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n unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act since it was passed three years ago has been the seemingly viral spread of health-care summits. These high-profile events, often sponsored by a media organization or think tank, bring together a mix

of policy makers, industry executives, researchers, and journalists for what is usually a one- day discussion spanning the state of the art and the shape of things to come in medical care

— from public health and technology to government mandates and patient records. The Affordable Care Act encompasses all of those topics and more, so perhaps it’s

no surprise that the prognosis is so positive for big, ambitious health-care events. “It’s a competitive market space, without a doubt,” said David Cox, senior vice president and chief financial officer for the Americas at the Economist Group, which publishes The Economist magazine, and which on Nov. 12 will present the Economist Health Care Forum 2013 at the Seaport Boston Hotel. “There are probably, I would say, four or five health-care events going on every day somewhere in the U.S.” They’re not medical meetings per se — no CME credits, no live surgical theaters, no pharma-dominated show floor. But still, they address issues that will affect medical meeting attendees sooner rather than later, and also offer valuable insights and lessons for medical meeting planners. (So much so that we’ve flagged takeaways that seem particularly relevant for planners throughout the article.) In addition to Cox, we talked to two staff members with AtlanticLIVE, The Atlantic magazine’s events division, which this past May 1 presented the Atlantic Health Care Forum 2013 at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. — Director of Operations Lyndsay Polloway and Director of Programming and Content Development Suzanne Smalley. Considered side by side, Cox’s, Polloway’s, and Smalley’s comments about their

respective health-care forums suggest the infinite variety of live programming. Because while The Atlantic’s and The Economist’s health-care forums on the surface might seem quite similar, in planning and in practice each is its own unique experience. ›

PCMA.ORG OCTOBER 2013 PCMA CONVENE 65