Considering Racial Disparities in Hospitalizations

In our continuation of focusing on health disparities, tracking metrics are paramount to our understanding if our interventions are to be impactful. Monitoring and categorizing hospitalizations are a crucial indicator. One can postulate that if hospitalizations drop within a defined population type and responses have been put in place to drive down such admissions, then such models have… Read More »

Is Private Equity a Friend or Foe When Purchasing A Physician Practice?

The healthcare market continues to consolidate, which is causing an uptick in Private Equity (PE) investment, particularly in dermatology and ophthalmology. PE firms have a tremendous amount of unspent capital and are seeking diversification of their portfolios. Furthermore, their model is to purchase a large physician practice and then add on medium and smaller groups, usually within the… Read More »

How Can Social Media Increase the Use of Preventive Healthcare?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), preventive care services can save 100,000 lives a year. Daily, healthcare systems and providers focus on how to deliver primary prevention services best and how to ensure that the coordination of the payment models is providing such care. However, for optimal success to occur, we need to expand… Read More »

Let’s Speak Up and Stand Together

Unequivocally, on the subject of racism and brutality, silence is a form of consent. Let us not be silent. Let us stand with our communities, and categorically state that brutality of any sort, overt and covert racism, and racial discrimination hurts us as a community and is wrong on every level. From a health equity perspective, we have… Read More »

Coping with the Covid-19 Crisis: Hang in There

It has been a while since I have written about a personal event. As many of you know, my present role has placed me at the forefront of our COVID-19 response. First and foremost, I could not be more blessed than I am for our team and how we, as an organization, have risen to the occasion. Months… Read More »

Peer Comparisons Can Enhance Value

As the healthcare industry continues to focus on value (improved quality and service, and decreased cost), understanding the human dynamics of physician healthcare providers will enhance our ability to drive change. Incentives are foundational, however, money is not always the primary motivator. Behavioral Science postulates that different people respond differently to similar incentives. We know there is a… Read More »

Preconceived Ideas Don’t Always Lead to What We Expect

A commonly held premise of shared decision-making is that the healthcare profession neither adequately gives specific treatment options nor discusses the trade-offs of surgical intervention. Predominantly, the thought is that if more in-depth conversations were to occur concerning the trade-offs, and there is more appropriate management of expectations, the chosen solution would be the more conservative approach. With… Read More »

The Future of Medical Education May Look Drastically Different

During this pandemic, I am blessed to have a son finishing his senior year of college from our home. Candidly, it was fascinating to observe the dynamics of the educational process through a digital platform. It became apparent, rather quickly, that some, but not all professors excelled utilizing the online platforms; and some struggled to hold their student’s… Read More »

Study Shows Social Needs Interventions DO Offer Return on Investment

There is a tremendous amount of focus on the value of social interventions like housing and food stability, on the cost of healthcare. For the benefit of all, we must learn how to investigate the value of these interventions. A recent study in Health Affairs by Kangovi et al. examines the return on investment for an evidenced-based community… Read More »

Investment in Social Determinants of Health is Rising

As we continue to focus on value-based care, with particular attention being put on the social needs of those we serve, how these investments are made is important. Historically, funding for this was part of the public health sector, either by governmental or philanthropic funding. However, as we move towards value-based payment models, other delivery entities begin to… Read More »