The Improving Patient Access Podcast

May 11, 2021

In this latest episode of the MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access series, Senior Editor Peter Wehrwein spoke with Dr. Christopher Crow, resident of Catalyst Health Network, a clinically integrated network of more than 1,000 primary care physicians throughout Texas. Peter and Dr. Crow discuss how his small-town roots and doctors there inspired his thinking about access issues; his experience with patient-centered medical homes and setting patient access as a priority; how Catalyst supports physicians in improving access; and the lack of Medicaid expansion in Texas and how that affects access there.

April 13, 2021

In this new episode of MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access podcast, Steven D. Pearson, M.D., M.Sc., warns that high prices can squander an opportunity to bring innovative medications into clinical use.

March 25, 2021

Senior Editor Peter Wehrwein spoke with Vayong Moua, the Director of Racial and Health Equity Advocacy for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (BCBSMN), for this week's episode of the "MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access" podcast series. Wehrwein and Moua discussed healthcare equity issues, how they relate to access issues, the political determinants of health and killing of George Floyd.

March 09, 2021

Thomas P. Leist, MD, PhD, a neurologist and professor of Multiple Sclerosis at Jefferson University Hospitals, is the latest guest featured on MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access podcast. In this episode, Thomas spoke with Peter Wehrwein, senior editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, about accessing care amongst patients with MS through therapies, health insurance barriers, options of step therapy and more.

February 23, 2021

In this latest episode of MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access podcast, Dennis Bourdette, M.D., professor emeritus of neurology in the School of Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University, spoke with Peter Wehrwein, senior editor of MHE. Bourdette, a nationally recognized expert on multiple sclerosis, discussed step therapy, tiers, insurance approvals and the need for greater communication between physicians and insurers.

February 12, 2021

Peter Wehrwein, senior editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, speaks with Mohan Giridharadas, the founder and CEO at LeanTaas, a software and machine learning company. The Santa Clara, California, company’s software enables healthcare systems to maximize efficient use of their infusion centers, operating rooms and other facilities. More efficient use translates into improved access to services for patients, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Giridharadas explains.

January 26, 2021

In this latest episode of the "MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access" series, Senior Editor of MHE, Peter Wehrwein, speaks with Harvey Kaufman, M.D., FCAP, MBA, senior medical director of medical informatics at Quest Diagnostics. The two discussed a recent Quest Diagnostics Health Trends report examining healthcare disparities.

January 12, 2021

MHE's Peter Wehrwein talks with Lloyd Dean, CEO of CommonSpirit Health, and Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D., FACOG, president of Morehouse School of Medicine, in this new episode of MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access podcast series. The three discuss the lack of Black physicians in the United States. Of the 22,000 medical school applicants in the U.S. every year, only 1,600 are Black. Dean and Rice created a program that seeks to cross barriers of healthcare and racial disparities by offering more opportunities for students of color in medical school programs.

December 22, 2020

MHE Senior Editor talks with John “Jack” S. Linehan, a lawyer at Epstein Becker Green, for this week's episode of MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access series. The two discuss copay accumulators and maximizers, as well as how states have moved to prohibit accumulators and maximizers as the federal government takes a hands-off approach.

December 08, 2020

MHE's Peter Wehrwein speaks with Kevin Lewis, president and CEO of Community Health Options in Maine. The two discussed how Community Health Options is improving patient access through telehealth and more services on Tuning Into The C-Suite's newest series MHE Talks: Improving Patient Access.