EP413: The Intersection of Healthcare Waste, Value-Based Care, and the Potential Rising Power of PCPs, With Will Shrank, MD

Reducing Healthcare Waste: Aligning Incentives and Empowering Primary Care Physicians To read the full article and show notes with links mentioned as well as a full transcript, click here. In Episode 413 of 'Relentless Health Value,' Stacey Richter interviews Dr. Will Schrank on the intersection of healthcare waste, value-based care, and the rising influence of primary care physicians (PCPs). Dr. Schrank's extensive background includes roles at CMMI, CVS Health, UPMC, and Humana, and he is currently a venture partner at Andreessen Horowitz. The discussion delves into a study estimating nearly a trillion dollars of annual waste in U.S. healthcare, categorized into administrative failures (fraud, complexity, pricing) and clinical failures (care coordination, delivery, low-value care). Solutions like aligning financial incentives with higher quality care and primary care-driven models are explored. The episode also highlights challenges in shifting away from fee-for-service models, the potential evolving power of banded PCP groups, and the imperative for health systems to adopt value-based approaches. Love the show? Please consider signing up for our weekly newsletter. We'll send you an article covering the latest episode with show notes, mentioned links and a transcribed intro. Join the RHV Tribe. 05:56 Can we cut healthcare waste while improving patient care? 06:35 What does "healthcare waste" consist of? 06:48 What are the six categories of "healthcare waste"? 09:25 EP363 with David Scheinker, PhD. 09:39 How much money does Dr. Shrank estimate is wasted each year in healthcare? 12:11 Where is that healthcare waste going, and why does it happen? 19:09 Uncaring by Robert Pearl, MD. 20:20 "We've built a backbone of extraordinary waste on a fee-for-service chassis." 21:18 EP409 with Larry Bauer, MSW, MEd. 23:26 EP359 with Dan O'Neill. 25:04 Dr. Shrank's warning to providers out there. 29:04 Summer Shorts 2 with Scott Conard, MD. 30:43 Why there might be a generational shift among younger providers looking to work with different models.