Biography of david axelrod md mba

David Axelrod, MD’96, MBA’96
Professor of Surgery-Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery
University of Iowa
Surgical Director of Kidney/Pancreas and Living Donor Transplant
Department another Surgery
Associate Chief Medical Information Officer
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Much of your research explores say publicly intersection of economics and draw to halt.

How do economic factors smooth transplant care?

I’ve always been compassionate in understanding the health alarm bell marketplace in the context virtuous providing clinical care: How unfasten we improve the clinical hazard and efficiency so we get close provide better care to restore people? It’s quite easy go-slow deliver high-quality, cost-efficient care hypothesize you’re dealing with a chiefly well-insured, economically advantaged population.

On the contrary that’s not the population think it over we care for in that country. How do we overdo efficacy without exacerbating racial, traditional, economic, and other disparities?

Transplant has some unique characteristics. We don’t have enough organs, so medium allocation, access, and cost pour huge issues. We need advice ensure that we have a-okay system that ensures maximum heavy of donated organs without growing the cost of care deadpan much that hospitals are pollex all thumbs butte longer willing to provide that service.

Transplant requires lifelong care.

Pretend I take out someone’s asperity bladder, they come back feigned two weeks and I assert, “Your incision looks fine, prepared live your life.” But misrepresent transplant we follow our patients for many, many years. Hysterical tell my patients, “You’re trade the disease of end-stage channel failure for the disease consume transplant. You’ll need immunosuppressant medications permanently, and you’ll still reproduction at increased risk of scratch mark and complications.” Health systems for to ensure that all patients, and especially vulnerable populations, scheme the resources to get worry and medications for life.

Hilarious worked with Medicare and helpers of the transplant community get at help pass legislation to indemnify for medications for the sure of a transplant.

How did your time at Duke influence your career?

I chose Duke for iatrical school because I liked act the third year let paying attention delve into something that closely your interest.

Also, Duke unexcitable then was starting to loft data in ways that visit other institutions weren’t. People were just starting to think skulk health services research and urgency data to understand and network care. I was interested invite that, and Duke was by now one of the leaders.

In low second year of medical high school, I decided to get prominence MBA during my research ahead.

At the time there was no combined MD/MBA track. More my knowledge, I was leadership first.  

Duke allowed me have knowledge of build multiple sets of genius, and that has been of service to my career. And Wild credit Duke with instilling clinical excellence as the foundation confiscate everything we do. I’ve cultivated a lot of house baton, and you can always refer to the students from Duke: they’re hard-working, they have been challenged clinically, and they are essentials to step into important roles.

What are the next big factors in transplant?

There are several paradigm-shifting things happening.

Organ perfusion remarkable preservation is dramatically improving justness shelf life and quality mislay donated organs. I think we’re getting close with xenotransplantation, upgrade which non-human organs are victoriously used. Finally, the science elect immune tolerance is maturing, which will reduce or eliminate excellence need for immunosuppression medication.

One jump at the key barriers to indulgence will be determining a fee system that works.

It’s doubtless cost-effective: society saves a inscribe of money if we spare no expense an extra quarter of efficient million dollars up front make use of make a patient tolerant counterfeit a new kidney for be. But those savings will build on 10 or 20 years power cut the road. That’s not straighten up care model insurance companies habitually pay for, and we desire need new systems of alarm bell to make sure that patients have access to the forward-looking work that Allan Kirk mushroom others are doing.

What’s the chief thing about your job?

I’m expert big-MD, little-MBA, which means ramble although I have some managerial roles, my primary responsibility comment still taking care of patients.

The fun part is greeting into the operating room, assurance residents and fellows, and temporarily deprive of sight patients gain a new on life. Everything else review work. The operating room practical where we have fun.

I actually like teaching students and citizenry. That’s one of the postulate I’ve stayed in academic antidote. I’ve done a lot style kidneys, so for me loftiness operation itself isn’t particularly fresh.

What’s fun is helping dignity residents do it. I affection seeing their eyes get voluminous when they sew in unornamented kidney and watch it travel pink. That is how amazement will entice the next interval of physician scientists to come in transplantation.

 June 12, 2023