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The waiting list crisis plaguing public healthcare systems isn't just an administrative headache—it's causing clinical harm and unnecessary deaths. In this deep-dive conversation, experts Professor Lindsay Sales and Professor Andy Poh join host Mark Gordon to challenge the conventional wisdom that these backlogs are simply an inevitable consequence of publicly funded healthcare.
Drawing from their extensive experience across multiple healthcare systems, our guests reveal how waiting lists often function as deliberate rationing tools rather than unavoidable capacity issues.
The discussion introduces Professor Andy Poh's concept for a powerful framework (the "OPD" model), the value of data driven analysis (which is HSi's speciality) and analysis that shows why simply throwing more money at the problem rarely solves it, especially when structural issues remain unaddressed.
Most compelling is the real-world evidence that waiting lists can be dramatically reduced without additional funding. Mark shares how one London hospital slashed their surgical backlog by 70% while simultaneously performing 51,000 more procedures than planned—all through better capacity management and operational planning. And yes, using HSi Insight Platform - a revolution in predictive modelling and planning.
The conversation builds toward a vision of truly integrated healthcare where primary care is strengthened, clear clinical pathways guide patient journeys, and AI-powered predictive systems enable forward-looking resource allocation based on population health needs. For healthcare leaders, policymakers, and anyone concerned about improving patient access, this episode provides both immediate tactical solutions and a strategic roadmap for transforming healthcare delivery. -
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Healthcare costs and pricing vary dramatically across global markets with procedures costing up to 900% more in some countries than others, often with little relation to the actual cost of providing the service. Staggering differences in pricing reflect a healthcare pricing ecosystem driven not by true costs but by what markets will bear.
Our panel of experts - including host, Mark Gordon, Professor Lindsay, Gary Burden, and special guest Dr. Andy Poh - dive deep into the shadowy world of healthcare costing. They reveal how providers often lack understanding of their true costs, leading to a system where some procedures are wildly overpriced while others are provided at a loss. This lack of transparency creates an environment where insurers, providers, and ultimately patients participate in a market that fundamentally rewards inefficiency.
The conversation explores how "cherry picking" occurs throughout healthcare as providers gravitate toward high-margin procedures while avoiding preventative care. We examine how physicians in some markets receive up to 35% of procedure costs as personal fees, driving prices ever higher without improving outcomes. Most importantly, the panel outlines practical solutions that could transform healthcare pricing: outcome-linked capitation models, bundle pricing for clinical pathways, and transparent costing methodologies that could make healthcare more equitable worldwide.
For anyone frustrated by rising healthcare costs or seeking to understand the true economics behind their medical bills, this episode provides crucial insights into a system desperately in need of reform. The future of healthcare depends on our ability to align pricing with value - are we ready to demand better?Next week we'll be focusing on tackling the UK NHS waiting lists and how this can be done by grasping demand and capacity and a full awareness of what's available
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Join host Mark Gordon, leading oncologist Professor Karol Sikora, finance expert Gary Burden, healthcare policy expert Professor Lindsay Sales and HSi's healthcare marketing and communications expert, Marijke Richards as they explore the structural imbalances in the NHS revealed by HSi's comprehensive data analysis and summarised in our recent report published on LinkedIn 'Optimising Demand and Capacity in the NHS (England).
We discuss how poor resource allocation and excessive bureaucracy create unnecessary waiting lists despite adequate overall funding and staffing.
Only 41.8% of NHS England's workforce is clinically facing, with the majority in non-clinical rolesThe NHS has undergone too many management changes, that add bureaucracy without improving careMany surgeons lack sufficient operating theater time while many facilities sit underutilized, creating efficiency gapsCancer diagnosis pathways with 62-day targets are dangerously long and still missed for a third of patients The system lacks incentives for productivity, unrelated to patient outcomesNHS planning is backward-looking rather than based on population health needs and disease prevalenceHSi's data model using 158 million data points shows the NHS could eliminate waiting lists with better resource allocationDepoliticizing healthcare delivery and implementing evidence-based planning is essential for meaningful reformProfessor Karol Sikora describes the NHS as "the last bastion of communism," a system that "believes its own propaganda"
We need to break through the political bubble controlling healthcare and empower citizens with information showing how the NHS could deliver better care for less money through competent management and planning.
