The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast

The Southwest Airlines Theory of Healthcare Transformation | Iora Health Co-Founder Rushika Fernandopulle

Dec 9, 2024

Rushika Fernandopulle shares his remarkable journey of merging medicine with business, creating a billion-dollar healthcare company. He discusses the 'Southwest Airlines Theory' of healthcare transformation and emphasizes the need for a consumer-driven approach. The conversation highlights unique funding stories, including an investment from Zappos' Tony Hsieh, and critiques tech giants' struggles in reshaping healthcare. Fernandopulle advocates breaking the traditional employment-insurance link for real reform, showcasing his entrepreneurial resilience and innovative vision.

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ADVICE

Mitigate Risk

Physicians shouldn't be risk-averse when considering entrepreneurship.
They can always return to medicine if their venture fails.

INSIGHT

True Goal of Healthcare

Healthcare has a problem with short-term profit-seeking.
The true goal should be patient care and system improvement, with profit as a byproduct.

INSIGHT

Culture is Key

Building successful companies starts with creating a strong culture.
Attract great people aligned with a shared transformative purpose.

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Twenty years before value-based care became a healthcare buzzword, Rushika Fernandopulle was told he had to choose: be a doctor or join "the dark side" of business. Instead, he chose both – building Iora Health from a bootstrapped startup into a billion-dollar healthcare company. In this candid conversation, Fernandopulle reveals the unconventional journey that helped transform American healthcare, from midnight meetings in Las Vegas speakeasies to breaking every rule in the traditional medical playbook.

We cover:

💡 How bootstrapping for 7 years shaped Iora Health's success

🛫 The "Southwest Airlines Theory" of healthcare transformation

💰 The midnight meeting that led to a $4M investment from Zappos' Tony Hsieh

🔄 Why the employment-insurance link needs to break for real healthcare reform

🏢 The challenges tech giants face in transforming healthcare

💪 Why refusing to take "no" for an answer is Rushika's entrepreneurial superpower

About our guest:

Rushika Fernandopulle is a practicing physician and former Chief Innovation Officer of One Medical, a leading Advanced Primary Care company based in San Francisco, CA. Before this, he was co-founder and CEO of Iora Health, was the first Executive Director of the Harvard Interfaculty Program for Health Systems Improvement, and Managing Director of the Clinical Initiatives Center at the Advisory Board Company. He is a member of the Albert Schweitzer, Ashoka, Aspen, and Salzburg Global Fellowships, and is co-author or editor of several publications. He serves on the staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital and on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. He earned his A.B., M.D., and M.P.P. from Harvard University, and completed his clinical training at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

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