49: Connecting Health and Social Care, with Dan Brillman, Co-founder and CEO, Unite Us

02/17/22 • 29 min

Meet Dan Brillman:

Dan Brillman is the co-founder and CEO of Unite Us. He is a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves as a pilot, and has served since 2007. Previously, he was a Principal at Scout Ventures and an Investment Analyst at Buck Consultants. He received a degree in Political Science and Government from Yale University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Key Insights:

When Dan Brillman returned from a deployment, veterans that he served with asked for help with their health and social service issues. He realized veterans and civilians alike needed support in accessing fragmented human services.

Connecting Fragmented Systems. Dan found that the services meant to help veterans – like housing, mental health, and employment – were disjointed and complicated to navigate. He founded Unite Us, a technology platform that smooths the connection between patients and services in their community.(7:39)
Redefining Care. Dan envisions a future where human services are given the same importance and funding as traditional health services; where housing is given the same attention and resources as a knee surgery. (16:15)
The Highs and Lows. A low point in the entrepreneurial journey for Dan was feeling ahead of the market, having trouble securing investors and partners, which limited the number of people they could help. A high point came when Unite Us scaled to where its teams were executing independently, with expertise greater than Dan’s own knowledge. (22:04)

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Meet Dan Brillman:

Key Insights:

Connecting Fragmented Systems. Dan found that the services meant to help veterans – like housing, mental health, and employment – were disjointed and complicated to navigate. He founded Unite Us, a technology platform that smooths the connection between patients and services in their community.(7:39)
Redefining Care. Dan envisions a future where human services are given the same importance and funding as traditional health services; where housing is given the same attention and resources as a knee surgery. (16:15)
The Highs and Lows. A low point in the entrepreneurial journey for Dan was feeling ahead of the market, having trouble securing investors and partners, which limited the number of people they could help. A high point came when Unite Us scaled to where its teams were executing independently, with expertise greater than Dan’s own knowledge. (22:04)

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Previous Episode

48: Understanding Digital Health, with John Halamka, M.D., M.S., President, Mayo Clinic Platform

Meet John Halamka, M.D., M.S.:

John Halamka, M.D., M.S. is an Emergency Medicine physician and the president of Mayo Clinic Platform. He has authored a number of books on technology and healthcare. Additionally, He and his wife run Unity Farm Sanctuary in Sherborn, Massachusetts. Prior to Mayo Clinic, Dr. Halamka was Chief Information Officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He received his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco and earned an M.S. in Medical Informatics from Harvard University.

Key Insights:

John Halamka, M.D., M.S. is an expert in digital health and information technology. He provides a vision of AI’s potential, and the challenges healthcare will need to consider.

Investments in Data. Mayo Clinic Platform’s business partnerships will explore new ways to gather and clean data, analyze models, and deliver clinical results while maintaining patient privacy. (8:49)
How Advanced is AI? While the technology is advanced, with a variety of machine learning tools, we currently lack proper policy guardrails to determine best practice for AI. Additionally, many patients feel suspicious of algorithms making healthcare decisions. (14:09)
Augmenting Physician Practice. As an emergency physician, Dr. Halamka notes that there are approximately 800 papers in his field published every day. A single physician can’t keep up, but AI has the potential to integrate vast data streams to improve clinical decision making. (26:31)

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Next Episode

undefined - 50: Democracy is Hard Work, with Governor Bob Kerrey, Managing Director, Allen & Company and Former Governor & U.S. Senator (NE), and Mitch E. Daniels, Jr., President, Purdue University and Former Governor (IN)

50: Democracy is Hard Work, with Governor Bob Kerrey, Managing Director, Allen & Company and Former Governor & U.S. Senator (NE), and Mitch E. Daniels, Jr., President, Purdue University and Former Governor (IN)

Meet Bob Kerrey:

Bob Kerrey is a Managing Director at Allen & Company, Chairman of the Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship, and Lead Director of Tenet Healthcare. He served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska and as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska. He was also the President of The New School and served as a U.S. Navy SEAL. Governor Kerrey received a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Nebraska.

Meet Mitch E. Daniels Jr.:

Mitch E. Daniels Jr. is the President of Purdue University and previously served as the 49th Governor of Indiana. He is a current Director and former Lead Director at Cerner Corporation. Previously, President Daniels was the Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and worked as the President of North American Operations and then Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Policy for Eli Lily & Company. He received a Bachelor’s from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Key Insights:

In the spirit of bipartisanship, we invited two former politicians, one Democrat and one Republican, for a bold discussion on today’s greatest challenges.

Decision Making During COVID-19. Both explore how they addressed COVID-19 issues with limited information. President Daniels describes how Purdue designed protective guidelines from scratch, building in a way to evaluate their choices. Governor Kerrey reminds us to not assume we know everything, and to not apply solutions with a broad brush. (6:45) (9:44)
Democracy is Hard. Governor Kerrey reflects on American history and the perceived partisan divide. He points out that we as a country have overcome a lot worse than what is happening today. Democracy takes work and we should not fear conflict or criticism. (39:02)
What Drives You? President Daniels shares that the most fulfilling aspect of his work is leaving behind something better. He encourages young leaders to question why they are seeking leadership roles. The answer should not be about you, rather the impact you can have. (43:05)

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