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Dr. Urmesh Shah: Ensuring Optimized Care to Help People Make Strides Along Their Health Journey

Elevance Health Impact
September 29, 2023

An avid runner, Dr. Urmesh Shah takes steps each day to stay healthy. Long-distance running, as well as traveling and meditating, are activities that help him stay inspired, grounded, and refreshed. In his role as regional vice president within Medicaid clinical operations, he’s focused on helping members make strides on their own health and wellness journeys.

Shah leads the clinical teams for Elevance Health-affiliated health plans in multiple states. He and his team perform vital care management functions to ensure members receive high quality and appropriate care and support specific to their needs. Their strategies to drive improved health outcomes include analyzing clinical data and identifying patterns in how a member uses healthcare services — this insight helps inform opportunities to optimize care for each member. They also evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of care and help develop and coordinate care plans to best meet a member’s unique circumstances.

“We consider the whole health needs of each member in the work we do, routinely identifying and addressing the health-related social needs  that impact their ability to achieve optimal health outcomes,” Shah said.

What was a fulfilling moment when you knew your work had a positive impact on our members?

Hepatitis C, a viral infection that affects the liver, has historically been a chronic, life-long struggle for people with this disease. Thankfully, there are now curative treatments available which not only improve quality of life, but also can prevent the need for liver transplants in the future. We recently recognized that many of our members with Hepatitis C were not obtaining or completing these therapies. Many states impose strict regulations before allowing members to seek coverage for these medicines, and some members refuse to seek treatment due to the stigma they feel from having this condition. I work on an initiative in which our case managers carefully help many of these members access their care, coordinate the steps necessary to initiate and complete treatment, and track follow-up testing. The program has been extremely impactful, as measured by the number of members with Hepatitis C completing their treatment and the corresponding reduction in their need to use hospital and emergency room services.

Do you do any volunteer work and why is it meaningful to you?

As avid volunteers, my wife and I created Charities2Love.org, an initiative to inspire others to find causes they believe in by raising awareness of non-profits working in those spaces. Our main focus areas include health and wellness, women and children, food and water, homelessness, older adults, and the environment. It has been rewarding to see how many individuals found and engaged with non-profit organizations they did not know about, and volunteering alongside them has been fulfilling for us and appreciated by our partner organizations. Individually, we can make an enormous difference giving our time to serve our communities.  Collectively, the impact we can make becomes exponential. Additionally, regular volunteering has made me a more well-rounded person and has given me more energy and focus at work, something which further benefits the members that rely on us to achieve optimal health.

How do you strive for and maintain your own good health and well-being?

In addition to regularly running long distances, I meditate every day, during which I tell myself two things: expect the unexpected and treat everyone with respect and dignity. These efforts help me stay even keeled and stress-free while staying agile, ready to pivot at a moment’s notice.
 

Share some fun facts about you.

I was born on Leap Day.  I qualified for the Boston Marathon, hiked Mount Whitney in one day, and ran a 50K in the middle of July in Texas.

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