Jamie Frew Of CarePatron On 5 Things We Must Do To Improve the US Healthcare System
An Interview With Jake Frankel
Enforce anti-monopoly rules and legisation: Having these rules and legislations in place will prevent large healthcare corporations from unfairly squeezing out competition. It would also expand patient choice or prevent driven up prices. Increased competition can drive innovation and keep healthcare costs in check.
As a part of our interview series called “5 Things We Must Do To Improve the US Healthcare System”, I had the pleasure to interview Jamie Frew.
Jamie Frew is Carepatron’s co-founder and CEO. He graduated with a dual degree in Psychology and Business Management from the University of Waikato. These, along with his experience and passion for innovative technology and accessible healthcare, fueled his vision for a healthcare Operating System that democratizes access to healthcare tools, resources, and software for 1 billion people. Through Carepatron, Jamie is committed to enabling technology as a force for good, ensuring that high-quality care is equally achievable and efficient for healthcare practitioners and patients alike.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into our interview, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My family ran a community hospital when I was a child. We lived on-site at the facility where I would often work after school. This gave me a deep connection to healthcare even at an early age. Eventually, my higher education gave me a background in psychology, which gave me a closer attachment to this path. I didn’t start my working career in healthcare due to several reasons, but crossroads eventually led me back to healthcare with Carepatron, making me realize how much passion I have for this industry and cause.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
In my final year of university, I won a local start up competition which included a trip to the UK to see how fast growth companies scaled. It was an incredible experience that definitely sparked my interest in entrepreneurship. It didn’t happen straight away but it gave me a good foundation on envisioning what I want for a company, culture-wise and business-wise, shaping up Carepatron to what it is today.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Early on, we tried various methods to connect with potential target customers. We ended up at a conference with these fun art therapists who sang songs for three hours. It was heaps of fun and quite a memorable experience that also provided us with a ton of feedback on our product. Who knew audience research could be that fun? But hey, it happened, and it was one of my core memories about Carepatron’s beginnings.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
This is quite lengthy, but Theodore Roosevelt once said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Healthcare is such a universal yet challenging realm to be in. We all need and want the best out of it; it is at the core of humanity’s instinct to survive and live. However, not everyone can achieve the healthcare they need, want, and deserve. Having the goal to democratize healthcare may sound idealistic and overly dramatic to some. Still, whenever I remember the quote mentioned earlier, it reminds me that every battle is not without its battlefield. Soldiers who share the same cause must be gathered, armor must be polished, and marching towards the horizon each and every day is a must. There may be some losses, defeats, and hurdles along the way, but someone has to do it, and we at Carepatron are happily paving our way “into the arena”.
How would you define an “excellent healthcare provider”?
It’s pretty straightforward. Someone who is focused on client outcomes is professional, empathic, and always trying to improve. At the core, it should be someone who understands basic elements of humanity and human decency, because healthcare is, as I’ve been reiterating over and over, something that should be available and accessible to everyone regardless of any factor.
What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that inspire you to be a better healthcare leader? Can you explain why you like them?
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. This book provides a great look at how human evolution informs our behavior. It takes us from our earliest evolutionary roots right up to the present day, incorporating insights from biology, anthropology, and even economics to paint a holistic picture of the human experience.
Harari argues that many of the traits that helped us survive as hunter-gatherers, like cooperation and curiosity, are still essential for us today, even though our environment has radically changed. It’s a thought-provoking concept that makes you see yourself and humanity through a new lens.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’re currently developing AI Assist for clinical notes and reports. This capability is incredible and has the potential to add massive value to practitioners. By improving the efficiency, accuracy, and completeness of documentation, AI can free up valuable time for practitioners, reduce burnout, and ultimately lead to better patient care. It’s definitely a gamechanger and we’re excited to welcome this feature on Carepatron soon.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. According to this study cited by Newsweek, the US healthcare system is ranked as the worst among high-income nations. This seems shocking. Can you share with us a few reasons why you think the US is ranked so poorly?
I wouldn’t say it’s surprising because it’s something that’s been glaring at us for years, not just in the US but in many parts of the world. We have allowed a handful of large companies to dictate the process and procedures for the overall system, resulting in reduced productivity and innovation. It also marginalizes people who do not fit these organizations’ targets, minimizing the impact on those who need the healthcare system to be efficient and accessible the most.
1 . Simplify insurance billing: Medical billing is notoriously complex and time-consuming, not to mention unfriendly especially to those in need. With the improving technologies we have lately, there is more to be achieved when streamlining this process, verifying patient insurance eligibility, and even submitting claims electronically.
2 . Enforce anti-monopoly rules and legislation: Having these rules and legislations in place will prevent large healthcare corporations from unfairly squeezing out competition. It would also expand patient choice or prevent driven up prices. Increased competition can drive innovation and keep healthcare costs in check.
3 . Incentivize the training of new practitioners: This goes beyond just healthcare because it covers education, but the lack of opportunities for practitioners and aspiring practitioners to further educate themselves in the field shows how a bigger systemic problem is on-hand. Programs like scholarships, loan forgiveness, and grants can help address this issue. Additionally, streamlining the licensing process and creating more residency positions can encourage more medical students to enter the field.
4. Focus on encouraging more healthcare start up service providers to innovate: Again, this isn’t just a healthcare issue but an economic issue among others. Lack of funding and support leads to healthcare providers to just make do with what they have, limiting innovation in the field. By providing resources and support for entrepreneurs developing new healthcare technologies and services, governments and institutions can help improve access to care, reduce costs, and deliver better patient outcomes.
5. Standardize rules and procedures across states: I left this one for last since it’s probably the most idealistic and complicated among all of my suggestions. Having different frameworks and policies per state can provide some flexibility and liberty in certain occasions, however in many instances the differences are marginal and provide very limited benefit. In an ideal world, creating universal patterns could help to reduce the complexity of the healthcare industry, increasing productivity and reducing errors.
If only it were that simple, though.
What concrete steps would have to be done to actually manifest these changes? What can a) individuals, b) corporations, c) communities and d) leaders do to help?
As mentioned previously, most changes need to be made at a federal level. Aspirations for change are nothing without the cooperation of people in leadership, especially when the advice of all stakeholders is needed. The people are the main parties concerned when it comes to healthcare, and deciding bodies need to take note of this when enforcing systemic policies, be it about healthcare or other things.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put intense pressure on the American healthcare system, leaving some hospital systems at a complete loss as to how to handle this crisis. Can you share with us examples of where we’ve seen the U.S. healthcare system struggle? How do you think we can correct these issues moving forward?
COVID highlighted that there is much to be desired about our global healthcare system, not just the US. A lot of innovation was limited by outdated rules and regulations. It also showed how inefficient and inconvenient some processes are when it comes to adapting to health concerns and crises. New frameworks were implemented on a short-term level, but long-standing policies, procedures, and preventive measures must continuously be developed and paid attention to to prevent such issues again. Of course, we can’t be 100% accurate in our solutions, but having proactive frameworks on hand is better than complacent processes and policies.
How do you think we can address the problem of physician shortages?
As mentioned, we need to train more physicians and open more opportunities for growth in the field. This isn’t just a healthcare problem, it touches a nerve in our education system as well. The current landscape discourages both current and aspiring practitioners from pursuing further education in medicine. This highlights a deeper issue in our system. Fortunately, there are solutions we can explore. Federal programs offering scholarships, loan forgiveness, and grants can make specializing in medicine more accessible. Additionally, streamlining the often-complicated licensing process and creating more residency positions would make the field more attractive to medical students. By addressing these roadblocks across different sectors, we can encourage a new generation to join the medical workforce.
How do you think we can address the issue of physician and nurse burnout?
We need to remove friction from their day-to-day lives. Establish better systems, more resources, and better working environments. Let us stop glorifying extensive shifts in the name of heroism. Practitioners are already in the industry for their dedication to the practice but it does not mean they should let the system exploit them in the name of everyone’s health.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
My biggest goal is to usher the way to democratizing access to healthcare tools, resources and software. That’s why Carepatron came to be. We aim to give practitioners modern tools to make the future of healthcare better not just for their patients but also themselves. We should all aspire to be stewards of health and it starts with supporting one another to make that vision happen.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can connect with me, Jamie Frew, on LinkedIn and support our mission for accessible, affordable, and global healthcare by checking out Carepatron.com.
Thank you so much for these insights! This was very inspirational and we wish you continued success in your great work.
