A Front Row Seat for the Future of Technology-Enabled Health and Wellness

The 2017 Connected Health Conference (CHC) is right around the corner, after months of planning, organizing and confirming a terrific lineup of speakers and events. I am delighted that we’ll be gathered at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston October 25-27.  It is a must-attend event if you are in any way interested in the growing field of digital health.

If you are a veteran of the Partners Connected Health Symposium and missed the news that we merged our event with the Personal Connected Health Alliance’s Conference, let me bring you up to speed.
At last year’s Symposium, we announced the merger, to establish “the singular leadership event focused on the future of technology-enabled health and wellness. ” It’s very clear now that merging the events was a wise decision. We have received very positive feedback from throughout the market, and are attracting an impressive group of sponsors, including: Intel,  Verizon, Philips, IBM and Teva Pharmaceuticals, AARP, Amazon Web Services, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Qualcomm Life, Fitbit, AMA, Validic, TMC Innovation Institute and Conversa Health, with more still signing on.
And, the list of exhibitors is long as well, and we’re very excited to see this growing marketplace. On the exhibit floor, the new Innovation Lounge is bringing together provider, industry and institutional innovation centers and novel collaborations. It is a unique and dynamic area that expands the possibilities and showcases key partnerships that are driving innovation.
I have personally been developing the program with the help of our CHC Advisors and programming team, hand picking the speakers and carefully designing each session to be inspiring, provocative and informative.  Our goal is to bring people together for an experience that gives them a clear view of where the industry is headed.

It is a jam-packed agenda that will deliver forward-looking initiatives, real-world examples, insider perspectives and actionable ideas.  This year’s theme “The Connected Life Journey” brings in cutting-edge developments in aging, chronic care management, consumer and physician adoption, as well as policy, research and the investment community.
To kick off the conference, I have the privilege of delivering the opening keynote on Thursday morning, where I’ll share with you some of the insights, innovations and next steps from my new book that will be hot off the presses, The New Mobile Age: How Technology Can Extend the Healthspan and Optimize the Lifespan. We’ll look at how digital technologies are enabling people to remain vital, engaged and independent through their later years.

But with so much great content and the special events taking place at CHC17, you won’t be able to sit in on every session, so I’ve been thinking about those I’d consider ‘can’t miss’ to share with you.
Our keynote lineup is truly world-class, but I always enjoy hearing from:

Chunka Mui, an expert at fostering innovation.

Adrienne Boissy from Cleveland Clinic, who will share her thoughts on relationship-driven strategies to improve the patient experience.

My friend and colleague, Calum MaCrae, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who will share his vision and progress in building a most exciting future healthcare delivery model.

I’ve always looked to other industries and examples that can be applied to connected health, and one that I often cite is The Truth Initiative. Eric Asche will share their strategy for successfully changing behavior around smoking.

Their experience has wide applicability in our quest to better manage the 70% of healthcare costs that are lifestyle related.
It’s very difficult to just pick a few, but here are some breakout sessions you should also check out:

 
We’ve also added a new track focusing on Health System innovation, where you’ll hear from the Healthcare Transformation Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, PULSE@MassChallenge, Healthbox and many more health system leaders.
And at the closing plenary session, Envisioning the Connected Life Journey, I have the privilege of sharing the stage with some insightful and truly visionary colleagues, including Charlotte Yeh from AARP and Rudy Tanzi, a renowned researcher who co-discovered the first Alzheimer’s disease genes and directs the Alzheimer’s Genome Project.
There will be many exhibit floor activities – an important and welcome addition to the Connected Health Symposium, which will add a new dimension for learning and insight.  We have carved out exclusive times for roaming the exhibit floor and for networking, so that attendees and exhibitors will have ample time to interact, without competing with the program.

We still have about four weeks to go until the Connected Health Conference. I hope you are as excited as I am to convene in Boston, share ideas, learn together and move the market forward.
I’m pleased to offer cHealth Blog readers a special $100 discount on your Conference registration. Simply visit the Connected Health Conference website, and register using discount code CHC17100.
Come join us.  It’s the place to be!