The Wealth from Health Playbook: The Dramatic Path Forward in Healthcare Spawned by the Covid-19 Pandemic

Telemedicine is serving as a significant tool for our healthcare delivery system with the powerful potential to serve as a focal point to manage over 100 million chronic disease sufferers in the United States and significantly higher numbers worldwide. During this "Great Pause" as this period has been labeled, telemedicine consults has become a game changer in that it is easy to perform for the patient and the provider alike, cost effective and highly convenient (average cost is much less than $100 and wait time is 4 minutes). Furthermore, it creates a platform for dovetailing a number of other innovative initiatives outlined below and discussed in detail in this book and with proven track records already. Additionally, it sets the stage beautifully for full practice transformation with significant reengineering. We have already created and tested our initiatives in real time.

* Primary Care Transformation with telemedicine as the hub

* The Wealth from Health Navigation and Reward System

* Environmental Housecall (asthmatics)

* Race to Zero (palliative care)

* Community Health Trust (social determinants)

* Help the Helper (caregiver program)

* Precision Medicine and AI (leverage data)

* High Value Care Center (diagnostic and management accuracy)

* Survivorship Programs (Cancer, HIV, Sickle Cell, Depression, and others

Douglas Ratner, MD is the retired Chair of Medicine at Jersey City Medical Center-RWJ Barnabas Health (JCMC), the largest health system in New Jersey. In that role he was instrumental in the sea change that transformed the hospital from an urban trauma hospital dependent on state funding to meet payroll to one with a robust bottom line. He most recently chaired the N.J. Commission on Chronic Disease Management, which created a public document as a roadmap to better health regardless of insurance status. In 1996 he created Wealth from Health, Inc. as a stand-alone patient rewards program and first successfully implemented it at a Pennsylvania corporation. At JCMC, Wealth from Health, Inc. has grown to encompass all aspects of population health initiatives. Dr. Ratner is author of the seminal work, Tomorrow's Health for Today's Family. A Groundbreaking Guide to Better Health for You and Your Community in the 21st Century. His Wealth from Health programs have been nationally recognized for innovation by both the American Essential Hospitals Association and the Hearst Foundation.

Susan Walsh, MD, FACP is recently retired from the positions of Vice President of Population Health, ACO Medical Director, and Program Director for the RWJBH-JCMC internal medicine residency. Prior to her position at JCMC, she was Deputy Commissioner of Health for the state of New Jersey and charged with all issues pertaining to public health, including equity and access, epidemiology, the creation of the N.J. medical marijuana program and the state's laboratory, and statewide response teams. Her skills in forging partnerships led to the formation of the Greater Newark Health Care Coalition and the Trenton Health Plan, which continue to bring CEOs and community advocates together to find solutions for barriers to care. As VP of Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, she also has an extensive background in managing federally qualified health centers that seek to provide superior care to the critically underserved populations.