Value-Based Oncology at Scale: Inside Thyme Care

21 snips

Sep 29, 2025

Guest

Brad Diephuis, MD

Robin Shah, Co-founder and CEO of Thyme Care, champions patient-centered oncology, while Bobby Green, MD, emphasizes integrating value-based care and improving care delivery. Brad Diephuis, MD, focuses on scaling operations and safe AI integration. They discuss systemic failures in cancer care, the need for sustainable tech solutions, and how their model is reshaping patient journeys for over 83,000 individuals. Insights include the role of AI in extending clinician capabilities and the importance of personalization at scale for better patient outcomes.

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ANECDOTE

Founding Moment: A Life Saved Fast

Robin Shah recounts a 2019 case where a friend's mother faced a five-week wait for suspected pancreatic cancer.
Robin's father intervened, got care in 72 hours, and the patient had a good outcome, inspiring TimeCare's founding.

INSIGHT

System, Not People, Causes Breakdowns

Brad Diephuis illustrates routine breakdowns: results posted to portals go unread and patients miss timely care.
These failures happen at top centers and reflect system design gaps, not clinician incompetence.

ADVICE

Pair Tech With Value-Based Incentives

Bobby Green advises pairing technology with value-based contracts to build a sustainable cancer care business.
Address incentives with payers and risk-bearing providers before relying solely on tech.

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Cancer care in the U.S. costs over $250 billion each year, and nearly 2 million Americans receive a new diagnosis annually, yet too often the journey begins with silence: no call, no plan, no guide.

In this episode, a16z’s Vineeta Agarwala and Jay Rughani talk with Thyme Care leaders Robin Shah (cofounder and CEO), Bobby Green, MD (president and CMO), and Brad Diephuis, MD (president and COO) about rebuilding oncology around the patient. They cover where the system breaks, how navigation plus value-based contracts align incentives, how AI can extend clinicians, and what scale looks like today, more than 83,000 active patients. A concise blueprint for truly patient-centered cancer care.

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction
1:47 Personal Stories & Early Days of Time Care
5:27 Building the Team & Mission
7:07 The Patient Journey: Where the System Fails
9:58 Why Tech Hasn’t Solved Cancer Care (Yet)
15:45 Scaling Impact: Growth & Partnerships
17:45 How Time Care Works: Value-Based Care Explained
23:15 Technology, AI, and the Human Touch
37:06 Building for the Future: Generational Impact

Resources:

Find Robin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-shah-8072bb35

Find Bobby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbobbygreen/

FInd Brad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bdiephuis/

Find Vineeta on X: https://x.com/vintweeta

Find Jay on X: https://x.com/JayRughani

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