North Castle Partners, the nation’s leading private equity firm focused exclusively on consumer businesses that address healthy living and aging trends, held its third annual educational conference on June 14 at the Asia Society in New York City.

This year’s symposium "The Self-Care Solution" featured presentations from a diverse group of healthcare experts who discussed many of the problems with the current healthcare system, reviewed recent developments and offered recommendations for improvement by giving consumers more power, information and responsibility in the management of their own and their families personal health.

Chip Baird, the Founder and Managing Director of North Castle, welcomed an audience of close to 200. Chip opened the conference by setting the stage with an overview of the healthcare dilemma. He noted that U.S. healthcare costs have been increasing precipitously despite the healthcare system’s severe shortcomings in quality and accessibility. Chip prophesized that “the baby boomers, who will start to turn 60 next year, will exacerbate these issues and accelerate the demands on the healthcare system as they deal with the inexorable physical deterioration associated with aging.”

Chip then briefly identified three solutions: healthcare plan restructuring, better consumer information, and incentives for healthier behaviors, as means to alleviate the impending healthcare crisis. The four speakers that followed each addressed various aspects of these “solutions”.

Professor Regina Herzlinger contrasted the progress made in other industries to the lack of progress in the administration of healthcare and suggested that increasing market competition, better information and greater consumer involvement offered promise.

Dr. Holly Atkinson highlighted the important role the internet is playing in developing a consumer mindset, building knowledge and influencing decision-making.

Dr. David Sobel talked about successful developments in leveraging patients themselves as a resource in the healthcare system and the impact of mental health and attitude on physical health.

Finally, Secretary Tommy Thompson discussed the role government policy can play in promoting and incentivizing more healthful behavior, leveraging technology for better care, providing more choice and encouraging more personal responsibility for individual healthcare decisions.

While the speakers did not always agree on the specifics, there was a general consensus that a more powerful and knowledgeable patient or "consumer" of healthcare is emerging. This development holds great promise for both the efficacy and efficiency of the U.S. healthcare system and is creating many new business opportunities for companies that can successfully address the evolving consumer demand for new healthy living options and better healthcare information and services.

A brief overview of the presentations are provided below. For highlights of the speakers' presentations, see issue 8 of our newsletter, NCP Perspectives (460Kb PDF File - opens in a new window).