MediStrategy with Kip Piper offers informative interviews with healthcare leaders and insights on hot business and policy issues in Medicare, Medicaid, and health reform. Health executives, policymakers, entrepreneurs, authors, and other influencers share challenges and opportunities in America’s rapidly changing $3.2 trillion health care system. MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a national expert on Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare). An influential consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper advises health plans, hospitals and health systems, states, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, medical device and diagnostics companies, and investment firms. Kip Piper blogs on health business and policy issues at www.PiperReport.com. Learn more at www.KipPiper.com and follow on Twitter @KipPiper.
MediStrategy with Kip Piper Episode 11:
Improving Prenatal Care and Birth Outcomes Via Mobile Technology: Interview with Juan Pablo Segura of Babyscripts
Summary
What if we could eliminate preterm birth by 2027? There’s an app for that.
That is the moonshot goal of Babyscripts, a new model in pregnancy management that seeks to improve prenatal care and birth outcomes by supporting both pregnant moms and their physicians. The app has been adopted by several of the nation’s top health systems, including MedStar Health, George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, Northwestern Medicine, UT Physicians, and Aurora Health.
A graduate of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, Juan Pablo Segura is the Co-founder and President of Babyscripts, the only doctor-delivered digital health tool that employs remote monitoring and big data to detect problems sooner. The innovative Babyscripts technology has been recognized by Startup Health as a ‘Healthcare Transformer’ and by CTIA as a ‘Wireless Lifechanger.’ The venture was also a member of the inaugural GE Consumer Healthcare program. Segura is a sought-after speaker on the future of digital health and consumer empowerment in the healthcare space; he has given presentations at mHealth, HIMSS, WEGO Health, Health Datapalooza, and Health 2.0.
Today Segura discusses how the Babyscripts mobile app can improve birth outcomes, more rapidly detect at-risk pregnancies, facilitate patient-doctor communication between office visits, improve patient satisfaction, increase reimbursement for obstetricians, and lower overall healthcare costs. Listen and learn how the Babyscripts team has ‘labored’ to create and test a groundbreaking, evidence-based mobile app available only through obstetricians.
Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Libsyn | RSS Feed
Topics Covered
[2:25] The nuts and bolts of Babyscripts
[4:38] How the Babyscripts app works for doctors and moms
[8:25] Segura’s motivation to focus on prenatal care
[13:35] How Babyscripts is distinct from other pregnancy apps
[21:18] How Babyscripts functions
[28:16] The process of validating the ROI story
[39:30] Why treating obstetrical care like a commodity does not produce optimal results
[44:52 ] The traction Babyscripts is gaining with health plans, state Medicaid programs, and leading health systems
[58:39] Segura’s best advice for entrepreneurs in the healthcare tech space
Connect with Juan Pablo Segura of Babyscripts
Babyscripts Website
Connect with Kip Piper, Host of MediStrategy
Website
Piper Report Blog
About MediStrategy and Kip Piper
The MediStrategy podcast offers informative interviews with healthcare leaders and insights on hot business and policy issues in Medicare, Medicaid, and health reform. Health executives, policymakers, entrepreneurs, authors, and other influencers share challenges and opportunities in America’s rapidly changing $3.2 trillion health care system.
MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a top expert on Medicaid, Medicare, and health reform. A prominent consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper advises health plans, state Medicaid agencies, hospitals and health systems, provider associations, life sciences companies, and investment firms.
Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Libsyn | RSS Feed
MediStrategy with Kip Piper Episode 10:
Value-Based Purchasing with Healthcare Consultant Nancy Kohler of Sellers Dorsey
Summary
Savvy consumers seek the best value for their money, evaluating the benefits of a product prior to purchase. Elsewhere in the economy, it seems obvious that we should hold a manufacturer accountable for delivering a quality product. With health care reform, this concept has at last been applied to medical care via the value-based purchasing model. Rather than simply paying fee-for-service which rewards volume, health care consumers, health plans, and purchasers - state Medicaid programs, federal Medicare program, and employers - can hold providers responsible for outcomes.
As a consultant with Sellers Dorsey, Nancy Kohler provides assistance in federal and state health policy issues, financial analysis, and project management. Before joining the firm, she played a key role in the implementation and operational aspects of the Statewide Quality Care Assessment for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. The initiative provided millions of dollars in revenue to the Commonwealth's many hospitals and modernized Pennsylvania Medicaid hospital reimbursement.
Ms. Kohler's comprehensive portfolio of experience includes both large and small scale public health program operations, policy development and fiscal analysis. She spent 20-plus years at KePRO, dedicating the last six years of her tenure as the vice president of public programs. Nancy Kohler has her master’s degree in Health Services Administration and is a Registered Health Information Administrator and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality.
In this episode, she outlines the core characteristics of the value-based purchasing model, the challenges faced by Medicaid in transitioning to value-based purchasing, and the federal and state collaboration key to further reform efforts. Well-versed in how current legislative proposals might affect value-based purchasing, Kohler explores Congress' efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, the fate of MACRA, and HHA Secretary Price’s advocacy for relief from administrative burdens.
Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Libsyn | RSS Feed
Topics Covered
[2:48] How Kohler got involved in value-based purchasing
[6:47] Goals of value-based purchasing model
[7:36] Core characteristics of value-based purchasing
[11:01] Challenges faced by Medicaid in transition to value-based purchasing
[14:08] The role of the state with respect to value-based purchasing
[20:38] The role of federal collaboration in furthering state level reforms in payment and care delivery
[27:03] Kohler’s work to further value-based purchasing initiatives
[30:37] How proposed legislation to repeal and replace the ACA may affect value-based purchasing
[35:54] The pace of value-based purchasing initiatives
[42:27] The shift of risk to providers
[44:56] How the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) fits within payment reform
Connect with Nancy Kohler and Sellers Dorsey
Sellers Dorsey Website
Connect with Kip Piper, MA, FACHE, Host of MediStrategy
Website
Piper Report Blog
About MediStrategy and Kip Piper
The MediStrategy podcast offers informative interviews with healthcare leaders and insights on hot business and policy issues in Medicare, Medicaid, and health reform. Health executives, policymakers, entrepreneurs, authors, and other influencers share challenges and opportunities in America’s rapidly changing $3.2 trillion health care system.
MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a top expert on Medicaid, Medicare, and health reform. A prominent consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper advises health plans, state Medicaid agencies, hospitals and health systems, provider associations, life sciences companies, and investment firms.
Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Libsyn | RSS Feed
MediStrategy with Kip Piper Episode 09:
Fighting Healthcare Fraud and Ensuring Medicaid Program Integrity: Interview with Bill Lucia, Chairman and CEO, HMS
Summary
“Fighting health care fraud is like playing Whac-A-Mole.”
Our nation’s $3.2 trillion healthcare system is a complex beast. To ensure its integrity, we must combat a range of issues – from unintentional errors to criminal activity. Today’s guest is an industry leader in leveraging data analytics and the benefit of a national perspective to identify bad actors and ensure that Medicaid is the ‘payer of last resort.’
Bill Lucia is Chairman and CEO of HMS Holdings, the nation’s largest and most successful company dedicated to providing the broadest range of healthcare cost containment solutions to help purchasers, plans, and at-risk providers improve performance. HMS works with 45 state Medicaid programs, 250 health plans, Medicare, large employers, and provider organizations to help contain costs and protect our nation’s healthcare system from fraud, waste, and abuse.
Lucia joined HMS in 1996, becoming chairman, president, and CEO in 2009. He is responsible for leading HMS through the evolving healthcare landscape, demonstrating the ability to formulate and implement key strategic initiatives.
Today he shares HMS’s holistic approach to safeguarding the integrity of the $590 billion Medicaid program via technology, know-how, and advanced analytics. Listen and learn about HMS’s pioneering work in the areas of fraud detection, overpayment recovery, and coordination of benefits as well as the organization’s policy recommendations for Medicaid reform.
Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Libsyn | RSS Feed
Topics Covered
The mission of ensuring the integrity of nation’s healthcare system by reducing costs and removing fraud, waste, and abuse.
The complex nature of the Medicaid system:
How HMS works to ensure program integrity in Medicaid:
How technology, know-how, and analytics are used to:
How pattern recognition is used to detect inaccuracies and fraud in claims:
The significant return on investment from HMS program integrity work:
How to make the case for preventative measures (vs. recovery dollars):
How HMS has built the industry standard with regard to coordination of benefits:
How to leverage advanced analytics:
HMS policy recommendations to Congress and States:
Connect with Bill Lucia and HMS
HMS Website
Resources Mentioned
HMS Report: Effective Cost Management for Medicaid
Connect with Kip Piper, Host of MediStrategy
Website
Piper Report Blog
About MediStrategy:
The MediStrategy podcast offers informative interviews with healthcare leaders and insights on hot business and policy issues in Medicare, Medicaid, and health reform. Health executives, policymakers, entrepreneurs, authors, and other influencers share challenges and opportunities in America’s rapidly changing $3.2 trillion health care system.
MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a top expert on Medicaid, Medicare, and health reform. A prominent consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper advises health plans, state Medicaid agencies, hospitals and health systems, provider associations, life sciences companies, and investment firms.
Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Libsyn | RSS Feed
MediStrategy with Kip Piper Episode 08 - Recruiting Top Physician Talent: Interview with Gil Carrara, MD, Leading Health Care Executive Recruiter
This episode offers valuable insight into recruiting physicians for leadership, management, clinical, and scientific roles. Today's competitive policy landscape has fundamentally changed physician recruiting. Industry leader Dr. Gil Carrara discusses the changes in health care recruiting, and what health care organizations need to know to identify, recruit, and retain top physician talent. He offers tips for aspiring executives and physician leaders who want to position themselves for advancement.
Topics covered also include how the new public rating systems for physicians, hospitals, and other providers is changing the industry and how “people analytics” are transforming recruitment, hiring, assessment, and retention practices.
Understanding new developments in physician recruiting and retention is critically important to health insurers, hospitals and health systems, integrated delivery systems, accountable care organizations, life sciences companies, multi-physician practices, and government health agencies - as well as physicians seeking leadership and management roles in the healthcare industry.
Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Libsyn | RSS Feed
Takeaways:
Health care organizations can do better to recruit top talent.
Organizations need to understand that:
● Competition for top physician talent is fierce.
● Candidates are very aware of the marketplace and their value in that marketplace.
● Organizations need to articulate their organizational culture and share that with candidates.
● Candidates want to know about opportunities for career advancement within the organization.
● The process doesn’t stop with hiring — organizations must maintain sustained contact with the new hire.
Recruitment and hiring practices in the health care industry are changing dramatically.
In the past, hires hinged on the size of someone’s CV, the institutions they’d worked with, the universities they graduated from, or how well the candidate interviewed.
Core competencies, and the means to accurately assess those competencies, are the future of successful recruitment.
The new star rating systems (publicly rating health plans, hospitals, and physicians on their performance) is an industry game changer and will change how hospitals, health systems, health plans, and others operate and what they need in physician leaders.
There are exciting new tools more effectively identify and screen top talent, like people analytics.
● People analytics herald a sea change in how human resource departments make hiring decisions.
● The approach gives more effective, unbiased assessments of candidates.
● It can help bring more diversity to the workplace, short-circuiting the tendency of hiring managers to hire people just like them.
Innovations in the health care industry are changing the kind of leadership and management that organizations need.
Big changes in the health care industry include:
● CRISPR, or gene editing, allows researchers to cut out faulty, damaged, or disease-causing pieces of DNA, replacing them with healthy pieces. This technology will potentially revolutionize how we treat diseases.
● Big data, or new ways of understanding the data we’ve already collected, will change the face of the industry.
● Consumer health care, including wearables, is pushing health care back towards the patient. There will be dramatic changes as healthcare is put back into the individual’s hands.
How aspiring health care executives and physician leaders can better position themselves for career advancement.
● Educate yourself on the marketplace. Talk to other people, network, and learn about different companies and their cultures.
● Manage expectations: there are pluses and minuses to every opportunity.
● Work on your teaming skills. In healthcare institutions and life science companies, you work in teams.
● Demonstrate true management ability. Many physicians feel that they have management skills by leading residents, but that's not the same thing.
● Know how to interview, how to ask insightful questions and effectively answer questions.
● Develop your own personal brand, hold fast to it, and communicate that brand to hiring individuals.
● Know the value that you will be bringing to that particular organization—that’s part of your brand.
About Gil Carrara, MD
Gilbert J. Carrara Jr., MD conducts senior-level searches for a broad spectrum of life sciences companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer healthcare, and health information arenas, as well as large managed care organizations and major academic medical centers. Gil is a partner at Battalia Winston, consistently ranked as one of the top fifteen executive search firms.
Connect with Dr. Gil Carrara:
Battalia Winston Website
@battaliawinston | Twitter
About Kip Piper, MA, FACHE
A top authority on Medicare, Medicaid, and the health reform, Kip Piper is a prominent consultant, speaker, and author. He advises major health care organizations on business, policy, finance, and communications. As a skilled business and policy strategist, Kip has advised top health care companies in the U.S. and Europe, Fortune 100 employers, state health agencies, federal officials, governors, members of Congress, foundations, and foreign leaders. Kip is president of the Health Results Group, LLC, a strategy consultancy, and CEO of Medonomics, Inc., a health policy research organization.
Connect with Kip Piper:
Kip Piper Website
@KipPiper | Twitter
Piper Report Blog
Kip Piper | LinkedIn
Value-Based Health Care and Purchaser Value Network: Interview with David Lansky, PhD, President and CEO, Pacific Business Group on Health
Today’s episode is about value-based health care and the Purchaser Value Network, a new nationwide initiative to educate key purchaser sectors – private employers, states, and federal purchasers – on value-based purchasing and to leverage best practices and lessons learned to accelerate the adoption of value-based payment and care delivery reforms. Kip Piper interviews David Lansky, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Business Group on Health on the Purchaser Value Network.
Led by the Pacific Business Group on Health or PBGH, the Purchaser Value Network is a network of and for purchasers that aims to accelerate the adoption of high value healthcare delivery and payment models through policy advocacy, education and training, and purchaser engagement. It is an effort to inject purchaser perspectives and innovative best practices into federal and state policy decision making, educate employers about value-based purchasing and advocacy opportunities, and align the most powerful buyers of healthcare - private employers, state Medicaid agencies, public employers, and the federal Medicare program - around evidence-based practices.
The Pacific Business Group on Health represents large national and regional purchasers, both public and private, that together buy health care for some 10 million individuals across the US. PBGH, which runs an impressive array of successful health innovations to manage costs and improve outcomes, also collaborates with a diverse range of stakeholders on national health care policy issues.
Dr. David Lansky, one of the nation’s top experts in accountability, quality measurement, and health IT, has led PBGH since 2008. Dr. Lansky’s impressive background includes service on the boards, as a founder, or as an advisor to many of the nation’s top organizations dedicated to improving outcomes, reforming payment, reducing medical errors, increasing transparency, and advancing the use of health information technology.
Learn more about the Purchaser Value Network at www.pvnetwork.org. Learn about the Pacific Business Group on Health at www.pbgh.org and follow on Twitter at @PBGH_Updates.
The MediStrategy podcast covers hot business and policy issues in Medicaid, Medicare, and health reform, with interviews with leaders and experts and insights on health policy, finance, and business strategy. Subscribe free and listen on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or any podcast app. Learn more at www.MediStrategy.com.
MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a national expert on Medicare, Medicaid, and health reform. A prominent consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper advises health plans, hospitals and health systems, state Medicaid agencies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, medical device and diagnostics companies, private equity firms, and health industry groups.
Website: www.KipPiper.com
Blog: www.PiperReport.com
Podcast: www.MediStrategy.com
Twitter: @KipPiper
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kippiper
Board Director and Executive Recruiting in Life Sciences Companies: Interview with Nona Footz, Managing Director, RSR Partners
The life sciences companies are looking for new board members and senior executives. In this episode, learn how pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical diagnostics, and medical device firms find new board directors, chief executive officers, and other leadership talent. Nona K. Footz, managing director of RSR Partners, explains how the needs of the life sciences industry have changed dramatically, with companies now seeking different backgrounds and experience for open board director and c-suite positions. Ms. Footz shares valuable insights into today’s search process, explains how retained recruiters work with companies, and offers advice on working effectively with recruiters. Nona Footz and her colleagues are on the web at www.RSR Partners.com and on Twitter @RSRPartners.
The MediStrategy podcast covers hot business and policy issues in Medicaid, Medicare, and health reform, with interviews with leaders and experts and insights on health policy, finance, and business strategy. Learn more at www.MediStrategy.com.
MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a national expert on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. A prominent consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper advises health plans, hospitals and health systems, state Medicaid agencies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, medical device and diagnostics companies, private equity firms, and health industry groups.
Website: www.KipPiper.com
Blog: www.PiperReport.com
Podcast: www.MediStrategy.com
Twitter: @KipPiper
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kippiper
Big Data and Analytics in Healthcare: Interview with Murray Aitken, Executive Director, IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics and SVP, IMS Health
Murray Aitken, one of the world’s top experts on health informatics, discusses the impact of big data on healthcare and the strategic implications for health insurers, hospitals, physicians, consumers, life sciences firms, and government health programs. In this fascinating interview with Kip Piper, Mr. Aitken explains how and why health information and analytics are driving rapid change in the organization, reimbursement, and delivery of healthcare and in medical innovation.
Murray Aitken, MBA, is senior vice president of IMS Health and executive director of the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. Using IMS Health’s extraordinary wealth of data and analytical tools, the Institute provides insights and information to help decision makers improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of healthcare. Their fascinating, information rich reports are available at www.imshealth.com/institute.
MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a national expert on Medicare, Medicaid, and health reform. A prominent consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper is on the web at www.KipPiper.com.
Health Insurance Exchanges and Health Plan Business: Interview with Kevin Lewis, CEO, Community Health Options
Kevin Lewis, CEO of Community Health Options, shares insights on health insurance exchanges and the health plan business under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In this informative interview with Kip Piper, Mr. Lewis describes what it is like to launch and operate a new health plan in today’s dynamic environment. He shares Community Health Options’ strategic approach to competition, marketing, communications, premiums, provider networks, operations, and governance.
Kevin Lewis, one of the nation’s brightest young healthcare executives, joined Community Health Options in April 2012 as its first CEO. Previously, he was CEO of the Maine Primary Care Association, where he led numerous initiatives to improve health care access for underserved populations and represented Maine’s community health centers. He also served as director of continuing care at the Maine Hospital Association and as legislative liaison for Wisconsin’s state health department. He has a BA from Dartmouth College, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, and is a graduate of UCLA’s Health Care Executive Program.
Community Health Options is the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) serving the individual, family, and small employer markets in Maine and New Hampshire. Community Health Options is the web at www.HealthOptions.org.
MediStrategy is hosted by Kip Piper, a national expert on Medicare, Medicaid, and health reform. A prominent consultant, speaker, and author, Kip Piper is on the web at www.KipPiper.com.
Health Payment Reform and Outcomes Measurement: Interview with Norbert Goldfield, MD.
Norbert Goldfield, MD, one of the nation’s top healthcare thought leaders, describes innovations in outcomes-based payment of physicians, hospitals, and other providers. Robust, data-driven systems providing timely, actionable information are essential to replacing traditional, inefficient fee-for-service reimbursement with outcomes-based, analytically sound payment models that align provider finances with clinical and economic performance. In an information-packed interview with Kip Piper, Dr. Goldfield discusses advances in linking reimbursement to patient outcomes.
A passionate, influential, and engaging expert on payment reform and outcomes measurement, Dr. Norbert Goldfield is medical director for 3M Health Information Systems. For over 20 years he has implemented payment systems linked to quality and outcomes. Most recently, he has worked on practical implementation of payment systems and analytics for episodes of illness, for medical homes, and reduction of hospital readmissions and preventable hospital complications. Dr. Goldfield is a practicing physician, board-certified in internal medicine, a popular speaker, and editor of the peer reviewed Journal of Ambulatory Care Management.
Learn more about Dr. Goldfield’s work by visiting www.3MHIS.com and following 3M Health Information Systems on Twitter @3MHISNews.
Medicaid and State Medicaid Directors: Interview with Matt Salo of NAMD.
Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD), speaks with Kip Piper about massive changes underway in the $540 billion Medicaid program. Topics covered include implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), state Medicaid directors’ priorities for payment reform and delivery reform, the critically important role of state Medicaid directors, and the challenges faced by state Medicaid executives. Learn more about the National Association of Medicaid Directors at www.MedicaidDirectors.org.
Introduction to MediStrategy with Kip Piper.
This episode introduces listeners to MediStrategy, the podcast on Medicaid, Medicare, and health reform. Host Kip Piper, an influential consultant, speaker, and author, describes how MediStrategy provides lively, informative interviews with health executives, policymakers, entrepreneurs, authors, and other influencers, with valuable insights on hot business and policy issues in American healthcare.