Three perfect storms in recent years – the health storm produced by the COVID-19 pandemic; the economic storm that resulted from its disruptions; and the social storm that followed the murder of George Floyd which sparked fresh outrage at longstanding inequities – have sharpened and added important nuances of what health care really means. The goal of health care has always been to reduce suffering, but we must now prioritize transformation in leadership now more than ever. Building trust, eliminating inequities, and ensuring high reliability are of the highest magnitude of importance as we blaze a new path forward.
This week, on the Race to Value, we are joined by Thomas H. Lee, M.D., the author of the new book “Healthcare’s Path Forward” to discuss how the healthcare industry is being transformed by deeper knowledge of what suffering means for patients, their families, and healthcare providers themselves. Since healthcare is not working for anyone, Dr. Lee provides wisdom and insights of optimism for where true change can happen in creating new standards for excellence.
In addition to being a bestselling author and expert on healthcare transformation, Dr. Lee is the Chief Medical Officer of Press Ganey.  He brings more than three decades of experience in healthcare performance improvement as a practicing physician, leader in provider organizations, researcher, and health policy expert. He’s responsible for developing clinical and operational strategies to help providers across the nation measure and improve the patient experience, with an overarching goal of reducing the suffering of patients as they undergo care and improve the value of their care.

Episode Bookmarks:
01:30 Introduction to Thomas H. Lee. M.D. and his new book “Healthcare’s Path Forward”
03:00 Support Race to  Value by subscribing to our weekly newsletter and leaving a review/rating on Apple Podcasts.
04:00 The six elements of organizational culture that lead to transformation – Excellence, Trust, Respect, Inclusion, Resilience, Reliability
05:00 John Nash (“A Beautiful Mind”) and Non-Cooperative Game Theory
06:00 Optimism for healthcare because how bad things really are!
07:00 Nash Equilibrium states are commonplace in healthcare – it creates inertia and stifles change.
08:30 “Equilibrium states break down when the pain of the status quo exceeds the fear of the unknown for multiple parties.”
09:00 “Healthcare is not working for anyone.  That is where real change can happen and what makes me optimistic.”
09:45 The destabilizing trends of supply chain disruption, social unrest, political divisiveness, consumerism, demographic shifts, workforce drain, and environmental disasters.
11:30 Responding to social justice, climate change, and the need to redesign healthcare – is it too much for us to tackle all at once?
12:00 “Changing the way healthcare is paid for – in absence of other reforms – is grossly inefficient.  There are many other things that have to happen.”
12:30 Michael Porter’s Value Chain and the importance of clarity and differentiation in the creation of value.
13:30 “Payment reform is just one activity of healthcare reform.  We also need trust in the workforce and with patients, an understanding of what safety means, and a response to consumerism.”
15:00 In times of turmoil, healthcare organizations need more than a performance culture; they need a learning culture.
16:30 The most important part of transformational leadership is division of responsibilities and areas of key focus to enact organizational change.
17:30 No one can do everything!  If leaders focus on only three things, they will be successful in strategy execution.
18:30 3 Functions of Governing Boards and Executives: Articulate the Core Values, Develop Strategy, Understand the Value Chain
18:45 “An organization is the lengthened shadow of its leaders.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
20:30 3 Functions of Managers: Create Social Capital,

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