Jan 30, 2019
Dr. Oliver served as the Deputy Commissioner for Population Health for the Virginia Department of Health. Before accepting the Deputy Commissioner position, Dr. Oliver was the Walter M. Seward Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. As Chair, Dr. Oliver helped lead the transformation of the Departments clinic sites into patient-centered practices focused on population health. In his role as the Deputy Commissioner for Population Health, Dr. Oliver worked with others in the health department, other state agencies, and healthcare systems across the state to improve the health and well-being of all citizens of the Commonwealth. He remains committed to a cross-agency and multi-sector approach to implementing population health initiatives. Dr. Oliver has a long record of accomplishment. Studying health inequities, particularly as they affect racial and ethnic minorities, has been the focus of his research.
Listen to this episode where Dr. Oliver shares his experience, expertise, and personal perspective regarding healthcare, social determinants of health, the opioid epidemic and the reality hitting women and minorities in the healthcare system.
Key takeaways:
[:42] Dr. Norman Oliver career briefing.
[1:31] What brought Dr. Norman into medicine?
[4:58] Top priorities in the social determinants of health.
[7:06] Identifying social and economic conditions that impact health.
[9:33] What are the topics Dr. Norm is tackling now?
[14:33] The opioid epidemic.
[15:18] How is the opioid epidemic impacting Virginia?
[17:34] The opioid problem has always been with us.
[20:55] The opioid epidemic is a medical problem and needs to be treated as a disease.
[22:05] Who will attack the problem of despair that leads to addiction — policymakers or clinicians?
[27:37] We don’t talk politics, we talk about human stories.
[28:40] Dr. Norman’s crazy bold idea.
[33:20] Population health work.
[37:40] What did Dr. Norm learn about his role as a clinician?
[40:11] As a clinician, I am a consultant, I am not there to tell you what to do.
[41:58] Being a black man in medicine.
[45:22] Latinos and African Americans are a third of the state of Virginia
[47:22] “You have to be twice as good to get half as far.”
[48.35] Dr. Norm as a representative of the African American community.
[51:02] Code switch.
[51:50] How are Dr. Norm’s kids like him?
[55:04] Rapid-fire questions.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Relational Rounds at Primary Care Progress