João Bocas is known as “The Wearables Expert” and has been talking, writing and innovating in health tech for a while. Last month he had me on his video series. It was a fun interview in which I talked about Flipping the Stack, the Continuous Clinic, and the slow pace of change in health care! With João’s permission I am reproducing that interview here–Matthew Holt
Campaign Promises
I had an amazing day on Friday. It started with a phone call from a local physician, one who I have never seen as an outside-the-box thinker, who was very excited about what I am doing. He feels much of the same frustrations as me, and thinks my approach to the problem is intriguing. He asked me lots of questions – many of the ones I keep asking myself, actually – and had some good thoughts on the answers to some of these questions. Apparently, there is quite a buzz around town about what I am doing, and most of that buzz is positive. That’s quite reassuring.
Then I got an email from a local business, asking me if I would consider being the doctor for their 100+ employees. I spoke to them on the phone and was very much encouraged by their insight and enthusiasm. They have seen their costs of insuring their employees go up dramatically over the past few years (as have all businesses, including mine), and are looking for a way to tame this cost. They were even more excited about the possibility of working with me when I pointed out two things they didn’t realize: 1. That a contract with my type of practice would, along with a high-deductible insurance policy, qualify them for the requirements of the ACA (thus avoiding the fines), and 2. My focus on care on the continuum (care outside of the office between visits) would have a potentially big impact on reducing absenteeism. This is exactly what I was dreaming about a few months back when crystalizing the ideas of my practice, so the reality of having an employer contact me about this is incredible.
