Health Care Rounds

This week John speaks with Dr. David Shulkin, former US Secretary for Veterans Affairs and Chief Innovation Officer for Sanford Health. Dr. Shulkin shares with us his passion for the advocacy of veterans and the importance of public transparency. He speaks on the impact of behavioral health in veterans and shares what he worked on to address this problem. He also discusses his new book, It Shouldn...

If you're like most people, you probably don't know the first thing about perioperative medicine. We didn't either, until John sat down with Dr. Zeev Kain, the founder and president of the American College of Perioperative Medicine. We learned that this emerging field of medicine holds a lot of promise for improving surgical outcomes, lowering costs, and increasing patient satisfaction.  CONN...

It’s the question on everyone’s mind — at least those in health care — what’s wrong with our health care system and how do we fix it? This week, John sits down with Dr. Robert Pearl, host of the popular health care podcast, Fixing Healthcare, for a fascinating discussion. Dr. Pearl was formerly CEO of Permanente Medical Group, one of the largest physician practices in the U.S. and which consistent...

This week, we close out Season 2 of Health Care Rounds with Dr. Andy Lazris. A board-certified internist, Dr. Lazris’ private practice, Columbia, Md.-based Personal Physician Care, is dedicated to providing individualized and comprehensive care for its patients. We found Dr. Lazris on YouTube where he’s better known as the Running Doc Unhinged. Listen today and learn about common sense medical pra...

Other briefs include: Stryker signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wright Medical Group. Amgen will pay $2.7 billion for a 20.5% ownership stake in BeiGene, a research-based, oncology-focused biotech company headquartered in Beijing. The University of Louisville announced that it has completed the acquisition of KentuckyOne Health’s Louisville-area assets from CommonSpirit Health. HealthPartne...

Other briefs include: Insurers will receive $1.59 billion in unpaid subsidies if the federal government follows through on a judge’s order. California’s attorney general put the kibosh on the Adventist-St. Joseph merger. UPMC has begun building a network of hospitals in China. Fifteen drug companies settled an Illinois Medicaid fraud suit for $242 million. An Oregon insurer has filed an antitrust...

This week on Health Care Rounds, Darwin Research Group CEO John Marchica sits down with Naomi Fried, Ph. D., founder and CEO of Health Innovation Strategies. Dr. Fried brings a wealth of experience in understanding how companies affect change, from her tenure as vice president of innovation and external partnerships at Biogen to heading up innovation and technology efforts at Kaiser Permanente.  C...

In this week’s Our Take, we’re covering the latest events in Biogen, involving their second life for aducanumab. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here .   Other briefs include: California releases its first report on drug pricing, in an effort to improve transparency. Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance is collaborating with Fitbit for atrial fibrillation detection. Amazon is partneri...

In this week’s Our Take, we’re covering the latest events in the Sutter Health antitrust trial. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here .   Other briefs include:  California releases its first report on drug pricing, in an effort to improve transparency. Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance is collaborating with Fitbit for atrial fibrillation detection. Amazon is partnering with City of...

Everyone says that they are a high-performing organization, but which ones really are? Which health care organizations have proven to deliver better outcomes at lower costs? This week, John sits down with the dynamic Brian Klepper, Ph. D., executive vice president of The Valuation Institute. Brian offers examples of unusually high-performing health care organizations and the secrets to their succe...

In this week’s Our Take, we’re covering the proposed rules to ease restrictions imposed by Stark Law, anti-kickback statute. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here .   Other briefs include: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health and GraniteOne Health signed an agreement to merge. Walmart is testing new health benefits to help employees receive appropriate care. ICER pulled a draft evidence report i...

In this week’s Our Take, we’re covering the latest results from the Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO data, just released last week. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here .   Other briefs include: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health and GraniteOne Health signed an agreement to merge. Walmart is testing new health benefits to help employees receive appropriate care. ICER pulled a draft evidenc...

In this week’s Our Take, we’re covering the antitrust trial for Sutter Health, and implications for future health system mergers. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here . Other briefs include: Lafayette General Health to merge with Ochsner Health System. CMS finalized a rule for implementing Medicaid DSH payment cuts. Connecticut is working to create the state’s first network of Centers...

Several weeks ago we reported on Capital Rx, a new PBM with a “clearinghouse model” designed to eliminate spread pricing and price variability — and promote greater transparency. This week, John sits down with A.J. Loiacono, a veteran entrepreneur and CEO of Capital Rx. Listen in and learn about what’s wrong with pharmaceutical pricing and how A.J. intends to fix it. Speaker Bios A.J. Loiacono, CE...

In today’s Our Take read-in, we discuss hospital market concentrations and their association with DOJ investigations and inpatient prices. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here . Other briefs include: Novo Nordisk announced that Rybelsus has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. NUW Medicine, MultiCare Health System, and LifePoint Health have partnered to form...

In today’s Our Take read-in, we review value-based payment models in oncology. If this is your field, this episode is one you don’t want to miss.  To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here . Other briefs include: Capital Rx, a startup pharmacy benefit manager, launches its Clearinghouse Model. The owners of Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, tentatively agreed to pay $3 billion to settle o...

In today’s Our Take read-in, here’s the lead: “A judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to Oklahoma for creating a ‘public nuisance.’ The state had sought $17.5 billion in a lawsuit against J&J, contending that the company had engaged in misleading marketing and contributed to the opioid epidemic that has claimed the lives of more than 6,000 Oklahomans. J&J plans to appeal...

In today’s Our Take read-in, here’s our lead story: Good Neighbor Pharmacy tops the list of chain drugstores in customer satisfaction, according to a new survey by J.D. Power and Associates. The network of independent pharmacies received the highest overall score among brick-and-mortar chain store pharmacies, with a score of 914 out of 1,000 possible points, followed by Health Mart (893), Rite Aid...

This week, Bob Roth returns to Our Take to discuss America’s growing aging population and implications for ignoring what he calls the Aging Crisis. Bob’s passion for caring for the elderly stems from his personal experience with his own mother, which led to the creation of Cypress HomeCare Solutions, the Roth family business. Listen to the elder care issues Bob is calling out—and what we need to d...

In today’s Our Take read-in, we discuss Commercial Accountable Care Organizations, including updates on programs from UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and Anthem. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here . Other briefs include: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan have signed a definitive agreement to merge. Humana files a lawsuit against Mallinckrodt plc. The FDA has...

In today’s Our Take read-in, “The FDA announced Tuesday that Novartis submitted the drug application for Zolgensma, the company’s novel gene therapy treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, with manipulated data. The FDA said it is assessing the matter and ‘remains confident’ that the gene therapy will continue to be available to patients.” To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here . Other b...

In today’s Our Take read-in, we discuss several CMS initiatives announced last Monday. The email version of Our Take includes several important links to other final and proposed rules from CMS. To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here. Other briefs include: Pfizer signed a definitive agreement to merge its Upjohn division with Mylan. HHS is working on a plan to allow the legal importation...

In today’s Our Take read-in, we discuss a bipartisan bill to lower drug prices that cleared a Senate committee. On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee voted 19-9 to advance a bill proposed by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that includes numerous provisions to lower drug prices. The bill, called the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (PDPRA) of 2019, is likely to under...

In this week’s episode, John sits with military psychologist Dr. Julie Kinn to talk about the latest behavioral health mobile apps and online resources developed by the Defense Health Agency (DHA). Dr. Kinn discusses how DHA’s technology combats the stigma present around behavioral health issues so that both veterans and civilians are more inclined to seek care. Check out some of their free mobile...

In this week’s episode, we focus on Intermountain Healthcare’s announcement that it has formed a “comprehensive health platform company focused on elevating value-based care capabilities.” The new organization, named Castell, will be led by Rajesh Shrestha as president and CEO. Shrestha will continue to serve as vice president and chief operating officer of Community Based Care for Intermountain....