Episode # 70 – Dr. Marty Makary is the Bestselling Author of Game Changing “Unaccountable” and More Recently “The Price We Pay”. What is Next in Healthcare Post COVID-19? What is Working Today?

In this episode Ron chats with Dr. Marty Makary, Johns Hopkins surgeon, thought leader and Professor of Public Health. Here they discuss primary care in a sea of change during COVID-19 and what it will look like after the pandemic. Hear a deep dive into the importance of preventative primary care and how transactional care does not align with better outcomes. They talk about how fee for service is an outdated model that will be replaced. The coronavirus pandemic is putting a spotlight on many of the broken aspects of healthcare, explored here.

Makary is a frequent medical commentator on NBC and FOX News and a leading voice for physicians, writing for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today. He advises policy leaders at the highest levels of government on health care and leads an advocacy effort to re-build the public trust in American hospitals.

Dr. Makary is a champion of lifestyle medicine and the re-design of how people interface with the health care system. As gastrointestinal surgeon, he is a strong proponent of healthy foods and the impact of the microbiome on health.

His bestselling book The Price We Pay is a call to re-build the public trust in the medical profession.  He advocates for the new movement of relationship-based clinics that spend time with patients to address the social, economic, and lifestyle determinants of health.  His book has been described as “a must-read for every American” by Steve Forbes and a “deep dive into the real issues driving up the cost of health care” by Dr. Don Berwick.  His previous bestselling book Unaccountable was adapted for television into the hit medical series The Resident.

Dr. Makary has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and named one of America’s 20 most influential people in health care by Health Leaders magazine. He is the Editor-in-Chief of MedPage Today and speaks frequently the future of health and health care. His current research focuses on the appropriateness of medical care and the impact of the health care cost crisis on low-income populations.  Using a non-partisan approach, Dr. Makary explains the current billing-throughput system of medical care and explains how the disruptors who are revolutionizing the way we get care.

Dr. Makary was the lead author the Surgical Checklist and later served in leadership with Atul Gawande on the World Health Organization Surgery Checklist project. Makary has published more than 250 scientific articles.

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