Healthcare is full of things that are easy to measure, from costs and outcomes to utilization and, increasingly, AI. But DaVita CEO Javier Rodriguez believes one of the most important parts of healthcare is also one of the hardest to put in a spreadsheet: the human relationship between a caregiver and a patient.

This week, Halle sits down with Javier to talk about what he’s learned from three decades in healthcare. They discuss why preventing kidney failure remains so difficult and what it takes to run a public healthcare company while making investments that may take years to pay off. Javier also shares why he believes healthcare has made enormous clinical progress even as frustration with the system has grown.

We cover:

Why Javier would be thrilled if DaVita’s dialysis business disappeared
What’s actually stopping more patients from getting kidney transplants
Why more dialysis care is moving from clinics into patients’ homes
Why Javier believes Wall Street undervalues the human side of healthcare
The leadership blind spot that nearly got him fired early in his career

About our guest:

Javier J. Rodriguez has served as Chief Executive Officer of DaVita Inc. since June 2019. Joining the company in 1998, Mr. Rodriguez has held senior leadership roles of increasing responsibility, with experience across operations, payor contracting, and finance, and has helped shape the company’s transformation in the delivery of kidney care. Prior to joining DaVita, Mr. Rodriguez worked in finance at Baxter Healthcare Corporation. He has served on the board of directors of Gilead Sciences, Inc. since June 2020. Mr. Rodriguez brings deep healthcare expertise, comprehensive knowledge of our business and regulatory landscape, and a proven track record of executive leadership.

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What Wall Street Gets Wrong About Healthcare | DaVita CEO Javier Rodriguez

The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast

What Wall Street Gets Wrong About Healthcare | DaVita CEO Javier Rodriguez