Someone In Your Corner: The Case for Health Navigation with Dr Michael Averbukh

Send us Fan MailHealthcare can be world-class and still feel impossible to navigate. When you are bounced between specialities, sent for duplicate tests, or left holding results you cannot interpret, the real gap is often ownership of the journey. We sit down with Dr Michael Averbukh, CEO and managing partner at Serenity, to talk about a practical answer: nurse-led health case management built around patient advocacy, continuity, and clear next steps.We break down what “dedicated nurse case manager” actually means day to day, from onboarding and clinical intake to planning preventive care, preparing for appointments, and debriefing after consultations so nothing gets lost. Michael also explains why Serenity chooses to complement existing GPs and specialists rather than replace them, and why the service avoids commercial links to preferred providers. The goal is simple but demanding: reduce friction in a fragmented healthcare system while protecting clinical integrity and a genuinely human patient experience.We also go inside the operating model: how to hire for attitude as well as clinical competence, how to maintain consistent quality, and how a tailored CRM and future platform can support high-touch care at scale. Finally, we explore why the model resonates with expats in Portugal, why London’s mix of NHS pathways and abundant private choice creates a different kind of overwhelm, and what it takes to grow without compromising standards.If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a colleague in healthcare leadership, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.Guest BiographyDr Michael Averbukh is a healthcare leader with more than 25 years of experience spanning clinical practice, hospital leadership, strategy, and operations. He is the CEO and Managing Partner of Serenity, where he leads a high-touch health case management model designed to help clients navigate fragmented medical systems through dedicated nurse support, personalised advocacy, and coordinated care planning.LinksWebsite: https://serenity-portugal.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-averbukh-md-mha-7b935a44/Subscribe on SubstackVoices in Health and Wellness is published on Substack, as part of The Diagnostician. Every episode lands there with written notes and reflections you won't find in the podcast feed. Free to subscribe.👉 https://thediagnostician.substack.com/s/voices-in-health-and-wellnessAbout the podcastVoices in Health and Wellness features conversations at the intersection of medicine, lifestyle, and human potential, with clinicians, scientists, and thinkers shaping the future of care.About Dr Andrew GreenlandUK-based medical doctor and founder of Greenland Medical, specialising in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Trained in both conventional and root-cause approaches, Andrew helps people optimise health, performance, and longevity, with a focus on cognitive resilience and healthy ageing.