Who is this Indian Warren Buffett picked to head healthcare-venture?
Yesterday, prominent Indian-American surgeon and journalist, Atul Gawande was appointed as the CEO of the yet-to-be named US-based health-care venture of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan. The new venture aims to improve the US health-care industry and cut the astronomical cost, using innovative high-tech solutions. Gawande will start in the new role on July 9, 2018. Here's all about the man.
First off, who is Atul Gawande?
Gawande was born to Indian immigrant parents, both doctors, in Brooklyn, New York, in 1965. Besides being a staff writer for the New Yorker, Gawande practises general and endocrine surgery at a Boston hospital. He is also a professor at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. The 52-year-old is a staunch critic of the US health-care industry's practices.
I'm thrilled to be named CEO of this initiative: Gawande
"I have devoted my public health career to building scalable solutions for better health-care delivery that are saving lives, reducing suffering, and eliminating wasteful spending both in the US and across the world," Atul Gawande said.
But, what's wrong with US health-care industry?
Notably, the US health-care industry is plagued with sky-high prices that has started bankrupting its citizens. In fact, there's no country on the planet which charges more than the US for health-care. Warren Buffett calls the high US health-care cost a 'hungry tapeworm' which is eating the country's economy. The Amazon-Berkshire Hathaway-JP Morgan trio has taken it upon themselves to fix it.
How the trio plans to bring down US health-care costs?
The trio aims to reduce the US health-care costs by aligning incentives among doctors, patients, and insurers. Further, they intend to reduce frauds in the health-care sector and the wastage of money, along with giving employees access to better wellness programs and telemedicine. To achieve all this, the venture will make use of biotechnology and medical research.
Finally, why did they pick this Indian doctor?
Gawande is a well-known name in the US health-care industry. He rose to prominence in 2009 with his article 'The Cost Conundrum' which examined the health-care cost disparity in different parts of the US, despite little difference in people's health. Moreover, he has penned several bestsellers including 'Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science' which in 2002 was a National Book Award finalist.
