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Julie Schulz: The Bold Approach to Data & Decision-Making · The Bold Lounge

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge podcast.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: My name is Leigh Burgess and I will be your host.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: If you're anything like me, you love hearing inspiring stories of people who have gone on bold journeys and made a positive impact in the world.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: This podcast is all about those kinds of stories.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Every week, we'll hear from someone who has taken a leap or embarked on an extraordinary journey.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: In addition to hearing their stories, we'll also learn about their bold growth mindset that they use to make things happen.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Whether they face challenges or doubts along the way, they persisted and ultimately achieved their goals.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: These impactful stories will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to pursue your own bold journey.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I believe everyone has a bold story waiting to be freed.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Tune in and get ready to be inspired.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Today I have Dr Julie Schultz.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: She is a physician executive and the VP of product of Avalon Healthcare Solutions.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Dr Julie Schultz is a physician executive and product leader with experience building and leading healthcare decision support, analytics and B2C products.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Specifically, she focuses on value based care, women's health, medical device informant and patient and physician engagement.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Nice to be here.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: I'm so excited to dig into the world of the bold person in healthcare so you know a place.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I was for a very long time and continue to do consulting.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: So I'm excited to hear your definition of bold.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: What does it look like in your world?
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Absolutely Well.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: I know I was asked in advance of this podcast to think of the first time I remember being bold and, I'll be honest, I struggled to think of a certain incident or a point in time.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: But you know, I do remember that state of mind and I think it happened around kindergarten and partly, you know, I have a kindergartner so I'm watching, you know, as she becomes bold and grows and develops and I remember that, you know, being in kindergarten, starting to read, being able to have those communication tools, really being empowered to be bold, if you will, and that's all I really could come up with.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: So that feeling, that state of mind where you have everything you need to advocate, to innovate, to be a leader, to step away from the pack, if you will.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so to be different is really, I think, what you're saying right.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Is there a certain time when you were different, or is there a certain space or place that jumps for you, or is it just early on, like you knew you were a little different, or how you solve problems, or how you went about things?
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: always kind of had that confidence and saw if something was you know, if there was something to be done, I had that sort of drive toward action, if you will, I think, for me, I kind of professionally, you know, especially when I finished, you know, medical school oh, my gosh, a little, almost 15 years ago now, there weren't that many people thinking about how physicians could play a role outside of the direct delivery of clinical care.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: And I really saw that with policy, with technology, that we really needed physicians to be a part of the way that we build our healthcare systems, the way that we lead healthcare into the next generation and the way that we build technological tools so that they are in the best interest of patients and that they're really grounded in evidence and science and built in a way that's intuitive for physicians grounded in evidence and science and built in a way that's intuitive for physicians.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so one of the things you're doing.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: So you're the VP of product and I definitely have colleagues that are in product and product leaders across industries, but particularly in healthcare.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: I think that's maybe a newer.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Again, I would say you're probably being bold in this space a little bit in what you're doing.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: I've worked on clinical trials that have a medical device and you know, are really focused in on particular disease management or really getting rid of something like cancer.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Tell me a little bit about what you do in that particular space as a VP of product in your company.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Absolutely so.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: What I'm working on is new product development and specifically taking our data asset that we have at Avalon.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: So, as a lab benefit management company, we think a lot about the evidence, the science, the guidelines behind which lab test to choose, but that's just one piece of it.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: We know that labs drive up to 70% of downstream decision-making, and so we want to make sure that we're using the data that we have to, first of all, help make sure that physicians and providers choose the right tests to begin with, that they then take that information and interpret it correctly, right and then the third part is taking the next best action.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: So what does that mean?
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: Based on the, not just what does the test mean, but then what is the next treatment?
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: What is the next?
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: Maybe it's another test, maybe it's a surgery.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: So we're building products that help use those analytics and ultimately give health plans, employers and physicians and providers the tools to do all three of those things select the right test, interpret the test and then select the next best action.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so definitely being in the space that's using data to really drive decisions, to drive the next step or the next move when you're treating a patient or taking care of a patient, as well as the research around it, is there a research aspect to what you do as well?
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: I'm assuming yes, but can you tell us a little bit about?
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: that?
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, absolutely so.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: I mentioned that we have a lot of data as part of being a lab benefits management company, and lab data is one of those things, believe it or not, it's actually really difficult for a lot of other healthcare members of the ecosystem to get access to that data either because it's in the EMR.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: When I've spoken to telehealth providers, they'll say the only way they get the patient's lab values is the patient, you know, holding up their phone and saying here's, you know, this was.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: These were my results.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: We have all of this information, in addition to a lot of claims, data, pharmacies, so which drugs patients are using, and what we can do is identify patients who are going to be most likely to benefit from certain treatments, certain testing, certain care pathways be most likely to benefit from certain treatments, certain testing, certain care pathways, and what we've seen in that data is we found a lot of potential disparities, a lot of gaps in care and a lot of opportunities to provide better care to patients, and so pointing those out and then creating tools for health plans and providers to actually see.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: Okay, here's this thing I might not have noticed about my patient or information I might not have had because I don't have access to all this information and that allows them to close those care gaps, to make treatment and diagnostic decisions, to improve quality of care.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so not only are you obviously extremely savvy with data, but I mean you're an MD PhD.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: So in the sense of like MD.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: MPH, you gave me four more years of school than I had.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Either way is dedication.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: So, in that sense of of really honing in and understanding, it's almost like I would look at it, certainly in my experiences, like trying to figure out the puzzle.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Right, okay, you know this happened, then they had this result, and then we did this and this you know.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: So you know, having that experience to be able to do that, what drives you to really be in this field and in this area which is, I would say again, going back to your definition of bold, different than most, so like what's driving you in this field?
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: Ultimately, like I said, it's those gaps in care.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: So, for example, when we look at patients with chronic kidney disease, there's very clear guidelines on how to manage these patients, but unfortunately we see that less than 25% of chronic kidney disease patients who meet criteria to receive a really important, impactful drug SGLT2s less than 25% of patients are getting them.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: So to me there's really a lot of opportunity to improve the quality of care, extend patients' lives.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: Extend, you know, make patients feel healthier.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: You know, live a better health span if you will.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: But when I see those gaps, I really kind of, to your point, try to break down the problem.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: What is causing that?
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: You know, on one hand, it's not that physicians are trying to do the right thing.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: If anything, they're overworked and really doing the best that they can.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: But that means that sometimes maybe they don't have all of the information that they need.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: In the case of cardiometabolic disease, we see that physicians just often don't have the tools to collaborate with each other and to set up sort of the roles and responsibilities.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: The speed of your day is just also extremely intense in the sense of like inputs.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: There's so many inputs coming at, I think, healthcare providers and like defining and deciding the right one, and I think you could, you know, take this out into your life too.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Like there's so many inputs in our world, our children's lives, you know, our friends' lives.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: Like there's just a lot coming at us, and I think finding the way to cut through the noise is what you're speaking about, specifically around disease management and care of patients, but also cutting through the noise of how do we get access right, Because I think there's disparities because of lack of access, lack of education, lack of provider I mean, we have a long list right.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: So how do we help people cut through the noise when it comes to?
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: I need this, but I'm not sure where to go.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: How do we start solving for X when it comes to access?
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: Well, I think we have to first of all meet physicians and providers where they're at, to your point, so using the tools that are in front of them and being as proactive as possible.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: I think this is a place where health plans can really and employers can really help out physicians by using the data that they have, the information that they have, to proactively identify patients that are going to need, you know, an extra level of care, patients who qualify, and really taking some of that cognitive burden, if you will.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: You know away from the physicians that once they see the patient, they can really talk to the patient.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: They've got perhaps a list of things that have been pre-generated that they need to know, that they need to do.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Perhaps if a patient meets criteria for a drug or a treatment that has a prior authorization, maybe we identify those patients ahead of time that are going to qualify and we can accelerate that prior authorization so that patients get access faster.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: So those kinds of tools can really help physicians reduce that administrative burden and help them really just focus on the patient.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, with all the data out there and AI and all the things that we can do, what's happening in that world, so that you can hone it down to the actual data that you need, because you know lab values are just one aspect of data that you have in the system.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: So is there and I know I'm over, you're going to oversimplify something that's very complex, but walk us through.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: How do you get out of the sea the data, the data pool in a way, and then pull in or pull out the right information to help a particular patient or know which way to go?
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we have to really cut through all that complexity right.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: And it's not just all of the different data points.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: If you think about guidelines from the American Heart Association or Cadego guidelines for chronic kidney disease, it's a tome, it's a big stack of papers.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: A tome, you know it's a big stack of papers.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: And so our team takes on all of that hard work in sorting through the evidence, pulling the relevant data points and building tools and intelligent I don't want to say algorithms, but you know decision trees that basically apply all of that evidence and all of that complicated information to an individual patient set of data and then pulls out exactly what that patient might need, what that patient might qualify for, and delivers that to the physician, to the health plan, so that they can act on it and follow that plan of care.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Can you explain value-based care for those that might not know what it means?
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: And sometimes we see it all over the place but I'm not sure people really understand what its intention is and what it's meant to do.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely so.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: The paradigm that we've been stuck with for a long time is, you know, fee-for-service care, where I provide you, let's say, I give you a medicine and then you know you pay the cost of it, plus some you know additional amount.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: And what happens with that type of a system is that that incentivizes everyone to just do more right, and so value-based care, rather than looking at sort of units and volume of care, really looks at outcomes instead.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: So not necessarily you know how much did we give you, but did we actually make a patient feel better?
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Are we actually seeing that?
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Whether that's mortality, whether that's closing gaps in care, making sure that patients who need medications, need treatments, are getting them?
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: So we find these performance metrics, if you will, and then really tie payment to that instead, either by adding bonuses or additional incentives for good outcomes.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so individuals and organizations can be bold, right?
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: So we talked about some of like just being different, standing out, doing things differently.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: I think when you're bold, sometimes people don't understand why you're doing what you're doing and you know they get there, or maybe they don't, but you do it anyway, right, you're not doing it, so someone understands.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: So certainly the organizations I worked at, I would consider them bold, like making moves that other organizations would not.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: At Duke and at Dartmouth, doing things probably ahead of others, being the pioneer in some of those spaces.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: How is Avalon right now in your mind being bold and taking some steps or doing some things differently than others in this particular space?
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so unfortunately, I think in the healthcare industry folks are very conservative right and very risk averse and very reactionary, especially when it comes to coverage decisions.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: I think that's something that frustrates me a lot is that when you see a lot of times the wait, you know, for other health plans to cover something first, or the wait for another health plan to figure out a problem, and then they'll sort of be a fast follower.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: I think the algorithm sometimes for insurance is even more confusing than the algorithm you just defined for the data.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: Honestly and that's silly that we're at that point in 2025 that these things are still a challenge it's very hard to understand and for me it was like sometimes it's difficult to understand why we're going down a route.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: Sometimes that doesn't make sense when we know where we want to go.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: So when it comes to that, it just sounds like we're still trying to figure that how to align coverage with value-based care.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: We're getting better at it, but we're just it's going slower than maybe we all want.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, and to your point that you know.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: We haven't even talked about administrative complexity yet, Just the clinical and scientific complexity.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: That's a whole other can of worms.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and the physicians, I think, get mired in that.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: I think at least my experience with it and my entire family is in healthcare of some sort and I think, just knowing that they want to take action, they want to act, and sometimes having to wait or make sure.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Of course we want to make sure things are covered and we want to make sure that we're protecting our patients and you know that they're getting the best that they can.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: But sometimes it's the timing factor that I think would irritate me at least, like okay, we know what we need to do, they're on board, we're ready, and I'm not saying we waited days and days, but it just feels like sometimes that administrative burden that we talk about is unnecessary.
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: And that's where I get frustrated, because I'm just like things that we can prevent.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Why are we doing this still?
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: So are there ways that we can, as a patient this is more so just to like help us understand?
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: How do we understand better with regard to access or being able to reach out?
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: Are there things we could do proactively as patients to understand better?
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: You know where things could be available to us or how to get access to some of the great things that you and your company do?
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: First, of all.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: Just, you know patients probably know this already but the healthcare system is overwhelmed, and so you do have to take, you know, a certain amount of that into your own hands, I would say.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: In the case of complicated illnesses like cardiometabolic disease or cancer, there's so many different providers and physicians and they don't always necessarily have the tools that they need to communicate and that they need to coordinate, and I think people do their best.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of great you know great examples and models of care coordination, but that doesn't exist everywhere, and so I think patients have to know that really kind of taking all that information, pushing back against their doctors, really pushing their doctors to communicate with each other and to align on a decision.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: And then I think the other piece is, once you know what you need, really kind of working with your providers and your insurance companies to get that, and I think that's what we're hoping to do at Avalon.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: I think prior authorization is a great example where, if we already know that a patient meets criteria, let's not make the patient and the provider jump through all of these hoops to get the treatment that they need.
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: I think there's a lot we can do with all of the data that we have to reduce that.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: You know that time from to treatment, and we can do this in oncology.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: We're starting to do it in cardiometabolic disease as well.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, to reduce the burden, I think you know, with the caveat of always be kind and understand that everyone is a human being in this process.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: But it's okay to ask questions respectfully.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: It's okay to say did you consider?
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: And I realize and I will speak for myself that's difficult when you're advocating for your loved one or you're in a challenging situation.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: So caveat to that in the sense of like I know that this is not something that is easy to do in times of intensity or urgency.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: You know I always say get more with honey than you do vinegar.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: So, like, taking the time to at least walk through why you're asking the question, I think is really, really important.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: I have never seen a physician respond negatively to someone respectfully asking a question.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: Now, it doesn't mean they'll always agree and you always have a choice as a patient and, I think, as a provider.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: So, like your choices to choose one another or to work with one another.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: That is there.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: So I think, if you feel like you can ask a question or should ask a question, please do.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: I think that's what you're saying.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: It's okay to ask questions or to ask considerations or to share information that you have Because sometimes, like you just said, physicians don't have maybe all of the information because it didn't come in electronically or it didn't you know, there isn't a feed, or maybe it's just not set up that way unless you approve it, those types of things.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: So I think assuming, too, is something not to do in this situation.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely Absolutely, and I think it's important to understand too that you know, doctors specialize in just one part of the body, right, but cancer, cardiometabolic disease, really incorporate multiple organ systems, and so you're not necessarily going to have your nephrologist, who's going to treat your kidneys, speaking to the endocrinologist who's going to be thinking more about your diabetes, and that's why some of those gaps happen, right, the endocrinologist might think the nephrologist is doing something, and vice versa.
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: And this is really, I think, a cool and exciting time with GLP-1 medications, because they really do treat multiple organ systems, and so it's more important than ever that physicians are collaborating and coordinating for patients, because I think, I really do believe that these medications will help to really change the way we think about cardiometabolic disease and the way that we think about obesity.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so when it comes to GLP-1 drugs, there's a lot of I'm for it or not for it.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Certainly, I think you know, in my world a lot of the listeners are women.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: They're women over 50, are you know?
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: We're in menopause, our metabolism has changed those types of things, and then you know there are people that are having the specific things that are directly related to the drug, like our kidneys or sugars and those types of things.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: So what is it about GLP-1?
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: That's good for us to know, and maybe there's some urban legends out there, something urban myths that we need to just get rid of.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: Is there anything that would be helpful to set the record straight when it comes to GLP-1?
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that I think the most important thing about GLP-1 is we've struggled as a society, as individuals, with obesity, with cardiometabolic disease, for decades.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: We don't really know what exactly happened that caused it.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Is it societal, Is it environmental?
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: Is it you know the processed food that we're eating?
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: And, frankly, the answer is it's a combination right, and and I think one of the biggest revelations, as we've seen that the patient's response to these drugs is helping to really understand that obesity is a disease.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: It's not a lack of willpower.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: It's not something that you know patients should be beating themselves up about, because what we do see is it's really the effects of cardiometabolic disease are really accretive.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: As you have higher sugars, it changes the way that your body works and really works against you to try to lose or control weight, and so I think patients should recognize that and that there really are now a lot of solutions, and some of them might be GLP-1 medications.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: There's other solutions as well that might work better for other patients, but the number of patients coming forward and seeking treatment is really unprecedented, and I think that's really important, because cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of men and women, and these drugs have been shown to be effective not just at treating diabetes and obesity but ultimately preventing heart attacks and strokes, and so it's a really great even though I think they are new drugs, there is some pushback, some criticism.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: From a physician's perspective, this is the most you know revolutionary treatment I think I've seen, certainly in my lifetime.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: So in its ability to address, like I said, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, all of these different organ systems that are affected as part of the cardiometabolic syndrome.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: So I think the number one thing is educate yourself.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: Understand what your options are.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: Talk with your provider, talk with your family, talk with your insurance company, because there's certain things that are covered or not covered, et cetera.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Just know your options.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: My dad says it's always good to have options, so I think that sense like if someone says this is the only thing you can do.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: I think really do your due diligence when it comes to that, and I realize that's more time and those sort of things, but I think understanding that is really important.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: Is there anything particular in women's health we should know around the drugs that you that you're working with now and the access issues and those sort of things.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Is there anything in particular you know?
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: because that's part, yeah so something that's really interesting when we look at our data and again I've talked about barriers to health care, closing those gaps we see that some of the sickest patients in terms of cardiometabolic disease are actually 14 times less likely to get GLP-1 medications successfully, and it's actually some of the healthier patients that are more likely to get those drugs.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: When we dig into that a little bit more, I was fascinated to see that women are more than two times more likely than men to receive GLP-1 medications for obesity, which is really interesting, and on one hand, that's great.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: Clearly, more women are sort of advocating for themselves and seeking out those drugs.
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: On the other hand, I worry about the men in our lives perhaps who are more hesitant to seek that treatment.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: So I think those disparities, though or those I don't know if it's a disparity as much as if it's just, you know, a difference in access, a difference in ability to advocate for oneself, really shows, I think, where there's opportunities, where there's gaps in care, how many people probably aren't getting the drugs that they need, either because of those prior authorization barriers, because they're, you know, not willing to come forward, or because their physicians don't need, initially, think of GLP-1 drugs as a solution.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: So anytime I see gaps, that means there's opportunity and there's a lot that's, I think, going to change in terms of the utilization of these medications over the next few years.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, again, I think, do your due diligence.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: It may be for you, it may not be for you, you may know people that are taking it.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: Please know that.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: Every patient's individual too.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: So, like something you know that's working or maybe not working for someone, it might have the opposite effect for you.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: But education I always feel like in healthcare, no matter what your role is, it's operation education and I'm always like, well, know all your options and make sure you do the due diligence.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: Yes, and read that drug insert.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: Yes, it's long, but check it out.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: You know, especially the places where you know you might have some concomitant meds or things that you know you just don't want to have happen to you.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: So when you think about you know, in my ecosystem in clinical research, we were always obviously working with a sponsor or the CRO.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: How is your company as we come to the end of this particular podcast?
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: How are you staying on the edge and working in collaboration and with the researchers in this particular area?
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: So I, as I mentioned before, you know, because we have those lab values data, but also the pharmacy data and the health claims data For large patient populations, we can see trends that might, you know, might take years for a clinical research organization or academics, you know, to be able to pull all of that information together.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: So for us, it's really helping to look at that data, help health plans and employers see where there are areas of opportunity and then giving them the tools to act on them to close those care gaps.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: I mentioned, you know, one example of the insight that more women are two times more likely to receive GLP-1s for obesity.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: So are there, you know, other differences that we're noticing, whether that's in terms of race or ethnicity.
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: Are there certain physician specialties that are more likely to prescribe than others?
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: Identifying sort of where the, like I said, those gaps are, help us to build those tools and bring awareness to those trends that sometimes physicians aren't even aware of.
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: You know their treatment patterns themselves.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: So, in addition to knowing about this as an option, what are the other options?
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: Is eating healthy and walking and moving all the things we've always been told still good to do?
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: I assume yes, of course.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: Yes, and I think you know the GLP-1 drugs are.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: They're a tool, right, but they're just one tool in the toolbox and I think it's very clear that this tool is best used in combination with all of those other things, Because you do need to make sure that it's not just taking a drug right.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: It's accompanying that lifestyle change, those dietary changes, Our habits.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: Exactly exactly.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: You know, I've spoken to organizations who are focused on, for example, a keto diet and have had tremendous success in helping patients lose weight and improve, you know, their cardiometabolic outcomes with that particular approach.
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: So there's multiple things you can do, but I think it's really about educating yourself, as you said, understanding those outcomes.
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: There's not going to be a one-size-fits-all or one thing that works for everyone.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: But I think what's exciting about the drugs is that, like I said, it's not a lack of willpower.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: It really is sort of a disease and something that's very difficult for patients to reverse, and so it's going to be appropriate for a lot of patients to get them to where they need to be faster, especially if they're, you know, having a lot of issues like chronic kidney disease, like diabetes, liver disease.
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: Those patients are the ones who really can benefit the most.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's great to have that as an option for those types of moments, because it can be overwhelming of trying to tackle all those at one time as well.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: And I think ongoing thinking about your habits around, what you do, how you move your body, your mental health, all of those things, and we can all fall into habits of things that you know, we know we shouldn't do.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: I know last summer I stopped drinking all Coca Cola that's my vice and so I got rid of all soda, even diet, because it was just like every time I had a diet I was like, oh, I could probably just have regular Coke, and I would.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: I could drink a two liter a day easily right there with you, by the way.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: Right, like I.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: You know, part probably Coca Cola and coffee bean, from the sense of just how hard we run and kind of how we feel ourselves, but fueling yourself with something different.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: You know, and I think it is especially important for women.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: You know, I'm 53, but I think, just as we get older, that we realize that our body changes, our immunity changes, our metabolism changes, all these different things.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: And it happens to men too, but I guess they don't talk about it as much I wish they would.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: But I think, in the sense of you're not alone.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: I think that's one of the things as I create community in lots of different ways, but just in this space too, like, don't be afraid to ask or talk to a friend or talk to a provider specifically about what options there are, because you may be trying something that just it's like you said, it's not because you're not trying hard enough or you don't have enough willpower, it's like it's not going to work in your particular body type, may need something different.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: So don't be afraid to ask and don't beat yourself up or feel like a failure, because I think we also do that to ourselves on a regular basis.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I'm like it's just, oh, I'm not trying hard enough.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: I need to try harder.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: So just a reminder on that vein, and hearing it from you as the expert would be great.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: No, I think, and you make a great point you know the changes that women go through, you know around, you know, between their forties and sixties, what worked for you before might not work again Right.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: And we are just starting to understand the interaction of all of these hormones on our health and how, on the progression of disease.
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: And in a lot of cases there's still so much more to learn.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: And so I think to your point.
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: You know, women really shouldn't beat themselves up, because a lot of times there isn't a simple answer.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: We're still, you know, figuring this out and unfortunately, sometimes that means as a patient, you have to try a few things before you figure out what sticks.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: Right, yeah, and I think just hang in there, you know, keep asking, keep trying, keep working with your provider and you will figure it out.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: I'm so excited to have you on the Bold Lounge.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for sharing your expertise.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: All the information about Julie is in the episode notes and I really appreciate you sharing your bold journey and the bold work that you're doing with GLP-1s and with our cardiometabolic disease and how we can live a healthier life.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Lee.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to the Bold Lounge podcast.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Through the continuum of bold stories vulnerability to taking a leap you will meet more extraordinary people making a positive impact for others through their unique and important story.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: By highlighting these stories, we hope to inspire others and share the journey of those with a bold mindset.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: We hope you've enjoyed this podcast and look forward to sharing the next bold journey with you.