Restoring the Patient Voice

Restaurant menus list their prices. So why not hospitals? Unfortunately, patients usually don't know the cost of their procedure or medication until they get the bill. Getting access to hospital pricing is also just as difficult as getting a hold of your own digital medical records. So how can patients take back control over their healthcare decisions? On this episode, we discuss the ins and outs of price transparency models, and how to pass legislation that will put you in control of your finances and health.  Guest: Cynthia Fisher, Founder and Chairman, PatientRightsAdvocate.org and founder and former CEO of ViaCord, Inc.  Cynthia Fisher is an established science entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the life science industries. She is an advocate for real price transparency, having founded the non-profit Patient Rights Advocate in 2017. Under her leadership, the organization seeks to elevate the voices of patients that are burdened by healthcare costs and to raise awareness of price transparent healthcare models.   Cynthia is best known for establishing ViaCord Inc. in 1993, a company that offers umbilical cord blood banking and genomic testing with the goal of potentially treating select cancers and genetic diseases. In 2000, Cynthia co-founded ViaCell Inc., which absorbed ViaCord Inc. as a new division. At ViaCell Inc., Cynthia served as President and sat on the Board of Directors.  Her experience in healthcare advocacy also extends into the public sector. In 2017, Cynthia was appointed to the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee by former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.   Cynthia earned a B.S. in Biophysics from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.  Ursinus College also awarded her an Honorary Doctorate in Science. She earned her MBA from Harvard Business School.  Hosts: Terry Wilcox, Executive Director, Patients Rising Dr. Robert Goldberg, "Dr. Bob", Co-Founder and Vice President of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. Kate Pecora, Field Correspondent  Links: The APANDEMIC Initiative Patients Rights Advocate The Discomfort Zone The Discomfort Zone Twitter The Discomfort Zone Facebook The Discomfort Zone Instagram Patients Rising Concierge  Need help? The successful patient is one who can get what they need when they need it. We all know insurance slows us down, so why not take matters into your own hands. Our Navigator is an online tool that allows you to search a massive network of health-related resources using your zip code so you get local results. Get proactive and become a more successful patient right now at PatientsRisingConcierge.org Have a question or comment about the show, want to suggest a show topic or share your story as a patient correspondent? Drop us a line: [email protected] The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the guest(s)/ author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of Patients Rising.