Surfing the MASH Tsunami

S5 - E7.5 - Will Increasing the Focus on MASH via Rezdiffra Overwhelm the Healthcare System?

March 24, 2024 HEP Dynamics LLC Season 5 Episode 7
S5 - E7.5 - Will Increasing the Focus on MASH via Rezdiffra Overwhelm the Healthcare System?
Surfing the MASH Tsunami
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Surfing the MASH Tsunami
S5 - E7.5 - Will Increasing the Focus on MASH via Rezdiffra Overwhelm the Healthcare System?
Mar 24, 2024 Season 5 Episode 7
HEP Dynamics LLC

This conversation asks what impact Rezdiffra patient education might have on a U.S. healthcare system in which 38% of American adults live with some form of MASLD and 15% live with MASH. 

Louise Campbell starts off by saying she is “slightly fed up” with the idea that we cannot proceed too quickly for fear of overwhelming the system. Louise would rather flip focus to push systems to build the capacity they will need to handle the flow of patients that will certainly grow over time. Mike Betel agrees and discusses two Fatty Liver Alliance activities in Canada, one of which is a survey of 27,000 primary care physicians. 

Roger Green pushes back slightly on Louise’s comment about overwhelming the system. He suggests that building capacity may be easier in countries with government-run healthcare systems, where one group can make and implement national decisions, than in the fragmented private US system where everything is measured in terms of short-term profit.  Jeff McIntyre agrees with Louise’s point in that we can’t think in terms of “don’t burden the provider anymore.” He then discusses an innovarite solution the US Veterans Administration is implementing.

Louise points to the importance of systems solutions in view of her belief that most patient management in MASLD will fall to primary care within the next 5-7 years. This stresses the importance of systems enhancements and growing the population of advanced providers. 

Show Notes

This conversation asks what impact Rezdiffra patient education might have on a U.S. healthcare system in which 38% of American adults live with some form of MASLD and 15% live with MASH. 

Louise Campbell starts off by saying she is “slightly fed up” with the idea that we cannot proceed too quickly for fear of overwhelming the system. Louise would rather flip focus to push systems to build the capacity they will need to handle the flow of patients that will certainly grow over time. Mike Betel agrees and discusses two Fatty Liver Alliance activities in Canada, one of which is a survey of 27,000 primary care physicians. 

Roger Green pushes back slightly on Louise’s comment about overwhelming the system. He suggests that building capacity may be easier in countries with government-run healthcare systems, where one group can make and implement national decisions, than in the fragmented private US system where everything is measured in terms of short-term profit.  Jeff McIntyre agrees with Louise’s point in that we can’t think in terms of “don’t burden the provider anymore.” He then discusses an innovarite solution the US Veterans Administration is implementing.

Louise points to the importance of systems solutions in view of her belief that most patient management in MASLD will fall to primary care within the next 5-7 years. This stresses the importance of systems enhancements and growing the population of advanced providers.