Episode 19:10 Darin Buxbaum on the benefits of neighborhood-based health initiatives

Darin Buxbaum, MBA, is the co-founder and CEO of Wider Circle, a technology-enabled health services company that empowers members of the same community to live happier, healthier lives. He shares the outcomes of Wider Circle's peer support groups and provides insights for aging individuals and their families. About Darin

Darin Buxbaum's extensive healthcare experience includes proven success both as an entrepreneur and as a leader in the enterprise space.  He's co-founded digital health, insurance tech, healthcare services and medical device companies and led large initiatives at a Fortune 500 company. 

Currently, he's the co-founder and CEO of Wider Circle, a technology-enabled health services company. Previously he was co-founder and VP of Product at Oration, an insurance tech company enabling self insured employers and their employees to dramatically reduce their prescription drug spend.  In the medtech space, he founded HourGlass Technologies, a healthcare technology start-up, and served as president and CEO for five-plus years. There, he drove the development of new medical-device technology from concept to clinical trial, earning recognition as a top 40 Innovators Under 40 in the medtech industry from Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry. Darin’s enterprise experience includes leading the largest digital health initiative at Medtronic where he was awarded the Star of Excellence, the company’s highest honor.

Darin graduated Summa Cum Laude from Duke University and earned an MBA from Stanford University, graduating as an Arjay Miller Scholar.  Darin remains active with Stanford as a contributor and mentor to the BioDesign course and textbook.

Key Takeaways

• Personal connections are key to health and happiness. An African proverb says: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
• Wider Circle’s peer support groups for vulnerable populations are subsidized by health plans and physician networks because the individuals who would benefit most from neighborhood-based health initiatives are often the least able to afford them.
• The outcomes from Wider Circle’s peer support groups include reducing loneliness by over 65% against the match control population and increasing the number of healthy days by 43%. Health plans see a cost reduction of $100 per month and reduced hospitalizations by 15%.