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Section Contents: Healthcare Magna Carta and Contest Spark National Debate Links: |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2002
Healthcare Magna Carta and Contest Spark National Debate
Industry critics sold on grassroots healthcare initiative unveiled in new book
SEATTLE, WA - When Kathleen O'Connor (www.oconnorhealthanalyst.com) wrote "The Buck Stops Nowhere: Why America's Healhtcare is All Dollars and No Sense", the veteran healthcare analyst never dreamed the new book would land her a top-billing speaking engagement with Gartner, Inc. just weeks after its release.
"The Buck Stops Nowhere is the best explanation I’ve ever seen for why the healthcare industry in this country is so screwed up," says David Garets, Group Vice President of Gartner, Inc. Gartner recently announced that Ms. O’Connor will be one of their Mastermind Interviewees during the 2002 Gartner Healthcare Business and IT Summit, held April 15-17 in Boston. Previous interviewees include CEOs of the largest healthcare IT vendors, author and Harvard Business School lecturer Richard Bohmer, M.D., and American Medical Association president Richard Corlin, M.D.
In The Buck Stops Nowhere, O’Connor throws the first spear in the sand and declares the pandemonium that is our country’s healthcare system must end. "Now is the time to act on healthcare. Seniors have no drug coverage and 8.3 million Americans are currently unemployed. No job means no health insurance," O’Connor says. "What will happen when the looming recession coincides with a second round of double-digit healthcare cost increases? We have already grown from 30 million uninsured in the '80s to over 43 million - roughly the combined population of California, Oregon and Washington - during our greatest economic prosperity."
O’Connor takes the nation beyond this impasse by introducing an independent Healthcare Magna Carta to frame the rights and responsibilities for all Americans. She calls upon the average person to demand change from the outside in, then challenges academic institutions and corporations across the country to turn her Healthcare Magna Carta into a proposal for national healthcare reform. "Change is difficult because the entire system is held hostage to armed camps and special interests. We need to let Congress know we care about healthcare and this is the year. One third of the Senate and all of the House is up for election." Winning proposals will be presented to Congress and collegiate winners will receive cash prizes and a substantial scholarship (up to $50,000) funded by corporate entry fees and donations from the author.
"Kathleen O'Connor gives us an imaginative yet accurate account of the problems in health care today," says Booth Gardner, Governor, Washington State 1983-1992, Chair, National Governor's Association 1990-91, "The Buck Stops Nowhere is a must read for anyone interested in the industry."
A twenty-plus year veteran of the healthcare industry, Kathleen O’Connor is recognized nationally as a leading analyst and consumer oriented advocate of healthcare reform. The 2002 recipient of Leadership Tomorrow’s prestigious Edward E. Carlson Outstanding Alumni Award, O’Connor is an accomplished writer, speaker and consultant who speaks three languages: English, Japanese and Healthcare. She writes a regular column for the Seattle Times (www.seattletimes.com) and is publisher of The O’Connor Report: Insights and Commentaries on Healthcare Today. For more information, visit www.oconnorhealthanalyst.com.
Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 11,000 clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner's divisions consist of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting, Gartner Measurement and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner, Inc. is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and consists of 4,300 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in more than 90 locations worldwide. The company achieved fiscal 2001 revenue of $952 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com/us/healthcare.
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