Improving Healthcare with Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle
Imagining a new model for primary care with a practicing physician and long-time entrepreneur
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It’s no secret that America’s healthcare system is in need of change. It’s expensive, reactive and ineffective. When it comes to enacting change in the healthcare industry, few people have more credibility and experience than Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle. In 2004, Dr. Fernandopulle co-founded Iora Health which aimed to create a new model for primary care, one where patients were at the center. Iora was acquired and absorbed by One Medical in 2021, in which Rushika took on the role of Chief Innovation Officer. In 2023, One Medical was acquired by Amazon in 2023. Currently, and throughout his entrepreneurial career, Rushika is an attending physician at Mass General and faculty member at Harvard Medical School.
I will never forget the day when I received an email from Amazon indicating they were offering healthcare services through One Medical. It was a loud and clear indication that the industry was changing. Rushika and I had an awesome conversation on health, healthcare and business.
See below for the top takeaways.
Top Takeaways:
Healthcare right now is reactive and expensive - patients don’t like it, doctors don’t like it and the outcomes are awful.
Rushika believes that the goal of the healthcare system should be to improve people’s health and to reach that mission his companies aimed to completely overhaul the model by prioritizing patient experience, leveraging technology and focusing on pragmatic, proactive solutions.
The best thing patients can do to enact change in healthcare is to “vote with their feet” by choosing providers that meet their standards - Rushika calls this the “Southwest Airlines model for change” - Southwest broke a lot of the rules in the airline industry to provide better service at lower costs and people flocked to the improved experience.
When building companies and selecting acquisition partners, culture is the most important thing. One of Rushika’s earliest investors was legendary Zappos founders Tony Hsieh who taught “the way you build great companies is you treat your employees really well build a great culture - they will then treat the customers well and that will create value.”
The best healthcare is diet, movement and social interaction.
Emerging tech from wearables, AI and automation have the ability to improve the health care experience for providers and customers. The future of healthcare will include real time data dashboards and communication with doctors via text, video and in-person.
Resources:
Schutzblog by Andrew Schutzbank - Rantings and musings by a Primary Care Internal Medicine Physician in Cambridge, trying to change the world of healthcare for the better.
Flare VC’s Michael Greely blog On the Flying Bridge
Full List of Topics Covered:
Rushika’s vision for healthcare
Patient’s role in their healthcare experience
Evaluating partners for business acquisitions
Resistance to a medical professional entering the business world
Balancing medicine and business
Lessons in leadership and culture
Impact of technology on healthcare
Companies to watch
Hope you enjoy the conversation, feel free to share and let me know if anything resonates with you in the comments.
-Adam
This is really cool - nice work getting a fantastic guest. LOVE this...
"When building companies and selecting acquisition partners, culture is the most important thing. One of Rushika’s earliest investors was legendary Zappos founders Tony Hsieh who taught “the way you build great companies is you treat your employees really well build a great culture - they will then treat the customers well and that will create value.”
The best healthcare is diet, movement and social interaction."