A Healthcare Pioneer’s Message: Changes under Way Today in the U.S. Can Make Healthcare Better for All, Not Worse

Americans who worry that the new models of healthcare delivery will lead to worse care for all are missing a key point, says Dr. Bruce Hamory, the new chief medical officer of the Health & Life Sciences practice of the consulting firm Oliver Wyman and a longtime pioneer of patient-centric care.

“I’ve worked under the traditional model, and I’ve worked under new care models, and I’d never go back,” says Dr. Hamory, who joined Oliver Wyman this summer. “In traditional medicine, you’re mostly in the dark about the patient’s total health situation, you’re forced to manage complex chronic diseases with short office visits, and you’re expected to practice body-part medicine and patch people up when they’re ill. In consumer-centric, value-based care, you have access to more information about the patient, you’re working with protocols that guide you to the most effective care, and you are a member of a multi-disciplinary team that brings different skills and perspectives to do what really counts—keep people from getting sick in the first place by focusing on the whole range of their medical and psychosocial needs.”

Dr. Hamory is one of the forces behind new healthcare models. Before joining Oliver Wyman, he served as chief medical officer of the acclaimed Geisinger Health System, where he led an 11-year campaign to improve the quality and patient safety, while eliminating inefficiencies and reducing costs. Under his supervision Geisinger introduced “flat fee” payments for acute care episodes, and introduced many new programs to shift the system’s compensation away from the volume of services delivered, and toward patient outcomes and value. Additionally, Dr. Hamory led the implementation of an electronic health record system which not only improved care coordination and efficiency, but also enabled patients to access their own health data.

At Oliver Wyman, Hamory will work not just with healthcare providers, but with payers and life science companies, helping them to refocus their businesses on meeting patient needs and delivering value. Says Hamory: “I was drawn to the Oliver Wyman team’s devotion to improving the quality and value of healthcare. They bring an incredible breath of experience together with depth and rigor of analysis to the toughest decisions facing the US healthcare system today, and I am very excited at the opportunity to join such a talented team.”

“Many people see healthcare reform mostly as a change in the way we pay for care,” says Terry Stone, who heads Oliver Wyman’s Health & Life Sciences practice. “Bruce Hamory was one of the first to understand how important it is to also change the way you deliver care. The innovations he introduced at Geisinger have become core elements of the current wave of healthcare reform and innovation that is moving across the country, and we’re delighted to have access to his experience and insight.”

Most recently, Dr. Hamory has served as managing partner of the Geisinger Consulting Group, assisting not-for-profit health systems redesign the way they deliver care. He practiced for over 20 years in general medicine and infectious disease, and worked in hospital epidemiology and institutional quality control at Pennsylvania State University. He was the Executive Director of University Hospitals, and COO for the medical campus at Penn State. Dr. Hamory received his medical degree from the Baylor College of Medicine and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. He serves on the boards of Presence Health System in Chicago, and the Integrated Health Solutions Network in Tennessee. He has previously served on the Boards of the AMGA and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, as well as numerous national advisory groups concerned with the quality and cost of healthcare.

Hamory is based in Oliver Wyman’s Boston office.

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 50+ cities across 25 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm's 3,000 professionals help clients optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC). For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com. Follow Oliver Wyman on Twitter @OliverWyman.

For the latest on the new world of healthcare, visit our blog, Transforming Healthcare, at blogs.oliverwyman.com/healthcare/.