The Business of Healthcare Podcast

Dr. David Fajgenbaum joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about innovative solutions for accelerating disease research and discovering treatments for those diseases. Fajgenbaum, an immunologist and an assistant professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, co-founded the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network while urgently searching for a cure to a disease from which he was dying. They also discuss Fajgenbaum's memoir, Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope Into Action (New York: Ballentine Books, 2019).

In this episode, host Dr. Bob Kaiser and Lorna Borenstein, CEO/founder of Grokker, discuss how employers can get a return on their investment in healthcare benefits by providing their employees with wellness programs. They also discuss her book, It's Personal: The Business Case for Caring.

In this episode, host Dr. Bob Kaiser chats with Dr. Andrew Le, founder and CEO of Buoy Health. Le explains why and how he and his team use machine learning to create a web-based tool that helps site visitors gain clinical insight into their symptoms and points them toward various treatment options.

This episode of The Business of Healthcare Podcast kicks off a series of discussions related to artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics. Host Dr. Bob Kaiser speaks with Dr. Ashwin Prakash, chief data scientist at Post Acute Analytics, a North Texas-based company that uses real-time data to monitor the progress of patients who have been released from acute-care facilities. They discuss the basics of AI, machine learning and data analytics and explain how these technologies can be used within a healthcare context to drive innovation, reduce costs and improve health outcomes. Prakash earned a Global Leadership Executive MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management in 2020.

In this episode, host Dr. Bob Kaiser welcomes Dr. Dena Bravata, chief medical officer of Castlight Health, a health navigation platform, for a discussion about how data-driven comparison tools can reduce costs and improve outcomes for patients. White Paper: Castlight's Approach to Quality: Curate, Customize, Communicate

Dr. Esteban López, the market lead at Google Cloud's Healthcare and Life Sciences for the Americas division, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about how technology is disrupting the healthcare industry for the better. Lopez, a 2007 graduate of the Alliance for Physician Leadership Executive MBA program at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas, also discussed how to solve healthcare disparities caused by systemic racism.

Dr. Bob Kaiser visits with Dr. Scott Shreeve, founder, CEO and board member of Crossover Health. Shreeve, an emergency medicine physician, explains how he found a way to scale his vision for a new primary-care model that utilizes technology — an approach often dubbed healthcare 2.0 — to improve access for patients and enhances their quality of life. The company Shreeve founded now counts Apple, Amazon, Comcast, Facebook LinkedIn and other large employers among his customers.

Dr. Naveen Raja, a board-certified rheumatologist and director of population health at UCLA Health, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about population health: what it means, what the implications are for its use in the transition from fee-based to value-based care and how healthcare practitioners' roles are balanced against patients' role in its implementation.

In this episode, host Dr. Bob Kaiser speaks with J. Kevin A. McKechnie, executive director, Health Savings Account Council at the American Bankers Association. They discuss what HSAs are and how they can help consumers with qualifying high-deductible health plans better manage their medical expenses.

Dr. Gordon Chen, chief medical officer at ChenMed, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about how a company turns fee-based care on its head by delivering mission-driven, value-based care to its patients.

Martyn Crew joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about 5G — the latest technology standard for broadband cellular networks — and its implication for the healthcare industry. Crew is director of solutions marketing for Gigamon, a Silicon Valley-based technology vendor that counts healthcare providers among its clients.

In this episode, host Dr. Bob Kaiser has a conversation with Erin Burns Freeman, vice president with Ackermann Marketing & PR, a firm that specializes in consumer research related to millennial preferences that shape the patient experience in healthcare. Freeman explains how millennials behave more as consumers than as patients in making healthcare choices and what providers must do to adjust to these preferences. How Millennials are Changing the What, When & Where of Healthcare (PDF)

Dave Chase, creator and co-founder of Health Rosetta, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss what has happened since his last appearance on The Business of Healthcare Podcast. Chase provides a refresher on the Health Rosetta, a blueprint for massively replicating fixes he says exist for the healthcare industry but have met with resistance from those who want to maintain the status quo. Chase also explains the organization's new initiative, the Health Rosetta Employer Program, and discusses his new book, Relocalizing Health: The Future of Health Care is Local, Open and Independent (Seattle: Health Rosetta Media, 2020).

UT Dallas alumnus Vrunjal (Veer) Mehta, BS'01 Computer Science, MS'03 Software Engineering, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about how the company he founded — Halo Health Systems — is helping to modernize the clinical trial industry. The company's technological focus reduces patient burden and helps clinicians use workflow automation, thus accelerating the drug-development process.

Host Dr. Bob Kaiser is joined by Jonathon Hensley, author, speaker, co-founder and CEO of Emerge Interactive, a Portland, Oregon-based digital product agency focused on the healthcare industry. They discuss how leadership can transform the healthcare industry in the digital space by focusing on the patient experience.

Misha Palecek, chief development officer at DaVita Kidney Care, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss the transition from fee-based to value-based healthcare through the lens of kidney disease. DaVita is a company that provides kidney care and dialysis services both in the U.S. and internationally.

Patti Niles, president and CEO of Dallas-based Southwest Transplant Alliance, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a look into how organ procurement organizations operate. Links discussed: Donate Life Texas: https://www.donatelifetexas.org/ The Joint Commission: https://www.jointcommission.org/

Dr. Brad Spellberg, chief medical officer at LAC+USC Medical Center and medical director of biosciences for Los Angeles County, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about Spellberg's new book, Broken, Bankrupt, and Dying: How to Solve the Great American Healthcare Rip-off. They discuss how U.S. healthcare evolved into a fee-for-service system and how to change it for the better.

Arti Pullins, CEO of Pundit Consultantz, a healthcare innovation and creative services design consultancy, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss how the healthcare industry can use Agile iterative principles commonly found in software development to become more nimble so that they can more quickly improve their quality of patient care one step at a time.

Dr. Jonathan Teich, chief medical information officer at Boston-based InterSystems, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about data related to the COVID-19 pandemic. They discuss how contact tracing and syndromic surveillance can help ameliorate the effects of the pandemic and ultimately help control it. They also discuss how streamlining the sharing of electronic health records will help improve industry efficiencies and health outcomes.

In this episode, host Dr. Bob Kaiser discusses brain health with Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas and co-founder of The BrainHealth Project. They discuss the center's signature program, the BrainHealth® Index, as well as the healthcare industry's imperative to transition from looking at the brain as a problem that needs fixing to looking at it as a solution that can help answer all other human problems.

Craig Antico, co-founder and COO of RIP Medical Debt, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about medical debt — its root causes, what his nonprofit does to help people who are burdened with it and solutions for fixing the problems that cause it. Links discussed in this episode: RIP Medical Debt's End-of-Year Report End Medical Debt Book

Host Dr. Bob Kaiser speaks with telemedicine pioneer Dr. Dan Carlin, founder and CEO of WorldClinic, for a discussion about how virtual healthcare delivery has evolved and what the future holds for it in the age of COVID-19 and smart technology. Links Discussed in Episode: McKinsey Telehealth Report Dan Carlin "Profiles in Success" Biography

Vivian S. Lee, MD, PhD, MBA, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about her new book, The Long Fix, out May 26. Lee, a magnetic resonance imaging radiologist, is president of Health Platforms at Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company. Discussion topics include moving the healthcare paradigm from paying for action, also known as fee-based care, to paying for results, also known as value-based care, and how the patient can play a role as co-producer.

Dr. Christopher Hutson, EMBA'20, a graduate of the Alliance for Physician Leadership's Healthcare Management Executive MBA program at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about why he decided to return to school after successful careers as a military officer in the United States Army and a clinical anesthesiologist. They also discuss why transformation leadership skills for physicians are more important now than ever.

In this episode, Dr. Thomas Shanley, president and CEO of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, speaks with host Dr. Bob Kaiser about taking the organization's helm in December 2019. Other topics include Lurie's vision and strategy going forward, its philanthropic efforts and how the hospital is able to maintain high standards across a wide range of pediatric specialties.

Daniel Karnuta, a senior lecturer in the Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser and co-host Dr. Britt Berrett to discuss how hospitals and other healthcare organizations are adjusting to the negative impacts related to their revenue cycles during the shutdowns necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Pardeep Shori, MS'19, Dr. Pardeep Shori, a family medicine physician who serves as a medical director in post-acute care management at a post-acute care management company, and regional physician consultant for a national retail pharmacy chain, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for an in-depth look at how telemedicine is being used during the COVID-19 pandemic and what implications its current use may hold for the future. Resources mentioned in this episode: American Telemedicine Association Alliance for Connected Care Center of Telehealth and e-Health Law Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Dan Springer, CEO of Lea Regional Medical Center (part of Community Health Systems) in Hobbs, New Mexico, joins Drs. Bob Kaiser and Britt Berrett in this special, supplemental episode. They discuss what LRMC and other hospitals have been doing to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic, the lessons they have learned during the crisis and what their leaders will be doing differently after it is over.

In this special supplemental episode, Matthew Troup, president and CEO of Conway (Arkansas) Regional Health System joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser and co-host . They discuss how CRHS has prepared for special emergencies, what he and his staff are learning day by day as they adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and how these hard-earned lessons will benefit the hospital's future.

In this special, supplemental episode, host Dr. Bob Kaiser brings back former host Dr. Britt Berrett, director of the Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas to discuss immediate plans for The Business of Healthcare Podcast. Berrett will be joining Kaiser as co-host. In future episodes, they will bring on guests to discuss how the healthcare industry is adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pat A. Basu, MD, MBA, a board-certified radiologist and president and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser. They discuss, among other things, CTCA's "Mother Standard" of care, the importance of interdisciplinary education and training in tackling complex healthcare problems, virtual health, how to simplify the healthcare industry, and maintaining high clinical standard while elevating standards related to the patient experience.

Dr. Phillip Alvelda, CEO of Brainworks, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about artificial intelligence and how the healthcare industry can use it to improve patient outcomes.

Benjamin Isgur, who leads the PwC. Health Research Institute, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss the forces that will most powerfully affect the healthcare industry in 2020 and beyond, including truly disruptive medical treatments such as gene and cell therapies and genome editing. Links: Top health industry issues of 2020: Will digital start to show an ROI? (PDF) Beyond the hype: Gene therapies require advanced capabilities to succeed after approval (PDF)

Dr. Pardeep Shori, MS'19, a family medicine physician who serves as a medical director in post-acute care management at a post-acute care management company, and regional physician consultant for a national retail pharmacy chain, visits with Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss how the expansion of CVS HealthHUBS — store-based health services and wellness products for everyday care and chronic conditions — is transforming the healthcare landscape for consumers.

Don Taylor joins Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about how the healthcare industry could better serve society if it focused more on health rather than business outcomes. A retired U.S. Air Force colonel who led a trauma hospital in Iraq in 2006, Taylor coaches, consults, teaches and speaks on leadership, healthcare policy and emerging healthcare industry disruptors. A former hospital CEO and COO, he has nearly 40 years of operational and leadership experience in the healthcare and engineering industries.

Don Woodlock, vice president at InterSystems and head of its HealthShare business unit, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a look at the healthcare industry's current state of digital transformation and what to expect in 2020 and beyond. Relevant links: If Air Travel Worked Like Healthcare Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources

The Business of Healthcare Podcast welcomes back Den Bishop, president of Holmes Murphy & Associates, an independent risk management and insurance brokerage firm. Bishop first appeared on the show in 2018 to discuss health insurance costs. In this episode, Bishop and host Dr. Bob Kaiser discuss the tensions found within the current healthcare coverage landscape against the backdrop of the 2020 presidential election cycle as well as disruptive innovation in the industry. They also discuss the consumer's role in improving health outcomes.

Physician-turned-entrepreneur Dr. Eric Bricker joins Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about healthcare reform through a financial lens. Bricker is a former internal medicine physician who co-founded Compass Professional Health Services. He sold the company to Blackstone-owned Alight Solutions then started AHealthcareZ, a healthcare finance video journal, to educate employers about the factors affecting their healthcare costs and quality. Bricker also discusses his new book, Healthcare Money Campfire Stories, which addresses in storyteller fashion how money influences healthcare and the practice of medicine.

Anthony Iacovone, CEO of BioSymetrics, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about what biomedical artificial intelligence and machine learning are and how they can be used to improve outcomes in the areas of drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and value-based care as well as reduce healthcare costs.

Dr. Paul Convery, a clinical professor of healthcare leadership and management in the Executive Education Area at the Naveen Jindal School of Management joins Dr. Robert Kaiser for a discussion about the various "Medicare for All" bills that have been introduced in the 116th U.S. Congress. Convery also discussed this topic as a panelist at a recent seminar — "Medicare for All: What Does it Really Mean? — presented by the Jindal School's Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management.

In this episode, ConnectRN executives Mike Wood and Idriz Limaj join host Dr. Bob Kaiser remotely from Boston to discuss how they are helping to solve the nursing shortage by streamlining how nurses connect with healthcare facilities to fill open shifts.

Dave Gregorio, founding partner of organizational development company ImPowerQ Associates, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss his company's Heroes to Healthcare Mission. The apprenticeship program helps mid-level enlisted military members who have worked in healthcare fields transition to civilian careers.

Bestselling author Dr. Marty Makary, MD chats with Dr. Bob Kaiser about his new book, The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It.

Dr. John R. Mehall joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss healthcare staffing challenges. Mehall is CEO of CV Staffing Solutions. He explains how the company he founded helps solve those challenges by providing personnel to hospitals in medically underserved geographical areas with locum tenens surgeons. Mehall also founded and manages Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Associates, an independent cardiothoracic surgical group in Colorado.

Ken Robbins, CEO and founder of Response Mine Health, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about what customer-focused healthcare looks like in an environment where patients play a much more active role in purchasing and consuming the healthcare services they receive. They also discuss what healthcare providers can do to make the transition.

Hemp farmer Jim Pollock joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about CBD oil and tries to separate the hype from the reality — its history, explosion in popularity, path to legality and what the future holds for this controversial product.

This episode features language-access experts Esther Diaz and Manuel Higginbotham. They join host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about medical interpretation and translation and its impact on the healthcare industry. Diaz is language-access advocate and co-founder of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators. Higginbotham is language-access manager for The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and president of TAHIT. They discuss training and certification, legal requirements, staffing issues and other complexities related to providing interpretation and translation services for patients who need access to healthcare services. Links to websites discussed during the episode and other useful links: The 13th Annual TAHIT Educational Symposium (Sept. 13-14, 2019 in Houston) American Translators Association (Arlington, Va.) Metroplex Interpreters and Translators Association (Dallas-Fort Worth) Houston Interpreters and Translators Association Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association (Austin, Tex. Location) National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare (Washington)

Dan Klein, president and CEO of Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss how the charity he helms helps underinsured people pay for out-of-pocket expenses. Prescription medications that can treat life-threatening, chronic and rare diseases are often very costly. Klein discuss how PAN has put together a robust network of patient advocacy groups to link patients with resources and support to help defray those costs.

Andrew Thorby, CEO of Care Continuity, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss the challenges the healthcare industry faces as it grapples with aligning financial incentives with quality incentives. They also discuss a LinkedIn article Thorby wrote about the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).