The Leapfrog Conference on the Future of Hospital Governance: Quality at the Leading Edge will take place January 28–29, 2008, at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel Santa Monica in Santa Monica, California. This national conference, designed to address the critical role that hospital and health system boards play in driving quality and value in American health care, was organized and will be hosted by The Leapfrog Group and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with assistance from Ropes & Gray LLP and Ki Associates.

Designed for hospital and health system trustees, senior executives, and those in the legal, accounting, and insurance industries who support hospital and health system boards, this conference will address a range of interrelated issues germane to the hospital or health system board's role in driving quality. Topics will include:

• How health care quality is defined and measured
• The National Quality Forum Call to Responsibility for Healthcare Boards
• Research on the connection between governance and quality
• The effect of board involvement in quality issues on access to capital and D & O insurance
• The appropriate role for system and subsidiary boards in assuring quality
• What a board needs to understand in evaluating technological initiatives
• The legal issues associated with quality matters