Pharma & Healthcare

In “I’ve Seen The Future Of Healthcare. I Like What I See,” I noted ZOOM+ had a radically different approach to emergency rooms. Now that ZOOM+ is also a health plan, it’s logical that they would go after one of the biggest areas of unnecessary and expensive care—the ER. Rather than viewing it as a profit engine, they simply view their ER as one of the important pieces of the puzzle in building the Kaiser Permanente for the 21st century . This new approach implicitly addresses the Quadruple Aim more effectively than any other ER I’ve seen or heard about. I expect this approach to ERs will be a new component of the Health Rosetta that raises the bar on the under-performing status quo. As you visit their facilities or see the pictures in this article, I’m struck with the thought that if Steve Jobs was creating a clinic or an ER, ZOOM+ is what he would have created. The radical simplicity of this and the Transparent Medical Network that was highlighted in “The Silver Bullet To Solving Healthcare’s Most Vexing Problem” are the two most straightforward ways I’ve seen to slay the healthcare cost beast. One could imagine how next generation health plans such as Alignment Healthcare, CareMore, Clover Health, Humana’s Medicare Advantage (where they partner with ChenMed and Iora Health) and Oscar would employ these two strategies. Not only does it save money, it also would serve a “ billboard” for these new brands. There aren’t many “try before you buy” options available to healthcare. This would be one. [Disclosure: As I've disclosed many times, the Health Rosetta is a non-commercial open-source project that provides a reference model for how purchasers of healthcare should procure health services. In my role as managing partner of Healthfundr, a seed stage venture fund, we invest in companies adhering to precepts of the Health Rosetta.]   In the earlier piece, I summarized what ZOOM+ is doing with their ZOOM+ Super ER concept that is meant to radically reduce unnecessary hospitalizations. Unlike many new freestanding ER concepts that do little to positively impact the Quadruple Aim, it’s clear that the ZOOM+ Super concept is designed to be pleasant for the board-certified ER docs. This naturally leads to a better patient experience, which in turn helps improve outcomes. The byproduct is an approach that clearly lowers overall healthcare spending. That stands in stark contrast to many freestanding ERs where there has been quite a bit of abuse. To read full story Click Here Credit Dave Chase