Forty CEO leaders of industry met at Heart House this week to discuss important health care issues. Among the notables were Ron Williams, CEO of Aetna, several regional Blue Cross CEOs, Tony Hooper, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and many other leaders of insurance, hospital, consumer, health care venture capitalist, consulting, and technology/industry companies. Until recently Nancy Ann DeParle was also a member of this group in her investment banking role (I actually got her plugged in to the group a few years back).

Once again, I had more than dozen overtures about renewed interest in working with ACC and NCDR on quality improvement projects, and I have set up follow up meetings to seek specific pilot concepts. Newt did a terrific job of presenting a view of where the rapidly changing science and technology environment may be heading, and he too will be meeting with us to seek ways to work with his Center for Health Care Transformation.

He emphasized that China and India dynamism is REAL; and that the increasing speed of the advancement of science will transform everything around us faster than anyone sees.