Newswise — Attendees gathered to network with colleagues representing medical groups and related industry organizations from throughout the U.S. Special guests included plenary speakers healthcare futurist Ian Morrison, former Naval Commander Michael Abrashoff, and branding guru Scott Bedbury, as well as Larry King, the Emmy Award-winning host and bestselling author. Breakout sessions featured presentations by the leaders of some of American's most renowned integrated delivery systems, including the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Dean Health System, The Everett Clinic, Geisinger Health System, Henry Ford Health System, Kaiser Permanente, Lahey Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, PeaceHealth Medical Group, Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Group, Scott and White Memorial Hospital and Clinic, UCLA Healthcare, University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, Vanderbilt Medical Group, and many others.

"Each year this conference keeps getting bigger, and that is a testament to the fact that it is the only conference dedicated to leadership development in multispecialty medical groups," said Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, AMGA's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The strength of the program and the brilliant faculty from our member groups, presenting in our peer-to-peer breakout sessions, attract the best and brightest in health care. AMGA is honored to be the host and facilitator of this event, and we will continue to provide strong educational programming and benefits and services to help our medical group members become successful organizations, delivering the highest quality care to their patients."

AMGA's conference theme, "Learning from the Best," reflects the high caliber of conference presenters, particularly in the lively peer-to-peer track sessions. Leaders of the nation's top healthcare organizations present case studies and innovative solutions that have been successful in making much-needed operational changes to provide high-quality patient care, improve the bottom line, and implement innovative e-health technologies. In addition, specific tracks provide updates of legislative and regulatory issues affecting medical groups. General session presentations address key challenges health care leaders face daily: preparing for changes in the healthcare landscape, leading for optimal organizational performance, and effectively branding services for patients and other consumer groups.

AMGA's 2006 Annual Conference will take place March 10-13 at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, Texas. For more details of AMGA's meetings, activities, benefits, and services, visit www.amga.org.

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents medical groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the multispecialty medical group model of healthcare delivery and for the patients served by medical groups through innovation and information sharing, benchmarking, leadership development, and continuous striving to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver health care to more than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 million capitated lives. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance.