Why People Matter - Healing The Sick Care System

The American healthcare system has extraordinary talent, advanced technology, and unmatched spending, yet it too often fails the very people it is meant to serve.

In this episode of Straight Outta Health IT, Gil Bashe, Chair Global Health and Purpose at FINN Partners, bestselling author, healthcare strategist, and former combat medic, joins Christopher Kunney to discuss the urgent themes behind his new book, Healing the Sick Care System: Why People Matter. Drawing from his experiences in military medicine, family caregiving, health policy, and patient advocacy, Gil argues that the core problem in American healthcare is not a lack of innovation but a loss of humanity, trust, and connection. He explains why healing is more than science and why kindness, empathy, and service must be treated as essential components of care rather than optional extras.

Gil also explores how the system has become overly transactional, from insurance bureaucracy to rushed appointments and fragmented care delivery. He reflects on how patients are often treated like passengers instead of partners, while clinicians are burdened by incentives that reward volume over relationship-building. From social determinants of health and fee-for-service reimbursement to value-based care and patient experience, he makes the case that many of healthcare’s biggest failures are not technical problems, but human ones. He also highlights how leadership decisions, staffing models, and medical education shape whether care feels compassionate or cold.

The conversation also offers a hopeful path forward. Gil shares examples of healthcare leaders and clinicians who create trust-centered environments, treat staff as partners, and model a true service mentality. He argues that rebuilding the healthcare system begins with restoring the relationship between healer and patient, aligning incentives around outcomes and experience, and empowering wise leaders to make people-centered decisions. Ultimately, he calls on everyone in the healthcare ecosystem to remember that medicine is not just about treating illness, but about caring for human beings.

Tune in to hear why fixing healthcare starts with restoring trust, kindness, and humanity to the center of care.

Resources

• Connect with Gil Bashe on LinkedIn here.
• Follow FINN Partners on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.
• Check out Healing the Sick Care System: Why People Matter here.