Northwind Pharmaceuticals

A Season of Many Things https://lnkd.in/gAa9hADd #orientyourself

The Tension of Time: Here, Now, and Beyond https://lnkd.in/ggb2dgjH #orientyourself

Not My Problem...or is it? https://lnkd.in/gGqrJm5G #orientyyourself

The Hidden Wisdom of Stop Lights and Roundabouts https://lnkd.in/gt6BbDnm #orientyourself

Nothing Says 'I Love You' Like a Takedown https://lnkd.in/gWR-7a_v #orientyourself

Benjamin Schwartz, MD, MBA always has great insights and reflections on healthcare in the U.S. The post below is a familiar and understandable lament by many about healthcare, the nature of the provider-patient relationship, and the frustrating situation we find it all entwined within today. Access, cost, and complexity remain barriers while the experience of it and the outcomes of our overall health continue to decline. There are many good comments on the post and I concur with Dave Chase, Health Rosetta-discovering archaeologist that innovation is happening and there are viable fixes to many of the particular problems. My organization is proud to be part of those efforts. To the question brought forth below "isn't healthcare supposed to be about the relationship between a doctor (et. al.) and a patient?" I answer that the provider/patient relationship began to fundamentally change in 1965 when we decided as a nation to create Medicare/Medicaid as a healthcare safety net. A few statistics: - Annual spending Medicare + Medicaid - $1.9 trillion (CMS) - % of Population on Medicare & Medicaid - 38% (127 million) (U.S. Census Bureau) - 54% of our population is covered under an employment-based health plan (U.S. Census Bureau) When we chose to use Federal and State government to manage a chunk of healthcare, there was no choice but to create massive mechanisms to manage it. The sheer scale of the economics and mass production of health services at such a level require huge organizations that must necessarily resist change, innovation, and flexibility. Who administers these industrial complex operations? - Medicare Advantage: 1. UnitedHealth Group (28%), 2. Humana (18%),?3. CVS (Aetna) 11%, 4. Kaiser Permanente (6%), 5. Elevance Health (6%), 6. Centene Corp. (5%), 7. Cigna (2%), 8. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (2%) (American Medical Association) The government needs massively scaled organizations to administer these programs and we have funded the growth of such organizations. The encounter between a patient and physician (or other provider) is beyond insignificant at such scale. Health systems have scaled to respond to the scope of these markets. Physicians have largely sold out of private practice because they cannot negotiate against such scale or manage the complexity of it. The financial incentives of pursuing these markets and the economics of the millions working and living off of them keep it fixed politically. There are many pieces of this puzzle that would be considered "too big to fail." Which means, too big to allow to fail or to be intentionally disrupted. The good news is that the employer-sponsored part of the system has the ability to change it, and though we are seeing change occur, it is a slow process. We are headed toward a two-tiered system as many innovators are opting out of the industrial complex and creating new options for access and payment. Good things ahead. Ryan Short John G. Singer Jerry Ford

Chasing the Sunset: Imagination, Impossibility, and Wonder https://lnkd.in/gdfYdqC5 #orientyourself

Here we grow again! Looking for talented team members to join our financial team!

Fun, interesting, and slightly spooky use of AI. I spend a lot of time thinking and writing, working to communicate things that land where, when, and how they are supposed to. Is using AI to craft your work disingenuous if it is using your work to craft something in your voice? I suppose we'll be debating that question long after I'm done writing. Or perhaps not...the rapid acceptance of AI generated ideas, words, and content, suggests that maybe the line of intellectual integrity is being moved to accommodate these new tools. I think I'll stay old school while I'm able. But for today, here is a fun, AI highlighted summary of my activity on LI in 2024. It is actually scary good...and fast. Here's my 2024 LinkedIn Rewind, by Coauthor.studio: What signs guide us when the path forward seems uncertain? A decade of sharing reflections on LinkedIn has taught me that our most profound transformations emerge not from grand gestures, but from quiet commitments to leaving things better than we found them. 2024 became a testament to that philosophy - a year of strategic stewardship at Northwind Pharmaceuticals and deepening our mission to reimagine healthcare delivery. We didn't just optimize pharmacy benefits; we created pathways for employers and patients to navigate complex health challenges with dignity and purpose. Three posts captured the essence of this journey: "The Difference of a Life: Remembering Jonathan Jerden" - https://lnkd.in/grvpi9QJ A poignant reminder that our legacy lives in the relationships we nurture and the lives we touch. "Join us in the Fight to End Diabetes" - https://lnkd.in/geuCCQh2 Highlighting how collaborative leadership can transform healthcare challenges into opportunities for meaningful change. "Celebrating a decade posting reflections on LinkedIn" - https://lnkd.in/gSaHngKZ Reinforcing my core belief: "Your peak years are happening right now, and your best work is waiting to be realized." Notable milestones this year included: - Committing to chair the 2025 ADA Step Out Walk - Continuing board service with the National Association of Worksite Health Centers - Advancing Northwind's innovative pharmacy solutions - Celebrating 10 years of thought leadership with over 550 LinkedIn posts Looking ahead to 2025, my focus remains unwavering: transform healthcare delivery through strategic Rx stewardship and community leadership. Because the most meaningful work - the work that leaves our world a bit more compassionate - is always just beginning. #OrientYourself #LinkedInRewind #2024wrapped -- Get your 2024 LinkedIn Rewind! Go to coauthor.studio

Healthcare has become a scapegoat for much of what ails us. Lamentations abound. We seem to have plenty of ideas about what the problem is and who is to blame. The question remains: who is going to do something about it? #healthcare #healthbenefits #2025 #PBM #TPA #change John G. Singer Jerry Ford Greg Bellomy Lisa Day DeAnna Hall Betsy Bigler Steve Zetzl Ryan Choiniere Katherine Lurk, Pharm.D., BCPS Jeff Dodson Rod Reasen Dave Meguschar Chad Perkins John Solhan Nick Ioannacci Kyle Rickner Robert Lockwood Dariusz (Derek) Mydlarz, MD, MPH