $185,863
’07 . . . . $185,240
’08 . . . . $237,360
’09 . . . . $247,900
’10 . . . . $219,300

Of local interest, the percentage of IT spend of Total Revenues in Healthcare is 3.9%.  The overall national average across all industries is 5.7%.

For more information, click here.

-Abbie Lundberg, former Editor & Chief of CIO Magazine will be with on January 19th and 20th to discuss trends for the technology industry.  Click here to register.

Nashville Tech Story (12/1/09)

“Having spent 20 years in hospitals and health technology, the Nashville Medical Trade Center represents an opportunity to substantially cut costs in healthcare by bringing products and technologies together in one place for buyers to compare and contrast,” said J. Tod Fetherling, President, Nashville Technology Council.  “Equally important is the opportunity to have technology demonstration projects that are based here in Nashville that represent the best of digital healthcare.” 

EMRs and EHRs will converge over the next 10 years.  Some elements will come quicker, but Healthcare IT is poised to be a leading sector for many years.  Nashville should be leading way in community demonstration projects and in consumer directed value-based healthcare.  This project is another opportunity for us to lead the country in healthcare innovation, not reform.  The city, state, and country need our leadership, now.

Market Center Management Company (MCMC), the management company of leading international trade centers and trade events around the world, today announced the location for its $250 million Nashville Medical Trade Center project: the site of the current Nashville Convention Center at 601 Commerce Street in downtown Nashville.

“This project will create a large number of new jobs in our city right when we need them most,” said Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. “In addition to building on Nashville’s preeminence in the health care industry, the reuse of the Convention Center and the proposed improvements to the center’s physical structure will be a significant contribution to our vital and robust downtown.”

The Nashville Medical Trade Center, the world’s first global health care marketplace, will meet the changing needs of the international medical community by featuring permanent manufacturer showrooms, temporary exhibition space, and conference facilities within a 2 million square foot complex.

“Nashville is the perfect home for this dynamic marketplace,” said Bill Winsor, president and CEO, MCMC. “Its pro-business environment, a convenient location, and leadership in health care are unmatched. Health care suppliers and providers from around the world will travel to Nashville to access the latest medical technology and services.”

Market Center Management Company will begin construction as early as mid-2010 on a new 12-story tower on top of the existing convention center site, as well as develop a new plaza across the street from the historic Ryman Auditorium. In addition, the Broadway-facing side of the property will undergo a redesign.

“This announcement means Tennessee will be home to an important new concept in the marketing and procurement of medical equipment, technology and services,” said Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. “The health care industry is a significant economic engine for our state and this project expands that footprint, representing a major investment in our state’s health care economy.”

Custom space for more than 600 medical companies will be available at the Nashville Medical Trade Center, creating an efficient, transparent marketplace for health care providers and attracting more than 150,000 estimated annual visitors to Nashville.

The project is being designed by Nashville-based Gresham, Smith and Partners, a leading multi-disciplinary design and consulting firm. Construction will be managed by the Nashville office of Turner.

PURESAFETY ANNOUNCES PERSONNEL CHANGES AND NEW CLIENT-FOCUSED GO TO MARKET STRATEGY

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Oct. 27, 2009 — Bill Grana, president and CEO of Franklin, Tenn.-based PureSafety, a leading provider of training, safety, occupational health and medical management software solutions, today announced the promotions of Marshall Martin and Mike Kroll and the addition of Allison Pullen to the PureSafety team. These changes come as a result of the company’s decision to adopt a new, more market and customer-focused go to market strategy.

“To better serve our clients, we aligned the business with our two primary client personas — occupational health professionals and safety professionals,” said Grana. “The new structure will allow for greater operational nimbleness and focus, while continuing our strong record of customer service and support. Most importantly, organizing our business and overall market strategy around the people using our solutions ensures a deeper understanding of their challenges and opportunities, which helps us to better meet their needs, both now and well into the future.”

Mike Kroll has been promoted to executive vice president, general manager, of PureSafety’s new Workforce Safety and Training Management Solutions business unit, which will focus on delivering innovative software and information solutions to today’s busy training, safety and risk management professionals. Kroll has more than 17 years of corporate training sales and management expertise. Prior to joining PureSafety in January 2003, Kroll served as the Senior Director of Sales for eLearning at Ninth House, Inc. and as a National Sales Director for Vcampus Corp.

Marshall Martin has been promoted to executive vice president, general manager, of PureSafety’s new Workforce and Occupational Health Management Solutions business unit, which will focus on delivering innovative software and information solutions to today’s busy occupational health and medical management professionals. Martin has more than 15 years of senior-level management experience in strategic planning, accounting, operations management and business process reengineering. Prior to joining PureSafety in July 2008, he spent three years as chief operating officer at Juris Inc.(now LexisNexis) and held senior leadership roles at US Xpress Enterprises, Olan Mills Portrait Studios and Harrison Direct.

Allison Pullen has been hired as senior marketing manager, Workforce and Occupational Health Management Solutions business unit. She brings more than 10 years of marketing, public relations and corporate communications experience in the technology, healthcare and occupational medicine sectors to the PureSafety marketing team. She has held marketing management and consulting roles with Fortune 100 companies as well as smaller entities, including Merck Pharmaceuticals and Intergraph Corporation. Most recently, Pullen served as marketing manager of Strategic Communications at Autodesk, a global 2D and 3D design software and services company.

About PureSafety
Born out of a workplace tragedy in 1999, PureSafety empowers its customers to protect their organization’s most valuable assets: their people and profits. PureSafety provides comprehensive, web-based software and information solutions that support compliance requirements, overall risk management needs, and the enhancement of governance and company culture through improved programs, processes, awareness, understanding, visibility, and accountability within workforce safety and health.  The company’s growing team of 160 employees serves more than 2,000 companies operating in more than 20 major industries including manufacturing, construction, distribution, energy, and healthcare, and encompasses 34 percent of the Fortune 500. Headquartered in Nashville-area Franklin, Tenn., PureSafety has an additional location in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To learn more, visit www.puresafety.com or call 888.202.3016.

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The Nashville Tech Story (8/1/09)

Part III – Personal Responsibility

So far, we have covered costs, quality, and value.  Now, let’s talk about our personal responsibility.

Ok, is it really my fault?  Well yes.  a longitudinal study conducted by the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, University of California-Davis, Davis showed that Seniors who were leaner, smoked fewer cigarettes over a lifetime, reduced their smoking, or walked farther had significant subsequent cost savings compared to those with less-healthy lifestyle-related habits.  If you extrapolate the cost savings per person over their life of $1548 X 300mil population.  It is $440 billion over the next 77.7 years (avg. life expectancy) or $5 billion a year.

Medicare could save money and improve health care quality by providing financial incentives to providers for coordinating patient care through a shared savings program, according to a new paper from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution.

At the end of the day, it is up to everyone involved in healthcare (you, business owners, insurance companies, drug companies, hospitals, physicians, nurses, and clinicians) to work together to innovate the current system.  There is a solution, we just haven’t found it, or agreed to what it is.

Another responsibility that we have is to get engaged with the conversation.

Register today for the Naked Hospital.

The Nashville Tech Story (7/31/09)

Part II – Is Quality or Cost More Important?

In Part I we discussed the amount of money being spent on healthcare.  Today, we will talk more directly to the opportunity of healthcare and technology.

We have the best healthcare system in the world.  Well not really, according to the 2009 WHO World Health Statistics.  It is good, but we are not the best.  However, we do spend the most per capita.  So are we really getting good value for our money?

A local firm, Data Advantage has created the Hospital Value Index to help consumers understand which hospitals provide the best quality at the best price.  It is surprising to see who is number 1 in Nashville.

Don’t care about costs?  I  just want the best hospital when I need care.  This is a prevailing theme when we need care.  Well the government is here to help us once again.  Visit Hospital Compare to get a detailed view of outcomes in US Hospitals.

How about if we just cut the administrative cost of paying for all the procedures across the United States?  Did you know there are approximately 13 billion transactions a year in America?  Across town, Emdeon’s US Healthcare Index projects a 20% increase in electronic transactions would save approximately $34 Billion.  That would be a good start.

Get engaged with the conversation.

Register today for the Naked Hospital.

The Nashville Tech Story (7/29/09)

Part I – Deja Vu

I remember the last time we had this debate as a country.  It was 1997.  The Internet was still in its infancy.  AOL was the dominant brand.  Yahoo was an upstart.  Google hadn’t launched.

Hillary was leading the charge to change healthcare.  Healthcare was only $1.1 trillion and a measly 13.5% of the GDP.  Let’s fast forward to 2007, the most current year reported.  Total health expenditures reached $2.2 trillion (doubled in 10 years), which translates to $7,421 per person or 16.2 percent of the nation’s GDP.

In 10 more years, will it be 20 percent of the GDP?  My guess is yes, unless a true revolution occurs.

Fortunately, our government is very good at accounting for healthcare expenditures.  Visit this link to check out the detailed national healthcare expenditures. 

Wow, who pays for the healthcare?  Businesses (25 percent), households (31 percent), other private sponsors (4 percent), and governments (40 percent).  In short, we all do.  Our taxes go to pay for the government’s spend, business profits go towards the insurance burden most companies pay today.  It is a bleak picture.

What I do know is that this is really an exciting time for businesses in technology in Nashville, the Silicon Valley of Healthcare.  It is time for us to get educated on the topic and make our voices heard across the country.  The Nashville Health Care Council hosted a great luncheon last month with Msgrs. Perlin, Brailer, Detmer, and Stead and this month, we will follow it up with a detailed look at transparency and ehealth.  Get engaged with the conversation.

Register today for the Naked Hospital.