"You cannot make a change without harnessing the data systems," said David Nash, dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health in Philadelphia. "What's motivating this is that most employers are fed up with waste, medical errors, and poor outcomes," Nash said, noting that the United States has the world's highest health-care costs but ranks No. 17 in overall health of its population. In January, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan announced they would create an "independent company that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints" to improve health care and reduce costs for corporations. "The ballooning costs of health care act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy. Our group does not come to this problem with answers. But we also do not accept it as inevitable," Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett was quoted as saying in the release. In July, Boston surgeon, best-selling author and New Yorker writer Atul Gawande joined the venture as its chief executive officer.