Dr. Francisco Gutierrez, Physician and Owner at Solymar Direct Health, was once the medical director for a hospital in Rhode Island. After spending the majority of his career in the traditional system, he was forced to take a hard look at where he was in his career and where he wanted to be. In 2020, the pandemic forced him to evaluate his career. He came to the conclusion that if he is not a part of the solution, then he is a part of the problem in healthcare. Dr. Gutierrez did not want to continue to be a part of the rat race and see 35 plus people in a day. Instead, he wanted to provide high quality, transparent care. He said goodbye to the traditional system and he hasn&apos;t looked back since. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Healthcare Americana

How the Pandemic Opened a Doctor’s Eyes to Care

Dr. Edward Williams, owner and physician at Foundation Direct Primary Care, opened a DPC practice almost immediately out of residency after experiencing how unethical the traditional healthcare system was. There were many reasons as to what drove him away, but what really bothered him was the concept of the healthcare system owning patients and viewing them as “products” instead of as people. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Can a Patient Be Owned?

Carm Huntress, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at RX Review, discusses how his company is helping physicians make the most clinically effective and cost effective decisions for patients. How is RX Review supporting 200,000 doctors in the United States? Listen to this week’s episode to find out!Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Helping Providers Make Informed Prescribing Decisions Through Actionable Data

Elaine Parker, President of Job Creators Network Foundation and Chief Communications Officer for Job Creators Network, explains how Job Creators Network is advocating for small business owners including direct primary care practices. The Job Creators Network is a national conservative small business organization that was founded by the Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus. Even though Home Depot is considered a large business today, there was a time when Bernie created the first store and was considered a small business owner. His personal experience has allowed him to relate to and understand how small business owners think and work, as well as the challenges they are faced with. Bernie Marcus created The Job Creators Network to help small business owners succeed. In addition to how The Job Creators Network is advocating for small business owners, the company recognized healthcare has become a barrier to them and decided to conduct a national survey. The Job Creators Network surveyed 25,000 consumers to learn what they want in healthcare. They partnered with physician organizations and learned what matters the most and least to Americans. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

What American Consumers Want in Healthcare

Diana Girnita, MD PhD, and Founder and CEO of Rheumatologist OnCall, is one of the few physicians who have successfully launched a pure direct care specialty model. After coming to America and realizing the healthcare system was broken, she took matters into her own hands and created her dream specialty practice. She breaks down how she launched her practice from scratch, as well as the journey ahead of her.If you are a specialty physician and interested in launching your dream direct care specialty practice, listen to the episode to gain inspiration and tips to turn your dream practice into a reality. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Launching a Pure Direct Care Specialty Practice is Possible

Gayle Brekke, a PhD candidate in Health Policy & Management at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and a consultant at Descant Consulting, dives into the topic of data and direct care. She has devoted a significant amount of her career into exploring the question, “does dpc lead to healthier outcomes and lower costs?”Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Does Direct Primary Care Lead to Healthier Outcomes and Lower Costs?

Drew Ellefsen, CEO of the Benefits Management Team, is changing healthcare through his healthcare advocacy product, BMT Care. The product educates consumers on how to navigate the healthcare market. Ellefsen is passionate about helping individuals navigate healthcare, but he explains it has been hard to compete in the individual insurance market due to the Affordable Care Act. During the episode, you follow his journey and learn how he is fighting for the individual.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

The Importance of Educating Consumers on How to Navigate the Healthcare Market

John Zevzavadjian, EVP of Enterprise Platform Solutions, has over 25 years of experience in healthcare and pharmacy management. In his previous role, he served as the SVP of Payer Relations where he led the strategy and execution of all Payer activities at CVS Pharmacy. During the episode, Zevzavadjian discusses the role and challenges of the U.S. government taking on more of the payer. Some of the challenges are the cost of new drugs and the balance around innovation. He says the government has a bias to do something, but he doesn’t see them taking over the total spend. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Does Government Involvement Make Pharmaceuticals More or Less Affordable to the End User?

After 15 years of traditional insurance-based specialty care, Dr. Grace Torres-Hodges, Physician and Owner of Torres Hodges Podiatry, transitioned into a direct care specialty practice five years ago. During this episode, she talks about her journey transitioning from insurance-based specialty care, as well as the misconceptions physicians have about the model. If you are considering the model, listen to this episode to be inspired.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

The Misconceptions of Direct Specialty Care

OTC and pharmacies are very confusing for consumers. Consumers wander down aisles unsure of what to purchase and unaware of the ingredients in their medicine. It shouldn’t be this way. Achal Patel, CEO and Co-Founder at Cabinet, shares how his company is simplifying and changing the over the counter medicine experience for consumers. With an emphasis on transparency, quality, and sustainability, Patel has created a first-of-its-kind refillable system that eliminates single-use plastic, assuring quality at the highest level science can offer, while focusing it all around a human-centric experience.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

How to Make OTC and Pharmacies Easy to Understand and More Accessible

Jenny Aghamalian, Sedera&apos;s Chief Strategy Office, discusses a flurry of legislation across 12+ states that would be harmful to free-market healthcare options like medical cost sharing organizations and direct primary care, even though we need these options more than ever. She discusses this within the broader lens of why healthcare is so complex today, and how we need more affordable, transparent, and accessible options to even out the cost equation.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Patients Deserve Options, Transparency and Affordability

When one of Dr. Nagaraj Kikkeri&apos;s, Medical Director for the NTTC Surgery Center, patients stopped coming in for her colonoscopies and other routine check-ups, he was concerned. About a year later, she passed away due to undetected cancer. He knew right then that something had to change. In less than a year, he revamped his medical center and started offering bundled procedures and a different approach to medical care. He&apos;s a huge advocate of patients first and money second.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Patient Empowers Physician to Change Approach to Medical Care

Michelle Frank is the Chief Revenue Officer for Goodroot. Goodroot is changing the way pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans, employers and others interact and how those changes can be beneficial for all.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Drug Affordability is a Real Problem

Free Market Medical Association Executive Director James Dunavant joins Chris to highlight was can be expected at the 2021 FMMA Annual Conference.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Current Event: FMMA Annual Conference - Are You Ready for the Red Pill?

Chris Habig talks with early DPC pioneer Dr. Douglas Farrago, who is board certified in the specialty of family practice and the founder of DPC News.Dr. Farrago shares how he used to fight “tooth and nail” in the traditional health sick system against quality metrics. He shares how his former chief medical officer challenged him asking what he hated about quality. Dr. Farrago’s response was you can’t define it. There is one quality metric that will never be tested and that is time with patients. The traditional system doesn’t want to measure that because it doesn’t fit with their agenda. The truth is insurers define the quality.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Why Quality Metrics is Detrimental to Care

People are lost navigating healthcare. Doctors are forced to treat their patients like an assembly line. An emphasis on production works in a factory making widgets, but not with people. Direct Primary Care changes all of this.

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Healthcare Americana

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