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Hacking healthcare: innovative solutions for a broken supply chain with Luka Yancopoulos
In episode #16, I speak with Luká Yancopoulos, CEO and co-founder of Grapevine Technologies.
Luka is an entrepreneur with a track record of innovation and consistent delivery in the healthcare industry.
As CEO and one of...
Use Billy to save money on healthcare with Leon Wisniewski
In episode 15, I speak with Leon Wisniewski about his company Health Cost Labs and their new product Billy - a consumer app that shows hospital prices by service and geographic area, and lets...
Embracing testosterone therapy as a preventive tool with Dr. Yazan Abdullah
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Yazan Abdullah, an internist who specializes in hormone replacement therapy and founder of Newport Health & Vitality.
One interesting quote from Yazan: "Fee-for-service is the most ethical way to...
Letting go of yo-yo dieting with Claudia Armani
In this episode, I speak to Claudia Armani, a health coach and founder of Claudia Armani Wellness and The Healthy Gourmet blog dedicated to simple and healthy Mediterranean recipes and lifestyle tips.
She works with...
Perfecting the Konjac noodle with Bryan Guadagno
In this episode, I speak with Bryan Guadagno - CEO and cofounder of It's Skinny. We discuss the 9-calorie noodle, the health benefits of Konjac, the future of food technology, and the founder's story....
Bitcoin rewards for healthy behaviors
If you don’t believe in the future value of Bitcoin, that’s perfectly fine. Not believing in Bitcoin does not automatically discount its potential as a reward to incentivize healthy behaviors. Despite the ups and...
A next generation patient experience with Michael Boerner
In this episode, I talk with Michael Boerner (CEO of Engage Technologies) about his company's transformative mobile intelligence and patient education technology - connecting patients to a digital health platform with no app or...
Point-of-care solutions with Jonas Goldstein
In this episode, I talk with Jonas Goldstein (Vice President of Strategy at VIM) about value-based healthcare, risk-sharing arrangements, Medicare Advantage, direct-to-consumer healthcare, and point-of-care digital solutions.
Here is a great article by Jonas in...
CityCoins and healthcare financing
The “shared ownership” economy is a long time coming and it’s a truly novel way to promote economic development. Nearly all community members indirectly benefit from local businesses (excepting liquor stores and other vice...
A heavy conversation with my wife
Episode 9 of the Healthcare Beans podcast
Without realizing it, I played an important role in my wife's health journey. But first, a bit of context..
I often find that healthcare professionals pay little regard to...
Can Peloton support healthcare delivery?
The Peloton buzz. There is no doubt Peloton provides a great indoor exercise experience. The reviews, while mixed, are mostly positive. And since other companies like Tonal are following in Peloton's footsteps (the highest...
Kudos to the consistent pill taker
High cholesterol runs in my family. My cholesterol readings are usually above 290 mg/dL, and I’ve been "taking" a statin drug (Lipitor) for the past 5 years.
I don’t have precise data for how often...
That Reno Talkspace therapy deal is killer!
Episode 8 of the Healthcare Beans podcast
Mental health took a nosedive during the pandemic. We need to expand access to mental healthcare in our communities, ASAP. To meet this need, telehealth companies that provide...
Virtual reality is now a healthcare thing
Episode 7 of the Healthcare Beans podcast
Virtual reality (VR) therapy can be very effective for treating pain. The key issues are the types of pain that can be treated with VR, and how we...
Mind Bloom and the patient support network
It gives me great pleasure to introduce Marina Gee! Marina is the creator of Mind Bloom, a podcast and blog that tackles issues related to wellness, mental health and breast cancer support.
A cancer diagnosis...
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
Can you go pick up my medication from the pharmacy? Growing up, this was a bi-weekly request from my mother, along with “please go grab my blood pressure monitor from my room” and “can...
Can Cityblock Health show us how it’s done?
Episode 6 of Healthcare Beans podcast
Cityblock Health is a unicorn startup serving high quality healthcare to low-income communities.
Episode takeaways:
(1) There are several high profile companies supporting the nation's transition to value-based healthcare. Cityblock Health...
Carallel and caregiver burden in the US
Episode #5 of the Healthcare Beans podcast
In the United States, caregiver burden is a really big problem.
Episode takeaways:
(1) Care-giving is very stressful work and roughly 48 million people in the US are spending...
I’ve seen your health data
Episode #4 of the Healthcare Beans podcast
In the United States, privacy protections for health data are not as restrictive as most people think. Your doctor is not the only person who can access your...
Trust your doctor, but tie the camel’s leg
Episode #3 of the Healthcare Beans podcast
In this episode, I argue against putting too much faith in good doctors. I know that sounds strange but a well organized care team is what really counts,...
Annual wellness visit is more important than you think
Episode #2 of the Healthcare Beans podcast
Keeping your annual wellness visit is a great way to safeguard your future health!
In this episode, I talk about the importance of the annual wellness visit, and how...
A quick primer on value based healthcare
Welcome to the first episode of the Healthcare Beans podcast!
Many health systems and doctors get paid regardless of your health outcomes, and that needs to change.
In this episode, I touch on the basics of...
Treating opioid addiction with a new Medicare program
Untimely deaths. A few years back, I received a Facebook friend request from a childhood acquaintance. I was busy at the time and not very active on Facebook, so I did not connect with...
Patient engagement is good for docs, but better for you
Patient engagement is critical for your health. If someone from your doctor's office reaches out to you regarding a new health program, or something similar, definitely consider signing up. I explain why at the...
Is intermittent fasting for everyone?
What is intermittent fasting? Depends on who you ask. Here’s my best attempt to provide a definition that satisfies academic researchers and practical influencers like Ed Pierini – intermittent fasting is a lifestyle /...
A great chickpea smoothie for kids
My personal experience. For the past 4 years, my 5-year old boy drank chickpea smoothie every day – and he is doing great! Let me start by saying I have no “new” data to...
Bad predictions and spotty data
A big problem: The COVID-19 models that informed our government's response pretty much failed at making good predictions. Unfortunately, frequent and big changes to modeling predictions has harmed the public confidence with official COVID-19...
When choosing a hospital, size matters
My recommendation: If you're planning on major surgery, you will probably need SNF care. Try to have your surgery in a large hospital. Here is a short list of the largest hospitals in the...
Community First! Now is the time to help a neighbor
COVID-19 stimulus. To put it mildly, the Coronavirus pandemic had a massive impact on the economy. Before COVID-19, it would be difficult to imagine a scenario where 20+ million people would lose their jobs...
Pain management with acupuncture gets a big win
Big news! CMS will cover acupuncture. In January of 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a national payment rule for providers who treat patients with acupuncture. Acupuncture is a key...
How COVID-19 reshaped my thoughts on healthcare
Our nation's health insurance crisis is getting much worse. The rising cost of health insurance, and the growing number of people who don't have access to healthcare, is perhaps the most complex policy problem...
Noom and the nudge market
Noom is a behavior "modding" company. It takes a few paragraphs to properly describe Noom, so here goes.. On the surface, Noom is a health and lifestyle improvement app. Many people use Noom for...
Population health: a glimpse behind the scenes
What is population health? There are lots of nuanced definitions for population health (or "pop health") in the literature, but I like to think of pop health in terms of how it's currently practiced....
The ancient debate: Medicare versus Medicare Advantage?
A quick primer on Medicare. Medicare is a government-run insurance program for US citizens who turn 65 years of age, or have a certain disability like end-stage renal disease. Medicare is a fee-for-service (FFS)...
Standing up community based organizations – Amazon Style!
Community based organizations are the next frontier in healthcare. CBOs provide essential social services including transportation, food, and housing, among other benefits. It is well known that social determinants of health (SDoH) play a...
We need better tools to predict the end of life
Dying in the US is not cheap. For many people in the US, the final year of life is often very expensive. Patients enter the emergency room, are put under observation, and get hospitalized...
Fast access to a skilled nursing facility, under Medicare
A Valuable Perk from Medicare. Medicare beneficiaries can get direct access to a skilled nursing facility, sometimes without a recent hospitalization.
The lowdown on skilled nursing facilities. Patients are sent to a skilled nursing facility...
A shifty health insurance company tactic
Having insurance and still getting hit with a hospital bill. About 8 months ago, my wife came down with a stomach bug. Nothing out of the ordinary - just a lot of vomiting, major...
ROI: addressing the social determinants of health
Social determinants of Health. SDoH is a really big deal. A growing body of evidence shows that individual health outcomes are closely tied to social circumstances, like living in a poor neighborhood (just google...
Fresh celery juice is the real deal
My recommendation: Drink a cup of fresh celery juice every morning (if you can stomach it).
Why do I say this: A year ago, a colleague of mine (a very capable health statistician) made an...
When choosing your doctor, keep this in mind
Rule of thumb: Think about a hospital near your home or place of work, wherever you might go for emergency care, and make sure your family physician or pediatrician has admitting privileges at that...