Steve Delaronde

Behavioral health refers to mental health and substance use, which can frequently co-occur. This is what makes the results of the most recently published Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS) so […]

The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is known as the “holiday season” in the United States. It represents a time that families traditionally gather to celebrate secular and […]

Everyone wants quality at a fair price. This is the definition of value. However, when it comes to health care, value may not be the term that resonates most with […]

Vegetables are a highly rated, though a vastly underutilized resource for addressing diet-related health conditions. The same is true for fruit, whole grains and legumes. If the regular consumption of […]

The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ended in the United States on May 11, 2023. The pandemic (a disease that rapidly spreads over a wide area) has been declared endemic […]

More than 50 million people worldwide and 6.5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. It is responsible for up to 70 percent of dementia cases and represents a significant […]

COVID-19 is not finished. In fact, it is likely to persist indefinitely and will move from pandemic to endemic status as the reduction and control of the virus occurs in […]

Extreme heat can be deadly. More than 11,000 Americans have died from heat-related causes since 1979 according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Europe and China experienced the hottest […]

Thinking outside the box has become a truism. It is meant to convey creativity and thinking beyond the obvious. Yet boxes serve a purpose. When we categorize and classify people […]

The contribution of scientific knowledge to the improvement of health care is self-evident. Medicine, devices, surgical techniques and diagnostic tools have improved and saved countless lives over the past century. […]

Paying for value makes sense. It incents health care providers to maximize patient outcomes relative to price rather than the number of office visits, lab tests or medical procedures they […]

The Iron Triangle of Health Care theorizes that cost, quality and access cannot simultaneously improve. For example, improved patient access will increase demand and strain health care resources, thereby reducing […]

Bringing your car to a mechanic is a lot like going to the doctor. Auto mechanics and doctors both work within a predominantly fee-for-service system where information asymmetry prevails. Information […]

When you ask a health care provider for the price of a knee replacement, primary care visit, lab test or even a trip to the urgent care center, the most […]

Insurance protects against losses from unexpected events. Health insurance that protects against the unlikely risk of major surgery or hospitalization makes sense, since the financial impact of a major medical […]

The three-legged stool that supports primary care in a successful value-based practice includes data analytics, care coordination and patient outreach. The primary care provider (PCP) cannot perform all these roles, […]

Hospitals are established on a foundation of caring. They offer a setting to perform medical procedures, deliver babies and help patients recover from illness and injury. Their 19th century mission […]

Childbirth is safer now than at any other time in U.S. history. Despite this, nearly 1 in 3 babies are born by Cesarean delivery, 1 in 7 are born into […]

Health equity exists when all persons have the opportunity to be healthy, regardless of social, economic, demographic or geographic status. Digital health literacy is the ability to access, understand and […]

In the first month of 2021, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in the United States, surpassing heart disease and cancer. Except for the 1918 flu pandemic and the […]

After narrowly missing an opportunity at the end of 2019 to end the outrage surrounding surprise medical bills, the United States Congress finally agreed to ban most of them. The […]

More than half of Americans receive health insurance through their employer. Two-thirds of covered workers are insured by companies that assume all the risk for health care costs and do […]

High-income countries can offer state-of-the-art medical technology, but treatment can be expensive. The patient’s contribution to the cost of medical treatment can quickly outpace their ability to pay, particularly in […]

Primary care is the doorway to health care in the United States—at least in theory. The trust established between a patient and their primary care physician (PCP) allows the physician […]

Before COVID-19, U.S. health care was being called out for unfair billing practices. Surprise bills, confusing and excessive hospital chargemaster rates, balance billing and overreliance on fee-for-service had become familiar […]

Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, a person diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes could expect to live no more than three years.  The three Canadians credited with its discovery, […]

The intersection of a novel virus, health disparities across our communities and rising health care prices presents a formidable challenge to the U.S. health care system. COVID-19 is new, but […]

The fear of expensive medical bills is an ongoing impediment for patients seeking healthcare services and has only been compounded amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 18, 2020, the Families […]

Social distancing refers to the practice of deliberately increasing the physical space between people to prevent the spread of illness. If preventing illness is the primary objective, should this practice […]

The extent and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still emerging. Lack of experience with a novel virus is challenging governments, public health systems, and individuals worldwide.  We have a […]

The realization that income, education and zip code have a significant impact on the health of a population has evolved over the past ten years and is now widely accepted. […]

Patient advocates thought that 2019 might be the year the U.S. Congress passed legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills. A divided Congress came together in an unusual display […]

The relationship between physicians and hospitals has changed. Gone are the days of the hospital serving as the “physician’s workshop.” Advances in technology, different payment structures and the rise of […]

Nearly one in five Americans visit an emergency room (ER) every year and one-third of them visit more than once. These proportions are the same as they were in 1997. […]

Does a patient prioritize convenience, cost or quality when it comes to taking care of his or her health? Do patients approach different conditions the same way—a sprained ankle, back […]

A proposal was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 29, 2019 stating that hospitals must make public the payer-negotiated price for 300 common shoppable […]

Patients are charged around $1,200 for an ambulance ride to the hospital, while the median price of an air ambulance for privately insured patients is $36,400. Why is the price […]

The proportion of overweight American adults remained consistent at about 1 in 3 since the 1960s. However, obesity rates have increased nearly three-fold from less than 15 percent in 1960 […]

McAllen, Texas is a border town in the Rio Grande Valley with a metro population of 839,000. On May 25, 2009, Atul Gawande published The Cost Conundrum in which he […]

Do patients have the right to know the price of healthcare services before they receive them? This is the question that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is […]

Primary care physicians (PCPs) want data that can be used to better serve their patients. If they can easily access timely and relevant data, they will use it. Cost, quality […]

The “Iron Triangle” in health care refers to the concept that access, cost and quality cannot all be simultaneously improved. The premise is that an improvement in one area results […]

As of January 1, 2019, hospitals must post their prices on the internet for patients to review. The intent is to provide patients with price transparency and allow them to […]

Between 2011 and 2013, 31 out of 38 patients treated by the same neurosurgeon in the Dallas area were left paralyzed, seriously injured or dead. The neurosurgeon became known as […]

Loyalty to one’s doctor and following medical advice was rarely questioned in the 20th century.  When managed care reached its zenith in the 1990s, having an assigned primary care physician […]

Nobody likes surprises when it comes to their health.  We don’t want to be surprised by a diagnosis that we did not expect or treatment that we did not anticipate, […]

Ready or not, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) will be expected to assume downside risk after two years according to a proposal announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) […]

The plight of the American healthcare system has been discussed for decades. Researchers and practitioners have developed some of the most advanced medical interventions for victims of trauma, congenital anomalies, […]

The accountable care organization (ACO) was first proposed in 2006 as a method for reigning in the increasing costs of health care. The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) was enacted […]

As the U.S. healthcare system tries to manage the 60 percent of persons with at least one chronic disease that consume 90 percent of healthcare costs, it is an opportune […]

There were nearly 64,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2016.  Opioids account for two-thirds of those deaths. The number of overdose deaths involving opioids is five times […]

The Institute of Medicine estimates that 30 percent of healthcare spending is attributed to waste. Waste in health care not only has a financial impact, but also robs patients of […]

Business management guru Peter Drucker is credited with saying that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The message is that an organization will not adopt any change or effectively pursue any […]

The prevention and management of chronic health conditions will have the greatest impact on reducing healthcare costs, improving quality of life and reducing mortality.  A 2017 RAND study estimates that […]

The role of the primary care provider is to serve as a generalist in managing their patients’ health. Specialists are available to provide expert opinion or specific procedures beyond the […]

Patient engagement is widely accepted as a key condition for achieving positive healthcare outcomes. Patients who participate in their healthcare decisions and feel capable of improving their health through diet, […]

A primary objective of the Triple Aim for healthcare payers is to reduce costs associated with inefficient, ineffective, or medically unnecessary care. The accountable care organization, or ACO, has been […]

The trend towards value-based payments has been accelerating. There is a significant opportunity for reducing spending while improving quality across many areas of health care, including primary care, oncology, orthopedic […]

Is it more important for patients to be satisfied with their health care or to trust those who provide it? It would seem that these are related—satisfied patients trust their […]

Primary care providers (PCPs) have received most of the attention from accountable care organizations (ACOs).  Specialty care providers, such as cardiologists, orthopedists, and other surgical and non-surgical specialists are still […]

Value-based Insurance Design (VBID) is an approach used by healthcare payers to promote a patient’s use of high-value services. Conversely, it can also be used to discourage the use of […]

Sovaldi is a prescription drug that was approved by the FDA in December 2013 to treat Hepatitis C. The following year, the total cost of prescription drugs in the United […]

When people take an active role in their own well-being and participate in their healthcare choices, the Triple Aim of improved outcomes, lower cost, and a positive patient experience becomes […]

There is a lot expected of the primary care physician (PCP) when he or she engages in a value-based care arrangement. Reducing total cost of care for a patient population […]

U.S. pharmacists dispensed 4.4 billion prescriptions in 2015. The total cost was $310 billion. This represents 10 percent of the national healthcare bill. Drug costs are increasing and Americans are […]

Value-based insurance design (VBID) arrived in Washington, DC on the first day of 2017 when two of the largest federal government healthcare programs launched VBID demonstration programs.  The long-awaited Center […]

Making America healthy again implies that there once was a time when most Americans were healthier than they are now.  This depends on how we define health and the time […]

Last year, nearly 2 out of every 3 American adults took a prescription drug and 2 out of every 3 adults that visited their doctor left with a prescription. Over […]

The Triple Aim of health care often focuses on reducing cost and improving outcomes.  The third component of the Triple Aim – improving the patient experience of care – is […]

The rising cost of health care continues to be a top concern for the American public.  Similar to any other purchase, consumers want value when purchasing health care.  Value means […]

The link between poor food choices and disease is undeniable.  Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and most cancers have a direct link to the choices we make at the […]

The inability for consumers to know the price of healthcare services prior to receiving care has been identified as an impediment to reducing healthcare costs.  Patients equipped with pricing information […]

The healthcare needs of Americans are vast and complex.  The ultimate goal of any healthcare system is to create the conditions necessary for a population to not only maximize total […]

Nearly 60 percent of Americans have taken a prescription medication in the past month.  This does not include dietary supplements or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.  The proportion of prescription drug users […]

The integration of behavioral health and primary care is a critical factor for healthcare systems to achieve the Triple Aim (lower cost, better outcomes and a positive patient experience), yet […]

The ultimate goal of the Triple Aim is to address the problem that healthy communities create for hospitals and other healthcare providers. Under the fee-for-service model, providers make money treating […]

Prescription drug prices increased by more than 10 percent in 2015 and account for 1 in every 10 dollars spent on health care in the United States. The nearly $300 […]

Losing weight consistently makes the Top 3 for New Year’s resolutions. Closely related to this are pledges by Americans to exercise and eat healthier. According to a review of the […]

It’s a fact: Americans have become more sedentary. This not only leads to greater susceptibility to obesity and chronic diseases, but also contributes to increased symptom severity for those with […]

While we often hear about the role of good nutrition in promoting health, it is not typically discussed in the context of the Triple Aim – better outcomes, lower cost […]

Improving care coordination for the sickest, most vulnerable and highest cost patient segments remains an important component of population health management and achieving the goals of the Triple Aim – […]

The move to accountable care is ultimately about achieving better health outcomes at lower cost while creating a better experience for the patient. This is the Triple Aim. A narrow […]

What is the impact of the social determinants of health, such as income, education and occupation, as U.S. health care moves from volume to value-based care with a focus on […]

We are in the midst of an information explosion in healthcare, which brings more responsibility to healthcare payers, providers, and patients themselves. Providers must be able to help patients distinguish […]

Medical care produces both benefits and harms. There are risks associated with care delivered in the hospital, including infections, medical errors and delirium. There are side effects associated with medication […]

Patients are becoming increasingly responsible for a greater proportion of their medical costs. The upfront share of premium payments, cost sharing at the point of care in the form of […]

Population Health Management (PHM) is the application of specific interventions and approaches within a healthcare delivery system designed to improve and maintain the health of a population. PHM strategies should […]