If you’re a regular reader of my weekly blog posts, you know I’m always looking for signs that patients are becoming informed healthcare consumers and that the pandemic is fueling …

I had just graduated from Army Basic Training, Fort Dix, N.J. I returned home to Colorado to find my girl crush taken while away. Friends took me north of Denver …

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission released the much-anticipated results of its investigation of private equity’s foray into healthcare. If you’re looking for drama, I’d suggest logging on to BritBox. I …

Yeah, we’ve seen the office signs and coffee mugs. Don’t confuse your Google search with my medical degree. I get it. You’re smart because you went to medical school. We’re …

Here at 4sight Health, we’re all about the connection between money and results. As we like to say, you’re not going to get the outcomes you want until you change …

I’ll say it again. I’ll probably keep saying it because I think I’m right. One of the silver linings from this whole COVID thing will be the boost that it …

I admit it. I completely missed the annual report on hospital interoperability from HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology when the ONC released it in January.  …

COVID-19 is now the nation’s leading cause of death. [1] Hospitals and healthcare workers are stretched to and beyond capacity. Mutating, faster-spreading coronavirus strains pose a grave danger to the …

When CMS released its latest national healthcare spending figures last month, they barely caused a ripple in our collective consciousness. The agency’s actuaries said national healthcare expenditures rose 4.6 percent to …

We’re all speculating, predicting and forecasting what the post-pandemic healthcare system in the U.S. will look like in the short term and in the long term. We’re all staring and …

When a business is struggling, one of the first things a smart business will do is ask its customers what’s wrong.  It will take the customers’ concerns to heart and …

I’m on a patient safety rant, and I see no reason to stop now as we dive into 2021.  In a post last month, I argued that making care safer doesn’t …

History forever will remember 2020 as the year that the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the U.S. healthcare system to the brink of collapse. Yet, throughout the daily turmoil, forward-looking healthcare disruptors, …

After I first moved to the town that I live in now from the town that I grew up in, I still went to my old barber. It was a …

Up to half of all premature deaths are preventable by modifying behaviors and exposures that occur in communities.[1] “The Case For More Active Policy Attention To Health Promotion” sharpens readers’ …

Some ideas are so simple yet so brilliant that your reaction is “why didn’t I think of that!” When my dad experienced such a moment, he would say, “That’s a …

Drug companies may end up saving us from the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean we can take our eyes of them for a second.  A new research letter in the …

The world is on the verge of available COVID-19 vaccines. How can we encourage people to take a vaccine, and why is this question even a consideration? An answer may …

One of my favorite expressions on social media is “today years old.” Posters use it to tell their followers in a self-effacing way they just learned something most everyone knows …

I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date. No time to say hello, good-bye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late, and when I wave, I lose the …

Years ago, when life was simpler, I did my own taxes. So did a good friend of mine. During tax season, we would compare notes on any changes in the …

In a recent commentary, David Johnson, founder and CEO of 4sight Health, pointed his finger at medical campaigns on the GoFundMe website as a sign of the growing unaffordability of medical …

Hospitals, health systems, medical practices and other providers catch a lot of grief—and rightly so—for merger after merger and acquisition after acquisition that have done virtually nothing for patients other …

As I watch COVID-19 cases ebb and flow around the country over the past eight months, I wonder if any place consistently is safer than another. After repeatedly watching this …

Sadly, gun violence continues to plague America. The statistics are brutal—nearly 40,000 people die from gunshots, in addition to the 100,000 injured. Those counts equate to an average of 96 …

Outcomes still matter. They really do. Amidst all the talk about making care more accessible and convenient and making care more affordable and valuable, making care safer often gets lost …

Almost everyone agrees that where one lives has more influence on one’s life experience and expectancy than any other factor. Where one walks, hikes, bikes, or runs determines the safety …

We’re going to turn this week’s blog post over to consumers, who are going to tell you what they think about the healthcare system via two new opinion polls from …

Fixing healthcare is very easy and extremely difficult at the same time. That dichotomy is what gives the status quo staying power. A few things that came out over the …

Don’t bury the lede.  That journalism rule of thumb also applies in healthcare when you see your doctor. If you tell your doctor your throat hurts, you have a headache …

I think we all can agree now that provider integration doesn’t lower healthcare prices. When hospitals buy or merge with other hospitals, when medical practices buy or merge with other …

I know lots of doctors having covered healthcare now for nearly 40 years. One thing’s always puzzled me. Why would a doctor not want to be a doctor anymore and …

I’ve been to Oregon, and it’s beautiful. But I had no idea the state had a real problem with low-value care. I’m glad I didn’t get sick when I visited …

One of the bellwethers I follow to see what direction healthcare is headed is the annual physician supply and demand reports from the Association of American Medical Colleges. If the …

The coronavirus pandemic exposed flaws in the U.S. health system that we knew existed but weren’t in a rush to do anything about because everyone (other than patients) was profiting …

For an old healthcare legal reporter, writing about antitrust and community benefits in the same blog post is about as good as it gets. The only thing missing is a …

If you think starting a workplace wellness program would be a good way to help your company recover from the COVID-19 outbreak, I’ve got a coronavirus vaccine I’d like to …

In their recent book “Deaths of Despair,” Anne Case and Angus Deaton chronicle the rise of drug overdose, suicide and death by alcohol in the United States. Through their vivid …

As a skeptical journalist and amateur psychologist, I don’t believe much in coincidences. Things happen for a reason. Two new and separate studies of accountable care organizations illustrate the point. …

When business management guru Peter Drucker uttered his famous adage, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it,” he probably wasn’t thinking about the patient experience in healthcare.  But …

If you suffer from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known as COPD, why would you not take your medication as prescribed? You take it, you can breathe, you …

I’m not sure how many times data scientists and marcom people are in the same room at a hospital, health system or medical practice. But if you’re looking for a …

Key Takeaway: A national Health Information Exchange (HIE) will be an invaluable tool for federal, state and local public health officials fighting to protect Americans from the COVID-19 and future …

Our world has changed fundamentally from the impact of two events. The first, acute and most noxious, is COVID-19. The second, enduring and most beneficial, is the digital age. COVID-19 …

What consumers think of the healthcare system in the U.S. and what the system thinks of itself are two very different things. The COVID-19 outbreak has exposed just how deep …

You know what I think about health system’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., and you know what our 4sight Health contributors think about it. But what do …

Hospitals, health systems, medical practices, health plans, licensed clinicians and virtually every type of healthcare setting imaginable not only have to comply with countless state and federal regulations, they also …

We’re going to take a short mental break this week from COVID-19 and write about something else. We’re going to talk about Accenture’s latest survey of consumers on their digital …

Sometimes, it’s better just not to say anything.   If you know anything about the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., you know that the healthcare supply chain here has been a …

Chief financial officers around the world are scrambling to figure out how to manage the short-term economic impact and the long-term economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on their companies …

Covid-19 is stressing American society and us all in fundamental ways. The obvious and most important impact is the potential loss of life, particularly for the frail elderly and medically …

Almost every hospital or health system that I’ve covered over the past 37 years as a healthcare business reporter claims to be failing financially or on the brink of financial …

Likely overshadowed by anticipation of HHS’ final information-blocking rules, which came out earlier this week, HHS’ latest annual report on hospital interoperability didn’t get much attention. But, if you read the …

Meet Dr. Allen Weiss, veteran health system administrator, former AHA Board member, thought leader, healthcare revolutionary, and Chief Medical Officer for the Blue Zone Project. While Allen was President & CEO …

What providers want digital health tools to do, and what patients want digital health tools to do are two different things, apparently. If that’s true, we’re no nearer to creating …

It’s not complicated. If you want doctors to stop performing or ordering low-value procedures and tests, stop paying for them.  The reminder that providers respond to financial incentives as much …

As the presidential elections approach this year, each candidate is still struggling to convince the American people that her or his healthcare agenda will meet consumer needs. America spends more …

Before your physician asks you at your next office visit what brought you in today, you may want to ask them who owns their practice. Their answer may at least …

Well, maybe I jumped the gun and gave the healthcare industry too much credit for finally recognizing that its future depends on redefining patients as customers and making them their …

An interview with OhioHealth’s Nikki Ross, System Director of Sterile Processing, on ways service rationalization works in today’s modern health system. When you pick up your dry cleaning and fill …

(from Taking Healthcare’s Pulse: 4sight Health’s 2020 J.P. Morgan Conference Report) Each year on the second Sunday in January, the healthcare world descends on San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan …

I’ve watched enough crime movies and TV shows to know that the law enforcement character who talks tough usually isn’t and, more often than not, is in on the crime, …

When the Centene Corp. completed its $17.3 billion acquisition of WellCare Health Plans late last week, it created a health insurer that now operates in all 50 states with a total …

Maybe it’s because it’s a new decade. Maybe it’s because the year 2020 makes for easy vision analogies. Maybe it’s because CMS projects national health expenditures to break the $4 …

America is a rich country. We spend 18% of our economy on healthcare, yet our country is plagued with poor outcomes. Everyone agrees that Americans deserve the right to quality …

As a highly skeptical healthcare business journalist, I tune my radar to look for dark clouds rather than silver linings. But, every once in a while, an unexpected blip appears …

Competition, regulation or both? Those are the choices facing states that want to make healthcare more affordable for their residents after years of unbridled prices hikes from providers and premium …

As a business journalist, I hang out at the corner of “follow the money” and “actions speak louder than words.” It’s the same place I go when I want to …

Consumerism was the hot topic of healthcare in 2019. Retail giants CVS, Walmart, Apple and Amazon now offer healthcare services at scale. Patients are starting to “shop” for healthcare services …

If you spend your Saturday afternoons watching home remodeling shows or cooking shows, you realize that having the right tools for the job makes all the difference. What you struggle …

Here at 4sight Health, we like to call it like it is. We see and throw a flag on the things that prevent the healthcare system in the U.S. from …

What does it take to bring a breakthrough drug to a value-based market? John Kerins, Director at Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., and David Johnson discuss …

As 2019 draws to a close, the evidence continues to mount that healthcare affordability again will be the No. 1 challenge facing patients in 2020. What incumbent industry stakeholders, lawmakers, …

“The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.”  Pawan Kalyan                     …

HFMA’s President and CEO Joe Fifer interviews healthcare industry experts about healthcare finance on his podcast, HFMA Cup of Joe. Listen to his interview with Dave Johnson, CEO of 4sight Health. …

Pictures don’t lie. Neither do numbers. And these numbers paint of picture of U.S. hospitals and health systems remaking themselves in response to new economic forces challenging their long-term viability. …

“The next revolution is gonna be a revolution of ideas.“ Bill Hicks   David Johnson is doing keynotes across the country inspiring healthcare and business audiences to join the revolution! …

Your patient engagement strategy would have worked, too, if it wasn’t for those darn patients. That’s the sentiment from a new survey of 70 CIOs, executives and directors at 65 …

Everyone complains about high drug prices. That is, when they’re not complaining about high hospital prices. So what are you going to do about it? Or, better yet, what can …

Cancer is America’s second leading killer behind heart disease and accounts for one quarter of total U.S. deaths.[1] Cancer constitutes over 100 diseases, typically categorized by organs (breast, lung, colon, …

“Every time there’s a revolution, it comes from somebody reading a book about revolution.” Mike Tyson   David Johnson’s book is available for pre-order today! Book releases 9/6/19.

All the shrugs, shock and handwringing this week over the Google-Ascension patient data-sharing deal got me wondering about what patients thought of all this. So I scrolled through a bunch …

Health care providers suffer from a unique form of institutional irony: delivering institutionalized care in centralized, high-cost facilities impedes their ability to meet their communities’ expansive health and wellness needs. …

“The most heroic word in all languages is revolution.” Eugene V. Debs           Find out more about The Customer Revolution in Healthcare in David Johnson’s book. McGraw-Hill releases …

One of the best lines in Jaws comes from Brody after he sees the 25-foot great white shark for the first time. He slowly backs into the cabin, looks at …

Join us in downtown Chicago on Thursday, November 14 at 5:30PM at MATTER. Michael Allen, CFO of OSF Healthcare, will interview David Johnson about critical concepts in Dave’s new book …

Everyone wants patients out of the hospital, where the costliest of costly care takes place.  Government payers. Commercial health plans. Patients. Doctors. Even hospitals want patients out of the hospital. …

I got my flu shot on Oct. 21. (I’ll let you know how it worked out.) As I waited for my turn at our nearby immediate-care center, I explained to …

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.”  John F. Kennedy Jr.               …

When you buy something and it doesn’t work, you take it back to the store (or more likely send it back to Amazon via your local Kohl’s) for a refund. …

“Revolution comes when human beings set out to correct decadent institutions.”  H. Rap Brown                                 …

I love healthcare industry regulatory burden surveys. From an academic standpoint, I’m interested in the topic of competition versus regulation and how each affects how healthcare markets function—or not—for patients. …

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing, lifelong developmental disorder in the country. ASD affects 1 in 59 children, and boys are five times more likely than girls to …

Wyatt Ritchie, Managing Director at Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., and David Johnson discuss the rise of urgent care clinics that are meeting market demand for …

4sight Health’s writers and authors have published 57 blog posts, commentaries, podcasts and videos on 4sighthealth.com from January through June of this year. The topics are as varied as the …

In most markets for most goods and services, you get what you pay for. The more you pay, the better the goods or the services. Hence, the expression, you get …

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  I get the point of the expression. But, I didn’t fully appreciate how it applied to healthcare until I read …

With open enrollment about a month away at most businesses that offer health insurance benefits to their  workers, it’s time to look at what employers are doing and not doing …

“If not us, who? If not now, when?” John Fitzgerald           Find out more about The Customer Revolution in Healthcare in David Johnson’s book. McGraw-Hill releases the book …

So, how’s it going? Do you think your hospital or health system or medical practice or health plan or pharmacy or life sciences company or post-acute care facility is providing …

As wary consumers, we’ve come to expect upselling. Need an oil change? Looks like you need a new air filter and radiator flush, too. That sports coat looks fantastic on …

“Revolution, in order to be creative, cannot do without either a moral or metaphysical rule to balance the insanity of history.” Albert Camus   David Johnson is doing keynotes across …

When people my age were kids, there was a good chance that their parents wanted them to be doctors. Some wanted their children to be lawyers. I don’t recall anyone …

What convinced a former Peace Corps volunteer and healthcare investment banker like me that the U.S. healthcare system (the System) requires revolutionary overhaul? It really came down to just one …

“A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.” Martin Luther King Jr.   David Johnson is …

The later in the day that you see your doctor you’re more likely to get the flu, get colon cancer and get hooked on prescription pain killers. OK, that’s a …

“A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.” Martin Luther King Jr.   David Johnson’s book …

“Practicing at the top of your license” and “upskilling your workforce”are two popular healthcare buzz phrases right now. As account-hungry consultants breathlessly will tell you, when medical professionals spend their …

Chronic disease consumes 86% of the national health expenditure and kills 7 of 10 people. President Clinton and Obama both created initiatives to cure cancer through genetic research and therapies. …

Everyone in healthcare is “all in” on a lot of things these days, and two things that are at or near the top of that list are social determinants of …

In an August 1st commentary published in the Washington Post, columnist Catherine Rampell asks an intriguing question of the Democratic presidential candidates promoting a Medicare-for-All health insurance program: “Will your …

Colonoscopies are the American College of Gastroenterology’s preferred strategy to detect colon cancer. Ten million Americans annually undergo colonoscopies at a cost approximating $10 billion. Although colonoscopy prices vary, the …

As US healthcare consolidation continues, innovative corporate buyers (strategics) and private equity investors (sponsors) are partnering to accomplish increasingly complex transactions. Such deals can create win-win arrangements that serve market …

In post-reform healthcare, incumbent health systems must adapt or die from the force of  innovative new companies. Incumbents are vulnerable to value-based attacks. They are asset-heavy, revenue-centric and have ineffective …

When better customer service is a competitive threat, it really is time to rethink your business model.  That was my first thought when I read the results of a survey …

What will healthcare be like 10 years from now? Not a lot of healthcare executives toiling in our system have the luxury to think about that as they deal with …

You might have heard about this on the news. A new study is out that says employer-sponsored health insurance is getting really expensive.  (How expensive is it?) Hmm. May your …

Why is it taboo to talk about death? Too often, American families avoid confrontation with death and suffer from catastrophic emotional, medical and financial consequences. Medicare spends 26% of its …

Medicare accountable care organizations say they’re doing a lot to manage and coordinate the care of sick beneficiaries. But a new study says the ACOs don’t have much to show …

Digitization and globalization of medical knowledge will double every 73 days by 2020.[1] When a patient enters an exam room, they will likely encounter a “Dr. Know-it-All” or come prepared …

American workers increasingly wear scrubs, not overalls or store uniforms.(1) In late 2017, healthcare surpassed manufacturing and retail to become the largest employer in the U.S. economy. 19 million people …

Healthcare providers can no longer ignore the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) in the exam room. Even John Snow considered community assessment factors to identify the source of the cholera …

Many health systems and hospitals operate as Not-for-Profit (NFP), mission-oriented organizations that do not pay sales, excise, property or other taxes. In exchange, NFPs must publicly report the level of …

Everyone, including me, is always on employers to do more to improve the healthcare system in the U.S.  We’re on them to use their healthcare purchasing power and insured-lives market …

In August 2017, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma devastated the South and Southeast regions. Florida evacuated over 7 million people, 7.4 million people lost power and almost 60 hospitals throughout the …

Jeff Dunn DO / MBA and David Johnson discuss the realities of cardiac arrest inside the hospital, for patients and clinicians, in Episode 18 of Market Corner Conversations. Survival rates are …

As the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) prepares to vote on the Lowering Health Care Costs Act, the issue of surprise medical bills will take center …

It seems that the Healthcare Industrial Complex (TM) is alive and well in the cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology laboratories at the top heart hospitals across the country. At least that’s …

David Johnson interviewed Tom DeRosa, CEO of Welltower, for a packed audience at MATTER on June 19th. Tom considers Welltower a “platform for innovation on scale” in the realm of …

A new Viewpoint in the Journal of the American Medical Association said states are trying, but largely failing, to control through various regulatory tactics the prices paid by private health …

What were you expecting, an ICU? A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals that the hospitals patients rated highly for service were less likely to have the actual medical …

The home healthcare sector is dominated by “mom and pops” in a highly-fragmented and under-performing market. Fraud is rampant and customer care is inconsistent. The Department of Health and Human …

To entrepreneurs, regulation is the enemy of innovation. That’s especially true in healthcare. Experts agree that healthcare is one of the most, if not the most regulated industry in the …

Resuscitating Your Patients and Building Your Clinical Reputation The plane is in a nosedive. The sweating pilot is fighting to control the aircraft. A nervous co-pilot is furiously flipping through …

More on the what and the why of employers and behavioral health, and what both mean for remaking the nation’s healthcare system into one where outcomes matter, customers count and …

It’s a great time to go to medical school and become a doctor. Ignore all the manufactured angst from organized medicine and opinion polls of aging physicians who say they …

You know that moment when you “hit the wall” when you’re running a marathon? I don’t. But, I’m told that it typically happens around the 20-mile mark when your physical …

By now you know you should never order fish at a restaurant on a Monday. That’s because the fish likely has been lying around the kitchen since early Friday morning. …

Historically, health systems have delivered acute care services in hospitals and ambulatory facilities. Their business models centralize care delivery in expensive settings to optimize their operations and revenue. In avoiding …

The National Institute of Mental Health says 46.6 million adults suffered from some form of mental illness in 2017. Of those, 57.4 percent didn’t receive any mental health treatment for …

And you thought changing patients’ health behaviors was going to be hard. Try changing physicians’ drug prescribing patterns. That’s the lesson from a new study in Health Affairs that reported …

The Healthcare Affordability Index (Index) is a simple and powerful metric for assessing the impact of rising healthcare cost on American living standards. The Index measures the relationship between the total …

I’m not sure that US millennials are going to have a happy ending when it comes to their healthcare. If I’m reading things right, in less than 30 years, when …

Merrill Goozner passionately points out the stark contrast between well-functioning industries and the US pharma industry, especially its relationship with the government and pharma pricing. Dave Johnson certainly relates to …

Knockoffs usually aren’t as good as the originals, whether they’re golf clubs, purses or pressure cookers. A new study suggests that you can add healthcare to the list, especially if …

As it has in the last three presidential elections, healthcare is emerging as a decisive political issue in the 2020 election. Unlike in those previous elections, however, universal health insurance …

Healthcare is one of the most if not the most regulated industry in the U.S. While its businesses like to blame overzealous bureaucrats for all the red tape, the current …

“We must begin by asking it, ‘What is losing?’  Losing is a disease. As contagious as polio.  Losing is a disease. As contagious as syphilis. Losing is a disease. As …

American healthcare patients are demanding more price transparency, affordable services and quality care. Why are they not receiving it? How can healthcare organizations listen to consumers and set themselves up …

The lack of affordable medical care isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon. It’s a serious problem across Europe, according to a new report from the World Health Organization. WHO’s report identified …

Single-specialty medical practices are the front door of American medicine. Dentists, Dermatologists, Ophthalmologists, GI doctors, ENT doctors, Internists, Gynecologists, Obstetricians, Urologists and their “retail medicine” counterparts provide high volumes of …

If you believe in the adage “follow the money,” it would lead you to telemedicine. Analyzing billions of private health insurance claims, a new report said telemedicine is the fastest …

Like companies in any other industry, when providers misbehave, it opens the door to state regulation of their behavior. What’s interesting about a new study in JAMA Open Network is …

On a cold Minnesota morning in January 2018, Fairview Health Services CEO James Hereford addressed Twin Cities business executives regarding healthcare IT and innovation. (1) With an advanced degree in …

Does “pro-business” equate to “pro-market”? Or is crony capitalism blurring the line in the healthcare industry? How can consumers tell if they are being treated fairly? There are two types …

It’s like preparing and serving a seven-course meal that your biggest customer ordered only to have the entire menu change between the salad and the main course. That’s what it …

Hear how Dr. Zenilman’s residency at Kings College Hospital in the early 1980s, at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, started his career in infectious disease, through the CDC, to …

What if you walked into your doctor’s office and there was a sign hanging in the waiting room that said: “Please do not confuse your Google search with my medical …

What if the healthcare industry could use data as efficiently as Amazon? What if physicians could know the habits of patients like Amazon knows consumers’ buying history? What is physicians …

When your phone company or your cable provider offers you a new and innovative service plan, your immediate thought is that you’re going to end up paying more for less. …

Consumerism was the hot topic at this year’s HIMSS conference in Orlando and at the JP Morgan conference. Attendees debated whether 2019 will mark the year healthcare finally tips toward …

“Dr. Knows Best” is no longer the only sell healthcare companies can make to consumers. In post-reform healthcare, successful companies need to provide quality value-based care, innovative technological solutions and …

Low-value care doesn’t just drive up healthcare costs without providing any discernable medical benefit to patients. It can kill you. That’s the takeaway and market lesson from the latest study …

Tomer Shoval, CEO & Founder of Simplee, discusses how his relentless focus on the customer created a payment platform for health systems that actually increases customer satisfaction and improves financial …

There are signs that digital health—the promised cure for everything that’s wrong with healthcare—may be slipping into the trough of disillusionment.  You may want to check your heart rhythm on …

One state’s attempt to control healthcare costs by using “affordability standards” ended up limiting increases in commercial health insurance payments to hospitals and doctors without any changes in utilization or …

An ongoing feud between independent physicians and hospital administrators in Naples, Florida, exploded last month, damaging the trust between the community, providers and the health system. (1) The furor centered …

I mean, what did you think was going to happen? A new study says big Blues plans that went for-profit dramatically raised their premiums right after their ownership conversions. The …

The Healthcare Affordability Index (the Index) is a simple and powerful metric for assessing the impact of rising healthcare cost on American living standards. The Index measures the relationship between …

It’s not your imagination or the self-serving forecast of a healthcare consultant angling for your business. Fewer people are seeing their doctors in person in a physical office. It’s a …

In rapid succession at the end of 2018, CVS closed its $70 billion acquisition of Aetna and Cigna closed its $67 billion acquisition of Express Scripts. The consolidated companies are …

Death, taxes and employer-sponsored health insurance. We know the first two are certainties in life, and new research again confirms the assurance of the third. Researchers from the School of …

What’s going to happen in healthcare this year is anyone’s guess. Not really. What’s going to happen in healthcare this year is everyone’s guess. Like most of you, from mid-December …

Much has changed in healthcare over the past 25 years. A lot has changed in healthcare over the past 25 minutes. But one thing hasn’t changed, and that’s the public’s …

In 1952 at the tender age of 25, Elizabeth became the Queen of England upon the death of her father King George V. The popular Netflix series “The Crown” depicts the …

What would you cut out if you suddenly had to reduce your monthly household expenses by 5 percent, 10 percent, or even 25 percent? I’m sure that some of the …

Definitions of precision medicine are anything but precise. For seriously ill patients and their families, precision medicine therapies provide a hope when all else has failed. They’re willing to risk …

American healthcare companies have a blind spot that will disrupt the growth of their organizations. The old way of American healthcare business has always been a payment battle between large …

Everyone sees what they want to see in the latest figures on national health expenditures released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services earlier this month. Most people see …

“At Almost Home Kids, our mission is to provide transitional care in a home-like setting to children with complicated health needs, training for their families and respite care.” – Deborah …

Competition good. Regulation bad. That’s my caveman summary of HHS’ manifesto released on Dec. 3 on how to improve the quality and safety of patient care while simultaneously lowering healthcare …

“The teams were operating independently—like workers in an efficient factory—while trying to keep pace with an interdependent environment. We all knew intuitively that intelligence gathered on AQI’s [Al Qaeda in …

Over 200,000 Americans have died since 2000 due to opioid overdoses.[1] That’s equivalent to all of Salt Lake City[2] disappearing from our country. The epidemic is destroying communities throughout America, …

If you’re looking for a sign that we’re truly approaching a watershed moment in healthcare innovation, look no further than the people whose job is creating new medical technologies that …

Dave, your article is nothing if not provocative and insightful.  What does it mean for health data to be truly free? At MultiScale, we have been thinking hard about health …

The line between financial incentives and clinical outcomes just got a little straighter. A new study says money may have erased the difference in readmission rates between the top heart …

Jim Harding, Founder & CEO of MultiScale Health Networks, joins David Johnson for Episode 13 of Market Corner Conversations. Jim discusses how he applied his experience as a serial tech entrepreneur …

We’re at a branch point in healthcare’s evolution. We’ll learn soon whether disruptive innovation is the product of individuals or organizations. When we find out, we’ll know the best path …

Expanding the scope of practice for nurse practitioners and physician assistants may be a cost-effective way to manage the health of patients with chronic illnesses. That’s the market-based reform takeaway …

Patient office visits to primary care physicians are down. Patient office visits to nurse practitioners and physician assistants are up. But switching to NPs and PAs from doctors isn’t saving …

For health systems, the day of reckoning is near. A recent Morgan Stanley report states that over 1,000 of the nation’s 5,000+ hospitals are currently weak or at risk of closing. …

Yet another report shows that fee-for-service medicine is hard to kill. This time the culprits are a lack of faith in value-based reimbursement by clinicians and a lack of trust …

The U.S. healthcare system will not change the way it delivers care until it changes the way it pays for care. Perverse incentives riddle fee-for-service payment (FFS) and lead to …

Wide variations in what providers charge for the same medical services are notorious. But providers are not acting alone. They’re aided and abetted—and some would say coerced—by health plans whose …

Far from pulling the plug on fee-for-service medicine, commercial health plans continue to give it CPR. A new report says well over half of commercial health plan payments to providers …

Mudit Garg, Founder & CEO of Qventus, joins David Johnson for Episode 12 of Market Corner Conversations. Mudit shares how he views the challenges clinicians push through to provide care data …

Healthcare data wants to be free, but it is oppressed. Entrenched oligarchs trap information within closed, centralized systems that prioritize revenue collection, misuse resources and tolerate medical error. Data gasps …

In the simplest terms, cloud computing means storing data and software applications on the Internet, in secure files, then accessing that data and programs over the Internet rather than from physical …

A new study reminds us that the squabble between providers and payers over coverage of unnecessary emergency room visits should be more about patients and less about who pays who …

Every picture tells a story. So does every chart in the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual employer health benefits survey. Here are 10 small stories from Kaiser’s latest survey that collectively …

It’s like FBI profiling but for doctors—doctors who order too many unnecessary diagnostic tests. Researchers from Canada have escalated the fight against low-value healthcare services by focusing on the doctors …

All hospitals say that they want to engage patients in their own medical care. But even the best hospitals are making it difficult for patients to access their own medical …

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the nation’s fastest-growing developmental disorder, one that touches each child and family in unique and complicated ways. A  lifelong condition, ASD requires individualized treatments that …

Short of making flu shots mandatory for healthcare workers, healthcare employers need to do much more to immunize their staffs from a virus that threatens their health and the health …

Luigi Zingales, University of Chicago economist, joins David Johnson to discuss the key components of capitalism that encourage innovation rather than creating paralysis in markets. Listen to his thoughts on …

What’s the most important thing to you when you or a family member has to go to the hospital? (That question assumes you have a choice.) For me it would …

Unnecessary variation in patient care is a quality and cost killer. And it’s not just a problem for complex medical cases. It’s a problem for even the most routine services …

Healthcare has experienced a parade of surprising megamergers and acquisitions during the last year. At first glance, Best Buy’s August acquisition of GreatCall may be the most startling. At a …

The news cycle in healthcare seems to be following the news cycle in politics. Twenty-four hours is now 24 minutes if not 24 seconds. With that in mind, let’s hit …

If you paid your kids to clean their rooms and keep them clean, would they? If you stopped paying them, would they keep cleaning their rooms because they realized that …

“For years I [have] thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.” Charles E. Wilson Last month, General Motors signed a 5-year agreement …

August 23, 2018, Amy Compton-Phillips came to MATTER, Chicago’s healthcare incubator. She presented her perspective on platforming in the industry and at Providence St. Joseph Health. Key points included: The …

Over the past month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced several pro-market policies that will enhance pricing transparency, stimulate competition (and fair prices) for routine procedures and eliminate burdensome reporting requirements. …

During President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 trip to China, the press asked China’s premier Zhou Enlai to comment on the French Revolution’s impact on world affairs. Zhou famously replied, “Too early to …

On Friday, June 29, near the zero hour, a federal judge ruled [1] that Kentucky’s Medicaid waiver approved by the CMS could not go forward on Sunday, July 1 as …

In well-functioning healthcare markets, governmental regulatory policies ensure access, safety, quality and privacy. The government’s most important role is creating level-field competition through balanced regulation, targeted enforcement actions and price/outcomes …

Amitabh Chandra, economist and the McCance Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, joins David Johnson for Episode 10 of Market Corner Conversations. Chandra shares his path form labor economist …

Amid much fanfare, the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan health venture (ABJ) announced on June 20th that its new CEO will be acclaimed author and surgeon Atul Gawande. Gawande starts his new job …

The 21st FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14th when host Russia trounced a weak Saudi Arabian team 5-0 at 81,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. It equaled the most lopsided opening …

In 1993, the health insurance industry funded the legendary “Harry and Louise” campaign to mobilize public opinion against the Clinton healthcare reform proposal. The strategy worked. Despite enormous investment of political capital, …

Shortly after publishing Market vs. Medicine: America’s Epic Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare in June 2016, I met with my former investment banking colleague, Jullia Quazi. Jullia arrived with a very funny story …

Jake Crampton, CEO of MedSpeed, joins David Johnson in Episode 8 of Market Corner Conversations. Crampton shares how MedSpeed facilitates “intra-company logistics.” MedSpeed’s customers transform their transportation networks from cost …

Part I of Superhero Healthcare identified several bright spots within American healthcare where liberated caregivers deliver appropriate, efficient care to engaged patients; where the interests of health companies and their customers align; and where compassion, …

Most weekends in America, long lines form outside cineplexes as ardent fans of DC and Marvel Comics catch the latest iterations on the big screen. Since the dawn of motion …

Toby Cosgrove, M.D., former CEO of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, joins David Johnson in Episode 7 of Market Corner Conversations. Dr. Cosgrove shares how he built a culture of empathy …

On March 22nd, Mission Health in Asheville, North Carolina announced its intention to sell its seven-hospital not-for-profit (NFP) health system to HCA Healthcare, the nation’s largest for-profit healthcare system. The …

Rushika Fernandopulle, M.D., Co-Founder & CEO of Iora Health, joins David Johnson in Episode 6 of Market Corner Conversations. Rushika shares how he decided that the incremental change model wasn’t working …

The digitization and globalization of medical information is overwhelming traditional medical practices. Physicians confront a continuous avalanche of medical discoveries on disease origins, symptoms and treatments. By 2020, medical knowledge …

In 1970, Marcus Welby, MD became ABC Television’s first show to top network television ratings. Dr. Welby was a cheerful family practice physician with a soothing bedside manner who was …

Amy Compton-Phillips, M.D., joins David Johnson in Episode 5 of Market Corner Conversations. Amy is the executive vice president and chief clinical officer for Providence St. Joseph Health. She oversees …

In Episode 4 of Market Corner Conversations, Mike Pykosz, CEO of Oak Street Health, shares the bottom-up approach Oak Street takes toward its Medicare Part B members. Oak Street creates …

Quad/Graphics, the American printing company, was founded near Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1971 by a husband and wife team. Harry and Betty Quadracci saw advantages in a family approach to doing …

The news that Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase joined forces to create their own healthcare company rocked the industry. The ten largest health insurers and pharmacy businesses lost …

For too long, the “Social Determinants of Health” (SDH) have been the big elephant in the exam room. While no one denies that a diabetic living alone in a food …

There are more “suits” in downtown San Francisco each January for JP Morgan’s annual healthcare conference than the rest of the year combined. Heavy rain drenched San Francisco on January …

Common wisdom holds that “it’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.” That aphorism also applies to payers seeking lower prices for routine healthcare procedures. It “tastes” better when …

Last week we lost Uwe Reinhardt, the famous health economist at Princeton University, his passionate voice and memorable sense of humor.  Reading articles and posts remembering Uwe, a German who …

After Hurricane Harvey and Irma hit the Gulf Coast in August 2017, America’s leading telemedicine companies volunteered their services to people and institutions in medical need. As reported in Med City …

Traditionally, most people dial 911 in a medical emergency and ask for an ambulance. Increasingly today, some hail a ride from Uber or Lyft to get to the closest Emergency …

Today, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel and I along with Aaron Glickman published Measuring the Burden of Health Care Costs on U.S. Families in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). …

In Episode 3 of Market Corner Conversations, Dave Johnson speaks with Rick Kimball about their commentary Mile High Potential: NFL Veterans Tackle America’s Opioid Crisis. The podcast digs into the social catastrophe …

In Episode 2 of Market Corner Conversations, Dave Johnson speaks with Kurt Waltenbaugh, the founder and CEO of Carrot Health, an exciting data analytics startup based in the Twin Cities. …

Hitting the Sweet Spot for Patients and Providers The United States is experiencing a demographic tidal wave. Baby Boomers are turning 65 in record numbers and that trend will accelerate …

4sight Health’s inaugural episode with Paul Walczak, the CEO from NuVista, a remarkably innovative post-acute care company coordinating value-based delivery in southern Florida that achieves superior outcomes at very low costs. …

The minute I walked into the new digs of the clinic, I knew it was very different and could get the gist of what they were trying to do. It …

Climbing the highest mountains requires organization, preparation and strategy. Scaling Mt. Everest is a full-scale expedition. Large teams rely on a sophisticated infrastructure of supplies, equipment and support staff. A …

Last September, Massachusetts-based Steward Health Care System announced that it would sell its 9 hospitals to Alabama-based Medical Properties Trust (MPT) for $1.2 billion in a 15-year sale-leaseback transaction with …

by David W. Johnson, James Moloney and Carsten Beith   There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’ It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls For the times they …

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars But in ourselves.” [1]                William Shakespeare On July 27th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its first-ever quality …

With Labor Day weekend approaching, state fairs in full swing, and the barbeque calling, most of us have just half a mind on work. At 4sight Health we’re enjoying the …

The tango is a beautiful, complex, fast-paced dance that gets the heart racing for participants and spectators alike. The intimacy of two partners moving in coordinated lockstep leaves no doubt: …

Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky gave the business world its most over-used strategic metaphor, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”  In healthcare, …

After more than a year of research, writing, editing, re-writing, and re-editing, Market vs. Medicine: America’s Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare is being printed and will be available on May …

Crossing the Technology Chasm: Tele-ICUs Save Lives and Money The Leapfrog Group’s[1] fact sheet on ICU Physician Staffing estimates that preventable ICU deaths exceed 54,000 each year. This figure excludes …