Elizabeth Warner grew up in the Altamont area, but eventually left the region to pursue a medical degree and become a surgeon. After obtaining her license and certifications, she was pulled back to the Capital Region about eight years ago. She and her husband — a surgeon power couple — found it hard to manage a household with two young children and full surgical schedules, so she stepped away from the operating room to take a part-time job with CDPHP. Today, Warner is chief medical officer of the insurance company, working to improve a troubled system.
A: I think affordability is really hard for most Americans. Costs are just skyrocketing and in some areas that just seems to go unchecked. It’s very frustrating for people. It is also still a very disjointed system. We talk a lot about keeping patients at the center, but it is rarely done. Patients usually have to orchestrate their lives and day-to-day around what’s convenient for the health care system.
Q: How are you approaching these problems and addressing them?
Women of Excellence luncheon
- When: 11:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Thursday, May 18
- Where: Marriott Albany, 189 Wolf Road, Colonie
- More info: capitalregionchamber.com
A: We’re really trying to be at the forefront of moving from the traditional way of paying for care which is fee-for-service — basically paying per unit of work done — and moving to value-based care, which is paying for quality, for great outcomes and for things that really keep people healthy.
In a fee-for-service system, the more CAT scans you do, the more patients you can pack into your schedule (and) the more money you make. What that means is when we hear a doctor’s saying, “I don’t have time to spend with my patients who are really sick and need me,” it’s because there’s this pressure for them to…
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