Think about that statement for a second. That’s the secret behind Google, Uber, Lyft, Seamless, Ticketmaster, Waze, Airbnb, Silvercar, Hotel Tonight, etc, etc, etc. If you go online first, new processes can emerge. Those new processes are designed to scale at a fraction of the cost of the past. Sure, the library could bring in a computer instead of microfiche, but it’s still a trip … Continue reading Go online first instead of doing what you used to do.

A doctor gets sick and visits his doctor friend. The sick doctor is in a very weird situation where he is uninsured this month (long story) and has to spend cash on determining a diagnosis and getting treated. So, he and his doctor friend talk through the situation with two goals in mind: How can we confirm the diagnosis at the lowest cost? How can … Continue reading How to find the lowest cost to treat anything

Last week, I defined the characteristics of each new primary care model in America and, in the following post, determined the kind of person who would most benefit from each new model. This is important because primary care is literally just a process. And you’ve got to design and build the process that’s best able to solve specific problems. Since we all don’t have the … Continue reading Costs can change only if there are new different processes to solve the same problems.

Yesterday, I posted a chart detailing the characteristics of new and traditional primary care models. Today, I’m going to try to identify who would be a best fit for each model. The following is a primer on how primary care works, how people spend on care, and how spend can be affected by the various new models of primary care. I’m a firm believer in … Continue reading Matching the right primary care tool to the needs of each person

Traditionally, when things were simpler, people had a primary care doctor. He looked and acted a lot like Marcus Welby or Doc Hollywod. But something huge happened that changed everything. The general field of medicine became overly complex. Atul Gawande, in his commencement speech, Cowboys and Pit Crews, addresses this complexity problem: The core structure of medicine—how health care is organized and practiced—emerged in an … Continue reading Primary care was made for simpler times. It’s time to reconsider.