Zeev Neuwirth Podcasts

In this episode Ron chats with Dr. Zeev Neuwirth. Zeev is a healthcare executive, author, and host of the “Creating a New Healthcare” podcast. Here, he delves deep into the innovative realms of employee health and the transformative potential of digital technology in healthcare. Zeev also shares insights from his book “Beyond the Walls: MegaTrends,…

Friends, This interview is one of the most startling I’ve posted to date. In this episode, we discover that pulse oximeters – which measure blood oxygen levels – are not always accurate in people of color. Mounting evidence suggests that they’re far less accurate in people of color than in white people. They can overestimate the amount of oxygen sa…

On this episode Ron has an engaging conversation with Dr. Gordon Chen, Owner, former Chief Medical Officer, and current Board Member, ChenMed Inc. He is also Co-author of “The Calling: A Memoir of Family, Faith and the Future of Healthcare.” Here, Gordon answers the hard-hitting questions of why everyone isn’t going full risk in value-based care, w…

Friends, As we’ve described and discussed before in this podcast, Primary Care in the US is on life-support and the prognosis does not look good. The implications for all of us is dire – as we look at what is nothing less than the demise of primary preventive care in our country. Our guest today has devoted his career to trying to revive and save p…

Friends, In this episode we’re going to discuss the opportunity we have, collectively, to live longer and healthier lives – and the underlying transition that’s required in the healthcare industry to make that a reality over the next few years. The specific topics at hand include: (1) The economic imperative for why the American healthcare industry…

Friends, I’ve had the great privilege of interviewing and interacting with Glen Tullman a number of times over the past few years. The last time we spoke in a formal interview was episode #121, which was posted on Sept 22, 2021. That episode was entitled, “A master class in building a healthcare consumer experience company”. And it was exactly that…

Friends, The central role that Medicare, and CMS, play in our healthcare system can not be overstated. There are approximately 64 million Americans in the Medicare program, with annual payments of $1 Trillion, comprising over 20% of the healthcare spend in our country. In addition to its size and scope, CMS, through the Medicare program, is leading…

In this episode Ron chats with Andrew Thompson, COO of Pediatric Associates. Here they discuss whether the large health systems deliver better or worse outcomes than independent physicians. They also examine the influence of big healthcare systems, the rise of value-based care, and the monopolies that dominate the industry. Throughout the episode, …

In this episode, Ron chats with Leon Wisniewski, Founder of Health Cost Labs & Co-Founder of Billy – a consumer focused healthcare payment tool. Here, Leon discusses how Billy works, how it takes price transparency to a whole new level, how it creates hospital competition that will ultimately bring prices down, and much more! Leon worked at large B…

A lot has changed in healthcare since Ron Barshop started the podcast in 2019. On this 200th episode of Primary Care Cures, Ron reflects on the multitude of conversations he’s had with thought leaders from across the country, the growth of the podcast, the current retail disruptor wars in healthcare, federal complicity, and who is profiting from th…

Friends, There is no question that digital health is a critical part of the future of healthcare delivery. It is what I term ‘the great enabler’. And in this interview we have the opportunity to speak with a physician leader who is at the tip of that spear: Dr. Eve Cunningham, a physician executive in virtual care & digital health at Providence, on…

In this episode Ron brings Dr. Cristin Dickerson back on the show. Here, she discusses the Green Imaging business model, how they focus on providing fairly priced imaging, her thoughts on what the ideal health plan would be, and more. Dr. Cristin A. Dickerson is the founding partner of Green Imaging. She is a graduate of the University of Texas Med…

Friends, In my upcoming book, Beyond The Walls, I spend an entire chapter discussing how platforms have revolutionized other industries and how they’re about to do the same in healthcare. Over the past couple of years, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing and learning from the experts who have been working with platforms for years. Geoffrey Parke…

In this episode Ron chats with Paula Muto, Founder & CEO of UBERDOC. UBERDOC is where direct-pay patients go to find the care they need without the barriers that limit choice, cause delay, and cost more. They are building a fee-for-service model that re-establishes an efficient and direct-connection between doctor and patient. Here she discusses wh…

In this episode Ron chats with Donald Trigg, CEO of apree Health. Here he discusses how apree health is building the first integrated health network that combines data-driven personalization, a coordinated care model, and aligned incentives which aims to unlock value and make life better for those they serve. He also discusses his partnership with …

Friends, This week’s interview is nothing less than awesome, and it’s awesome for three reasons. First, Dr. Rishi Sikka is a brilliant and accomplished physician executive with an incredibly diverse professional background. He brings that diversity of thought and vision into his work and into our dialogue. Second, we’re going to discuss some key ne…

In this episode Ron brings Keith Smith, Medical Director at Surgical Center of Oklahoma back on the show to discuss the importance of transparent pricing in healthcare and how he helped to pioneer that movement. He also discusses how other organizations are copying the Surgery Center of Oklahoma pricing model, how the government is not doing enough…

[In order to provide accessible content, here is a full transcript of this interview] Friends, The topic this week is caregiving and caregivers – an issue that is so much larger, so much more devastating, and so much more in need of reform than most of us are aware. There are over 50 million family caregivers in the US, and they suffer financially,…

In this episode Ron chats with Dr. Mark Potts, President of Transformational Consulting, LLC. Here, Mark discusses his previous role as the Superintendent of the Ashtabula Area City Schools and how he discovered that that his employees did not have great healthcare benefits despite ever-increasing costs. This discovery led him on a journey to get a…

Friends, This is a super interesting and fast paced dialogue about a topic that is poorly understood by most, including healthcare executives and policy experts. The topic is employee health plans. Our guest today, Dave Chase is a remarkable healthcare entrepreneur with decades of experience who has been one of the most brilliant thinkers and activ…

In this episode Ron chats with Sharon Pearce, Co-Chair of the Commission for Nurse Reimbursement. Here she discusses how nursing compensation has changed since hospitals have cut costs in nursing, how to improve compensation for nursing while improving nursing ratios, how burnout in nursing has gotten worse since COVID-19, her podcast “Beyond the M…

In this episode Dr. Frank Dumont returns to the show. Frank is the Commercial Medical Director at Virta Health. Here, he discusses reversing Type 2 diabetes, how Virta has been able to replicate the success they have seen in their clinical trials, and more. He also shares how Virta has been able to deprescribe diabetes medication, even across multi…

Friends, I began this interview in a fairly calm state of mind, but I was shaken by the end. Throughout our dialogue, I could not help repeating the word ‘startling’ as our two expert guests shared stats on the state of primary care in their home state of Massachusetts and across the country. For example, were you aware that only about 5% of the to…

In this episode, Ron has a discussion with Preston Alexander, Founder & President of One Degree Medical. Here, Preston chats about the winners of DPCs and why they aren’t as prevalent as they should be, what’s wrong with monopolized health systems, the problem with non-profit health systems, and much more. Preston Alexander is a healthcare entrepre…

Friends, The day after we recorded this interview, I picked up the May 2nd 2023 issue of JAMA and discovered that one of the leading research studies was about the rising trend in mental health-related ED visits among youth. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2804326 The stats were shocking and of serious concern. Between 2011 a…

Friends, This was the most challenging interview I’ve conducted and posted, in the nearly 6 years that I’ve been hosting the ‘Creating a New Healthcare’ podcast. I spent weeks listening to the audio file – trying to figure out how to understand it, what to do with it, and how to present it to you. In the end, I believe it’s important to share it an…

Friends, The topic of this episode is about an emerging healthcare marketplace transformation, which is the introduction of platforms into healthcare. What surprised me about this movement is how many years it’s been developing. For example, last July I attended the 2022 MIT Platform Strategy Summit. Turns out it was their 10th annual symposium on …

In this episode, Ron chats with Dr. Brian Fretwell, President and CEO of Direct Primary Care Associates and myDPCrx – a DPC provider driven pharmacy program that sells over 1,000 generic prescriptions for pennies on the dollar. Here, he answers the questions of what led him to start myDPCrx, where his 5 clinics are located, how this is changing the…

Folks, We recorded this interview in February – the dead of winter – and I have to admit that I needed some sunshine and positivity. Steve Sell supplied it with his enthusiasm, his can-do spirit and the fantastic advancements that agilon is making in allowing providers to practice primary care medicine with more time, more resources and more suppor…

Friends, Let’s start with a statistic. I suspect that many of you consider rural healthcare a somewhat esoteric or niche market. Let’s correct that misconception right up front. There are over 60 million Americans who live in rural settings and they tend to be older and have more medical conditions than the general population. Just for comparison’s…

Friends, I have to tell you that each time I have the opportunity to speak with Dr. Patrick Conway, it’s a treat. He is an erudite and accomplished healthcare executive – having served as the CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and previous to that as the deputy administrator for innovation and quality at the Center for Medicare and Med…

Friends, It’s always enlightening and inspiring to hear from Dr. Robert Pearl, our guest this episode. He tackles critical issues in healthcare head on and with unabashed honesty and unfiltered integrity. The topics you’ll be hearing about this episode include what Dr. Pearl refers to as “the middleman mentality”, which he argues is “killing Americ…

In this episode, Ron talks DPCs with Dr. Kenneth Qiu, Founder of EuDoc, & Associate Clinical Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Here, Kenneth discusses what he sees the outlook for DPCs in the next year, what it is like to be a DPC practitioner himself, his work educating med students on DPCs, and much more. Kenneth Q…

Friends, In this episode, we have the unique opportunity of being introduced to two critical components in the future of healthcare delivery: platforms and flywheels. We also have the great fortune of being introduced to one of the national leaders in digital healthcare, Sara Vaezy. Our guest will share why and how platforms and flywheels are neces…

In this episode Katy Talento, Epidemiologist, Executive Director at Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, & CEO of AllBetter Health rejoins the show for a third time. AllBetter Health is a next-gen health benefits advisory firm that saves employers & other groups money while offering benefits great benefits including zero deductibles. Here, s…