Dear Friends,

We are delighted to invite you to attend our 8th Annual Conference on Comparative Healthcare Systems, this year focusing on the Netherlands. This conference is jointly sponsored by Southern Medical Association and Auburn University College of Business and is a component of the curriculum of Auburn’s Physicians Executive MBA Program. This is an excellent opportunity to interact with practicing physicians, healthcare executives, and government leaders to learn how another culture delivers healthcare to its citizens in a system very different from our own. Many in the US feel a universal health system may be an option for our difficulties and it is good to see the differences and problems associated with such. Even with such a different system, many of the issues we are facing such as uneven quality of care, government sponsored pay for performance programs and patient choice and rights are current considerations of the National Health Service in the Netherlands. Balancing these issues while keeping cost under control may sound familiar.

In addition to the outstanding CME program, you’ll also enjoy the vibrant city of Amsterdam and all its magnificent historic and modern sites. Earn CME and have a fabulous holiday, too. We look forward to seeing you there.

Jean Edwards Holt, MD, MHA, Co-Chair

Rene McEldowney, PhD, Co-Chair