As part of my January newsletter "Monthly Musings on American Healthcare," I sought opinions on this topic: America's opioid epidemic. The results were published in the February issue and appear below. To receive future newsletters via email, please subscribe here....
Who’s Responsible For The 42,000 Opioid Deaths Last Year?
Last month, the World Economic Forum released global statistics on life expectancy. Although most nations saw improvements in average life span, the United States experienced a decline for the second straight year. As the media have report extensively, the opioid...
Grooming Physician Leadership: An Exclusive Excerpt From “Mistreated”
The January issue of my newsletter “Monthly Musings on American Healthcare” is dedicated to effective leadership, a subject that’s dear to my heart. As CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, I worked closely with my colleagues to develop one of the largest leadership...
An Excerpt From “Mistreated”: Why U.S. Hospitals Are Failing
As the former CEO of the nation’s largest medical group, I’m passionate about (and frustrated with) the current care-delivery system in the United States. Today’s hospitals are inefficient, ineffective and expensive. That is why, beginning January 16, 2018, I will...
Setting The Stage For Healthcare Change In 2018
On Forbes, my selections for top healthcare stories of 2017 reflect a year filled with ups and downs, controversy and intrigue. New mergers bloomed whereas others wilted away. All year, Congress swung back and forth on Obamacare repeal. And the #metoo movement brought...
Lessons from the National Healthcare Ratings Summit, Hosted By The Leapfrog Group
As consumers, we insist on booking our flights or hotels online whenever we please. We want to check our financial statements electronically at our convenience, too. And, of course, we’d expect to know if our favorite airline, hotel chain or bank failed to meet basic...
Lessons On Presidential Power And Executive Orders
After multiple failed attempts to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), President Donald Trump took action into his own hands last month, issuing an executive order with major implications on the cost of health coverage and care delivery An...
Grading The American Healthcare System At Stanford University
Each year, I have the privilege to teach at both the Stanford University School of Medicine and its Graduate School of Business. This week, I had a rather unique opportunity on campus. I was invited to speak with the undergraduate students enrolled in a public policy...
Lessons On Disrupting Primary Care: An Exclusive Forbes Follow-up
Less than 24 hours after publishing my Forbes article on the rise and fall of Turntable Health – the disruptive primary care practice founded by Zubin Damania (aka ZDoggMD) – I received scores of emails from patients, medical groups and healthcare professionals. Most...
Lessons On Diversity & Change From San Jose City College (SJCC)
This week I was honored to visit San Jose City College (SJCC) to kick off the school’s Meet The Author series. The event was organized by the President’s Community Arts and Lectures Series, which has welcomed to campus such notable literary figures as Alex Haley and...









