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Dan Pelino is an innovator, thought leader and author. Pelino is a regular contributor to the discussion on healthcare, citizen-based services and Smarter Cities, having appeared on CNN, Bloomberg, the BBC and other media outlets. He serves as a moderator and host to the current healthcare debate and is an adjunct professor lecturing on leadership at his alma mater Western Kentucky University. He serves on numerous private and public boards, and worked for IBM for thirty-six years leading its global healthcare and life sciences business for ten years. Pelino concluded his career with IBM as the general manager of the global government, healthcare, education, and life sciences business.

 

You have been working in the healthcare arena for decades. What was it that compelled you to write this book now, and what do you hope to achieve by publishing it?

 

Three reasons compelled me to write the book:

It seems everyone has a frustration with their own personal healthcare. If we can help everyone find a medical home and we can start with access for all—help with well care, not just sick care—then maybe we can empower individuals to be more productive, contribute more to society and increase their own self-esteem. The aspirational stories in the book give us hope for a better quality of life.

Traveling the world, we witnessed healthcare from all sides. It was time for a book that would solve the mystery of what is the best-performing system and why.

We need as a society to have that open and honest conversation regarding the parity of mental and behavioral health with physical health. No blame, no shame! Everyone Matters and everyone deserves a trusted healer!

Let’s start this dialogue!

 

How do other nations compare to the US when it comes to delivering quality, accessible healthcare? 

 

One of our take-away observations about healthcare in other developed nations is that the most satisfied and content citizens reside in nations that have accepted the belief that Everyone Matters. Every other developed nation in the world has structured healthcare to not leave anyone out. Include everyone. That’s where they begin their planning. These countries spend 2 to 3 times more money than the United States on well care vs sick care! First dollar and most important dollar spent is on a healthy population!

 

What are the different fundamental models of healthcare delivery displayed in the US – and do any work best?

 

We grapple with the volume-based payment model, which we are dismantling brick by brick as we speak. If you are under sixty-five in the United States, you have the Bismarck model [employer sponsored]. If you are employed, you have the Douglas model once you turn sixty-five, as predominate insurance provider [Medicare]. If you are one of the ten million in the Veterans Administration, you have the Beverage model, where the government owns the hospitals[England, Ireland]. If you are poor, or under-insured, you become Medicaid or self-pay, frequently the only form of healthcare available in third world countries. No country in the world has been successful in managing such a healthcare system, including America. No one system is perfect and it is confusing. The book offers clarity to this confusion!

 

What are some of the changes you would like to see in the delivery and access to American healthcare?

 

Focus on the patient team-care models that help us all get in front of disease and emergency visits and address mental and behavioral health for less money seem to be the question worth pursuing.

 

How does your non-profit charity Everyone Matters tie into your outreach?

 

We believe that everyone deserves a voice, advocacy and parity. If we reach one family, save one life or just amplify the dialogue than I believe we are making a difference! Everyone Matters!

“You’ll never look at healthcare the same way again.” –Patrick J. Kennedy

Dan Pelino takes us on a journey to better understand societal change, leadership, and our shared healthcare future. Through the voices of powerful healthcare visionaries from around the globe, including Dr. Paul Grundy, Patrick J. Kennedy, Dr. Mike Roizen, and the Honourable Jeremy Hunt, Trusted Healers recognizes that better healthcare is in our grasp.