An aging population, physician shortages, and industry fragmentation are making cardiology the “new darling” of private equity investment. The question is – can private equity coexist with the quadruple aim? On MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson talks with Ann Honeycutt, executive director of Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists, Larry Sobal, CEO of Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin, Dinesh Pubbi, MD, a founding member of First Coast Heart and Vascular Center, Rick Snyder, MD, FACC, an interventional cardiologist at HeartPlace Dallas, and Joe Sasson, executive vice president of Ventures at MedAxiom. They discuss the influx of private equity in cardiovascular healthcare and how one size does not fit all.

Guest Bios:

Ann E. Honeycutt, MSN, is the executive director of Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists (VCS), a private practice based in Richmond, VA. In her role, Ann has been actively involved in developing strong partnerships with local health systems and managed care organizations and has strived to ensure VCS remains a leader in the transformation of healthcare and clinical cardiology. She also serves as vice chair of MD Value Care, an ACO comprised of 90 primary care physicians and 350 specialists. Ann is also the only practice executive serving on the Richmond Academy of Medicine Board. She received a Master of Nursing, Community Health and Education from the University of Washington. Over the course of her nearly 40-year career, she has held various leadership roles in the areas of community health, home health care, acute care, ambulatory services and physician practice management. She has in-depth experience with financial management, strategic planning, business development, talent acquisition and leadership development.

Larry Sobal, MBA, MHA, FACMPE - CEO of the Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin in Appleton, WI. - Larry is an innovative, results-driven senior healthcare executive with a diverse background in medical group leadership, hospital leadership, and insurance. Effective communicator with the ability to engage others to create a vision for change and translate that into strategy by analyzing critical business requirements, identifying deficiencies and potential opportunities, and developing innovative solutions. Respected decision-maker who delivers value and trust through strong relationships with colleagues, physicians, staff, and the community. His areas of expertise include strategic planning and implementation, leadership and management, and operations improvement.

Joe Sasson, PhD - executive vice president of Ventures and chief commercial officer, MedAxiom - Joe is a tenured member of the MedAxiom team and brings with him a wide variety of perspectives on healthcare operations and market access strategies. As chief commercial officer and executive vice president of Ventures at MedAxiom, Joe helps members access the technologies and solutions they need to effectively run their organizations and prepare for the future of value-based care. He currently works with companies spanning medtech, device, pharma, imaging, cath labs/ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and health IT to deliver economic value propositions and strategies to accelerate commercial growth. Joe has created and led programs and workgroups centering on EMR utilization and optimization, chronic care management, physician in-office dispensing of medications, CCTA, cath lab efficiency and more.

Dinesh Pubbi, MD – Dr. Pubbi is a founding member of First Coast Heart & Vascular Center. He completed his electrophysiology fellowship at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee where he trained in the latest electrophysiology procedures and techniques including atrial fibrillation ablations, device implantations and complex ablations. Dr. Pubbi completed his internal medicine residency at Sinai Samaritan Medical Center in Milwaukee and worked as an Internist and Primary Care physician for several years before completing his cardiology fellowship at Aurora Health Care at ASMC and St. Luke’s Hospital also in Milwaukee.

Rick Snyder MD, FACC – Dr. Snyder is a board-certified interventional cardiologist at HeartPlace, serving adults and teens in and around Dallas, Texas. He holds three board certifications: interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure and transplantation, and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Snyder joined the team at HeartPlace in 1996 and opened the satellite office at Medical City that same year. Though he’s trained as an interventionist, Dr. Snyder prides himself on providing the highest quality preventive care. He believes that risk factor modification through diet and exercise can significantly reduce the risk of potentially serious issues like a heart attack or a stroke.

As a cardiologist, Dr. Snyder serves as an advocate for his patients. That advocacy extends to his work with legislative leaders at both the state and national levels. His work as a physician advocate allows Dr. Snyder to help a larger number of people.

Currently, Dr. Snyder serves as the president of HeartPlace. He enjoys leading the organization and has plenty of past experience — he’s served as staff president at Medical City Dallas Hospital as well as president of the Dallas County Medical Society.