News From DARK Daily

Hidden Gems and Surprise Discoveries at This Year's Executive War College

Lab managers and pathologists looking for the next big thing in laboratory management shouldn't overlook some distinct gems and surprise discoveries at this year's Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management, scheduled for May 13-14, 2008 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami, Florida.

Several Dark Daily readers asked me to identify the "hot" topics and cue them to the "must attend" sessions. I am happy to oblige with three speakers who will deliver highly-useful information-the type of knowledge you can use to position your lab or pathology group at leading edge of laboratory services. (Also, a reminder, you can download the just-released agenda with presentation descriptions at http://www.executivewarcollege.com/agenda.htm).

The first notable speaker is Rob O'Brien, speaking on "Understanding the New Lab Contracting Goals of the Nation's Payers and How to Position Your Lab as a Value-Added Provider." What makes this a spectacular session is that, for the past 15+ years, O'Brien has been responsible for handling all of Aetna, Inc.'s laboratory testing contracts-nationally and regionally. He recently left Aetna for a consulting position at KJC Healthcare Solutions in Philadelphia.  

This super session will put you in the inner sanctums of managed care thinking. O'Brien will explain the market forces pushing the nation's largest health insurers. You'll learn why certain prices are offered to labs. Best of all, O'Brien will share advice on how to negotiate win-win contracts with regional and national payers. He'll give you specific strategies that can bring extra dollars in reimbursement. Best of all, he will be available for face-to-face meetings and can be an invaluable consultant for your laboratory or pathology group.

Second is Larry Siedlick, speaking on "Creating a High-Performance Management Environment in Your Lab." This is a management master class— a new feature at the Executive War College. Siedlick, who is CEO of Sunrise Medical Laboratories  in Hauppauge, New York, "wowed" the crowd when he spoke last May. I've asked him to share the street-savvy, effective techniques he uses to hire, shape, and motivate his middle managers. This is a session designed to advance your personal career skills. Siedlick's take on how to manage lab managers will arm you with effective techniques that you'll take back and begin using right away. This is definitely a top presentation pick!

Third is Rob Atlas, speaking in "Solving the Gordian Knot of Laboratory Informatics and IT Integration, another management master class. In today's laboratory, effective use of information technology is a critical success factor that every lab director and pathologist must get right. Atlas, who is CEO of Atlas Medical of Calabasas, California, has agreed to give pathologists, lab executives, and managers a firm grounding in understanding informatics connectivity issues. He's ready to help you understand the simple drivers to more effective IT performance. For fun, I've asked him to share what your organization's Chief Information Officer (CIO) doesn't want you to know about what can be done-often quickly and at minimum cost. Here's information that will help you turn the tables on your hospital's IT gurus. It will be one gem of a session!

That's it for this e-briefing. I will share other speaker gems and surprises in upcoming Dark Dailies. And...don't forget another lab industry first: on Thursday, May 15, we have lined up the first-ever "Mergers & Acquisitions in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine." This full day program is for laboratory owners, shareholders, and pathologist-owners of professional groups. You'll have the opportunity to meet lab buyers, hear from lawyers, financial experts, and valuation specialists. This is a "can't miss" for you soon-to-retire pathologists and lab owners.

As noted above, we've released a full color Executive War College program agenda(It can be viewed by clicking on the preceding link, or pasting this URL into your browser: http://www.executivewarcollege.com/PDFs/08brochure.pdf ).

Four Easy Ways to Register:

1. Register for the Executive War College online
2. Call 800-560-6363. Our friendly staff can register you quickly and easily, as well as answer any questions you may have.
3. Fax the Executive War College registration form to 512-264-0969
4. Mail the Executive War College registration form with payment to:
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, TX 78669