Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society. Dr. Brawley speaks about his new book, “How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks and Talks About Being Sick in America”. Dr Brawley explores racial and ethnic disparities in cancer survival and looks at the costs incurred from overuse of certain cancer screenings that are not leading to better health outcomes.

Russell Branzell, President and CEO of the College of Health Information Management Executives

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Russell Branzell, President and CEO of the College of Health Information Management Executives or CHIME. They discuss the many challenges being faced by health IT executives in the quest for full adoption of electronic health records, meeting meaningful use standards, cybersecurity, and the problematic delay of ICD 10 adoption.

Dr. David Brailer, CEO of Health Evolution Partners

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. David Brailer, founder and CEO of Health Evolution Partners, a private equity firm that invests in global health innovators. Dr. Brailer was the nation's first National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and analyzes the opportunities that lie ahead for Health IT.

When Area Hospitals Have the Same Owner, Does Medical Debt Go Up?

There are 27 million Americans who have medical debt on their credit reports right now—a drag on their pocketbooks and our health care system. Urban Institute researchers say they’ve found an interesting fact about those with medical debt: They live in communities with less healthcare competition because of common ownership. The data show that communities of color and people living in the South are disproportionately affected.

Fredric Blavin, Ph.D. and Breno Braga, Ph.D. say medical debt can intensify financial challenges, affect health care access and potentially worsen health outcomes. They report prices at monopoly hospitals are 12% higher than those in more competitive markets.

They share with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter a variety of ways policymakers can explore unraveling the market concentration-medical debt link and we share the perspective of the American Hospital Association. 

Dr. Elizabeth Bradley, Yale Global Health Initiative

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Elizabeth Bradley Director of the Yale Global Health Initiative and co-author of The American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More is Getting Us Less. Dr. Bradley discusses her research comparing American health spending and outcomes against 30 industrialized nations, and the reasons for poor outcomes here relative to the highest per capita health spending.

Michael Botticelli, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Michael Botticelli, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy at the White House. The nation's "Drug Czar" talks about ONDCP's quest to battle the rising tide of opioid addiction and overdoses, now the leading cause of accidental death in America, by targeting resources towards more effective treatments and interventions.

Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Editor-in-Chief of Psychiatric News, the journal of the American Psychiatric Association. He discusses their recent publication, "Understsanding Mental Disorders" which is a layperson's guide to diagnoses listed in the DSM-5.

GE Healthcare's 'Interoperability Guru' Keith Boone Talks Health IT and Coming Advances

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Keith Boone, "Interoperability Guru" at GE Healthcare. Mr. Boone discusses his work developing standards for health information technology as a board member at HL7 International, and how HL7's new FHIR standards, as well as growth of Accountable Care Organizations, will accelerate the pace of interoperability in health care.

Protecting the Health of Our Nation's Active Duty Military and Families: Defense Health Agency Director Vice Admiral Raquel Bono

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Vice Admiral Dr. Raquel Bono, Director of the Defense Health Agency, tasked with providing health services for some 9.4 million members and their families. She talks about the complex, integrated health system providing care from the home base to the battlefield, the implementation of an integrated electronic health records system, and the partnerships required to support the DHA's mission to deliver quality care to all members stationed around the globe.

Hon. Mary Bono, Mothers for Awareness and Prevention of Drug Abuse

Mary Bono has left the halls of Congress, but she’s still winning with her efforts to stop the misuse of both prescription and illegal drugs. Bono, co-founder and chair of Mothers for Awareness and Prevention of Drug Abuse, wants to see a focus on solutions from lawmakers. With a greater presence of fentanyl in the drug supply, “everything [has] changed because there’s no longer time for experimentation,” Bono says. “‘One pill can kill’ is a [Drug Enforcement Administration] slogan, and it’s true.”

Cleveland Clinic's Chief Experience Officer Dr. Adrienne Boissy on Embedding Empathy Into Health Care Training

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Adrienne Boissy, Chief Experience Officer at the Cleveland Clinic Health System who talks about the Patient Experience Summit, and the quest to improve patient outcomes and reduce clinician burnout by operationalizing empathy into health systems.

Propelling Primary Care Towards Value-Based Care: Adam Boehler, Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at HHS on Their Bold Agenda

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Adam Boehler, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at HHS. They discuss ways the agency hopes to "blow up fee for service" and the efforts underway to propel the nation's primary care reimbursement structure towards shared risk and value-based care, rewarding clinicians for better outcomes.

Designing a 21st century approach to patient-centered care

Conversations on Health Care® focuses today on transformative primary care and designing a 21st century approach to patient-centered-care. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter will speak with Dr. Thomas Bodenheimer, renowned physician, author and researcher. Dr. Bodenheimer is a leading expert in primary care and strategies to improve quality and access while controlling costs.

Primary Care Transformation Pioneer Dr. Tom Bodenheimer on Need for More Team-Based Health Care

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome a giant in the world of primary care transformation, Dr. Tom Bodenheimer, Co-Director of the Center for Excellence in Primary Care at the University of California San Francisco. They discuss Dr. Bodenheimer's "Ten Building Blocks for High-Performing Primary Care" which offers essential guidelines for improving primary care practices and patient health outcomes through better use of teams, data, health coaching and reducing administrative burdens in the clinical setting.

Health Information Technology with the Obama Administration

For our one-month anniversary show, we explore the future of health information technology. Hosts, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter interview Dr. David Blumenthal, President Obama's National Coordiantor for Health Information Technology. Dr Blumenthal is tasked with modernizing our nation's health care system in order to improve the health of all Americans, bring down costs, and ensure long term growth.

Dr. David Blumenthal of the Commonwealth Fund on the HITECH Act, ACA and High Cost of American Health Care

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. David Blumenthal, President of the Commonwealth Fund, a philanthropy dedicated to research supporting a high-functioning health care system. He discusses expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the vital role of the HITECH Act in adoption of electronic health records in the US, and the Fund's ongoing research comparing US health costs to other countries.

M. Gregg Bloche, author of The Hippocratic Myth.

This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with physician, attorney, and health policy expert Dr. M. Gregg Bloche about his new book, The Hippocratic Myth: Why Doctors Are Under Pressure to Ration Care, Practice Politics, and Compromise their Promise to Heal, in which he addresses the issues of rationing care and rising health care costs.

Health Policy Challenges President-Elect Trump Must Face

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Robert Blendon, Director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health about health opinions that will challenge the Trump administration in establishing health policy. Dr. Blendon discusses how differing opinions regarding health care will shape the administration's health policy agenda moving forward.

Health Disparities: Dr. Uché Blackstock Talks About Advancing Health Equity

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Uché Blackstock, Founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, an organization dedicated to addressing racial disparities in American health care and in medical education. An Emergency Medicine physician and Medical Contributor to Yahoo News, Dr. Blackstock is a rising activist seeking to address inequities that greatly impact people of color and ethnic minorities – leading to poor health outcomes in the pandemic, and across the healthcare spectrum. She is also seeking to address a lack of diversity in medicine, and the challenges people of color encounter when entering the medical profession.

Maureen Bisognano, president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Maureen Bisognano, president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, about advancing patient safety and quality while improving value and controlling cost.