TKG's Healthcare Insights - Exploring Healthcare's Critical Issues

Telehealth Policy Gaps: Challenges with Remote PrescribingOn May 11th, the Public Health Emergency (PHE) and some of the provisions that supported the explosive growth of telehealth, will expire, leaving telehealth providers scrambling to address some of the challenges of proving remote care.My special guest in this episode is Dori Martini, Vice President of Operations and Regulatory Affairs for Circle Medical, a large, multi-state, contemporary, personalized primary care practice that offers high quality care, both in person, and via telemedicine. They are an affiliate of the University of California at San Francisco.Dori has an impressive understanding of the gaps – especially policy gaps - becoming evident in the day-to-day use of telehealth. In this episode, she shares some unique “best practices” in working around a few of the gaps and some practical ideas for managing your remote patients.

Circling the Wagons… to Solve Real Problems in NeurologyIt is estimated that globally, one in six people are affected by a health issue that includes some form of a neurological disorder. Within the United States, as many as 100 million people are having some kind of an issue related to a neurological disorder. Add to that the explosion of breakthrough new therapies for challenging neurologic diseases and disorders, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, epilepsy, migraines, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and ALS. The field of neurology is growing rapidly and the demand for services from this specialty is way outpacing capacity. It's an exciting, yet challenging, moment in the treatment of neurological disorders!Our special guests today are the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer from DENT Neurologic Institute and NeuroNet Pro, Joe Fritz and Christine Mann. They are the leading experts in the business side of neurology, and we are going to dig into this unique specialty in today's episode.

"Period Poverty"... a Taboo Topic?Unfortunately, there are some issues in healthcare that seem to get ignored, or simply don't get discussed appropriately, and today's topic is one of these challenging issues.   In many circles, menstruation is a topic that is difficult to discuss openly, which complicates the challenges of period poverty. Today we explore the challenges of period poverty and how that may contribute to the significant global problem of Iron deficiency in reproductive age women.Our special guests today are Mindy Olivarez, Vice President of Innovation at The Kinetix Group, and Michela Bedard, the Executive Director at PERIOD, a nonprofit that aims to support individuals affected by challenging menstrual cycle issues.For mor information on PERIOD, visit their website at Peroid.org.

NCCN Policy & Advocacy Priorities Supporting high quality cancer care through the NCCN Guidelines is a strategic pillar for the NCCN. Alyssa Schatz is the Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. She shares the current strategic priorities for her team in this week's episode.

Musical Chairs... Improving Infusion Therapy“Musical Chairs”… how are we managing infusion center operations amid the financial and staffing woes of a healthcare system exhausted from nearly 3 years of a roller coaster ride due to the pandemic? Our guests for this episode are Christine Mann, Chief Operating Officer and Director of the DENT Infusion Center, DENT Neurologic Institute, and Andre' Diamant, Chief Executive Officer of Gray Oncology Solutions. Both are experts in infusion therapy operations.

Who trains surgeons what medications to prescribe?We don't often think about surgeons as being significant prescribers of medications, but they actually prescribe a lot of medications and help patients manage their medications, as they prepare for and recover from a surgical procedure.  And in today's world of team based care, the surgeon is actively engaged in patient care planning. So how does a surgeon learn what medications to prescribe?  Our special guest on this episode is Dr. Andrew Smedley, a PGY2 general surgery resident at the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Impact of Operating Room Shut Downs Due to Staffing ShortagesA recent article in the Boston Globe raised a red alert on hospital operating rooms being temporarily closed due to staffing shortages and other pandemic related challenges. In the article, Dr. Eric Dickson, CEO of UMass Memorial Health, reported that, “… closing ORs is a near daily event.” He stated that UMass Memorial has nearly 2,000 staff vacancies, including 500 openings for nurses, making it hard to keep the ORs functioning at normal capacity. In the article, Mass General Brigham, Beth Israel Lahey, and Lowell General all reported similar challenges in keeping their operating rooms open.Our special guest on this episode is Richard Palarea, CEO of Kermit PPI, a Baltimore-based healthcare cost reduction and spend management company focused on maximizing operating room efficiencies and profitability. Rich is an expert in hospital OR operations and has seen the good and bad side of healthcare systems from a business and management perspective.

Advancing Health Equity: Individual Point of Care SolutionsHealth equity is a complex issue, with a broad range of governmental, social service, and health care stakeholders who are wrestling with these issues. My guests today are The Kinetix Group's four summer interns. They've been researching the  challenges of improving health equity and how each of us can make a positive contribution to achieving the Quadruple of Aim of enhancing patient experience, improving population health, reducing costs, and improving the work life of health care providers and staff. In this episode, we explore how some innovative point of care solutions to help advance health equity.

Advancing Health Equity: How are we doing?Health equity is a complex issue, with a broad range of governmental, social service, and health care stakeholders who are wrestling with these issues. My guests today are The Kinetix Group's four summer interns. They've been researching the  challenges of improving health equity and how each of us can make a positive contribution to achieving the Quadruple of Aim of enhancing patient experience, improving population health, reducing costs, and improving the work life of health care providers and staff.

Advancing Health Equity: Using Data and Technology to Improve Outcomes.Health equity is a complex issue, with a broad range of governmental, social service, and health care stakeholders who are wrestling with these issues. My guests today are The Kinetix Group's four summer interns. They've been researching the  challenges of improving health equity and how each of us can make a positive contribution to achieving the Quadruple of Aim of enhancing patient experience, improving population health, reducing costs, and improving the work life of health care providers and staff. In this episode, we explore how stakeholders can come together to collaboratively work on advancing health equity.

Are Staffing Shortages Increasing Adverse Events?In March, The Advisory Board reported on the Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2022 according to ECRI, a 60-year-old nonprofit committed to the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare. ECRI publishes an annual report on safety concerns and this year, number one on their list is “Staffing Shortages.” ECRI stated that, “Adverse events… were happening because the staff… were exhausted, and that contributes to human error.”The Advisory Board cited other research that found nurses are 67% more likely to have a failure of patient safety when working overtime, and that insufficient staffing is the number 1 factor influencing nurses' intention of leaving their current position. Today's guest is Mark Lloyd, Senior Vice President at Guideway Care, a tech-enabled, patient activation, and care navigation company, that is addressing staffing shortages and clinical team exhaustion with care guidance and navigation. Email us at: oncology@thekinetixgroup.com#TKGoncology.com

The Unintended Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Drug PricesRecently, we attended the Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association's annual meeting in Boston, where we presented research our team did on the effect of Medicaid Expansion on the price of drugs. We were curious about the impact of Medicaid Expansion on the price of drugs, which is one of the more significant topics of discussion these days. What we discovered is that there may be some unintended consequences on drug pricing.

Hospital Flash Report: January was Devastating for Finances In February, Kaufman Hall published their Hospital Flash report that showed hospital finances in major distress mode, following the end of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or, CARES Act, funding. They reported that in January the median change in operating margin without CARES decreased 71.3 percent; operating room minutes fell by 15.7 percent; the average length of stay rose 8.6 percent; labor expense per adjusted discharge jumped 14.6 percent; and total expense per adjusted discharge increased 11.6 percent. Sounds like a bad start to 2022… Our guest is Mike Blair, Chief Financial Officer at CentraCare Health in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Genetic Testing Errors Negatively Impact Therapeutic Decision MakingIn this episode, we continue our discussion with Meagan Farmer and Danielle Bonadies as we discuss how the Top Errors in Genetic Testing may be negatively affecting therapeutic decision making. We also discuss ways that life science companies may be able to appropriately support the accurate interpretation of genetic testing results and make sure patients receive the right therapy for their situation. To help you understand this issue better, The Kinetix Group has developed an infographic that summarizes the Top Errors in Genetic Counseling and some of the findings from the patient case studies highlighted in today's episode. If you would like a copy of this infographic, titled, “Challenges and Errors in Genetic Testing Negatively Impact Therapeutic Decision-Making,” please email me directly or send a request to our podcast email address: oncology@thekinetixgroup.com. I would be happy to send you a free copy.#TKGOncology

Top Errors in Genetic Testing Negatively Impact Therapeutic Decision MakingIn today's episode we take a look at some of the significant challenges and errors we are seeing in the use of genetic and genomic testing, as they become mainstreamed into our clinical treatment protocols. Today we highlight the Top Errors in Genetic Testing and how these errors may be impacting therapeutic decision making. To help you understand this issue better, The Kinetix Group has developed an infographic that summarizes the Top Errors in Genetic Counseling and some of the findings from the patient case studies highlighted in today's episode. If you would like a copy of this infographic, titled, “Challenges and Errors in Genetic Testing Negatively Impact Therapeutic Decision-Making,” please email me directly or send a request to our podcast email address: oncology@thekinetixgroup.com. I would be happy to send you a free copy.#TKGOncology, #genetictesting

The Battle over Site-of-CareIn this episode, my good friend and colleague, Ellen Feinstein, and I continue our debrief of the December Oncology Thought Leader's panel meeting. Today, we focus on how our panel member's are handling their battles over Site-of-Care, also some of their thoughts on care redesign, as well as looking at care coordination and patient navigation to help address social determinants of health. December's meeting was particularly insightful. This is part 2 of our Oncology Thought Leaders meeting debrief. #TKGOncology

Critical Issues Facing Academic Cancer CentersA few weeks ago, we hosted our December meetings of the Oncology Thought Leaders Network, a part of TKG's Networks of Excellence, where we discussed many of the critical issues in cancer center administration and care delivery.  In this episode, we debrief our Thought Leader's discussion on the top issues "keeping cancer center leadership up at night." #TKGOncology

Genetic Testing – Leveraging Results to Identify Patients for New Therapies Today's guest is Danielle Bonadies, a master's trained genetic counselor and the Director of Genetics for My Gene Counsel. Danielle co-authored a poster presentation at the annual conference of the National Society of Genetic Counselors in September. The study highlighted the explosive growth of genetic and genomic testing and tracked the number of notifications and updates to genetic medical management and risk profiling guidelines. In this  episode, Danielle shares ideas about how to leverage genetic testing for clinical trial recruitment, as well as being able to quickly identify patients who might benefit from a new therapy. www.TKGOncology.com

Genetic Testing – Managing Updates to Medical Management and Risk Profiling Today's guest is Danielle Bonadies, a master's trained genetic counselor and the Director of Genetics for My Gene Counsel. Danielle co-authored a poster presentation at the annual conference of the National Society of Genetic Counselors in September. The study highlighted the explosive growth of genetic and genomic testing and tracked the number of notifications and updates to genetic medical management and risk profiling guidelines. Danielle shares how this study suggests just how much patients and providers may be struggling to keep up with all of the new information. www.TKGOncology.com

Melissa Childress, COO, Seidman Cancer Center - People & Process Driven InnovationIn this episode of TKG's Healthcare Insights, we will be highlighting the findings from our Oncology Thought Leaders  meeting discussion on  People and Process Driven Innovations coming out of the COVID pandemic, and exploring some of these issues in a little more detail. Melissa Childress is the Chief Operating Officer for the University Hospitals, Seidman Cancer Center, in Cleveland Ohio. www.TKGOncology.com

PART 2- Understanding the Complexities U.S. Drug Price ContractingThere has been a ton of talk about the need for “transparent pricing,” as well as controlling the cost of drugs in the US. There seems to be a lot of finger pointing going on and it often looks like the providers and the manufacturers are taking a lot of the heat…!?Our special guest today is Antonio Ciaccia, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder, of 3 Axis Advisors. I had the privilege of hearing Antonio speak at a recent Midwest Business Group on Health webinar, and I asked Antonio to please help us understand the complexities of the drug distribution channel and how this system can really muddy the waters in our pursuit of more transparency in this segment of the healthcare system.Please note that the views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on this episode, are those of the guest(s), and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of The Kinetix Group and our staff, clients, or customers.www.TKGOncology.com

PART 1 - Understanding the Complexities of US Drug Price Contracting There has been a ton of talk about the need for “transparent pricing,” as well as controlling the cost of drugs in the US. There seems to be a lot of finger pointing going on and it often looks like the providers and the manufacturers are taking a lot of the heat…!?Our special guest today is Antonio Ciaccia, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder, of 3 Axis Advisors. I had the privilege of hearing Antonio speak at a recent Midwest Business Group on Health webinar, and I asked Antonio to please help us understand the complexities of the drug distribution channel and how this system can really muddy the waters in our pursuit of more transparency in this segment of the healthcare system.Please note that the views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on this episode, are those of the guest(s), and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of The Kinetix Group and our staff, clients, or customers.www.TKGOncology.com

Part 2 - Technology Driven Innovations in Cancer Care; Amy Porter-Tacoronte, Duke HealthIn this episode of TKG's Healthcare Insights, we continue our discussion, highlighting the findings from our Oncology Thought Leaders meeting discussion on  Technology Driven Innovations coming out of the COVID pandemic, and exploring some of these issues in a little more detail.  Our special guest is Amy Porter-Tacoronte. Amy is a longtime healthcare executive and Thought Leader panel member, who currently serves as the Vice Chair of Administration and Finance, and Chief Administrative Officer, for the Department of Medicine at Duke Health and the Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, North Carolina. Please note that the views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on this episode, are those of the guest(s), and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of The Kinetix Group and our staff, clients, or customers.#TKGOncologyTKGoncology.com

Part 1 - Technology Driven Innovations in Cancer Care; Amy Porter-Tacoronte, Duke HealthIn this episode of TKG's Healthcare Insights, we highlight the findings from our Oncology Thought Leaders meeting discussion on  Technology Driven Innovations coming out of the COVID pandemic, and exploring some of these issues in a little more detail.  Our special guest is Amy Porter-Tacoronte. Amy is a longtime healthcare executive and Thought Leader panel member, who currently serves as the Vice Chair of Administration and Finance, and Chief Administrative Officer, for the Department of Medicine at Duke Health and the Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, North Carolina. Please note that the views and opinions expressed by the guest(s) on this episode, are those of the guest(s), and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of The Kinetix Group and our staff, clients, or customers.#TKGOncologyTKGoncology.com

Advancing Patient-Centered Care – Part 2 Each summer, The Kinetix Group brings in several student interns, to explore the critical issues in healthcare, and learn alongside the TKG team. In this episode of TKG's Healthcare Insights, we will be highlighting the findings from three of our summer intern's research projects, focused on “Adopting Patient-Center Care.” The team looked at patient centered care from four distinct perspectives: Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health; Digital Health Trends, including Telehealth; Population Health Management; and how the use of big data has helped to reshape patient care over the last year. This year's summer interns are Danielle Dror, from Tulane University, Prem Shah, from Temple University, and Ava Ritchie, from the University of Southern California. All three are students pursuing degrees in healthcare.

Advancing Patient-Centered Care – Part 1Each summer, The Kinetix Group brings in several student interns, to explore the critical issues in healthcare, and learn alongside the TKG team. In this episode of TKG's Healthcare Insights, we will be highlighting the findings from three of our summer intern's research projects, focused on “Adopting Patient-Center Care.” The team looked at patient centered care from four distinct perspectives: Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health; Digital Health Trends, including Telehealth; Population Health Management; and how the use of big data has helped to reshape patient care over the last year. This year's summer interns are Danielle Dror, from Tulane University, Prem Shah, from Temple University, and Ava Ritchie, from the University of Southern California. All three are students pursuing degrees in healthcare.TKGOncology.com

Oncology Thought Leaders Meeting Debrief – PART 3A few weeks ago, we hosted our quarterly meeting of the Oncology Thought Leaders network, a part of TKG's Networks of Excellence, where we discussed three critical issues in cancer center administration and care delivery. This is part 3 of a 3 Part discussion with our good friend, colleague, and Thought Leaders panel member, Ellen Feinstein. The Kinetix Group is dedicated to advancing the Quadruple Aim and to that end, we have organized several strategic, Networks of Excellence, to provide our team with insights, directional focus, and opportunities to collaborate on specific research and operational work projects. The Oncology Thought Leaders Network is a group of 16 senior level oncology executives from across the country, who bring a multidisciplinary perspective to the critical issues facing the delivery of high quality cancer care. This group meets virtually each quarter, as well as provides ad hoc input and support for various client projects, grant funded research, informational podcasts, and answering TKGOncology.com

Oncology Thought Leaders Meeting Debrief – PART 2A few weeks ago, we hosted our quarterly meeting of the Oncology Thought Leaders network, a part of TKG's Networks of Excellence, where we discussed three critical issues in cancer center administration and care delivery. This is part 2 of a 3 Part discussion with our good friend, colleague, and Thought Leaders panel member, Ellen Feinstein. The Kinetix Group is dedicated to advancing the Quadruple Aim and to that end, we have organized several strategic, Networks of Excellence, to provide our team with insights, directional focus, and opportunities to collaborate on specific research and operational work projects. The Oncology Thought Leaders Network is a group of 16 senior level oncology executives from across the country, who bring a multidisciplinary perspective to the critical issues facing the delivery of high quality cancer care. This group meets virtually each quarter, as well as provides ad hoc input and support for various client projects, grant funded research, informational podcasts, and answering TKGOncology.com

Oncology Thought Leaders Meeting Debrief – PART 1A few weeks ago, we hosted our quarterly meeting of the Oncology Thought Leaders network, a part of TKG's Networks of Excellence, where we discussed three critical issues in cancer center administration and care delivery. In this episode of TKG's Healthcare Insights, we highlight the findings from our meeting and exploring some of the issues in a little more detail. Today's special guest is a great friend, colleague, and Thought Leader panel member, Ellen Feinstein. Ellen is a longtime oncology and healthcare executive, and we highly value Ellen's expertise in oncology administration, service line management, and healthcare leadership. The Kinetix Group is dedicated to advancing the Quadruple Aim and to that end, we have organized several strategic, Networks of Excellence, to provide our team with insights, directional focus, and opportunities to collaborate on specific research and operational work projects. The Oncology Thought Leaders Network is a group of 16 senior level oncology executives from across the country, who bring a multidisciplinary perspective to the critical issues facing the delivery of high quality cancer care. This group meets virtually each quarter, as well as provides ad hoc input and support for various client projects, grant funded research, informational podcasts, and answering TKGOncology.com

Supporting Precision Medicine with Genetic Testing PART 2: Exploring the Gaps in Patient Care In this episode, our guest, Meagan Farmer, a Master's Trained Genetic Counselor, discusses several key gaps in patient care, including how well patients understand what they are consenting to when getting a test, the need for long term review of changes in medical knowledge that may impact a patients' initial findings, how public opinion and consumerism are affecting the demand for personal genome profiling, and some of the identified disparities that need to be addressed.  Special thanks to our guest, Meagan Farmer, for sharing her time and expertise with us. www.TKGOncology.comMeagan B. Farmer MS, MBA, LCGC  Genetic Clinical Operations DirectorMeagan@MyGeneCounsel.comMyGeneCounsel.com

Supporting Precision Medicine with Genetic Testing PART 1: Understanding the Complexities of Genetic TestingIn this episode, we take a look at the challenges of managing complex cancer diagnoses and treatments with the help of genetic and genomic testing. Meagan Farmer is a Master's trained Genetic Counselor and provides an overview of the differences between genetic and genomic testing and what physicians are looking for when ordering a test. She also highlights some of the challenges with the massive amount of genetic data that comes from the testing and how that needs to be interpreted by physicians… and how overwhelming that can be.www.TKGOncology.com Meagan B. Farmer MS, MBA, LCGC  Genetic Clinical Operations DirectorMeagan@MyGeneCounsel.comMyGeneCounsel.com

Cardio-Oncology: Addressing Cardio-Toxicities from Cancer TreatmentCancer treatments have improved significantly over the last 40 years, with much improved outcomes for 5-year survival. In 1975, a cancer diagnosis came with a projected overall 5-year survival rate of less than a 50%. Today, the overall five-year survival rate is close to 70%, and for some disease groups, like breast cancer, the rate is much higher, especially if detected at an early stage. Cancer treatments  have the potential to be hard on other organs of the body and some  are especially hard on the heart and vascular systems. Many drug therapies, as well as radiation therapy, can have negative long term effects on the heart, if not managed correctly. Cardio-Oncologists bridge the gap between the oncologist and the cardiologist, to help prevent and/or manage the long term effects of cancer treatments on the heart. 

Part 2 of 3 - A Look at the LiteratureIn today's episode, we continue a 3 part series, exploring how increasing financial toxicity in cancer care is impacting patients' adherence to self-administered oral medications. Part 2 explores some of the literature that describes the financial impact of a cancer diagnosis on an individual and their family. A transcript of this podcast, including all of the references, can be found at our website, TKGOncology.com, on our resources page.

Part 1 of 3 - The Burden of TreatmentIn today's episode, we begin a 3 part series, exploring how increasing financial toxicity in cancer care is impacting patients' adherence to self-administered oral medications. Part one defines the term Financial Toxicity and describes the "Total Burden of Treatment" as first reported by Carl May. A transcript of this podcast, including all of the references, can be found at our website, TKGOncology.com, on our resources page.

Part 2 - Dr. Marty Heslin talks about the New Normal for cancer careDr. Marty Heslin is the new Cancer Center Director for the University of South Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute in Mobile, Alabama. He is a Surgical Oncologist, and has spent the last 25 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System, where he most recently served as the Chief of the Medical Staff, and Executive Vice Chair of Surgery. In PART 2 of our interview, Dr. Heslin shares his thoughts on how the delivery of cancer care was impacted by the challenges we all faced in 2020. In this episode, Dr. Heslin outlines his thoughts on the critical success factors for cancer centers as we move forward into the “new normal.” He also makes recommendations for how pharmaceutical companies can appropriately align with cancer centers around the shared values of improving patient outcomes. 

Part 1 - Dr. Marty Heslin talks about the New Normal for cancer careDr. Marty Heslin is the new Cancer Center Director for the University of South Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute in Mobile, Alabama. He is a Surgical Oncologist, and has spent the last 25 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System, where he most recently served as the Chief of the Medical Staff, and Executive Vice Chair of Surgery. In this episode  we take a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the delivery of cancer care. 2020 has been a transformative year in many different ways… not all bad… even amid the challenges there have been some tremendously positive innovations and changes that will help us improve patient care for the future. We are all scrambling to understand what the “New Normal” might look like.  In PART 1 of our interview, Dr. Heslin shares his thoughts on how the delivery of cancer care was impacted by the challenges we all faced in 2020. He speaks at length about how patients, hospitals, physicians, and clinical teams reacted to the pandemic and have demonstrated incredible resilience and fortitude throughout this last year.  He also shares his findings of what he refers to as a “market research tour” of the cancer centers and hospitals within his new service area, to hear directly from these key stakeholders, what is most important them in the delivery of cancer care and what they need from a clinical partner like the Mitchell Cancer Institute. 

Part 2 - Examining the Implications of Clinical Pathways on the Oncology MarketplaceIn Part 1  of this conversation, Ron talked about the increasing use of clinical treatment pathways by payers and providers to influence formulary decision making. In Part 2, we continue this discussion with Ron sharing his insights coming from their firm's syndicated reports, as well as his thoughts on how life science companies should be training their field teams to be navigating these complex issues.Ron Schleif can be reached at RSchleif@OncologyRM.com 

Part 1 - Examining the Implications of Clinical Pathways on the Oncology MarketplaceIn this episode, we start a two-part discussion with Ron Schleif, co-founder and Principle of Oncology Reimbursement Management, a consulting and research services firm that helps life sciences companies determine whether their oncology products are positioned for maximum success. We ask Ron about the increasing use of oncology clinical pathways by payers and providers. Ron shares insights from a presentation he made at last year's  CONFERA conference  entitled, “Examining the Implications of Clinical Pathways on the Oncology Marketplace." The focus of today's conversation is on clinical treatment pathways and the different models being used to reduce variation in care, enhance quality of care, and maximize clinical and economic outcomes.Ron Schleif can be reached at RSchleif@OncologyRM.com 

Unlocking the Secrets for Success in CIN's, ACO's, and Value Based Care Initiatives.In this episode, we interview one of The Kinetix Group's business partners, Marc Miller, President and Managing Partner of Health Strategies, LLC, a firm that specializes in supporting Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs), Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and other population health initiatives.  Marc shares some of the secrets for success, as well as the top mistakes and wrong assumptions he has seen health systems and payers make, when managing these types of models. Marc can be reached at www.myhealthstrategies.org.

Challenges Facing State Medicaid Programs Our special guest today is Dr. Len Fromer, Executive Medical Director for the The Kinetix Group. Dr. Fromer is a Family Physician who has done a lot of work with many state Medicaid programs, helping build infrastructure to support delivering higher quality health care to the most vulnerable populations. Dr. Fromer shares what he sees as some of the critical issues facing state Medicaid programs, as well as recommendations for how industry can better align with the needs and issues facing these programs.Correction: In Dr. Fromer's introduction, we need to correct that he was a past diplomate of both the American Board of Family Practice and the National Board of Medical Examiners, and was a member of the advisory board of the state of California IMAP (Integrating Medicine and Public Health) program on allergy and asthma. 

Understanding Oral Parity LegislationIn today's episode, we explore state and federal Oral Parity Legislation. The Oral Parity legislation initiatives attempt to address the substantial out-of-pocket costs that patients are facing when their insurance covers medications under their pharmacy benefit plan as opposed to their major medical benefits. To date, a total of forty-three (43) states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of oral parity laws, intended to create parity in patient out-of-pocket costs between the major medical and pharmacy benefits for cancer medications. However, state laws apply only to state-regulated insurance plans that do not fall under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) laws, and there is wide variation in the laws that states do have in place.  As a result, only a small fraction of the affected patient population is addressed by state parity laws.  Federal legislation has been proposed multiple times over the last 12 years, but has not been passed into law.

Moving the Needle on Patient Satisfaction without  Adding to Provider BurnoutIn today's episode, we explore patient experience, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact that is having on providers and clinical teams.  Our research on patient satisfaction, interestingly, revealed that many clinical teams don't understand what patients really want when it comes to meeting their expectations. We also discuss the 2020 Medscape National Physician Burnout and Suicide Report, which documented a burnout rate of about 43% among physicians, and how this might affect the patient experience.In our final segment, we talk about ways that business partners to clinical teams can help reduce some of the stresses facing providers.

Growth of Technology and its Impact on the Cost of Business - Key FindingsCohosts Warren Smedley, Neal Peyser, and Sarah Pugh review and discuss key findings from TKG's December 8, 2020 Health System Executive Advisory Board on Health System Performance. The highest priority issue identified by our panel was the explosive growth of technology within the patient care setting, and how health systems have addressed the high cost of this technology. This episode focuses on the key insights discussed by our panel on this important topic.TKG's Healthcare Insights: The purpose of this podcast series is to provide up-to-date healthcare insights from leading experts on healthcare operations, leadership, clinical protocols, and policies. We will be exploring the critical issues, challenges, and trends in healthcare, with a focus on achieving the Quadruple Aim to enhance patient experience, improve population health, reduce cost, and improve the work life of health care providers and staff.