Insider Intelligence (II): Why does primary care versus other aspects of the healthcare system need to be disrupted?
Adrian Aoun (AA): The healthcare system is fundamentally broken.
Imagine if you were driving a Tesla, you got into an accident, and the Tesla needed to be repaired. And the mechanic repairing the Tesla made millions of dollars per year, but the engineer who built it made $50,000 per year. The person who builds the car up front should be more valuable than the one who repairs it. We've done the exact opposite in healthcare.
The primary care physician is the person who prevents [things] from happening. But why do we live in a world where surgeons make more than primary care doctors?
We have underinvested in primary and preventative care because the insurance industry is tied to your employer—and this is the root of all evil.