Reducing Friction in Health Care

Technology has transformed and streamlined the way Americans access the care they need. However, for many Americans – especially those in historically underserved communities – the health system feels fragmented and disjointed.

In the final episode of our three-part podcast deep dive into A Path Forward, Dr. Carolyn Brooks, Vice President of Quality, Strategy, Innovation and Experience at UnitedHealthcare Medicare and Retirement, and Dr. Wyatt Decker, CEO of Optum Health, discuss policy solutions that can help address health disparities, advance health equity and improve the health care experience for both consumers and providers.

Click here for more information on A Path Forward. 

UnitedHealth Group is committed to a future where every person has access to high-quality, affordable health care and a modern, high-performing health system that reduces disparities, improves outcomes and lessens the burden of disease.

This is the second episode in a three-part deep dive into A Path Forward, UnitedHealth Group's policy solutions that offer a refreshed perspective for how to modernize the health system to:

• Achieve universal coverage by building on and strengthening the current system.
• Make health care affordable by accelerating value-based care, using high-value sites of service, reforming prescription drug pricing and eliminating wasteful spending.
• Transform the health care experience by focusing on equity and addressing disparities, expanding and diversifying the health care workforce and empowering consumers and clinicians with actionable information.

The second episode of our three-part series features Dirk McMahon, President and Chief Operating Officer at UnitedHealth Group and Heather Cianfrocco, CEO at Optum Rx, discussing ways to make the health system more affordable for consumers, employers and governments. 

Click here for more information on A Path Forward. 

UnitedHealth Group is committed to a future where every person has access to high-quality, affordable health care and a modern, high-performing health system that reduces disparities, improves outcomes and lessens the burden of disease.

This is the first episode in a three-part deep dive into A Path Forward, UnitedHealth Group's policy solutions that offer a refreshed perspective for how to modernize the health system to:

• Achieve universal coverage by building on and strengthening the current system.
• Make health care affordable by accelerating value-based care, using high-value sites of service, reforming prescription drug pricing and eliminating wasteful spending.
• Transform the health care experience by focusing on equity and addressing disparities, expanding and diversifying the health care workforce and empowering consumers and clinicians with actionable information.

The first episode in our three-part series features Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, and Kristi Henderson, CEO of Optum Everycare, who discuss how to expand access to coverage and care in the U.S., including through innovative coverage and virtual capabilities.

Click here for more information on A Path Forward. 

The pandemic has taken a huge toll on children across the nation. This increase in need for mental health support has led more children and adolescents to seek behavioral health care.

In this week's episode, Dr. Yusra Benhalim, Senior National Medical Director at Optum Behavioral Health discusses: 

• How the pandemic has impacted children and adolescents.
• Innovative ways that Optum has been approaching youth mental health. 
• Resources parents can access to support their children.

UnitedHealthcare's Center for Advanced Analytics aims to improve well-being by engaging with clinical-intervention programs. These programs work to address social determinants of health for people in employer-sponsored benefit plans. 

In this week's episode, Craig Kurtzweil, leader of UnitedHealthcare's Center for Advanced Analytics, discusses: 

• What the five costliest conditions are.
• The significant drivers behind those conditions. 
• How preventive care can assist in lowering costs. 

Read the full report here. 

One of the most common reasons for emergency room visits are oral health needs. In fact, many people visit their dentist more frequently than their primary care provider. Earlier this year, UnitedHealthcare launched a virtual dental benefit. Patients can now seek virtual care for acute needs, triage before an in-person appointment and receive post-op follow-up care. 

In this episode, Colleen Van Ham, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Dental, discusses:

• How virtual dentistry works.
• The benefits virtual dentistry can provide.
• How virtual dentistry can improve access to preventive care.

Telehealth and telemedicine are just the beginning of a new future of serving patients where they need it most. Optum's Office for Provider Advancement embodies it's three pillars of research, excellence and partnership to better the provider and patient experience. In this episode, Dr. Amy Nguyen Howell from Optum's Office for Provider Advancement, discusses:

• How the patient and provider experience has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• What the Office does to meet patient and provider needs.
• Upcoming research and projects from the Office. 

Clinician burnout has long been a concern for health care workers, but the pandemic has shed new light on the issue and related workforce concerns. The Center for Clinician Advancement at UnitedHealth Group focuses on improving clinician engagement and retention, including ways to address burnout. In this episode, UHG's Mary Jo Jerde, explains: 

• How the Center works to address clinician burnout. 
• The importance of a healthy work-life balance. 
• Why there's optimism for the future of the workforce. 

As the FDA went about the critical work of evaluating the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, the agency tapped Optum Scientific Consulting, with a 25-year history of evaluating drugs and vaccines. In this episode, Optum's Chief Scientific Officer John Seeger explains: 

• Optum Scientific Consulting's history of evaluating drugs and vaccines.
• The group's partnership with the FDA to evaluate COVID-19 vaccines for kids ages 5 to 11. 
• The broader impact and promise of data on drug and vaccine safety. 

Health care has long suffered from too much friction, which adds billions of dollars in costs to the system and creates more challenges for both consumers and providers. In this episode, Optum Insight's Shea Helmle discusses the biggest friction points in health care and how companies are using data to identifying and eliminate friction to improve patient care.