We sat down with Bianca Flikweert, VP of Business Development at Cecelia Health, to find out about her experience at the AHIP Institute & Expo this year. Here’s what we learned.

Q: This was your first time at AHIP 2017, what did you think?

A: AHIP provides a great platform for healthcare professionals to build relationships in the payer space. The participation of so many different stakeholders makes the conference very valuable from a networking and learning perspective, shedding light on what it is trending in the market.

When I told people about Cecelia Health, they really liked the holistic approach and validated the need for a human touch concept among the multiple digital solutions in the diabetes market.  Engaging the hard-to-reach members resonated with most payer execs that I spoke with.

Q: Tell me about the sessions and speakers? 

A: Several! Here are some of the sessions that I found to be valuable…

  • In the session, “Creating a Consumer-Obsessed Culture, What Healthcare Can Learn from Other Industries,” Carol Kruse, SVP Cambia Health Solutions, spoke about recognizing the importance of the patient experience.
  • Joe Swedish, President and CEO Anthem, spoke about differentiating your company by focusing on performance data in his session, “Reinventing Health Care for the Future”.
  • In “Are You One Breach Away from Losing a Health Care Consumer?” Reza Chapman, Managing Director Accenture, spoke about the importance of providing personalized services to each patient.
  • “Outcome-Aligned Partnerships That Integrate Care Delivery for Individuals with Advanced Illnesses” featured Jeffrey King, VP of HealthCare Services Molina Healthcare, on the value of partnering the stakeholders.
  • In “Tackling Healthcare Disparities: America’s Chronic Condition,” Thomas Duncan, President and CEO Trusted Health Plan, spoke about how each chronic disease state comes with a unique set of challenges that require unique solutions. He urged the audience to try out of the box programs.

Q: What was your greatest take away from AHIP 2017?

A: It was very valuable to listen to the panel discussions with speakers from the payer, pharma and employment community to learn about their issues and solutions. I learned that payers are looking for partnerships that offer patient-focused turn key solutions with a proven ROI. They are seeking to work with vendors who are willing to enter into risk-based and performance-based contracts.

Q: What’s your advice to people attending AHIP in the future?

A: Join as many educational sessions as possible. I found that the panel discussions were the most valuable sessions. Specifically choose some sessions with content relevant to your offering in order to build your knowledge of the space, and other sessions that speak to your target audience. You never know who you may be sitting next to!

Missed us at AHIP? See where we’ll be next!

 

Photo: Bianca Flikweert, Cecelia Health VP of Business Developement