032 - A Voice for Physician Leadership: Essential, Courageous and Magical

My guest this week is national healthcare leader Dr. Jack Cochran. As CEO of the Permanente Federation, he was the top national leader for over 20,000 physicians who cared for more than 10 million people in their Kaiser Permanente medical practices. In this animated conversation, the inspiring and articulate Dr. Cochran describes his non-linear and unexpected path to executive leadership and international activism on behalf of excellent and accessible healthcare.<br /><br />In his early days as a practicing plastic surgeon, Jack encountered the healthcare system in a different way when his parents became ill. As he says, “four years of medical school, six years of surgery residency, five years of practicing surgery, did nothing to prepare me to be the son of dying parents.” This pivotal time changed him. Jack’s appreciation for all caregivers, especially nurses, led to the creation of nursing programs and a nursing scholarship that has endured for 33 years. <br />We worked together when he was selected for his first CEO role which prompts Jack to recall both his trepidation and his gratitude during this initiation into leadership. Encouragement from well-respected leaders who had “courage, values and substance” inspired Jack to take on a role which he says he was not prepared for.<br />Quick to call himself naïve at the time, Jack began his executive role with a listening tour, speaking personally with 500 physicians, 4-5 at a time throughout the region. What Jack heard, was shaped into the 3 constants: <br />•Preserve and enhance the physician career<br />•Streamline the care process<br />•Optimize the care experience<br />Determined to change a failing culture, Jack thoughtfully selected his executive team. This diverse group was made up of passionate, respected clinicians who were determined to keep the patient at the center of their decisions. The “Colorado turnaround” resulted in transformation of the organization’s reputation, finances, quality, service—and at the root of it all—remarkably ramped-up phy