Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., MBA, the former president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health, who now serves as executive in residence at General Catalyst, will kick off The RISE Value-Based Care Summit on Monday, June 3 with a keynote address about “the new health care.”
Dr. Klasko, who also serves as the North American ambassador for the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, is the author of the new book, “Feeling Alright: How the Message in the Music Can Make Healthcare Healthier.” Using music as a metaphor, he encourages health care leaders to examine what is problematic in the existing health care model and to take steps to build a better health care system.
During an exclusive interview with RISE in advance of the conference, Dr. Klasko said the United States has failed when it comes to access, quality outcomes, and costs despite using technology to make it better. “We’ve also failed as we’ve told docs for about 20 years that this technology will make their life easier and it hasn’t,” he said.
Industry leaders must start thinking about changes that will truly transform health care, a vision Dr. Klasko calls “health care at any address.” It’s a goal that will require payers, providers, and tech companies to partner to help patients. “That’s where I’m concentrating a lot of my efforts,” he said.
As part of his keynote, Dr. Klasko intends to discuss the obstacles that have prevented the United States from improving outcomes and costs. “I’m a high-risk obstetrician. Why with all this technology, do we spend six times more per obstetric patient than any country in the world? There are three countries where over the past 10 years, maternal morbidity and mortality has gotten worse: Haiti, Bangladesh, and the United States of America.”
Yet, he said, if a team from Mars came to America and attended a health care conference, they’d think the United States had the most equitable, inexpensive quality health care in the world because everyone is talking about what they are doing for health equity. “Meanwhile, if you look at the statistics, places like Philadelphia or New York, there’s still a 21-year difference in life expectancy and health outcomes,” he said.
Dr. Klasko said his address at RISE will focus on why digital health hasn’t made more of an impact; the issues around fragmentation between payers, providers, and pharma; policy issues that need to change so the United States can truly improve on costs and outcomes; and how some digital health technology generative AI companies can really help make a difference.
“I’d also like to spend some time on general AI and basically tell the story that it’s neither the boogeyman that people worry about or the savior,” he said.
The RISE Value-Based Care Summit will take place June 3-4 in Atlanta. Dr. Klasko’s keynote address is scheduled for 9:10 a.m. EST on Monday, June 3. Click here for the entire agenda, full roster of speakers, and registration information.