Eric Haberichter is the co-founder, chairman & CEO of Access Healthnet. He has more than 25 years of health care, management and entrepreneurial experience as a highly motivated, mission-driven innovator and problem solver focused on improving the delivery and sustainability of health businesses.
Early in his career, he worked as a radiation therapist and multi-modality radiographer. For 15 years, he worked within a major Wisconsin-based health care system, and in 2004, left system-based health care to work with independent physicians to develop and manage outpatient imaging and ambulatory surgical centers.
In 2006, he co-founded Smart Choice MRI, the first flat-rate, quality-assured MRI provider in America. He has worked closely with employers, brokers, payers, TPAs, and medical practices to lower costs, increase quality and improve patient satisfaction.
In 2013, he founded NewAmerica Health Strategies, LLC, a medical business consulting firm dedicated to creating value in health care. He was joined by Jim Kolb and Leslie Kolowith, and their experiences in serving the needs of technology start-ups and national networks aided in more fully developing the concept of Access HealthNet and its proprietary technology solution, The Super Option.
00:00 Health care system as it stands today.
02:45 “Things are just really misaligned.”
03:30 “Providers don’t necessarily get the short end of the stick in this scenario.”
04:20 Is there room to improve efficiency?
05:00 HIPAA as a giant obstacle to efficiency.
06:15 The greatest impact for improving efficiency in a health system.
09:30 Reducing “bill touchers” from the delivery chain and how this will streamline payment.
10:15 Competition as a driver vs Employers as a driver.
12:00 How middle-market employers begin driving health care.
13:25 “The first thing you have to do is accept that change starts with you, as the employer.”
15:20 “It’s not just that ‘he who jumps first wins,’ it’s ‘he who jumps first is capable’.”
16:20 Streamlining around efficiency.
17:15 What steps does a provider need to take to in order determine whether doing direct contracting is right for them?
19:20 1) Take a look at the elements of the care path 2) Make sure you can consistently deliver quality 3) Define the episodes of care.
20:00 “What is our historical experience?”
24:12 “From the employer’s perspective, the question is, ‘Do I want to be part of an integrated system, or do I want own a portion of the delivery model myself?’.”
26:25 Medicare: Driving force, or not?
28:12 Elizabeth Rosenthal’s new book, “An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back” covers DRGs in one chapter.
29:30 “Why should a hospital room be treated like any less than a hotel room?”
30:00 The retailization of health care.
32:40 Providers, employers, networks, and stakeholders can learn more about Access HealthNet at accesshealthnet.com.