Those who know me will raise an eyebrow, even drop a jaw, at hearing of the evolution from solo-based consulting into a more formal firm. The obvious question is, why.
Those who know me well seem too shocked to even ask. I love working solo: diverse work, flexibility for home time with our special kids, a simple commute. What changed?
In my view, healthcare reform gives every new project more dimensions than before. A “simple” question on reimbursement for medical devices now involves IRS taxes and new fraud investigators. Drug samples are a salvation for the uninsured in the US but a foreign corrupt practice in Africa.
Usually, healthcare policy wonks speak all these languages. Sometimes, though, getting the full picture involves more collaboration and team-building than in simpler times. I’ve expanded beyond my main comfort zone in pharma, Medicare and health reform, and can speak the language of employers, Wall Street, IRS, FTC.
Even so, a broader firm means… a more diverse team, covering the wider scope of 21st century healthcare. Because half the story isn’t half-bad, it’s totally useless.
Maybe it’s just the nature of health reform implementation.
Maybe it’s also our endemic globalization.
Maybe it’s the growing sophistication of clients and their projects.
In any case, healthcare issues now involve more dimensions than one health policy wonk ought to tackle.
So here I am – hoping to organize a matrix of experts covering the big, new map of healthcare. What’s on this radar screen? I hope we’ll be the single-source solution for:
Health reform (Obamacare, ACA, pick your term), which colors the whole screen.
New drugs, devices and biologics, extending far and wide.
Clinical trial pipeline, approval process and enforcement actions.
Medicare, from coverage to reimbursement to research data to enforcement.
Managed care, electronic health records, quality measurement, you name it.
Most of all, though, I want to cover all the dimensions of how the chief players overlap: how to get CMS coverage before FDA even approves the product; how dialysis regulations predict the future of Accountable Care (ACOs).
Welcome, Pharma and Healthcare Dimensions. Wish me well. Better yet, come visit in our Capitol Hill offices, so I can get you a Starbucks and show you the view.
