Ron discusses his thoughts on moving on with "life with COVID" and how moving forward can be more useful than continuing to hold onto past arguments regarding the virus.

We're six months into dealing with COVID as a fact of everyday life, what've we learned so far? So much has changed, and the outlook is mostly positive, but it's worth noting that the knowledge we've gained to now has been hard won at times. Ron discusses what we've learned and mistakes we've made as we've all dealt with novel Corona Virus 19.

While the COVID crisis' impact on health and health care is unprecedented in many ways, its impact on the economy may be even more severe. The US GPD dropped 40% in one quarter, we've had the highest first-time unemployment claims ever in our history. We're spending money as fast as we can to try and climb out, more money than almost the rest of the world combined, but that's left us with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 136%. What will this mean for health care in the future? Medicine is the single largest industry in our economy, when the time comes to start paying for the debt we're racking up now, health care is going to be in the spotlight. Ron Howrigon discusses ramifications of the economic impact of COVID in our new podcast.

Everyone thinks they're they best, that they're doing a great job, that they have their ducks in a row - right up until someone starts publishing "report cards". As the payers publish their ratings of your performance, are you prepared to respond? How will you stack up? Can you combat mistakes, can you answer to shortfalls? Today's patients are connected, they read reviews, they research ratings, they'll compare medical practices just like anything else before they commit. If you're not keeping tabs on your own performance, rest assured someone else is. Listen as Ron Howrigon discusses transparency and ratings and how they can affect your practice.

You've heard it before, America has the most expensive healthcare in the world and we don't have much to show for it. The W.H.O. tells us our quality ranks 37th in the world behind countries like Columbia and Morocco. Does it? Take the politics out of it, and what's the real story? Even with unhealthy lifestyles - obesity, substance abuse, diabetes - our healthcare system is keeping Americans alive through serious events like heart attacks and strokes better than anyone else. Ron discusses the numbers you may not have heard in the soundbites about clinical quality in the US.

2019 seems like a decade ago. We were already concerned with the rising cost of health care and the portion of our total economy it accounted for. After COVID, health care finance will be even more brightly spotlighted. We spend more per capita than any other country on health care, nearly twice what the next country on the list spends, and we can't keep going this way. The next president, whoever it is, will have an economy severely wounded and in dire need of emergency treatment. In our new series, Ron delves into what he thinks can be done to fix the mess and get us back on track.

Capitation is coming back to some markets, are you ready? It can be helpful or harmful, a life-saver or devastating - it all depends on how you use it. Are you ready? Can you tell if a new cap agreement is good for you or bad? Do you have the data, and the knowledge, to compare a capitation contract to your current one? Ron discusses what practices need to know about getting started with a new capitation contract.

Value based reimbursement has been talked about for years, but could the combination of a massive deficit, a wounded economy, and a world wide pandemic finally be what it takes to see it happen? Ron discusses why COVID may finally be what sets the dominos in motion on widespread adoption of value based reimbursement programs.

A few months ago we were watching cases climb and predicting dire consequences for the US and the entire world. A few weeks ago we watched new cases decline and everyone was eager to get "back to normal". But did we? And have we made things worse? Ron discusses the second wave of COVID, and why a much needed attitude adjustment may help us get back on track.

We've asked it before, what will it be like for doctors in a post-COVID world? We take a closer look at three factors that will shape the new landscape: the economy, the rise of Telehealth, and the upcoming election. What can practices do to ensure they're successful "after"? You won't have to be perfect, but you will have to be better than the competition.