A Second Opinion with Senator Bill Frist, M.D.

Today I am joined by Tim Manning, an emergency response expert who served as the National Covid-19 Supply Coordinator for the White House Covid Response Team through May of 2022.  Tim’s unique role was created by President Biden to respond to the pandemic, a position he took on after previously serving as FEMA’s deputy administrator for all eight years of the Obama White House.       You’ll want to hear Tim’s fascinating experiences solving for the challenges in our nation’s supply chain, how he made the tough decisions impacting the health and lives of Americans, and what still keeps him up at night on the supply chain horizon. 

Today I am joined by Stu Clark, CEO of Premise Health.  Stu has led Premise since its inception in 2014, and has held executive roles in the direct healthcare industry for more than 20 years, including serving as the CEO of CHS Health Services, Inc.   Stu is a longtime friend, and in our conversation today we discuss how direct healthcare has evolved and is making a difference for both employers and their employees. Stu also shares his dealmaking and acquisition experience, and why you can’t ignore culture – in fact, it’s the most important thing when growing a business. 

Today I am joined by Dr. Anand Shah, a practicing physician and policy maker who has worn multiple hats at the highest levels of our federal health agencies.  Most recently, Dr. Shah served as Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs for the Food and Drug Administration, where he developed and led high-priority FDA policy initiatives. He also served at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, both as senior medical advisor as well as the Chief Medical Officer for CMMI —the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation. He practices as a radiation oncologist specializing in the early detection & treatment of prostate cancer, and he is currently an Operating Advisor to the global private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and serves as a director for a number of healthcare companies.   In our conversation, we dive into the innerworkings of federal health agencies in the midst of a pandemic, we touch on issues like the threat of antimicrobial resistance, and increasing access to breakthrough medical devices. You’ll want to hear Dr. Shah’s experience in bringing new technologies to market, redesigning health care delivery with economic incentives, and expanding competition and consumer choice. All that and much more …   To learn more from Dr. Shah, follow him at:   Twitter: @AnandShahMD LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandshahmd/  

Today I am joined by Dr. Keith Smith, the co-founder of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which provides transparent, affordable healthcare services to patients from all over the country.   Keith is a pioneer of price transparency and affordable healthcare. At his surgery center, patients pay up-front for services at a fraction of their cost at major hospitals. In 2009, Keith launched a website displaying all-inclusive, bundled pricing and co-founded the Free Market Medical Association.   Join us for our conversation today as Keith and I breakdown the impact of transparent pricing in healthcare, why healthcare has historically struggled to fit into traditional markets, and how the narrative of price transparency is changing.

Brian Blase joins us today. He is the founder and president of Paragon Health Institute, a non-partisan, not-for-profit health policy research institute that focuses on free-market policy solutions so that patients can make more informed health care decisions.   Brian previously served as a special assistant for economic policy at the White House’s National Economic Council from 2017-2019.   In our conversation today, Brian and I discuss price transparency—what it means and the rules, regulation, and enforcement being implemented—and the importance of health policy institutes like Paragon and their work seeking to make sure that patients are informed when it comes to healthcare pricing and decisions.

Today our subject is “compassionate leadership” in healthcare – what it is, how it is manifested and how it will improve your own life – and your bottom line.   I am joined by four distinguished healthcare leaders: Founder of Vertice Pharma -- Don DeGolyer; Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of PeopleOne Health—Dr. Zane Gates; former CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota—Dr. Craig Samitt; and, by my good friend and global health activist—Donato Tramuto.   Donato just this month published his book, The Double Bottom Line: How Compassionate Leaders Captivate Hearts and Deliver Results. It is already Number 1 in a number of Amazon book categories. The book specifically defines compassionate leadership, interweaving inspiring stories about healthcare leaders and other leaders putting empathy into action.   Don DeGolyer, Dr. Zane Gates, and Dr. Craig Samitt—each leaders from across the healthcare sector—share how compassion has cultivated their own style of leadership and why compassion is essential to establishing trust and ultimately driving transformational change.   In our conversation today, we breakdown what it means to be a compassionate leader and the myths that surround it; we talk about the importance of tenderness, trust, and toughness; we advocate for the importance of institutionalizing compassion, empathy, and, most importantly, action in our personal and organizational mission and values; and, we discuss how compassion can be used as a basis to better connect and promote unity at the workplace and at home.   You will learn the 9 words that these leaders believe best characterize “compassionate leadership.” You’re going to love it! For more on what we discuss in today’s show, pick up Donato’s new book: The Double Bottom Line: How Compassionate Leaders Captivate Hearts and Deliver Results: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Bottom-Line-Compassionate-Captivate/dp/163908004X

Today I am joined by Dr. Shiv Rao. He is the CEO and co-founder of Abridge, a company using Artificial Intelligence to summarize and structure medical conversations, allowing patients to receive better quality care by improving how they communicate with clinicians.   Shiv is revolutionizing and improving care delivery by reinventing how patients and providers communicate during the examination room and beyond.  He is devoted to reshaping and restructuring the healthcare landscape with a technology that directly benefits patients, payors, and providers alike.   In our conversation today, Shiv and I discuss why the art of conversation is fundamental to quality healthcare, how ambient artificial intelligence is improving patient-provider communication, and the importance of developing innovations and technologies with large scale, reach, and impact.

Today I am joined by Dr. Daniel Stein, the CEO and Founder of Embold Health, a physician led data analytics company.   Daniel is bringing quality measures and improvement to the forefront of medical practice- allowing patients and payors to see how clinicians compare at clinical diagnostics, treatment, and outcomes.   In our conversation today, Daniel and I discuss the impactful innovation taking place at Embold Health, the importance of quality measures and physician evaluation, and how to transparently analyze and assess the quality of care clinicians provide.

Today, Dr. Peter Pronovost joins us. He is the Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, where he is a champion for innovation as well as patient safety and value improvement. His devotion to value improvement in this role reduced Medicare Annual expenditures by 21% over a two-year period.   Nicknamed “Dr. Checklist,” Peter garnered worldwide recognition for a patient safety checklist that he developed. And, in 2008, he received a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” and was named by Time magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People.”   In our conversation today, Peter and I talk about what it means to provide high quality care, about the necessary cultural shifts that are taking place in healthcare, about how even seemingly simple innovations can have long-lasting impacts on providing patients with better care, and about the power of our beliefs, human connection, and love in positively impacting others.   Additional Resources:   University Hospitals’ Journey to Zero Harm: https://vimeo.com/687888354   Pronovost on Love Wins: https://vimeo.com/555014083/162fedf615

Todd Park is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Devoted Health. A leader in the Medicare Advantage space, Devoted was started five years ago and today has a valuation of over $12 billion, and boasts an extraordinary member Net Promoter Score of 79 (higher than Apple, Netflix, and Amazon). Prior to co-founding Devoted, Todd served as U.S. Chief Technology Officer and, in that position, as an Assistant to President Obama. He has had a hand in building some of the most innovative healthcare technology companies today, previously co-founding Athenahealth, a developer of cloud-based healthcare products and electronic health record systems, and Castlight Health, a web-based healthcare shopping service for consumers. In the candid discussion that we’re sharing with you today, Todd reveals the most important quality he looks for when building a team, how he maintains a strong company culture through expansive growth, and why he’s committed to Devoted Health for decades to come.  My conversation with Todd was part of an in-person event on “Transformation and Innovation within Health Care” hosted on March 24th by the Nashville Health Care Council.  Established in 1995, the Council is a premier membership association and has provided a foundation for collaboration in healthcare for nearly 30 years. I want to thank the Nashville Health Care Council for letting us share this event with our listeners.  And special thanks to our event sponsors Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Bass Berry & Sims, Cressey & Company, and LifePoint Health, for making this discussion possible.