CHC News

What Happens in Washington Doesn’t Stay in Washington

April 9, 2018 – During a turbulent time in Washington, D.C., healthcare marketers and communication professionals likely have many questions about how the Trump administration’s priorities will impact their industry, how new data privacy regulations that may result from Facebook’s misuse of data will impact their jobs, how a focus on drug pricing could lead to proposals to limit direct-to-consumer advertising, and how adaptive clinical trials and the use of real-world-evidence may change the drug approval process.

And then there are two other major “X” factors:  how an activist commissioner could change up the FDA, and what may be at stake in healthcare policy following the 2018 midterm elections. Amid all of these questions, one thing is clear: What happens in Washington has a significant effect on healthcare marketing and communications around the country.

“For a unique take on what’s happening in Washington – and how it affects your own work – plan now to attend the third annual Rising Leaders Conference on Healthcare Policy, sponsored by the Coalition for Healthcare Communication,” said Coalition Conference Chair Jon Bigelow, president, Thayer Pond Solutions LLC. “You will interact in a small-group environment with an all-star faculty, including a senior FDA official and leading Washington attorneys, journalists and inside-the-beltway observers,” he said.

Confirmed speakers at the Coalition’s Rising Leaders Conference, to be held May 22-23 at the National Press Club, include:

  • Kate Rawson, senior editor of Prevision Policy, with insights on healthcare policy and policymakers in the Trump era;
  • Stuart Ingis, chairman of Venable, on “Facebook, Privacy, and Health Communication: What Happens Now?”;
  • An expert panel on “The FDA in the Gottlieb Era”, including Kellie Combs (Ropes & Gray), Peter Engel (EngelNovick), Kurt Karst (Hyman Phelps & McNamara), and Kay Holcombe (moderator);
  • Dick O’Brien, executive vice president of the 4As, on behind-the-scenes regulatory changes that help the communications industry and an imminent EU regulation that will affect it;
  • Karsten Risch, chief medical director, Havas Health & You, on a code of ethics for healthcare communicators;
  • A panel of agency leaders discussing how Washington policy issues relate to building careers in health communications;
  • John Kamp, executive director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication—the organization dedicated to the free flow of fact-based health information—outlining key priorities.

“It’s a unique take on what’s happening in Washington—and how it affects your own work,” Bigelow explained. “This conference is designed specifically for executives and the next generation of leaders in healthcare advertising, scientific communications, medical publishing and media, public relations, and digital information,” he said.

Conference details:

  • Networking Dinner, Tuesday, May 22, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  • Conference, Wednesday, May 23, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (breakfast at 8:30 a.m.)
  • Location: National Press Club, 529 Fourteenth Street NW, in Washington.
  • Tuition: Only $600 per person, and includes the networking reception and dinner, continental breakfast, luncheon, and coffee breaks.
  • Discounted hotel rooms ($399 plus tax) are available at the nearby Sofitel Washington Lafayette Square—call 202-730-8800 before April 23, ask for in-house reservations, and mention the Coalition for Healthcare Communication.
  • Advance registration is required, and seating is limited. To register, contact Jack Angel at jeangel@cohealthcom.org.

What happens in Washington does NOT stay in Washington. Get the lowdown at this special conference.