EP252: The Not-So-Obvious Thing That Musculoskeletal Care and a 4-Minute Mile Have in Common, With Chad Gray, CEO of Integrated Musculoskeletal Care

Musculoskeletal issues, otherwise known as MSK issues, account for something like 20% of the cost to any given health plan or employer or anyone else who is paying the bill for health care. That’s like one in every five dollars, which is meaningful when you consider million-dollar drugs and diabetes and all the other things that a purchaser of health care can write checks for. MSK is a big cost kahuna.

In this health care podcast, I talk with Chad Gray, who is the CEO of IMC, Integrated Musculoskeletal Care. Interestingly, Chad says that the problem with MSK in this country isn’t a cost problem usually. It’s a quality problem. It’s a problem of patients getting a whole lot of care that doesn’t actually relieve their symptoms or underlying condition.

This is what MSK care and the 4-minute mile have in common besides the blindingly obvious necessity of healthy bones to run fast. Everybody thought it was impossible for a human to run a 4-minute mile—until somebody did. And once that happened, it was like a dam opened and lots of people began breaking that previously impossible time. It’s conventional wisdom that MSK problems are mostly going to turn into intractable chronic conditions that ultimately result in surgery, which still doesn’t, in many cases, cure the symptoms or underlying problem.

Chad Gray and his team over at IMC may have broken the 4-minute mile when it comes to inventing a systemic approach to MSK care that actually works. Prepare for the dam to burst.

Chad Gray, MS, PT, Cert MDT, is cofounder and CEO of Integrated Musculoskeletal Care, Inc (IMC), providing outcomes-accountable musculoskeletal care programs that improve overall health care quality, reduce costs, and improve patient and employee safety. He has over two decades of experience as a clinical practitioner and is a widely recognized entrepreneur, health-benefit design consultant, and concierge practitioner focused on innovations in musculoskeletal triage, health care, and self-care.