This Discover Lafayette podcast was taped on September 2019,prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and features a panel discussion on healthcare trends and disruptors led by Cian Robinson, Lafayette General Health Executive Director of Innovation, Research, and Real Estate Investment, at the September 2019 South Louisiana Community Health Summit organized by Beacon Community Connections.

Panel members joining Robinson included Gwen Guillotte, V. P. of Payor Strategies at LHC Group; Dr. Gary Wiltz, CEO of Teche Action Clinics; Kevin Callison, Ph.D., Professor of Health Economics at Tulane University; and Dr. Yiad Ashkar, Director of the Louisiana Center for Health Innovation at UL-Lafayette.

Focusing on the outside forces pushing the healthcare industry to switch from being reactive to proactive, Robinson asked a series of questions relating to "disruptors' which are turning the traditional model of healthcare delivery on its head. Historically, the medical profession has not experienced competition, but the healthcare market is evolving quickly as information technology, smart devices, and retailers have entered the arena.

Cian Robinson began his career at Lafayette General Foundation (LGF) in August of 2014 as the Director of Development and Operations. In November of 2014, Cian was promoted to the position of Executive Director of the Foundation, and in 2018 was moved to the position of Executive Director of Innovation, Research and Real Estate Investments for Lafayette General Health System. In addition to his work at LGF, Cian is also an adjunct instructor at the B. I. Moody III College of Business Administration at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

While the traditional doctor's office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. when most people are at work, consumers are clamoring for convenient options for healthcare delivery. If they can have groceries, meals, and products delivered to their home, they also expect to be offered more convenient ways to receive treatment for health issues.

Millennials are increasingly choosing urgent care centers in lieu of primary physicians, opting for more affordable and convenient access to medical treatment. Kevin Callison stated that "millennials will increasingly be the driving force where dollars are spent. The question is 'Will there be healthcare alternatives different than the traditional models that older generations have been used to?'"

Kevin Callison, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. "Millennials will increasingly be the driving force where dollars are spent. The question is 'Will there be healthcare alternatives different than the traditional models that older generations have been used to?'"

Dr. Gary Wiltz asked, "Do healthcare providers want to be "disrupted or disruptors? (Healthcare) markets who wait to adopt change will be replaced quickly by more agile technology." Wiltz reminisced about his medical training at Tulane University years ago when Dr. Albert Hyman predicted that "50 years from now we'll receive healthcare at Sears department store." While it seemed a bit outlandish then, things have certainly evolved to validate Hyman's prediction that medical care would have to change to meet the consumer where they are.

Dr. Gary Wiltz reminisced about his medical training at Tulane University years ago when Dr. Albert Hyman predicted that "50 years from now we'll receive healthcare at Sears department store." While it seemed a bit outlandish then, things have certainly evolved to validate Hyman's prediction that medical care would have to change to meet the consumer where they are.