Episode 23: The Alchemist and Healthcare | Why Your Journey is the Treasure

Check out the You Tube version of the podcast here.

In this episode, Dana and Alex review the research articles Alex shared with Future Proof PT newsletter subscribers on January 4th, 2025, exploring what these studies reveal about healthcare transformation and what PTs can learn from them.

They dive into the 4% screening tool study that dramatically improved outcomes by simply asking patients about their needs—a small intervention that created massive value. This leads to a bigger discussion: why are PTs starving on a shrinking fee-for-service diet when alternative models exist?

The answer isn't that value-based care doesn't work—it's that most clinicians haven't tested it yet.

We explore Richard Feynman's principles of honest self-evaluation and scientific integrity, applying them to healthcare's reluctance to experiment.

Alex shares that he recently reread The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and that the story's message resonated with him differently this time around. He focuses on a key moment in the book where the shepherd's father gives him money to pursue his journey—not because the father expects his son to find treasure, but because the father himself never took that journey and wants something better for his son.

Alex connects this to his own mindset as a parent: he wants his children to have opportunities and experiences he didn't have. This parallels the healthcare discussion because leaders and early adopters in value-based care are essentially doing the same thing—investing in a journey they may not fully benefit from themselves, but paving the way for the next generation of clinicians.

The core insight Alex draws is that the treasure in The Alchemist wasn't the gold the shepherd was seeking, but the transformation and self-discovery he experienced along the way. Similarly, PTs who experiment with value-based care aren't just chasing financial models—they're undergoing professional transformation that makes them more valuable, regardless of whether any single model succeeds.

This reframing positions the journey itself as the reward, and encourages clinicians to stop waiting for value-based care to be "proven" before they engage. Like the shepherd's father investing in his son's journey, today's leaders are investing in the profession's future.

Other key points include: why you need a lottery ticket to win (you have to participate to benefit), how to A-B test your way into value-based care leadership, why leadership starts with one person taking action, and how systems thinking can help PTs break free from fee-for-service heuristics. Stop waiting for permission. Start leading from your clinic. The R&D phase of healthcare needs you.

Key Topics in Episode 23:

Reviewing research articles from Future Proof PT newsletter (Jan 4, 2025)The 4% screening tool study and its implications for value creationWhy "it doesn't work" is invalid if you never tested itThe sheep analogy: surviving vs. thriving in healthcareRichard Feynman's lesson on honest self-evaluation and scientific integrityA-B testing your way into value-based care leadershipWhy small experiments and lottery tickets matter in healthcare transformationHow the journey of experimentation IS the treasure (lessons from The Alchemist)Systems thinking and recognizing our own fallibility in healthcare decision-making

"The Alchemist"*

"Thinking Fast and Slow"*

"The Almanac of Naval Ravikant"*

Alex's summary and takeaways of the five research articles we discuss on the episode.

Accountable Health Communities Model Findings at a Glance

*affiliate link