IMDA Annual Management Conference
Four days into the future

     Can you spare four days in May to take a good look at your future?
     �The future for specialty sales and marketing organizations looks brighter and more promising than ever,� says Conference Chairman Stan Tangalakis, who is CEO of Mercury Medical, Clearwater, FL. �But we have to expand the scope of our corporations in order to embrace that future. We have to anticipate the technologies that we will be selling and the health care system in which we will be operating. We have selected our speakers carefully to serve as practical guides to that future.�

     The Conference will be held from May 28 through May 31, at the luxurious Stein Eriksen Lodge outside Salt Lake City. It will be the first Conference in which manufacturers will attend as allied members.
     In addition to outstanding educational sessions (see below), the Conference will feature the IMDA Manufacturers Forum, in which manufacturers seeking representation by specialty distributors and reps can meet IMDA members. It will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 29.
     �The Forum is the only place where manufacturers can meet sales and marketing experts in a variety of specialties, including anesthesia and respiratory care, operating room, critical care, orthopedics and more,� says Tangalakis. Approximately 30 IMDA member companies are expected to be on hand.
     Time has been allotted on Friday and Saturday afternoons for attendees and their families to play golf or enjoy the spectacular surroundings. The Stein Eriksen Lodge is the winner of the Conde Naste #1 and #2 Best Mainland Resort, the AAA Four Diamond Award and Mobile Four-Star Award. It is located amidst aspens and pines, surrounded by the Wasatch Mountains, 8,200 feet above sea level. Given the affordable rate being extended to IMDA members, many will no doubt stay the weekend and beyond.
     The scenery will be grand. So will the speakers, promises Tangalakis. They will address topics specially selected to help guide IMDA members to success in the 21st century.

     Dr. Peter Salgo. A medical correspondent for CBS and CNBC, as well as a practicing physician and recognized futurist, Salgo will help IMDA members figure out who�s going to be calling the shots in healthcare in the years ahead.
     In just the last two years, Salgo has published articles on drug pricing schedules in the United States as compared to other Western nations; chronic fatigue syndrome; the current progress of fetal surgery; and the effect of AIDS on its victims. He has appeared on CBS Television Network, the CBS Radio Network and the CNBC Television Network. Most recently, he wrote, produced and anchored four broadcasts per week for CNBC�s America�s Vital Signs.
     For the past 10 years, as a correspondent with WCBS-TV News, Salgo has written, produced, edited, directed and commented on medical news and education issues, including AIDS and the homeless, infertility, radiation treatment, heart assist techniques and the future of modern medicine. Salgo practices anesthesiology and internal medicine at Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and teaches anesthesiology and internal medicine at Columbia University.

     Dr. Jeffrey Bauer. A health futurist and medical economist, Bauer has become one of the country�s foremost experts on how automation is changing health care. He will show IMDA members how it will affect their businesses and those of their future customers.
     Bauer is senior vice president of Superior Consultant Company, Southfield, MI, a provider of digital business transformation services to the healthcare industry. He has written 60 articles, nine books and a number of videos on health care delivery. His latest book is Telemedicine and the Reinvention of Health Care: The Seventh Revolution in Medicine (McGraw-Hill, 1999). His two previous books are Not What the Doctor Ordered: How to End the Medical Monopoly in Pursuit of Managed Care and Statistical Analysis for Health Care Decision-Makers: Understanding and Evaluating Critical Information in a Competitive Market.
     Bauer received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and was a teacher and administrator at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He served as health policy adviser to Colorado Governor Richard Lamm from 1980 to 1984.
     He is a senior fellow at the Center for the New West in Denver, where he participates in studies of advances in medical science and technology and their impact on the delivery of health services.

     John Haskell, a.k.a. Dr. Revenue. Since 1974, Dr. Revenue has delivered a unique brand of �in the trenches� consulting services to a wide variety of clients. He has written over 400 marketing and sales plans for mid-size and smaller companies. His clients consistently see exceptional sales and profit growth as a result of his prescriptions. IMDA members will too.
     His message is loud and clear: The most important action you can take to help your business grow and prosper is to develop a written marketing and sales plan. In his workshop at the Annual Conference, Dr. Revenue will show IMDA members how to do just that.
     A columnist for the Los Angeles Business Journal and other industry publications, Haskell has served in senior marketing positions with Abbey Rents Furniture Division, Sara Lee Corp., Gamble Rents Division, and Haskell of Pittsburgh.

     William Prows. Prows will show IMDA members the difference between a successful IDN and a dysfunctional one. He�s an expert on the topic, given the fact that he is vice president of shared and affiliated services at Intermountain Health Care, Salt Lake City. Intermountain was recently ranked the No. 1 IDN in America by Modern Healthcare magazine.
     Prows is responsible for the management and direction of Shared Services, a division of IHC Hospitals Inc., which includes laboratory services, pharmacy services, radiology, materials management and other support service areas. Additionally, he is responsible for the marketing, management and strategic development of IHC Affiliated Services Inc. (a for-profit subsidiary of not-for-profit IHC), which supports IHC's affiliated members of AmeriNet, of which IHC is a founding member.
     Prows will show IMDA members how Intermountain has successfully managed to keep its prices to its customers 27 percent below the market; how it has earned the support of its 2,500 physicians for its programs; and how it decides which new medical technologies to buy.

     And there�s more�
     In addition to these speakers, Tangalakis has enlisted executives from key manufacturers, including Datascope and Masimo, to dialogue with IMDA members on how to tune up relations between manufacturers of innovative technologies and specialty sales and marketing organizations.
     IMDA members will receive a full Conference brochure and registration form around Valentine�s Day. In the meantime, reserve May 28-31 for the year�s premier event for specialty sales and marketing companies.

Downloadable 2003 Annual Conference Information (PDF File)

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