Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa

and its Wharton School of business.
What prompted you to do that?
MO: The reason I wanted an MBA was
because I wanted to understand healthcare
finance. Even then, back in the early
’80s, I recognized that we were going to
face major challenges in terms of how
we were going to pay for healthcare in
America. I saw bureaucrats taking ownership
of the problem; and I felt strongly
that someone who actually took care of
patients should understand enough
about the business of medicine to be
able to offer some sensible insights and
viable solutions. The distinction between
a medical and a business degree
involves vocabulary, knowledge, and
cultural issues; you evaluate and think
about matters quite differently. So, now,
when I’m giving advice to someone
who’s thinking about the healthcare
challenges facing this country, I understand
concepts such as net present
value or the value of a dollar today vs.
tomorrow—I understand the actual
market forces that are involved.
CBI: Given the fact that you’d like
to play some sort of role in reworking
the healthcare system—what
do you think needs to be done?
MO: First, everyone has to have insurance.
We need to have affordable healthcare
for all. I’m not going to suggest, at this
point, how we should pay for it, although
I do have some ideas on the subject. But
everyone has to be in the system. When
a person is outside of the system, they
actually wind up costing the system a
lot more. An uninsured patient is like a
rudderless ship coming into dock—it
smacks into things and wreaks havoc.
The collateral damage is unacceptable
and unaffordable.
Once everyone is in the system, we
need a health-information system that
allows us to be smarter patients and
| CBI Interview |
smarter doctors. Then, when I see a
patient, the information about that visit
will be collected and saved so that other
doctors, down the road, can figure out if
I did the right thing and, more importantly,
determine whether it’s going to work
for their patients.
CBI: What sort of synergy, if any,
is there between the work you’re
doing and the goals that IHRSA
and its member clubs are
striving toward?
MO: It’s huge! Bottom line: IHRSA is
all about getting folks to recognize and
accept the roles they have to play in
order to enhance and ensure their own
health. IHRSA is saying that, if you want
to get in good physical shape, you have
to show up at the gym. And that’s true!
HealthCorps, and virtually all of the
other activities that I’m involved in,
are communicating very much the
same message. —|
Visit us at IHRSA 2008, Booth #3548
www.ihrsa.org | MARCH 2008 | Club Business International 55