Alan Levine explains why ‘an unapologetic free market capitalist’ thinks East Tennessee can be healthier with less competition

Alan Levine, CEO of Ballad Health, talked to a group at Health:Further on Aug. 29 about how, and why, the newly merged health system wants to rethink the way people get care in East Tennessee.  
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Vanderbilt study improved low income kids’ nutrition, exercise but results indicate more intensive approach needed to stem obesity

A long-running study in low income Nashville neighborhoods found how challenging it is to intervene in young children’s lives to prevent obesity.

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With primaries in the rearview, health care leaders wait for details to emerge from Dean and Lee

This is the first in an on-going series that will look at a wide range of issues, including the economy, infrastructure and manufacturing, facing Tennessee’s next governor.

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Reporter’s Notebook: Peek into challenges, trends and ideas mental health marketing

The Mental Health Marketing conference, in its third year, puts the spotlight on how companies can more effectively reach the people who need such treatment.

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Podcast: Holly talks what puts health care on edge + why politicians, execs need to answer hard questions

Health:Further’s David Shifrin invited me on ‘The Future of Health’ podcast to talk about the BirdDog experiment and Nashville’s health care industry from an observer’s perspective.

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Competition shakes up Tennessee ACA exchange: Highlights urban-rural divide, ups interest in cost impact

The distinguishing characteristic of Tennessee’s 2019 individual health insurance market may be competition—and geography will matter.

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The Weekender: ‘Good jobs’ without a BA exist, keeping workers in financial shape to be healthy + would you tackle an MD?

A screenshot of Nashville from the Neighborhood Map of U.S. Obesity, which overlays different types of Census and national health data, visualizes where obesity is more highly concentrated around the city.  The scale ranges from blue, which is zero to  24.24 percent obesity to red, which is 52.39 percent to 100 percent.

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Virtual reality will, probably, come to a clinician near you—raising questions about its uses and ‘how to be human with it’

I’m no gamer, but I was giddy about my VR experience. There’s a growing group of VR evangelists trying to bring the headsets into mainstream medicine.

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VC and growth equity investors on how to get their attention: Be different, be smart

Anna Haghgooie of Sandbox Industries speaks at the Nashville Health Care Council’s “Council Panel: Financing the Deal” on May 22, 2018. Courtesy/Donn Jones Photography

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Prediabetes is scary and dull so the CDC is using hedgehogs to raise awareness about a disease that has a ‘tremendous impact economically’ for Tennessee

A national ad campaign uses hedgehogs living their best life on vacation to get people to take a 1-minute test about how many risk factors they have for prediabetes. Screenshot

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