The Business of Healthcare Podcast

Physician-turned-entrepreneur Dr. Eric Bricker joins Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about healthcare reform through a financial lens. Bricker is a former internal medicine physician who co-founded Compass Professional Health Services. He sold the company to Blackstone-owned Alight Solutions then started AHealthcareZ, a healthcare finance video journal, to educate employers about the factors affecting their healthcare costs and quality. Bricker also discusses his new book, Healthcare Money Campfire Stories, which addresses in storyteller fashion how money influences healthcare and the practice of medicine.

Anthony Iacovone, CEO of BioSymetrics, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about what biomedical artificial intelligence and machine learning are and how they can be used to improve outcomes in the areas of drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and value-based care as well as reduce healthcare costs.

Dr. Paul Convery, a clinical professor of healthcare leadership and management in the Executive Education Area at the Naveen Jindal School of Management joins Dr. Robert Kaiser for a discussion about the various "Medicare for All" bills that have been introduced in the 116th U.S. Congress. Convery also discussed this topic as a panelist at a recent seminar — "Medicare for All: What Does it Really Mean? — presented by the Jindal School's Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management.

In this episode, ConnectRN executives Mike Wood and Idriz Limaj join host Dr. Bob Kaiser remotely from Boston to discuss how they are helping to solve the nursing shortage by streamlining how nurses connect with healthcare facilities to fill open shifts.

Dave Gregorio, founding partner of organizational development company ImPowerQ Associates, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss his company's Heroes to Healthcare Mission. The apprenticeship program helps mid-level enlisted military members who have worked in healthcare fields transition to civilian careers.

Bestselling author Dr. Marty Makary, MD chats with Dr. Bob Kaiser about his new book, The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It.

Dr. John R. Mehall joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser to discuss healthcare staffing challenges. Mehall is CEO of CV Staffing Solutions. He explains how the company he founded helps solve those challenges by providing personnel to hospitals in medically underserved geographical areas with locum tenens surgeons. Mehall also founded and manages Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Associates, an independent cardiothoracic surgical group in Colorado.

Ken Robbins, CEO and founder of Response Mine Health, joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about what customer-focused healthcare looks like in an environment where patients play a much more active role in purchasing and consuming the healthcare services they receive. They also discuss what healthcare providers can do to make the transition.

Hemp farmer Jim Pollock joins host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about CBD oil and tries to separate the hype from the reality — its history, explosion in popularity, path to legality and what the future holds for this controversial product.

This episode features language-access experts Esther Diaz and Manuel Higginbotham. They join host Dr. Bob Kaiser for a discussion about medical interpretation and translation and its impact on the healthcare industry. Diaz is language-access advocate and co-founder of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators. Higginbotham is language-access manager for The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and president of TAHIT. They discuss training and certification, legal requirements, staffing issues and other complexities related to providing interpretation and translation services for patients who need access to healthcare services.

Links to websites discussed during the episode and other useful links:

• The 13th Annual TAHIT Educational Symposium (Sept. 13-14, 2019 in Houston)
• American Translators Association (Arlington, Va.)
• Metroplex Interpreters and Translators Association (Dallas-Fort Worth)
• Houston Interpreters and Translators Association
• Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association (Austin, Tex. Location)
• National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare (Washington)