As all aspects of healthcare continue to evolve amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains an opportunity for companies to provide an integrated approach across the health landscape to improve public health and patient outcomes. This transformation from volume to value means that healthcare innovations, whether therapies, diagnostics, digital therapeutics, devices or services, must focus on improving the patient experience and outcomes while reducing the total cost of care.
Guy D’Andrea, Founder and Managing Partner of Discern Health, discusses the company’s decision to partner with W2O, a health innovation company, and how the recent acquisition will strengthen the company’s strategic capabilities in assisting clients with critical healthcare policy trends and value-based reimbursement models.
Interview Questions:
Q1: What is Discern Health? What kind of work do you do?
Q2: Marketing and communications firm W2O Group recently acquired Discern Health. Can you tell me more about how this deal came about and how the acquisition will strengthen your capabilities in assisting clients with healthcare policy trends and value-based reimbursement models?
Q3: Discern Health is based in Baltimore and D.C. . How does the acquisition help expand Discern Health’s DC-area footprint and your presence in policy and reimbursement communities?
Q4: Why is it important to take an integrated approach to federal and state health policy?
Q5: One of the immediate benefits of this deal seems to be W2O’s tech-enabled data analytics. Can you share how these tools can help bolster the current work Discern Health performs?
Q6: Can you provide an example of a previous project you partnered on with W2O?
Q7: What is your long term vision for Discern Health?
Guy D’Andrea Bio:
Guy D’Andrea, MBA, is the Managing Partner of Discern Health. He focuses on topics related to health care quality measurement and performance-based payment. Guy works with Discern’s clients to analyze and understand evolving health care delivery models, and to identify opportunities to improve value and advance excellence. He is the author of numerous papers and reports on topics related to value-based care.
As Discern’s Managing Partner, Guy is responsible for the overall performance of the firm, ensuring that it provides excellent service for clients and a rewarding professional environment for staff. Since starting Discern as a firm of one in 2004, Guy has led the growth and development of the firm to over 30 staff serving dozens of clients. Guy works with clients to clearly define needs and challenges and to implement projects that will better position them for success in a value-based health care system.
Prior to founding Discern, Guy spent a decade working in health policy, first at the state level with the Maryland Association of HMOs and then in Washington, DC, for America’s Health Insurance Plans and URAC. At URAC, Guy was a Senior Vice President who led the standard development and government relations functions. Guy received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Cornell University and dual MBAs from Columbia University and the London Business School.
About Discern Health
Discern Health counsels leading healthcare organizations on the performance measures and innovative payment models that shape the market for their products and services. Discern Health also works closely with organizations to strengthen and quantify clinical and real-world evidence strategies that inform ongoing market access and commercialization initiatives.
W2O, the leading independent provider of analytics-driven, technology-enabled marketing and communications solutions to the healthcare sector, recently acquired Discern Health. The Discern team will operate under W2O’s single, integrated profit and loss (P&L) operation, with access to all of W2O’s proprietary data models and tools as well as its 1,400 person strong multidisciplinary team – including data analysts, scientific strategists, branding experts, communications specialists and creatives – to build unfair advantage for clients and their brands. Additionally, the Discern leadership team will remain the same.
News from W2O:
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