Who are the most powerful people in health care?
Is it Drew Altman, president and chief executive of Kaiser Family Foundation? Leah Binder, chief executive of Leapfrog Group? Or perhaps Jack Bovender, chairman and chief executive of HCA (which owns Wesley Medical Center here in Wichita)?
Modern Healthcare magazine has pared down 14,600 nominations into a ballot of 300 and is asking readers to vote for 10 candidates now through June 27 for the 2008 “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” competition.
None of the candidates is based in Kansas, although leaders of several Kansas City, Mo.-based companies are included: John Bluford, president and chief executive of Truman Medical Centers; Richard Hastings, president and chief executive of St. Luke’s Health System; Alan Morgan, chief executive of the National Rural Health Association; and Neal Patterson, chairman and chief executive of Cerner Corp.
Modern Healthcare will publish the final ranking in its Aug. 25 issue as well as online.
The magazine defines the ranking as the most influential leaders in health care today.
3 Comments
Why no mention of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas? Or Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City? Or Delta Dental Insurance Companies? Perhaps they are on the longer lists.
Each state should establish a “Health services users council,” and eventually blend these into a “National health services users council.” At least 10% of members should be individuals responsible for the health care of large diverse families.
And no doctors should be allowed on these “health users councils.”
Actually, in my comment above, I should have said every state should establish a “health services users ROUNDTABLE.” The term “Roundtable” was used in the large building and highway construction industry beginning some thirty years ago with what I thought to be some success.
I believe its easily forgotten the “users” side of any industry has a lot at stake in these service issues. For example, in the health care industry, in my opinion, doctors are the last ones who should be asked for advice on how to make improvements … they will be self serving every time.