Issues management is an often misunderstood specialty of public relations and communication. More than 70% of all business crises arise from something that could have been addressed as an issue, yet few healthcare organizations have proactive issues management programs. Gain an understanding of the public relations function of issues management, learn how to set up and operate an issues management program, and identify the link between issues management and successful crisis management and response. Learn skills of environmental scanning, issue identification, and scenario development as tools to respond to issues before they become crises. A useful issues management checklist and resources bibliography will be given to all attendees at this session.