No More Pins on Maps

By Dr. Nick van Terheyden aka Dr. Nick
Twitter: @drnic1
Host of Dr. Nick: The Incrementalist#TheIncrementalist

On this episode I talked to Randy Hawkins, MD Chief Medical Officer of Carrum Health (@CarrumHealth). Randy is an anesthesiologist who practiced medicine in the Navy and has a long career in digital enablement, electronic medical records, and meaningful use.

He is focused on delivering the triad of healthcare to everyone that brings the appropriate treatment, at the right time and at the highest level of quality at the most economic cost. Randy shares his thoughts on the importance of sequencing the elements of care – there is no point in delivering excellent low-cost care if it is not the most appropriate choice, given that 1 in 4 surgeries performed in the U.S. is unnecessary.

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We discuss the importance of the temporal sharing of information and the challenge patients have with the piecemeal way they receive information from different groups. Could the primary care practitioner act as the healthcare navigator or Yoda for the patient that helps with the practice as Randy calls it “Surgical Avoidance”.

We know that there are specialist centers of excellence where we can send patients to receive the best and most economical and appropriate care but the better solution, “No more Pins on the Map” is to think about how to deliver that more broadly and locally. We should be able to find great quality medicine and healthcare everywhere.

Listen in to hear how the burgeoning demand made up of the delayed treatments and surgeries held over from the pandemic that had many places postponing care for their patients. Not only is this a looming financial problem, but because of the delayed care, it is likely to be more complex with patients arriving with more co-morbidities thanks to the delayed treatment and lack of general care many experienced throughout the pandemic. And how bundled payments bring stability to the doctors and the patients and help make lowering costs a reality.

About the Show
For years Dr. Nick van Terheyden aka Dr. Nick, has served as a voice on the impact of new technologies on healthcare, earning a reputation as a leading authority on where the future of medicine is going. Combining powers of observation and real world experience, Dr. Nick has seen many predictions come true and makes the case that innovations in healthcare can be accomplished incrementally, not just by moonshot events. Tune in to hear Dr. Nick: The Incrementalist and his guests discuss what the future of healthcare looks like, how we will get there, and what it will take to improve healthcare for all.

This article was originally published on the Dr. Nick – The Incrementalist blog and is republished here with permission.