Friends of Project Healthcare

Thomas Vande Casteele, co-founder and CEO of Awell Health, joins host Eric Thrailkill to discuss the importance of continuous improvement and rapid iteration in healthcare processes using advanced technology and software. Addressing current shortcomings in healthcare system operations with advanced technology, Awell enables healthcare organizations to create, iterate, and implement care flows efficiently. Thomas emphasizes the importance of forming systems built for market change and user accessibility, and how all steps of the patient process must be accounted for as systems evolve.

Ronen Lavi, Founder of Navina, joins host Eric Thrailkill to discuss the potential for AI to address the issue of doctor burnout and provider-patient miscommunications by simplifying doctors visits and streamlining healthcare practices. Utilizing AI to leverage EHRs, Navina provides a tool for clinical decision-making, empowering decision-makers in the healthcare industry and improving patient satisfaction.

Bobby Guelich, CEO and co-founder of Elion, joins host Eric Thrailkill to discuss his career journey from financing to healthcare technology, and the mission of Elion to simplify the vendor research platform for health IT decision makers. Bobby explains the strategy behind Elion's business model and the various ways that AI can transform healthcare technology for the better.

Eric Hendrickson, Chief Technology Officer of Provisions Group, joined host Eric Thrailkill to discuss the potential for AI to revolutionize healthcare systems when properly implemented. Hendrickson, whose early experience with IT gives him a unique lens, touches on system reframing, management, governmental regulations when emphasizing the importance thoughtfully integrating technologies that consider the main factors that determine how AI can improve Healthcare processes most effectively.

Raffaelle Breaks, Chief Product Officer at Unite Us, joins host Eric Thrailkill to discuss bridging the gap between social determinants and stakeholders in healthcare issues by building systems on accessibility and user-friendliness. Raff and Eric dive into the Unite Us mission to enable sustainable, community-based approaches to healthcare that keep patients and healthcare workers at the center of technological advancements.

Chris Severn, founder and CEO of Turquoise Health, joins host Eric Thrailkill to discuss the importance of price disclosure in the healthcare system, and his mission to help eliminate price ambiguity for both providers and consumers. Chris shares how Turquoise can be used to catalyze action towards implementing price transparency laws effectively and efficiently to build a path towards a ubiquitous healthcare pricing system.

Nigel Green, seasoned sales leader, sought out advisor in the healthcare industry and author of Revenue Harvest, joins host Eric Thrailkill to discuss his own career journey and several key practices that companies can use in Nashville's ever-evolving healthcare landscape and beyond. We'll also cover the importance of continuous learning, adaptability, and strategic thinking for business development and success.

Paul Rinne, Co-Founder and CEO of GripAble, joined host Eric Thrailkill to discuss the importance of engagement and data tracking to the success of rehabilitation, and the value unlocked in the “gamification” of therapy. They also explore the potential for reimbursement and cost savings for both patient and provider, from hospital to home, and share GripAble's efforts to scale their business as they expand into the U.S. Market.

Jillian Wright, CEO of Onsite Women's Health, joined host Eric Thrailkill and Project Healthcare colleague Lauren Hatcher to discuss her background, the company's mission to improve breast cancer screening compliance rates, and the future of women's healthcare. The conversation delved into topics such as the importance of convenience in healthcare, the role of technology in improving patient outcomes, and the power of partnerships in driving innovation.

Todd Walrath, CEO and Founder of ShiftMed, joined host Eric Thrailkill to describe how his experience working in media inspired his use of telecommunication to deliver effective healthcare, and helped him communicate empathetically with nurses and healthcare professionals. Todd shares how he strives to understand the needs of clients and workers, providing flexibility and financial stability for customers.

Brian Oliver, founder of ECHAlliance, joined host Eric Thraikhill to discuss the importance of the power of collaboration, trust, and action in driving meaningful change in the digital health space. By connecting healthcare ecosystems globally, ECHAlliance fosters innovation, shares best practices, and amplifies the impact of healthcare initiatives. As they expand their reach to the United States, the potential for transformative collaboration and improvement in healthcare delivery continues to grow.

Kathy Ford, Chief Product and Strategy Officer of Ronin, joined host Eric Thrailkill to discuss the company's mission to revolutionize cancer care through predictive analytics and personalized medicine. By leveraging AI, machine learning, and data from multiple sources, Ronin aims to provide clinicians with real-time insights at the point of care, enabling them to make better informed decisions and support patients throughout their cancer journey.

Ian Shakil, founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Augmedix, joins host Eric Thrailkill to share their mission to revolutionize healthcare documentation and improve clinician well-being. Augmedix provides automated medical documentation solutions for hospitals, health systems, and physician practices. Ian also discusses how the tools he develops by strategic partnerships with companies like Google and HCA Healthcare are helping empower doctors to remain focused on their patients.

Dr. Jessica Dudley, Chief Clinical Officer at Press Ganey, joined host Eric Thrailkill and Project Healthcare colleague Lauren Hatcher, to share insights on improving healthcare and addressing post-pandemic workforce challenges. With her extensive experience in healthcare leadership and data analysis, Jessica also addresses the importance of collaboration, listening to the workforce, and leveraging technology to drive positive change.

Michael (“Mike”) Kopko, co-founder and CEO of Pearl Health, joined host Eric Thrailkill to shed light on the transformative power of value-based care in the healthcare industry. By focusing on proactive, efficient, and personalized healthcare delivery, and leveraging the power of data and technology, Mike believes we can create a system that provides better outcomes for patients and physicians alike. He also highlights the need for collaboration and partnerships as the keys in driving this shift towards value-based care.

Nick Archer, Vice President and Head of Partnerships at Hippocratic AI, joined host Eric Thrailkill and Project Healthcare colleague Lauren Hatcher, to discuss some of the current challenges with information asymmetry in healthcare, and the negative impact it has on patient outcomes. Nick shares how Hippocratic AI is working to solve that burden by building the first safety-focused large language model (LLM) for healthcare to reduce workflow misalignment with conversational AI and improve overall patient outcomes. We also review some of the exciting use cases being employed by their innovative generative AI technology.

Devin Carty, CEO of Martin Ventures and Founder of Reimagine Care, and CEO Dan Nardi of Reimagine Care, the nation's leading provider of cancer care services in the home, join host Eric Thrailkill and Project Healthcare colleague Lauren Hatcher, to discuss the formation of the company and its vision for the future of care at home oncology models. In this episode, Devin and Dan highlight some of the technology-enabled services they offer to extend and improve the lives of cancer patients through personalized and convenient care, and how Reimagine Care is enhancing valued-based care while improving the patient experience.

Host Eric Thrailkill is joined by Aaron Gani, Founder and CEO of BehaVR, a new kind of digital therapeutics company dedicated to tackling the epidemic of mental and behavioral health issues through the unmatched psychological power of virtual reality. We discuss the importance of digitizing evidence based clinical interventions that we know work to close the gap in mental and behavioral healthcare. We also discuss BehaVR's recent acquisition of Oxford VR and what it brings to their pipeline of products. This conversation was captured at the 2023 ViVE Conference in Nashville.

Project Healthcare colleagues Lauren Hatcher and Jeremey Raley are joined by Dr. Adam Silverman, Chief Medical Officer of Syllable, a digital health technology company focused on improving patient experience and reducing healthcare costs by promoting conversational self-service and automation through AI to make it easier for patients to engage in care. They discuss how Syllable leverages artificial intelligence and digital tools to streamline everyday tasks, including connecting with a healthcare provider, scheduling an appointment, or refilling a prescription.

Host Eric Thrailkill, and Project Healthcare team member, Lauren Hatcher, are joined by Seth Joseph, Founder and Managing Director of Summit Health Advisors, to discuss how his background as a strategy officer and involvement in building a two-sided marketplace in healthcare has enabled him to continue to provide support services in a boutique category of platform business models. With more than a decade leading strategy for innovative digital health companies, including CVS Health and Surescripts, Seth founded Summit Health Advisors in 2018 with a goal to make it easier for digital health companies, hospitals, and investors to find a true strategic partner. 

Founder and CEO of ScaleHealth, Taylor McPartland, shares with Project Healthcare colleagues Lauren Hatcher and Jeremy Raley what began early on as a passion project has since grown into a global health innovation ecosystem, ensuring access to advanced healthcare solutions. A self-confessed “serial founder,” McPartland formed his first startup, a data marketing platform in 2010 after graduating from Whittier College, where he developed his passion for leveraging innovation to address systemic challenges to healthcare access. The result, ScaleHealth, provides innovators and entrepreneurs with strategic resources and partnerships that will help them succeed. This conversation was captured at the 2023 ViVE Conference in Nashville.

Project Healthcare colleagues Lauren Hatcher and Jeremy Raley, are joined by Chris McGhee, CEO & Co-Founder of Current Health, a Best Buy Health company which helps health systems provide healthcare at home, including hospital-at-home programs, through innovative technology. Current Health's goal is to partner with health systems and other provider organizations to shift safe, efficient, and patient-preferred care models to a lower cost site of service, including the home. Chris co-founded Current Health as a third year medical student and has won numerous entrepreneurial awards.  This conversation was captured at the 2023 ViVE Conference in Nashville.

Host Eric Thrailkill is joined by Brenda Schmidt, Head of Enterprise Growth at Redesign Health, to discuss how her company's mission-driven innovation platform is building transformative healthcare companies from the ground up. By generating their own solutions to industry challenges and providing capital and resources to founding teams of companies working to address industry pain points, Redesign Health's approach sets it apart from traditional accelerators and incubators and allows them to accelerate startup growth and innovation throughout the healthcare industry. This conversation was captured at the 2023 ViVE Conference in Nashville.

Host Eric Thrailkill is joined by Micky Tripathi, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to shed light on why electronic health records (EHRs) have been widely adopted, how they are regulated, and why new policy changes are working to improve interoperability. As leader of the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), Micky is finding innovative ways to improve the flow of health data in a safe and efficient way that improves health outcomes. This conversation was captured at the 2023 ViVE Conference in Nashville.

Host Eric Thrailkill and Project Healthcare colleagues, Lauren Hatcher and Jeremy Raley, are joined by Liz Ashall-Payne, co-founder and CEO of ORCHA (the Organization for the Review of Health and Care Apps), to discuss the assessment and distribution of safe digital health technology. Liz also shares her entrepreneurial journey that led to solving challenges with the use of digital health technology and how providers, patients, and the economy at large can benefit when digital health technologies are regulated and distributed appropriately. This conversation was captured at the 2023 ViVE Conference in Nashville.

Host Eric Thrailkill and Project Healthcare colleague, Lauren Hatcher, are joined by Blake Madden, the founder and creator of Hospitalogy - a leading healthcare platform media company of 25,000 subscribers, growing at a rapid rate. Being able to digest "the latest" news about the business of healthcare is almost impossible for busy executives - a problem Hospitalogy addresses head on. From consolidation to declining physician reimbursement to the growth of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), Blake provides valuable industry insights on a weekly basis, including his opinion on these trends you won't want to miss. This conversation was captured at the 2023 ViVE Conference in Nashville, TN.

Host Eric Thrailkill, along with Project Healthcare colleague Lauren Hatcher, welcomes Kyna Fong, CEO and Co-Founder of Elation Health, to discuss her unique journey behind the founding of the innovative clinical-first platform, as well as how electronic health records can be used to improve, rather than strain, the physician patient relationship. This conversation was captured at the recent ViVE 2023 Conference in Nashville, TN.

In the past two decades, U.S. healthcare expenditures have drastically increased with specialty care accounting for approximately 18% of the increase in spending. Project Healthcare companies are creating specialty care solutions to slow the increasing costs and improve outcomes. In this episode of Friends of Project Healthcare, Haley and Lauren finish this three-part series of introducing the cohort companies. The entrepreneurs in this episode are focused on specialty solutions in the field of genetics, women's health, allergies, chronic autoimmune disease, and diabetes.

Traditional methods of receiving healthcare are being disrupted by new care models including telehealth platforms, hospital-at-home programs, and remote patient monitoring technologies. In this episode of Friends of Project Healthcare, Lauren and Haley discuss the Project Healthcare companies that are focused on new care models, and in particular, home health.

With over half of healthcare providers reporting burnout and two-thirds of patients reporting a prior negative healthcare experience, American healthcare is in need of innovative solutions. In this episode of Friends of Project Healthcare, Haley and Lauren introduce the Project Healthcare cohort companies that are working to improve both the patient and provider experience. This episode includes pitches by the founders at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center cohort First Look event in January. Join us as we support these founders and discuss behavioral health, patient engagement, and AI.

Amidst an explosion of digital and virtual care, the healthcare industry has become increasingly more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. While we continue to collaborate on innovative diagnostic and treatment solutions, creating novel approaches to data marketplaces, the industry still remains subject to the threat of bad actors. As CEO of Cleawater Compliance, Steve Cagle is responsible for leading the company's strategic growth, helping organizations identify and reduce risks associated with valuable data and technology transformation. In this episode, Steve shares the importance of security, privacy, and compliance for early stage healthcare companies as they embark on building and implementing solutions for a better future.

Last year, NTT Data chose Nashville as the home for a brand new digital innovation center, a $9.9M investment that will continue to support Nashville's thriving healthcare ecosystem. On this episode, Lisa Esch, Senior Vice President and Chief of Strategy, Innovation, and Industry Solutions at NTT Data Services, provides insight on the disruptions and digital transformations happening in the healthcare industry, such as tackling the short-term challenges around workforce, staff burnout, and retaining and hiring employees, as well as the long-term strategies for the future of healthcare. She also explains NTT Data's involvement in Nashville's healthcare community and their goal to help entrepreneurs with their industry knowledge and insight.

As Chief Behavioral Officer at Lirio, Amy Bucher leads a team of behavioral scientists and health experts focused on designing AI-powered behavior change journeys to drive better personal and population health. In this episode, Amy shares insights on Lirio's focus on personalized care and how their AI platform helps patients and consumers make the best health decisions for themselves. We also discuss emerging synergies between the healthcare ecosystems of Boston and Nashville.

Chase Spurlock is co-founder and CEO of Decode Health, a startup focused on the use of machine learning to predict and better understand disease outcomes. In this episode, Chase provides background on his company, including a recent announcement involving Quest Diagnostics to improve the speed and accuracy of healthcare determinations. As a long-time Nashville resident, he also reflects on the collaborative environment existing within the Nashville healthcare community and why participating in this ecosystem allows improvement in many solutions within the industry today.

At the intersection of healthcare and blockchain you'll find John Bass, founder and CEO of Hashed Health, a Nashville-based venture studio driving innovation and collaboration. From the 2022 HLTH conference in Las Vegas, John shares how he launched successful startups like ProCredEx, Peer Supply, Bramble, and SubPop Health through trust, transparency, and incentive alignment, and explains his plans to unlock significant future value within the industry by leveraging distributed ledger, blockchain, and web3 technologies.

Head of Studio at 25m Health, Chris Poole, shares how venture studio models are positively impacting the healthcare industry, and highlights the significance of rapid ideation and validation for early stage entrepreneurs. Chris also explains how partnerships with companies like Lifepoint Health and Apollo have created the infrastructure, process and alignment to drive speed and make communities healthier. This interview was captured at the 2022 HLTH conference in Las Vegas.

Founder and CEO of Zus Health, Jonathan Bush, joins Eric Thrailkill to preview their attendance at Nashville's upcoming healthcare event, ViVE, scheduled for March 26-29 at the Music City Center in Nashville. In this episode, Jonathan shares his insights on the necessary tech layer, consisting of “Data as a Service” to accelerate the growth in digital and virtual first care solutions, and also speaks about the significance of the Nashville healthcare ecosystem helping to lead the way to better health for all by leveraging industry knowledge in new health ventures.

Nashville may be known as the Music City however, we've also got our pulse on the future of the healthcare industry. Friends of Project Healthcare helps shed light on the entire ecosystem of support available for Nashville's founders and entrepreneurs reinventing great healthcare and health tech solutions. All season we'll bring you in-depth conversations with thought-leaders and experts working hard to build the future of this industry, eager to share their expertise and experience to make healthcare better for all of us.