Blog

  • Taking Root in Nashville – A New Collaborative to Green our Streets and Improve our Health

    by Bill Frist

    Clean air, cooler streets, safer neighborhoods, improved health – these are all things we’d like for our city of Nashville.  What do they all share in common?  They are all goals that can be achieved in part through a larger urban tree canopy – and all are central to the mission of our new collaborative…

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  • Notes from the Road: Africa 2018

    by Bill Frist

    It’s been many years since my first trip to Africa, but each trip changes me. I already know this trip will be no different. Tracy and I are here for two-weeks this time: Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya. The trip will bring together work from Hope Through Healing Hands (global community health) and The Nature…

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  • Notes From The Road: Bob Marshall Log, August 2017

    by Bill Frist

    Notes From The Road | The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex consists of three wilderness areas in Montana totaling over 1.5 million acres. Located in the northern Rocky Mountains along the Continental Divide, the region is as primitive as any found in the United States outside of Alaska. It’s also diverse, encompassing the dry and open…

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  • As Congress Debates, What Steps Shall I Take?

    by Bill Frist

    Written with Gary Dodd There’s a lot of uncertainty in healthcare today including changes to the Affordable Care Act and changes at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As healthcare professionals, we hope we are moving to a world of alternative payment models that will be focused on quality of care, not quantity of…

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  • Tennessee Makes Huge Strides

    by Bill Frist

    In 2013, Tennessee’s progress on math and reading scores was considered a bright spot. Today, our students continue to excel and have made Tennessee the fastest improving state in science since 2009. On behalf of our team at SCORE (State Collaborative on Reforming Education), I applaud our students and teachers for their tireless efforts to…

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  • Back to Haiti

    by Bill Frist

    NOTES FROM THE ROAD | It’s no secret that I believe investing in global health is absolutely essential, and investments in women and girls—particularly maternal and child health—does nothing less than change a country’s trajectory. Next week, Tracy is joining me as I lead a delegation from all over the United States on a learning…

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  • Thank you and best wishes to Risa Lavizzo-Mourey

    by Bill Frist

    Earlier today Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, the first woman and the first African American to lead the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), announced that she was stepping down from her role as President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. I have been honored to serve with Risa on the RWJF Board. Her leadership…

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  • Exploring the Social Determinants of Public Health with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

    by Bill Frist

    NOTES FROM THE ROAD | Scotland—Survival of men and women in Scotland is the worst in Western Europe. So is their general health. Why is that? What is being done? How successful are the new, bold initiatives that were launched in 2010? I am in Glasgow with the board of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)…

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  • Better Healthcare at Lower Costs (AHIP 2016)

    by Bill Frist

    NOTES FROM THE ROAD | I had the privilege of speaking yesterday at America’s Health Insurance Plans Institute and Expo. Along with Bernard Tyson (Kaiser Permanente) and David Bernd (Sentara Healthcare), I discussed “Better Health Care at Lower Cost: Is It Possible?” You know my answer: It is absolutely possible with technology. In case you…

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  • Spring Update (Newsletter)

    by Bill Frist

    So much of my work is a balance of progress and conservation. Now, more than ever, that’s playing out at home. Tracy and I are working to turn Old Town, our Williamson County home on the Old Natchez Trace, into a thriving farm while preserving and honoring the property’s centuries-old history. We welcomed new members to…

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  • Season’s Greetings

    by Bill Frist

    Merry Christmas all! Tracy and I hope this holiday season brings peace and joy and 2015 was a rewarding year. It’s been a fall of new beginnings for us in many ways. After three sons, and two grandsons, our family welcomed our first granddaughter, Amelia Fearn Frist, just over a month ago. We launched a…

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  • Congratulations to the 2015 SCORE Prize Winners

    by Bill Frist

    All year long the State Collaborative on Reforming Education—SCORE—works with and for students, parents, and teachers in Tennessee and each October we have the privilege of dedicating an evening to recognizing the amazing progress they have made. I love that our annual SCORE Prize awards ceremony doesn’t just bring together administrators and policy makers in…

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  • Call for a Conversation: Alzheimer’s in Tonight’s Debate

    by Bill Frist

    Tonight, when Republican candidates, vying for the White House, debate one another at the presidential library and final resting place of President Ronald Reagan, they should honor his memory and address the illness that claimed his life and the lives of 700,000 Americans annually: Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in our nation. Reagan…

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  • Nashville’s Role in the Healthcare Landscape

    by Bill Frist

    I love Nashville and I’m so proud of the work being done  here. Healthcare is the heart of this town and the solutions being developed here are helping patients all over the world. I’m particularly proud of the Nashville Healthcare Council’s Fellows program, and was thrilled to introduce it to a broader audience. I am…

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  • Hector Frank and a New Opportunity for Cultural Unity

    by Bill Frist

    Last October, Tracy and I visited Cuba and got an up close view of the country, the people, and their challenges. I’ve written about my impressions of their healthcare structure–in many ways woefully lacking, but with some surprising lessons for us in America. What I didn’t write quite as much about was the art. We found…

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  • Podcast: Medicare and Medicaid at 50

    by Bill Frist

    Fifty years after Medicare and Medicaid were created, healthcare in America is still rapidly evolving. Carefully observing where we’ve been will help inform where we are going, so in today’s special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman and I look at the Perspectives of Beneficiaries,…

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  • Killing the superbug: A call for Congressional action

    by Bill Frist

    When Alexander Flemming accepted his Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin, he issued a warning to future generations: his miracle drug—responsible for saving millions of lives—could one day be useless. “It is not difficult to make microbes resistant to penicillin in the laboratory by exposing them to concentrations not sufficient to kill them,” Flemming…

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  • The Promises and Challenges of Precision Medicine

    by Bill Frist

    Only 15% of our health is determined by the healthcare we receive, the rest are the social determinants of health: environment, economic stability, access to care, education and community resources. Paying attention to that 85% is imperative, and precision medicine aims to take targeted genetic and molecular information and consider it in tandem with data about…

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  • Ebola Doctor and Survivor Ian Crozier Advocates Global Awareness and Treatment (Hope Through Healing Hands)

    by Bill Frist

    HOPE THROUGH HEALING HANDS BLOG | On Tuesday, March 31, Hope Through Healing Hands had the honor of hosting Dr. Ian Crozier, an Ebola physician and survivor at an event with Siloam Family Health Center. I had the privilege of talking with Ian as he shared his experiences with the packed auditorium. His message is one that…

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  • Notes from the Road: Hong Kong

    by Bill Frist

    I’m in Hong Kong right now attending some financial meetings and touring some infrastructure projects. It’s been an eye-opening trip so far. Today in a financial meeting, one of the smartest participants is an historian, a student of thousands of years of Chinese history. He observed: “The era of a Dynasty always begins with low…

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  • The Physician’s Role and End-of-Life

    by Bill Frist

    Over the past several months, I’ve been championing a revolution in end-of-life care. The care models need to change. Reimbursement strategies need to change. The way we think and talk about end-of-life needs to change. And physician education needs to change. We, as doctors, need a new perspective on our role as healers and what…

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  • Real Conversations: You and Me

    by Bill Frist

    With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here, the overview of you and me here, and the conclusion. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 At the end of the day,…

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  • Water for the World

    by Bill Frist

    Back in 2003 I was traveling in Mozambique with a delegation of Senate colleagues to take a closer look at U.S. policy on HIV/AIDS.  We found an HIV emergency, but we also identified a health need even more fundamental: access to clean water. That was the trip that prompted PEPFAR, President George Bush’s unprecedented commitment to address…

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  • Real Conversation on Children

    by Bill Frist

    With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of children here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Over six million children die per year before they…

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  • #Conversation2015

    by Bill Frist

    I recently got together with a couple of friends, entertainer WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff to talk about American compassion and to make a list: a list of things we should really care about. We wish to start a national conversation to identify and address some of the greatest threats to our…

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  • Real Conversation on Disaster

    by Bill Frist

    With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of natural disasters here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Natural disasters are a threat in and…

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  • Real Conversation on Poverty

    by Bill Frist

    With WK “Big Kenny” Alphin and Dr. Randy Wykoff, I am launching #Conversation2015, a look at the opportunities we have to make dramatic changes through compassion and caring. Read the introduction to the project here and the overview of poverty here. Then join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook: #Conversation2015 Poverty is inextricably tied to poor health. The…

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  • November Update

    by Bill Frist

    The fall has been exceptionally busy around here with several international trips and speaking engagements, but I was able to be home for Thanksgiving and got to enjoy some of the beautiful autumn color that Middle Tennessee has to offer. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s an update on some of…

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  • 2014 SCORE Prize Awards

    by Bill Frist

    Each year in late October I have the privilege of hosting the Annual SCORE Prize celebration. Every year just gets better and last night was no exception! We had a great time with school representatives from across the state and country music artist Dustin Lynch. The SCORE Prize celebrates success in Tennessee’s schools, and this…

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  • Notes From the Road: A Big Picture Impression of Cuba

    by Bill Frist

    Two weeks ago, I was in Cuba as part of a healthcare delegation to learn more about the country as a whole and its healthcare system in particular on a “people-to-people” trip. Cuba is a land of heterogeneity and chaos: an amalgam of cultures, colors, tastes, and textures. Wifi access there is severely limited, so…

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  • An Ebola Turning Point: An Early Diagnosis?

    by Bill Frist

    Read my earlier Ebola primer and a look at what we know about how the virus behaves. As the Ebola situation in West Africa progresses, we are dealing with increasingly complex medical and cultural challenges. I addressed some of the cultural issues in a Morning Consult column last month, and highlighted the importance of identifying infected…

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  • Join me to Discuss Palliative Care: We know we need it, but how will the system pay for it?

    by Bill Frist

    UPDATED: If you missed the event, the entire webinar broken down by speaker is archived online. On September 10, 1 pm EDT, I and some friends will be speaking at a live, free webinar sponsored by the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) on palliative care. We certainly need it, but how will the…

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  • Ebola: Contagious vs Infectious

    by Bill Frist

    Read my earlier Ebola primer. As the CDC treats the nation’s first two Ebola cases there are a lot of questions and concerns about the disease in America—Could it become an epidemic here? How contagious is it? How is it caught? Although my medical specialty is cardiothoracic surgery, I have spent a good deal of…

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  • Ebola Primer and Liberia

    by Bill Frist

    As I hope you’ve heard, there is an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Western Africa right now, particularly in Liberia. Two American aid workers, Dr. Kent Brantly with Samaritan’s Purse and Nancy Writebol, a volunteer working with the faith group Service in Mission, were recently infected. I’ve been discussing the situation with the Centers…

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  • Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancies: My Conversation with Melinda Gates

    by Bill Frist

    Yesterday morning, I had the privilege of sitting down with Melinda Gates, Scott Hamilton, Jenny Eaton Dyer, and a room full of caring people to talk about Hope Through Healing Hands’ Faith-Based Coalition for Healthy Mothers & Children Worldwide. Chatting with both Melinda and Scott is always such a pleasure—especially about such an important issue…

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  • Retrospective on Rwanda

    by Bill Frist

    I’ve been home from Rwanda and Kenya only a few days and I’m already on another flight, heading back to Aspen, this time for the Aspen Ideas Festival Spotlight: Health, co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It’s on flights that I have time to reflect on a few takeaways, drawn from the myriad impressions…

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  • Notes from the Road: Building Infrastructure for Long Term Growth

    by Bill Frist

    *I’m in Rwanda this week representing Hope Through Healing Hands with Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners in Health Rwanda, and Harvard Medical School. These dispatches from the road are my personal journal–recording what I’ve seen and learned on this trip. See my pre-trip thoughts, Monday’s blog, and Tuesday’s notes. This morning we met with patients and physicians at Centre Hospitalier…

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  • Notes from the Road: Cancer Care in Rural Africa

    by Bill Frist

    *I’m in Rwanda this week representing Hope Through Healing Hands with Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners in Health Rwanda, and Harvard Medical School. These dispatches from the road are my personal journal–recording what I’ve seen and learned on this trip. See my pre-trip thoughts, and Monday’s blog.  Who says you can’t treat patients suffering from cancer…

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  • Off to Rwanda: Considering Child Nutrition

    by Bill Frist

    I was in Aspen earlier this week working on some of the challenges facing healthcare and the health industry in the US, but it’s time to switch gears. Sunday, I leave for Rwanda to lead a one week group trip with my friend Dr. Paul Farmer to see some of the work being done by…

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  • Happy Memorial Day

    by Bill Frist

    Maura C. Sullivan is a former U.S. Marine Corps Captain, Iraq War Veteran and graduate of Harvard Business School. She is a Commissioner, American Battle Monuments Commission– managing America’s overseas WWI & WWII cemeteries.   Maura has demonstrated exemplary service to this country, continued commitment to public service, and an unusual breadth of experience. I’m…

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  • Investing in Healthy Mothers and Children Worldwide

    by Bill Frist

    Earlier this week, a project we’ve been working on for months finally came to fruition! Hope Through Healing Hands announced a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the Faith-Based Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children Worldwide. Since 2004, Hope Through Healing Hands has made investments to support infrastructure, sustainable health development,…

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  • The Cadillac Tax: Implications and a Potential Silver Lining?

    by Bill Frist

    (Forbes, February 26, 2014 ) Like much of the Affordable Care Act, the Cadillac tax—Obamacare’s solution to a tax subsidy created during World War II—offers a solution to an important problem, but is fraught with unintended consequences. Ideally, the tax would prompt employers to offer more cost-effective plans, with some shift of risk to employees…

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  • Connected Health and the Rise of the Patient Consumer

    by Bill Frist

    (Health Affairs, February 2014) How to achieve better care at a lower cost? Two powerful new forces may hold the answer. America’s health care delivery sector stands at a tipping point—a convergence of a growing, graying, and highly consumptive population with increasingly limited financial and human capital resources. Policy makers naturally gravitate toward government to…

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  • Tennessee at Crossroads: 2013-14 State of Education Report

    by Bill Frist

    When SCORE was launched in 2009, we identified a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for unprecedented growth in student achievement in Tennessee. In November, we have learned that the efforts of educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders have helped Tennessee become the fastest improving state in the nation – and 2nd overall behind the District of…

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  • Bloomberg: 30% of Obamacare Needs to Be Fixed

    by Bill Frist

      Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Former Senator Bill Frist, a Republican from Tennessee, discusses the Affordable Care Act with Trish Regan on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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  • Notes from the Road: Global South Summit 2013

    by Bill Frist

    NASHVILLE | At the Global South Summit last week, I moderated a panel on one of my favorite topics: transforming healthcare into health. There is much discussion about how the current model of healthcare is “broken.” But the fact is, the system is producing exactly what it was designed to produce. The problem is that…

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  • Notes from the Road: 2013 Health Care Investors Conference

    by Bill Frist

    NASHVILLE | Last Wednesday, (Nov 13) I had the privilege of joining Bass, Berry and Sims and Deloitte at the 2013 Health Care Investors Conference. I sat down with Brad Smith, CEO of Aspire Health; Andrew Lasher, CMO of Aspire Health; and Anna Gene O’Neal, CEO of Alive Hospice, to discuss some of challenges and…

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  • Bloomberg: The Real Price of Healthcare

    by Bill Frist

    Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg View columnist Lanhee Chen is joined by former U.S. Senate majority leader William Frist, Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy, Boston Consulting Group partner Michael Ringel, John Hopkins Medicine CEO Paul Rothman, Thompson Holdings CEO Tommy Thompson, and Walgreen CEO Gregory Wasson to discuss the state of healthcare in the United…

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  • Tremendous Step Forward for Tennessee’s Children

    by Bill Frist

    Today the state of Tennessee has taken a tremendous step forward for our children and our future.  The Volunteer State has made more progress than any other state in the nation across 4th and 8th grade reading and math. When I launched the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) in 2009, we noted that “several…

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  • Elderly need options for palliative care

    by Bill Frist

    (The Tennessean, October, 20, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. and Manoj Jain, M.D. A patient — we will call her Matilda — has thin, silvery hair, deep-set eyes and is in her mid-80s. She worked as a factory worker until she was widowed and now lives alone a few miles away from two working…

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  • We often avoid important conversation

    by Bill Frist

    (The Tennessean, October 6, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. and Manoj Jain, M.D. When a patient’s lymph node biopsy came back as a rare form of lymphoma, he did not have long to live. In the six months before he died, he did not settle his family affairs or financial accounts. His doctors should…

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  • It’s Common Sense to Come Together for Our Kids

    by Bill Frist

    (The Huffington Post, October 2, 2013) By Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. When we served together in the Senate, we found ourselves on different sides of a variety of issues. But when it came to common-sense measures that benefitted our country and our citizens, we pulled together. We were proud to cosponsor…

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  • It’s never too early to discuss your final wishes

    by Bill Frist

    (The Tennessean, September 22, 2013) By Manoj Jain, M.D. and Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. A week before my (Dr. Jain) elderly parents came for a long visit, I asked them if they would be willing to have a conversation about end-of-life planning. But it wasn’t until the day before they left that we sat at…

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  • Health care group a guide in time of change

    by Bill Frist

    (The Tennessean, September 15, 2013) By Larry Van Horn, Ph.d., and Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. October 2014 is a month that our nation has eyed for more than four years. We will take a historic step to revamp our health care system by enrolling millions of Americans in federally mandated health insurance coverage. At the…

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  • Global Engagement Pays off for U.S.

    by Bill Frist

    (The Tennessean, August 17, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. and Gov. Phil Bredesen During difficult economic times, there is a tendency for Americans to turn inward, to focus on domestic challenges, especially as this country emerges from a decade defined by two major wars and a crushing financial crisis. Though the urge to withdraw…

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  • Technology And The Changing Business Of Health Care

    by Bill Frist

    (Health Affairs, August 14, 2013) By Bill Frist, M.D. and Tom Daschle Three years after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as “Obamacare,” scholars and political pundits have paid much attention to the macroeconomic effects of the law. Will Obamacare bend the health care cost curve?  What will be…

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  • European Summer Travels 2013

    by Bill Frist

    Copenhagen, Denmark The statue of the Little Mermaid who gazes longingly out to sea from her rock to the harbor.  Copenhagen is one of the most historic cities in the Baltic region; loved exploring the 850 years of recorded history.             Helsinki, Finland Missed the all-year round Igloo hotel, but…

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  • Bike Ride Through Kadriorg Park, Estonia

    by Bill Frist

    Rode bikes with Mary and Lee through Kadriorg Park, Estonia, site of Peter the Great’s Summer Palace, and then went by the President’s Palace.  Apparently he is a Princetonian but I did not see the orange and black flag flying that day (wonder if he was at reunions?  Finally to romantic Old Town to see…

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  • Health care system should focus on easing patients’ lives

    by Bill Frist

    Over the course of the past century, advances in public health and medical care have led to improvements in life expectancy that our ancestors would not have been able to imagine. Average life expectancy for Americans born in 2013 is approaching 80 years. While we now live longer and typically spend most of these years in good health, many live with advanced and complicated illnesses. Health problems that once caused death are now controllable as chronic conditions. With these chronic conditions comes the risk of chronic illness and chronic symptoms.

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  • Nashville Health Care Council Fellows

    by Bill Frist

    “What we witnessed is bipartisan dialogue, exposure to world-known individuals, new methods of learning, strategies and tactics I have put to use, and a consistent and engaging forum for dialogue. I consider this class one of the single most important investments I have made in myself.” -Laura Beth Brown, Vice President, Vanderbilt Health Services, Vanderbilt…

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  • California Cycling

    by Bill Frist

    I finished my 75 mile ride from San Francisco to the Red Woods near the Russian River.  Now, it is time to enjoy nature and great conversation.  

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  • LeConte Adventures

    by Bill Frist

    Tennessee features some of the most exquisite landscape on the planet, and I recently made the hike up to the LeConte Lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.   Waking up at Zoder’s in Gatlinburg, saying “Hi” to Cesar the parrot, who has been here 31 years and says “Hello!” back to me each…

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  • Future of Healthcare is Personalized Medicine

    by Bill Frist

    (Diplomatic Courier, July 08, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. It is a common refrain that America has the best health care in the world, but our people are far from the healthiest. We spend twice as much as any other nation on health services, yet rank dismally, behind more than twenty other countries in…

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  • What a Difference a Decade Makes

    by Bill Frist

    (The Hill, May 28, 2013) By Rep. Barbara Lee and Bill Frist A Democratic Congresswoman and a former Republican Senator aren’t afforded many opportunities to work together. Especially at a time of fiscal crisis when every dollar is scrutinized and fought over, partisanship pushes us into opposite corners. But we agree on a program that…

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  • A Crucial Moment for Global Nutrition

    by Bill Frist

    (The Hill, May 22, 2013) On June 8, the United Kingdom, under the leadership of Prime Minister David Cameron, will host “Nutrition for Growth,” a high-level meeting where donor governments, including our own, will pledge funding and other commitments to address undernutrition and its devastating impact on the long-term health and productivity of millions of…

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  • Phasing Out Fee-For-Service

    by Bill Frist

    (The New England Journal of Medicine, May 22, 2013) By Bill Frist and Steven Schroeder In March 2012, the Society of General Internal Medicine convened the National Commission on Physician Payment Reform to recommend forms of payment that would maximize good clinical outcomes, enhance patient and physician satisfaction and autonomy, and provide cost-effective care. The…

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  • Cost Sustainability

    by Bill Frist

    (Modern Healthcare, May 18, 2013) By Bill Frist and Dr. Manoj Jain We have done it. We have decreased the increase in the cost of healthcare. Let us explain. For three decades (1980–2009), the cost of healthcare has been increasing each year at an average rate of 7.4%—double the rate of inflation. However, over the…

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  • How to Build a Better Health-Care System

    by Bill Frist

    (Washington Post, April 17, 2013) By Tom Daschle, Bill Frist, Pete Domenici, and Alice Rivlin Tom Daschle, a Democrat and former senator from South Dakota, was Senate majority leader from 2001 to 2003. Bill Frist, a Republican and former senator from Tennessee, was Senate majority leader from 2003 to 2007. Pete Domenici, a Republican and…

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  • States’ Rare Chance to Expand Medicaid

    by Bill Frist

    (Politico, April 11, 2013) By Bill Frist A proposal unveiled by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam late last month leverages federal funds to purchase private coverage for new Medicaid eligibles in the state’s health insurance exchange. In recent weeks, Arkansas became the first state to embrace a similar plan. This market-based approach, known as “premium assistance,”…

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  • We Must Continue Our Legacy of Saving Lives

    by Bill Frist

    (Roll Call, March 7, 2013) Now is no time to shy away from our health investments By Bill Frist A decade ago, as I was beginning my time as Senate majority leader, bipartisan consensus in Washington helped launch a new era of progress in global health just when it was sorely needed. Twenty years had…

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  • Changing the Way Physicians are Paid: Report of the National Commission on Physician Payment Reform

    by Bill Frist

    (Health Affairs Blog, March 4, 2013) By Bill Frist and Steven Schroeder The loud cries warning that rising health care costs are going to destroy the nation’s economy have been shouted so often that the will to move firmly in any one direction has almost halted. We’ve all heard them: health care costs are unsustainable,…

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  • To Contain Health Care Costs, Pay Doctors Differently

    by Bill Frist

    (Politico, March 4, 2013) by Bill Frist and Steven Schroeder Lawmakers have spent decades dancing around how to stop health care costs from eating up greater and greater portions of our overall budget. Even now, the proposals on the table look at cuts in services, asking seniors covered under Medicare to pick up a higher…

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  • Podcast: Bill Frist Discusses the Fellowship Group with Modern Healthcare

    by Bill Frist

    Transplant surgeon and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) sees a healthcare industry in flux, driven by the need crack the “value equation” that ties cost control to outcomes. Frist signed on as co-director of a new fellowship program established by the Nashville Healthcare Council to help council members’ executives meet that challenge. Modern…

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  • Why both parties should embrace ObamaCare’s state exchanges

    by Bill Frist

    (The Week, July 18, 2012) By Bill Frist, M.D. Largely lost in the fight over ObamaCare is a worthy provision that lets states develop insurance systems that are right for them — but they must act soon. When the new health care reform law was being debated in 2009 and 2010, everyone talked about “death…

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  • The Crucial Need to Hold Students to a Higher Standard

    by Bill Frist

    (The Week, posted on July 3, 2012) By Bill Frist, M.D. Far too many U.S. teens leave high school unprepared for college — not to mention the job market Over the last few months, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors have walked across a stage and received a diploma, an important moment that should be…

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  • The world needs more health-care workers — millions more

    by Bill Frist

    (The Week, Posted on June 19, 2012) By Bill Frist, M.D. The most impressive part of any hospital or health clinic is the caring, skilled employees who prevent and treat illness. But the workforce we have is not enough.   As I visit health programs in far off corners of the world and right here…

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  • America must invest in research universities — or get left behind

    by Bill Frist

    (The Week, June 5, 2012) By Bill Frist, M.D. Gone are the days when Bell Labs was the nation’s prime innovator. Today, we must rely on universities — and those universities need our help Innovation gave birth to Microsoft, FedEx, Xerox, Starbucks, Apple, and thousands more businesses that have powered America’s growth, making us the…

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  • How to wean America from its dangerous food addiction

    by Bill Frist

    (The Week, posted on May 22, 2012 ) By Bill Frist, M.D. The nation’s obesity epidemic is as much about brain chemistry as it is poor diet and laziness — a fact we must realize if we’re going to treat obesity effectively In ancient history, eating was for survival. Food was tough to come by…

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  • How Facebook is reinventing organ donation

    by Bill Frist

    (The Week, Posted on May 8, 2012) By Bill Frist, M.D. Thousands of Americans die each year waiting for heart, lung, and kidney transplants that never materialize. Mark Zuckerberg is intent on changing that What do you use Facebook for? To keep up with friends, share pictures of your kids, or pass around the latest…

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  • 5 reasons deficit hawks should lay off global health initiatives

    by Bill Frist

    (The Week, April 24, 2012) By Bill Frist, M.D. America’s national debt is ballooning at a worryingly rapid pace. But some programs ought to be spared the chopping block. Government spending is about to get chopped — no matter who wins the next presidential election. President Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney have both…

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  • Importance of K-12 Education

    by Bill Frist

    I was asked yesterday about education reform, specifically charter schools and vouchers. However, I used the opportunity to talk about some of the big issues in K-12 education and how important it is to the greatness of America. Take a look… The Greatness Of America from Bill Frist on Vimeo.

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  • Looking Back On The Portrait Unveiling

    by Bill Frist

    Norman Shumway was smart. Peering over the open chest cavity — a flabby and worthless heart just lifted out and my mentor knowingly guiding my then novice hands as we sewed in a healthy heart — he would say: “Remember … whatever you’re doing at a moment’s time, you never own it.  You are… always……

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  • Meeting With GE Foundation in Cambodia

    by Bill Frist

    I had a wonderful meeting today in Pnom Penh with Dararith Lim, health executive for General Electric who oversees the GE Healthymagination initiative for the underserved in Cambodia. I have been on the advisory board for the Healthymagination initiative for the past couple of years, exploring the opportunities that American technology, initiative, and business can…

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  • Tour of the new URS-designed Caterpillar plant

    by Bill Frist

    I sit on the board of the giant engineering company URS, so today Karyn, Bryan and I toured the new URS-designed Caterpillar plant in Suzhou, China. Very impressive. 72,000 sq./m, LEED Gold certified factory of front-loaders (and corporate office). Took only 14 months to complete. URS recently acquired Scott Wilson, a London-based, global engineering firm….

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  • Refugees International Gala

    by Bill Frist

    05.07.10 This past evening, I attended to the 31st Annual Refugees International Gala at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium with many former Senate colleagues and advocates for those displaced by crisis or conflict. At the gala, I was honored to receive the McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award, which was named in the honor and memory of Penny…

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  • Nashville Flooding and What You Can Do

    by Bill Frist

    The numbers from the flooding in Nashville continue to astound. Twenty-one people have died in Tennessee and thousands of people have been driven from their homes. The pictures that are continuing to come in show the level of devastation in Middle Tennessee, and many families are just now being able to get back and see…

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  • Bill Frist Receives 2011 NBAA Humanitarian Award

    by Bill Frist

    Bill Frist Receives 2011 NBAA Humanitarian Award from Bill Frist on Vimeo.   Bill Frist Flies Missions Worldwide to Help Those in Need Esteemed doctor, pilot and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has been awarded the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA’s) 2011 Al Ueltschi Award for Humanitarian Leadership in recognition of his life-saving efforts…

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  • Senator Frist on the Childhood Obesity Epidemic

    by Bill Frist

    Why is ending childhood obesity such an important issue for you? Why is ending childhood obesity such an important issue for you? from Bill Frist on Vimeo. What is the private sector’s role? What is the private sector’s role? from Bill Frist on Vimeo. Why should the private sector care about childhood obesity? Why should…

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