360° of Healthcare with Dr. Stan

A few years ago, a gas station/convenience store chain decided to parlay their success in delivering high customer service into a new healthcare endeavor: urgent care. We interviewed them in February 2021 to hear their plans and aspirations. They were entering a fiercely competitive market seemingly saturated already with urgent care facilities. There's a lot in common between running a convenience store and running a gas station, but there's a whole lot more that isn't in common. We catch up with their journey and discuss what they learned, what they expected and what they didn't expect. They also have a lot to say about the state of primary care access and a new-found realization on the social determinants of health. Links: February 2021 360° of Healthcare: Why a gas station decided to start delivering healthcare medwiseuc.com quiktrip.com

Don't think you can make healthcare costs truly transparent? Just do what Washington Health Alliance did: bring together employers, health plans and providers, get a fired-up board of directors, partner up with some experts and build a "Total Cost of Care" online tool that covers all of the counties in the state. Join us in a conversation with Nancy Giunto, Executive Director and Mark Pregler, Director, Data Management and Analytics, as they tell us how this project was incubated and brought to their members. The Alliance also has big plans to provide employers and other stakeholders cost and quality data they need to be good shoppers and good stewards of healthcare resources through use of a new value composite tool.   Learn more about Washington Health Alliance: Total Cost of Care online tool  Washington Health Alliance home page Community Checkup       

Join Shawn Griffin, MD, President and CEO of URAC and your host Stan Schwartz, MD as they discuss what "accreditation" means, who does it, how it should be used by purchasers, and what providers are suitable for accreditation. URAC is one of the nation's most important accrediting agency that looks at diverse services such as pharmacy, telehealth, primary care and more. Dr. Griffin also tells us about his remarkable journey to the leadership of URAC.

Join Dr Stan Schwartz as he interviews Peter Hayes, President and CEO of the the Health Purchaser Alliance of Maine. Peter parlays his 27 years of experience into sound advice for self-funded employers that purchase healthcare for their employees and dependents. We talked about the present and future RAND studies of regional price variation, direct contracting, benefit advisors and getting employers engaged in a single voice. Peter also presents a vignette of what a successful employer has actually done to reduce costs but keep quality high. We also discussed how the fragmentation of primary care (divided among the traditional PCP, telehealth and urgent care) can affect decisions that impact an employer's bottom line on health.

Justin Hunt, MD, is a psychiatrist with Oak Street Health at the forefront of making behavioral health an integral part of primary care. On this episode, we'll explore the benefits a behavioral health specialist brings to primary care, why these services can positively impact health while reducing overall costs and improve productivity.

With a focus on price transparency, Dr. Dickerson's goal was to help patients break the shackles of their current high-cost health plans. With 1,400 clinics and 300,000 lives covered by the Green Imaging network, she is on to something. This is a story of mission-driven entrepreneurship and how one doctor can make a big difference in many lives.