Blog

Goldfinch Health Wins Health Value Award

June 22, 2023 – Goldfinch Health, the industry leader in clinical navigation through surgery and recovery, was announced as a recipient of a 2023 Health Value Award during The Healthcare Innovation Congress in Washington, DC. The Health Value Awards recognize outstanding services, products, and programs spanning the healthcare industry. “Thank you to the Validation Institute…

Move Women’s Surgeries Out of the 19th Century with Health Navigators

Would you accept using the same technology in place in 1843 for well, anything? I wouldn’t. So it makes me wonder why so many physicians continue to use invasive approaches to that date to that period. Having a health navigator or a patient advocate service on your side as you go through this life-changing procedure…

How “Surgery as Unusual” is Like Business as Unusual

By Cal Beyer; VP; Workforce Risk & Worker Wellbeing, ACAP Health Works When a change agent assumes leadership of a struggling team, unit, division or company, these leaders frequently throw the gauntlet down. They’ll say we are embarking on a change management initiative. They’ll make bold statements that this will not look, feel, or sound…

First four rural hospitals launch program aimed at reducing opioid use

First four rural hospitals launch program aimed at reducing opioid use The Billion Pill Pledge program, backed by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, is designed to support patients through surgery and recovery November 3, 2022 – Decatur County Hospital in Leon, Regional Medical Center in Manchester, Cherokee Regional Medical Center, and Floyd Valley Healthcare…

Attorney General Miller launches program for rural communities to prevent opioid addiction

Miller launches program for rural communities to prevent opioid addiction Initiative will support hospitals and providers in reducing the number of opioids prescribed after surgery October 13, 2022 – Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced an initiative designed to prevent opioid addiction before it begins. The Billion Pill Pledge program, launched in conjunction with Goldfinch…

History of Substance Abuse and Need Surgery: Now What?

Every patient approaching surgery should be concerned about persistent opioid use, Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), addiction, and leftover prescription medications. One group should have grave concerns—those patients who have a history of Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The Opioid Crisis has now raged on for over two decades. As a result, it is estimated over 20…

Goldfinch Health Achieves Savings Validation from Validation Institute

Goldfinch Health Achieves Savings Validation from Validation Institute July 29, 2022—Goldfinch Health, the industry leader in clinical navigation through surgery and recovery, announced it has received a savings ‘stamp of approval’ from the Validation Institute. Validation Institute’s mission is to provide unbiased, data-driven insights on health care solutions and services by validating performance claims made…

Surgery Quality Analysis & Blind Spots

Lowering healthcare costs while increasing surgery quality? Sounds impossible. But with the right insight into surgery quality and action, it’s entirely possible. To get your no-cost assessment, contact Goldfinch Health today! When it comes to providing the best in medical benefits, it’s easy to have blind spots to where those services could be improved. We…

MSK care is too expensive (in ways you may not have considered)

MSK. A three-letter abbreviation for musculoskeletal conditions (back, hips, knees, shoulders) that rings in the mind of disability and employee benefits professionals. High-cost claimants. Long leave periods. Productivity diminished. Employees lost. Bills escalated. Lives changed. According to the Integrated Benefits Institute, MSK-related issues lead to: 756k short-term disability claims each year in the US (that’s…

Trainwreck-Proofing & Cost Containment in Healthcare

Nearly everyone in employee benefits can immediately think of a case that made cost containment in healthcare impossible. Maybe they call it a high-cost claimant. Or perhaps they think of it as a trainwreck case. Protect your people. Protect your plans with Goldfinch Health. Find out how we make surgery forgettable. The patient faced a…

Opioids, Women & Employee Benefit Strategies

You won’t find the face of the opioid crisis in an unemployed 28 year-old man; it’s an employed and insured 52 year-old woman. And that can be helped with the right employee benefit strategies. How Much Is Outdated Surgery Costing Your Company? Find out now. That means employers could bring an end to this era.…

The Power of an ERAS Protocol Checklist

Recently, I spoke with a physician leader championing the implementation of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery across an 11-hospital system. What is ERAS Protocol? The ERAS protocol emerged as a clinically-valid, patient-centric rethinking of the standard surgery experience 20-plus years ago. Over 7,000 articles have been published in the medical literature to support the extensive benefits…

Demand 21st Century Surgery with Healthcare Advocacy

It sounded like a miracle, but it wasn’t — it was a result of sound healthcare advocacy on behalf of a patient. One day after undergoing a colorectal operation to remove cancer, the patient was up and about and asking to go home. Don’t let your employees, your plans, or your patients suffer through second-rate surgeries.…

Opioids: The dangers of re-exposure and how we can be part of the solution

Meet Brett. Heavily involved in high school sports, a shoulder injury led to surgery. And that, as it does for millions of patients each year, led to a prescription for opioids to manage the pain. With that decision, the script changed. But not immediately. Brett recovered and moved on with his life, which included a…

Outpatient Surgery is Getting Attention from the Largest Players in Healthcare

Right patient, right place, right time, and right care is a mantra of appropriateness within healthcare. And increasingly when it comes to surgery, healthcare leaders believe “right place” means outpatient, especially in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC). UnitedHealth Group’s 2020 Sustainability Report included a 10-year goal to deliver 55% of outpatient surgeries and radiology services at…

Finding Health Equity in Surgery and Recovery

Finding Health Equity in Surgery and Recovery Bias, both unintentional and intentional, contribute to differences in the quality of care received by patients in the United States. The consequences of these disparities can be catastrophic to patients and their families. A 2002 report to Congress –just as relevant today as it was 20 years ago—detailed…

The Risk of Costly Suboptimal Surgery Has Never Been Greater

The Risk of Suboptimal Surgery Has Never Been Greater (due to Covid-19) Thankfully, rays of sunlight have appeared through the darkness of the Covid-19 pandemic. As life returns to “normal,” healthcare no doubt will resume traditional patterns as well. This leaves business, employee benefits and human resource leaders facing critical questions, including: How do I…

Patients Who Manage Post-Surgery Pain Best Know This

Patients Who Manage Post-Surgery Pain Best Know This If you’ve spent any time in the aisles of your local pharmacy, you know there are A LOT of non-prescription medications available. Hundreds of options exist for cough, cold, allergies, pain and other conditions. And, for the most part, that is a really good thing. Easier access—no…

Goldfinch Health Announces Addition to Medical Advisory Team

Goldfinch Health Announces Addition to Medical Advisory Team Dr. Bret Alvis, MD, joins board in role as Chief Anesthesia Officer February 12, 2021 – Goldfinch Health welcomes Dr. Bret Alvis, MD, to its medical advisory team. Dr. Alvis, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will serve in the role…

What You Need to Know to Prepare for the Best Experience in Surgery and Recovery

What You Need to Know to Prepare for the Best Experience in Surgery and Recovery By Mario Leyba, MD, and Brand Newland, PharmD An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure Going into surgery as healthy as possible is among the most important things you can do to prepare for successful recovery and…

What VCRs and Outdated Surgery Instructions Have in Common

What VCRs and Outdated Surgery Instructions Have in Common By Mario Leyba, MD It seemed innocent enough. A pre-surgery instruction sheet handed to a Goldfinch patient several weeks ago, in advance of a procedure we eventually helped the patient to successfully navigate. If you’ve had surgery yourself—or seen a loved one go through it—you’ve probably…

Texas-Based Partnership Looks to Transform the Way Surgery is Performed

Texas-Based Partnership Looks to Transform the Way Surgery is Performed – D Magazine D Magazine profiled the work we are doing with ACAP Health to offer employers a way to reduce recovery time and limit opioid use for employees who need to have surgery. Learn more by reading the article!

An Olympic-Sized Innovation

An Olympic-Sized Innovation Dick Fosbury had an idea. An engineering student moonlighting as a high jumper at the 1968 Olympics, Fosbury put his science background to work. Rather than take the conventional approach of jumping over the bar with a scissorkick, what if instead he went over the bar backwards, head-first? That’s right, backwards. And…

ACAP HealthWorks Announces Partnership to Reduce Post-Surgery Opioid Painkiller Use

ACAP HealthWorks Announces Partnership to Reduce Post-Surgery Opioid Painkiller Use National leader in employer health solutions partners with Goldfinch Health to eliminate suboptimal surgery Dallas, TX — July 8, 2020 – ACAP HealthWorks, a leading provider in innovative, clinical-based solutions, has partnered with Goldfinch Health to reduce surgical complications, persistent opioid painkiller use, and high-cost…

A Global Pandemic, Delayed Surgery, and You

A Global Pandemic, Delayed Surgery, and You By Mario Leyba, MD, and Brand Newland, PharmD Thousands of surgeries have been postponed since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. As compared to 2019, knee replacements are down 68%, hip replacements are down 52% and cancer surgeries are down 18%. As a patient forced to change plans,…

Pulling Back the Curtain on Physician Referrals

Pulling Back the Curtain on Physician Referrals Over 100,000 times today in the United States, a visit between a patient and his/her physician ended with something like this: “I recommend you speak with a surgeon.” That simple statement sets a complex set of wheels in motion, not the least of which are the wheels turning…

Goldfinch Health Adds Chief Medical Officer to Growing Leadership Team

Goldfinch Health Adds Chief Medical Officer to Growing Leadership Team Surgeon thought leader brings extensive experience in minimally-invasive surgery and Enhanced Recovery protocols February 20, 2020 (Austin, TX) – Goldfinch Health has announced Mario Leyba, MD, as its Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Leyba is a board-certified surgeon who performs a wide variety of surgical procedures,…

Surgery: Under the Microscope

Surgery: Under the Microscope “The Butchering Art” by Lindsey Fitzharris offers an in-depth and, shall we say, colorful look at the primitive days of surgery and healthcare. When it comes to the understanding of human health and the delivery of care, we should all be thankful to be alive in 2020 and not 170 years…

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (to Need Surgery)

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (to need surgery) 4 Things to Know as You Consider Surgery If you’ve never had surgery, or (thankfully) haven’t had surgery in awhile, you might be surprised by what’s possible today in surgery. Four things to know! 1. Seek a minimally-invasive procedure whenever possible. Today, many of the most…

Asking the Right Questions is the First Step in Better Surgery

Asking the Right Questions is the First Step As we have worked with patients in helping them to find the best way through surgery and back to their lives, we continue to be reminded of the importance of being an informed patient. Informed patients understand: The need for surgery Alternatives to surgery, if any, and…

The Most Important Part of the Opioid Crisis Isn’t What’s Happened; It’s What Happens Next

The Most Important Part of the Opioid Crisis Isn’t What’s Already Happened; It’s What Happens Next Updates about the Opioid Crisis in America have dominated news reports in recent years, and especially in recent weeks. The final week of August 2019 brought two ground-shaking turns in the decade-long story: An Oklahoma judge ruled Johnson & Johnson,…

What ‘The Price is Right’ can teach us about healthcare

What ‘The Price is Right’ can teach us about healthcare I watched a lot of The Price is Right growing up. I think I might have known the price of a pack of diapers almost before I was out of them myself! I didn’t just learn the costs of common household items and compact cars…

Most Vulnerable Patients Make Costly Surgery Decisions

Research: Most Vulnerable Patients Make Costly Surgery Decisions A recent Goldfinch Health survey revealed critical insights into health literacy and the way consumers consider surgical decisions. Spoiler alert: novice surgical patients make costly decisions and they and their employers shoulder the consequences. But, first, a bit of background. We asked consumers: “Imagine you just found…

The World’s Best Cup of Coffee

The World’s Best Cup of Coffee “Center of Excellence” It’s a term you may have seen used by health insurers, hospitals and surgery centers in recent years. You might be surprised to learn no universal definition exists for qualifying a surgery center for the distinction. At its worst, a hospital or surgery center hanging the…

Taking the Temperature of Surgery Quality

Taking the Temperature of Surgery Quality Ubiquitous in modern society, the thermometer was once a breakthrough technology centuries in the making. When leading scientists some 300 years ago finally put together the necessary elements, what resulted was revolutionary. At a glance, you could know the temperature. You didn’t know relative humidity, wind speed, or any…

A 19th Century Physician & 21st Century Healthcare

What a 19th Century Physician Can Teach Us About 21st Century Healthcare While excitement and optimism largely define a trip to the hospital for the delivery of a new baby today, a different emotion accompanied a visit to an 1840’s maternity ward. Fear. At that time, one in ten mothers would die before she left…

The 4-Hour Workweek Approach to Employee Healthcare

The 4-Hour Workweek Approach to Employee Healthcare “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss has spent years on the New York Times bestseller list by selling a provocative idea—maybe we’re all working too hard? One of the most intriguing concepts covered by Ferris in the book is the effectiveness of combining the Pareto principle with Parkinson’s…

The Role of Employers in the Opioid Epidemic

Lake Wobegon and the Role of Employers in the Opioid Epidemic Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion made famous a quaint place known as Lake Wobegon. In this fictional town it was claimed “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average”. Recently, what’s come to…

The Inspiration that Drives Goldfinch Health

Our Inspiration Why Goldfinch Health? Why attempt to transform something as complex as the surgical experience? This is why. We’ve witnessed first-hand the vast difference between high-quality, advanced surgical experiences and lower-quality, outdated experiences. We have watched family members and loved ones undergo unnecessarily-invasive procedures and long recoveries. We have seen complications of the status…

The Goldfinch Health

Goldfinch Surgery Experience

Get In Touch!