David Eugene Williams | Source | President at Health Business Group
David Eugene Williams
David E. Williams is President of the Health Business Group, a consulting firm that helps technology-enabled healthcare, medical device and pharmaceutical companies develop and execute innovative business strategies. He leads consulting teams, advises CEOs, is a member of corporate and non-profit boards, and chairs review panels for the federal government. He co-founded the company in 2003 after more than a decade as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group and The LEK Partnership. David has a rare ability to explain complex healthcare concepts simply and clearly, making him a sought after expert for media such as NPR, Business Week, Fortune, US News and The Boston Globe. David produces the popular Health Business Blog and HealthBiz Podcast, where he has written more than 4000 posts since 2005 and conducted more than 100 podcast interviews with entrepreneurs, executives, scientists and political leaders. During the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, he interviewed all nine candidates about health policy.
-
Self-insured employers can’t fix healthcare—unfortunately, they’re stuck at the mercy of it. Nomi may save employers money and please providers, but there are drawbacks to paying directly. Because Nomi must ink contracts with each local provider and hospital, it will likely mean patients have a narrow network. This is good if you’re the preferred provider for an employer’s network—you’ll receive all those patients—but it means patients have fewer choices of providers for their care. That may work in a small community but would be less ideal in a large city. There’s also a chance that Nomi’s model may not encourage responsible behavior of employees, either, Williams says. Because employees aren’t paying a copay or a deductible, there’s a risk that they will overuse the medical system. They won’t think twice about going to a doctor.
-
It's obvious that the Russians are rushing the vaccine to market without adequate testing. It's possible that the vaccine will work, but there hasn't been enough time to verify that it's both safe and effective. The Russians haven't released any data that would support their claims. I don't think people will travel to Russia to receive the vaccine because, 1) they won't trust that it will work, 2) they could get COVID-19 on their travels to Russia, and 3) the Russians may allocate it to their own citizens. Vaccines have to be very safe to be worthwhile. As a hypothetical example, maybe 10 percent of people are expected to be infected with COVID-19, but 100% would be expected to get the vaccine. Even if the vaccine harms just one in 1,000 people, that is a lot of people and potentially more than COVID. It would be better to wait another few months for a vaccine that is proven to be safe and effective.
-
A deal with Beth Israel Lahey could help Joslin draw patients and is likely not big enough to worry regulators. There’s a question about if Joslin really could be viable on its own.
-
Five pandemic predictions five months later. Was I right?
In April, with the pandemic raging, lockdowns underway in the Northeast and West, and widespread panic about what the immediate future would bring, I tried to look over the horizon to see where we were heading. My 4 predictions for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and Prediction 5: The end of immigration, distilled what I was seeing in Boston plus what I was hearing from healthcare and life sciences clients and physician and scientist friends in US hotspots and around the world. I didn’t put a timeframe on when this “next phase” would be, but with the summer behind us and a new school year getting going, now seems like a good time to take stock. Judge for yourself, but overall I think I did well.
Article -
4 predictions for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic – Health Business Group
Introduction COVID-19’s impact on the United States and its healthcare system is unprecedented. In this piece, I make four predictions for what the next phase will bring. Each has important strategic implications for healthcare companies and investors. Here’s what I expect: Treatment, not testing will be key to reopening the economy Hybridization (virtual/in-person mix) will Read More
Article -
Data will eat public health: Shahir Kassam-Adams - HealthBiz with David E. Williams
Shahir Kassam-Adams is one of the most knowledgeable and outspoken people in healthcare. In this episode, Shahir shares his initially unsettling but ultimately reassuring view that "data will eat public health." He opines on interoperability and explains how his company, Datavant has promoted data sharing on COVID-19, leading to a plethora of interesting and potentially useful projects, including one that models the tradeoffs for specific American cities to reopen.Check out the links:Shahir’s LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/skassamadams/David’s predictions about the pandemic https://healthbusinessgroup.com/2020/09/five-pandemic-predictions-five-months-later-was-i-right/ Datavant https://datavant.com/COVID-19 Research Database https://covid19researchdatabase.org/Reopen Mapping Project https://reopenmappingproject.com/ The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Fifth-Risk/American Gods by Neil Gaiman https://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/American+Gods/ Seveneves by Neil Stephenson https://www.nealstephenson.com/seveneves.html
Podcast
-
Health Business Group
President