By Tom Schramski, PhD, CM&AA
Volume 3 Issue 9 April 26, 2016
Last month I was scheduled for my third colonoscopy, not unusual at the age of 64. The night before, I reserved a local taxi for a specified pick-up time to take me to the appointment. Ten minutes before the scheduled arrival I called to confirm and was told that “due to demand” they “could not guarantee” that I would be transported on time for the procedure. At this point, I immediately pinged a local Uber driver who arrived in less than five minutes and cheerfully drove me to Desert Sun Gastroenterology Surgical Center. Everything went well at Desert Sun and I was in and out in one hour and 45 minutes. The service was first class, I reviewed the results with Dr. Tsai before I left (no polyps) and, as I departed, I told the nurse that I was shocked the process was so easy.
Why was I shocked? Because my last colonoscopy was at a local hospital where I was asked my Social Security number four times, waited forever between intubations (which failed twice) and anesthesia, struggled for more than one hour to recover from the anesthesia, and I had to return another time for the physician’s review of my results. Total procedure time? Six hours plus the follow-up visit.
The juxtaposition of Uber (transportation) and a colonoscopy (healthcare) illustrates the dramatic and positive opportunities that are emerging in our world of disruptive innovation. We are less constrained than ever in our choices, and physician providers are paying more attention to what we want as consumers.
The implications for healthcare and related investments could include the following:
There will be more turns in this physician practice evolution and we are all fortunate to be experiencing it. Whether you believe in the current attempts at healthcare reform or not, it has helped to force a change in perspective. The real revolution is more significant and not that far into our future. In the mean time, try Uber when it’s available.
Tom was the Founder and Managing Partner of VERTESS. He was a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA), consultant, and Licensed Psychologist with over 35 years of very successful national experience in the healthcare marketplace, including co-founding and building a $25 million behavioral health/disabilities services company. Tom represented sellers and investors across the healthcare spectrum and was recognized for his executive leadership in the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year issue of Inc. Tom passed away in December 2018.