Ep 28 – Confronting Clinical Variation – Dr. Michael van Duren
The BetterCare Podcast · EvidenceCare
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Show Notes
EvidenceCare’s Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Michael van Duren, current Medical Director at Providence Health Plan and an expert clinical advisor to multiple companies and health systems over the years.
They discuss how health systems can approach the difficult but necessary work of reducing unwarranted clinical variation with practical strategies that engage physicians at an individual level and also make a system-wide impact.
Drawing from his experience at multiple hospitals, Dr. van Duren shares lessons learned from building variation reduction teams, introducing unblinded peer metrics, and helping physicians reflect on practice patterns—without damaging trust or autonomy.
Key Takeaways:
- Clinical variation often stems from well-intentioned physicians lacking the right feedback, not bad actors.
- Peer comparisons can be powerful—but only when backed by clear methodology, timely data, and psychological safety.
- The key to behavior change is curiosity, not control.
- True progress happens when clinicians lead the variation reduction conversation themselves.
Dr. Michael van Duren Bio:
Dr. Michael van Duren is the Medical Director for Medicare/Medicaid & Health Equity at Providence Health Plan. He previously served as a Chief Medical Officer and VP of Variation Reduction at Sutter Health and has advised multiple organizations—including EvidenceCare—on leveraging unblinded metrics and physician engagement to drive sustainable quality and cost improvements.
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