The Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) has introduced its next president.
NEOMED announced Wednesday that Dr. John Langell will replace outgoing president Dr. Jay Gershen, who retires in September.
Langell is currently vice dean of the University of Utah School of Medicine and a former Air Force medical commander.
He also has an interest in medical innovation, with more than a dozen patents.
Langell said we need to change the way healthcare is delivered, and NEOMED, since it’s not part of a big hospital system, is a good place to explore new methods.
“So we have an opportunity here to try to do things differently because we’re not tied, our hands are not tied to the current models and we can start to explore new ways of delivering healthcare that we’ve been challenged with.”
Langell said those challenges include access and cost.
He acknowledged there are problems with the current model, but he’s not in favor of a single payer health system.
Langell believes empowering the consumer to make informed choices can improve outcomes and bring down costs.
