Tue, Mar 28

Guest Speaker: Dr. Blake Bueltel

Today our guest speaker will be Dr. Blake Bueltel from the Healthcare Company, Teladoc Health. He will talk about his experience in industry. You can read a summary of his talk and his bio below. 

Title: The Evolving Needs of the Health Care Consumer: How Technology & User Experience (UX) Professionals Can Help Solve Health Disparities Post-Pandemic

Summary: Rapid adoption of health technologies have created an opportunity to employ new tactics to help address ongoing health disparities for consumers. This discussion focuses on the evolving needs of health care consumers and how technology, as a tool, has helped to decrease or exacerbate disparities in consumer based industries by incorporating principles from the design disciplines (user experience and product design). 

Bio:

Dr. Blake Bueltel’s leadership has made a profound impact on Teladoc Health, and advanced the organization’s commitment to health equity in tangible and lasting ways. He has influenced the development inclusive products and experiences to better address the needs of each individual, uncovered ways to better identify the needs of people in underprivileged communities, and spearheaded internal and external initiatives to promote multicultural inclusivity and belonging. 

Before joining Teladoc Health in January 2020, Dr. Bueltel spent more than a decade working on solutions to help people with chronic disease live healthier lives. Through this work, he saw first-hand the ways in which undertreated or untreated chronic diseases can disproportionately and dramatically impact underprivileged communities, and learned that interventions can be a powerful force to address persistent disparities in clinical outcomes. After starting his career providing direct care as a health coach, every step of his journey has brought him closer to where he can maximize impact of interventions and advance better outcomes for all.

In his current role as Teladoc Health’s first Health Equity Program Director, Dr. Bueltel is embedded in the organization’s product team, ensuring that health equity is being prioritized at the ground level as the company builds and evolves its products and experiences. This work has had a profound impact those who rely on Teladoc Health services, including those relying on the company’s chronic care solutions, 55% of whom live in underrepresented communities. He’s helped Teladoc Health earn high trust among those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in measurable ways. For example, today, people of color familiar with Teladoc Health services are more likely to use them, and also more likely to have a favorable view of Teladoc Health, compared to the general population.

In this leadership role, Dr. Bueltel has mobilized people and resources across the organization and helped Teladoc Health reduce barriers to access – from making care available in more languages and hiring more racially and ethnically diverse providers and coaches, to expanding the breadth of data to better understand factors driving inequities. His guiding vision is based on the belief that collective and intentional effort, rooted in a common understanding of the problem of health disparities and inequalities, is the path toward a tipping point that will help deliver on the promise of health equity and justice.

In addition to building a more inclusive environment outside the walls of Teladoc Health, Dr. Bueltel has taken on considerable responsibilities and leadership within the organization, most recently serving as chair of Teladoc Health’s MOSAIC (Multicultural Organization Supporting an Inclusive Culture) business resources group (BRG). Under Blake’s leadership, MOSAIC increased its membership by 40% and hosted dozens of virtual and in-person events.

It's this skill – bringing together people across departments in pursuit of a common goal – that has helped Dr. Bueltel make a tangible and lasting impact on the organization’s pursuit of health equity. Because of work he’s spearheaded over the last several years—convening and problem solving across disciplines—Teladoc Health will launch new capabilities in 2023 for members report an expanded range of health equity-related data, including race, ethnicity, gender, pronouns and preferred language. This change will unlock new capabilities to measure gaps in experience to address inequities in clinical outcomes.  

On a personal note, Dr. Bueltel lives in the North Dallas area with his wife of 10 years and 3 boys.