Turn on the Lights Podcast

Brought to you by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
  • 4.9 (37)
  • HEALTH & FITNESS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Hosted by Don Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, and Kedar Mate, MD, Founder and CMO of Qualified Health, and Former President and CEO of Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Turn on the Lights is a podcast that aims to improve health care worldwide by shedding light on health care issues through thought-provoking conversations. By demystifying health care problems, we hope to activate both the public and health care professionals to help us accelerate changes leading to health and health care improvements worldwide. Our discussions cover various topics such as health care delivery, health equity, quality, and social justice. The podcast features solutions from around the world and encourages listeners to take action. Brought to you by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

  1. 6D AGO

    The economics of medication - with Vinay Patel

    One of the biggest drivers of high drug prices in America is the opaque rebate system between pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers, where savings rarely reach the patient. In this episode, Vinay Patel explains how drug prices are formed, from R&D and manufacturing to complex negotiations involving insurers and pharmacy benefit managers. He breaks down the mechanics of rebates, formulary restrictions, and the consolidation of power among PBMs, showing how these hidden forces raise prices and limit access. He also offers promising alternatives like cost-plus pricing models and calls on employers to take control of their health care contracts to cut costs. Tune in and learn how this broken system works, and what it might take to fix it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min

  2. SEP 19

    The story of the NHS and what we can learn from it - with Bob Klaber

    While universal health care offers immense equity and access, it still faces real challenges around fragmentation, funding, and integration. In this episode, Dr. Bob Klaber reflects on the values and challenges of the UK’s NHS, contrasting its universal care model with the U.S. system and advocating for whole-person care over over-medicalization. He emphasizes the importance of trust, collaboration across sectors, and the role of prevention and social determinants, remaining hopeful thanks to the next generation of health care leaders. Tune in and learn how real-world care, leadership, and connection shape a more equitable and effective health system! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min

  3. SEP 12

    Housing, homelessness, and health - with Rosanne Haggerty

    The key to ending homelessness is not just more housing, but better systems of collaboration, urgency, and coordination at the community level. In this episode, Rosanne Haggerty, president and CEO of Community Solutions, discusses how the rising homelessness crisis in the U.S. reflects deeper systemic issues, from healthcare gaps to housing affordability, and explains why solving it starts with stable housing. She shares how the Built for Zero initiative has helped communities like Denver and Houston make homelessness rare and brief through data-driven collaboration and systems thinking. Tune in and learn how communities are turning coordination into impact and how your city might be next! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    39 min

  4. SEP 5

    Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Optimism, Concern, and the Future of Health Care with Don Berwick & Kedar Mate

    Celebrating 100 episodes is no small feat! In this episode, co-hosts Kedar Mate and Don Berwick look back on their podcast journey, highlighting powerful stories and themes like moral injury, health inequities, and the promise of AI in health care. They reflect on moving moments of resilience and leadership while balancing short-term concerns with long-term optimism for a better future. Tune in to this milestone episode of Turn On The Lights! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    47 min

  5. AUG 29

    Safety x AI - with Jason Adelman

    Human error in health care is inevitable, but system-level solutions offer real hope for reducing harm. In this episode, Dr. Jason Adelman, a leading patient safety expert, shares how a critical medication error propelled his transition from hospitalist to patient safety researcher, leading to innovations like the “retract-and-reorder” method for detecting wrong-patient errors. He explains the importance of a "just culture" in health care, the systemic nature of most medical errors, and how AI could help reduce harm, if used thoughtfully. Tune in and learn how technology and mindset shifts are reshaping the future of safer care! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    37 min

  6. AUG 22

    Madd love: Reducing recidivism rates in young adults - with Gregg Croteau

    The criminal justice system in the U.S. is, at its core, a healthcare issue, one that demands healing, not punishment. In this episode, Gregg Croteau, CEO of UTEC, shares how his organization helps justice-involved young adults escape cycles of violence and incarceration through education, employment, and unwavering support. Founded by young people in response to gang violence, UTEC now focuses on those aged 18–25, the group most at risk of returning to prison. Through social enterprises like mattress recycling and food services, participants are paid while also receiving therapy, childcare, coaching, and education. Gregg emphasizes the need for systemic change, including better mental health care, reentry support, and human connection, urging a more restorative approach to justice. Tune in and learn how compassion, structure, and persistence can rebuild lives and systems! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    37 min

  7. AUG 15

    It shouldn't take a crisis to make us talk about public health - with Howard Koh

    Public health is invisible when it works and only noticed when it fails. In this episode, Dr. Howard Koh reflects on the chronic underfunding, political challenges, and cultural barriers weakening America’s public health system, drawing from his leadership experience during crises like 9/11, anthrax, H1N1, and the ACA rollout. He underscores the undervaluing of prevention and the difficulty of making invisible successes visible and frames public health as a spiritual calling rooted in meaning and service. Tune in and learn how we can reignite the public health torch and carry it forward, together! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min

  8. AUG 8

    Inequities, inequalities, and truth to power - with Steven Woolf

    A 20- to 30-year life expectancy gap between neighborhoods just miles apart reveals the brutal reality of health inequity in the United States. In this episode, Dr. Steven Woolf, physician and public health expert, explains how U.S. health disparities are driven more by social determinants, like education, income, housing, and systemic racism, than by access to care, with COVID-19 worsening these gaps for marginalized communities. He calls for bold investments in economic and educational equity to reverse these trends, warning that without political will, systemic health inequities and poor outcomes will persist. Tune in and learn how economic policy, not just medicine, could be the key to saving lives! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min
See All (105)

4.9
out of 5
37 Ratings

About

Hosted by Don Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, and Kedar Mate, MD, Founder and CMO of Qualified Health, and Former President and CEO of Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Turn on the Lights is a podcast that aims to improve health care worldwide by shedding light on health care issues through thought-provoking conversations. By demystifying health care problems, we hope to activate both the public and health care professionals to help us accelerate changes leading to health and health care improvements worldwide. Our discussions cover various topics such as health care delivery, health equity, quality, and social justice. The podcast features solutions from around the world and encourages listeners to take action. Brought to you by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

Information

  • Creator
    Brought to you by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    105
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2023 Institute for Healthcare Improvement. All rights reserved. 'Turn on the Lights' podcast is owned by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and may not be reproduced or distributed without permission.
  • Show Website
    Turn on the Lights Podcast

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