Villanova Health Summit

Technological advances over the past decade have rapidly changed the ways people seek, access, and respond to health care at all levels: patients self-research medical information via health websites, clinicians counsel and treat patients from remote telemedical settings, insurance companies promote patient-controlled health savings accounts, and healthcare organizations monitor internet reviews to predict future cash flow rises and falls. All of these changes point toward a consumer-driven healthcare (CDHC) model, but where will it lead?

From the Villanova Healthcare Speaker Event, host Dr. Brian McDonough talks with guest Sandra Gomberg, Chief Operating Officer at Aria Health System. They discuss ways in which medicine has adopted consumer-driven healthcare over time, and what the future holds for patients and clinicians in this system.

An expert panel of health professionals representing hospital admistration, pharmaceuticals, insurance providers, patient advocacy, and medical education convene to strategize new ways for health care industry sectors to work together to improve quality of care for patients. The panel participants also discuss their respective and complementary visions for the future of health care services, including ways that technological innovations such as social media are changing the landscape of medicine.

The panel participants are:

• Michael Russomano: President, CEO and Global Business Head of Wyeth Nutrition, a Nesle Company
• Sandra Gomberg: Chief Operating Officer at Aria Health System
• Daniel Tropeano: Executive Director for United Healthcare
• Gene Kestenbaum: Past Chair of the Board for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America
• Lawrence Sherman: Senior Vice President of TOPEC Global

What happens when you suddenly become a patient and are faced with a life-threatening illness? How do the interprofessional members of the medical team work together to help you recover as safely and quickly as possible?

From the Villanovans in Healthcare Speaker Event, join Lawrence Sherman, Senior Vice President of TOPEC Global, as he talks about innovative and collaborative interprofessional approaches to care stemming from lessons learned through his own experience as an educator-turned patient.

Joining host Dr. Matt Birnholz is Sarah Marchal Murray, Chief Operating Officer at The END Fund, a private philanthropic initiative dedicated to controlling and eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Over 1.4 billion people globally are affected by one or more of the most common NTDs, including 875 million children. The END Fund focuses on tackling the five most prevalent NTDs: intestinal worms,schistosomiasis,lymphatic filariasis,trachoma, and river blindness.

Dr. Matt Birnholz sits down with Dr. Sarah-Vaughan Brakman, Clinical Medical Ethicist and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University, to discuss how the MCAT has changed its selection process to ultimately prepare medical students to become more humanistic doctors. Dr. Brakman details the recent MCAT transition to include modern issues in medical ethics and philosophy within exams, reflecting important changes in medical school selection processes.

Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Patrick Higgins, President and Chief Operating Officer of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, to discuss his research team's inspiring journey toward developing a cure for Hepatitis C. Following this success, Tekmira aims to accelerate the pace of research and development for a novel Hepatitis B drug.