The PriceWaterHouseCoopers 180 Conference

The PWC 180 Conference is an invitation only annual event in Washington DC. I was lucky enough to attend this years event at the "W" hotel in downtown DC, just across from the Treasury building. The opening event featured a panel conversation with notable figures like Malcolm Gladwell, Eric Topol and Esther Dyson, among others. The theme really struck home with me, namely, connecting with the healthcare consumer of the future. Are you a quantifiable selfer?? Do you measure your sleep brain waves with a ZEO and email the results to all of your friends?? Do you compete on line regarding how many miles you swim each day or how tough your morning workout really is?? Apparently, lots of top people in our field do this sort of thing as a matter of routine. We know from solid research that if your friends are healthy, you probably are too and the opposite is also true.I believe we have a lot more to learn about how best to change behavior and this conference gave me some good insights about the work involved. I am not quite ready to broadcast my REM sleep pattern but I am ready to compare workouts and my best running times too---especially if it will inspire others to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Promoting population health is what our school is all about and the PWC 180 Conference gave me all kinds of new ideas. Are you a quantifiable selfer--I did not even recognize the term until a week ago!!! DAVID NASH