Podcasts about healthcare it

Autonomous vehicles may be the closest real-world example of AI operating in life-and-death situations at scale. Justin Norden believes healthcare has a lot to learn from how that industry approached safety, testing, adoption, and trust. This week, Michael and Halle sit down with the founder and CEO of Qualified Health, fresh off the company's $125 million Series B, to discuss why healthcare organizations need to think differently about deploying AI. Justin shares how his experience at Stanford, Apple, Waymo, and in healthcare investing shaped his view that health systems need AI infrastructure, governance, and workforce buy-in, not just another point solution.We cover:What healthcare can learn from Waymo's approach to safe AI deploymentWhat founders need to understand about building around EpicWhy health systems need to treat AI as a CEO-level priority, not an innovation projectHow Qualified Health is helping systems deploy, monitor, and measure AI workflowsWhy governance, safety, and ROI matter as much as model performanceWhy clinicians are right to be skeptical about AI liabilityAbout our guest:Justin Norden, MD is Co-Founder and CEO of Qualified Health building the trusted platform for health system AI. Additionally, he has been an Adjunct Professor at Stanford Medicine in the Department of Biomedical Informatics Research where his research and teaching focused on AI in medicine and digital health where he founded and still teaches courses on digital health and generative AI in medicine. Previously, Dr. Norden was Co-Founder and CEO of Trustworthy AI, a company focused on algorithm safety and trust, which was acquired by Waymo (Google Self-Driving). He was a Partner at GSR Ventures leading investments in healthcare and AI, worked on the healthcare team at Apple, and helped start the Stanford Center for Digital Health. Dr. Justin Norden received an MD and MBA from Stanford University, an MPhil in Computational Biology from the University of Cambridge, and a BA in Computer Science from Carleton College.—

For the 194th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, we are back with another episode of everyone’s favorite game – buy or sell! In case you’ve forgotten or this is your first buy or sell episode, we set out a list of hot topics and trends in healthcare to discuss whether we believe the topic or trend is true/is going to happen (aka, we ‘buy’ it), or if we think it is not true/will not happen (aka, we ‘sell’ it). For this episode, we are doing a special conference edition, focusing on the trends we’ve heard from all of the different conferences we’ve both attended recently! Here's a preview of the topics and trends we discuss in this episode: Health IT budgets are shrinking. Vendor consolidation is still a high priority for CIOs. Value-based care is the key to rural health’s success and survival. Healthcare AI will not replace people. Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube. Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

Healthcare is simultaneously propping up the US economy and facing one of its most uncertain moments in years.This month, Halle and Steve unpack the growing contradictions shaping digital health right now: healthcare jobs are driving nearly half of US job growth while provider bankruptcies surge, AI is flooding into healthcare faster than regulators can keep up, and Washington continues to send mixed signals on the future of healthcare policy and innovation.We cover:Why healthcare jobs are now carrying the US labor market and what Medicaid cuts could mean for the economyThe surprising comeback of wearables and how companies like Whoop, Oura, and Google are building massive subscription businessesCMS's new ACCESS model and the debate over whether AI-driven care can actually lower costs without sacrificing qualityThe lawsuit against Character.AI and what it reveals about the growing demand for AI mental health toolsWhy investors are pouring billions into AI drug discovery despite huge unanswered questions about clinical developmentMarty Makary's resignation from the FDA and what ongoing instability means for biotech, pharma, and healthcare innovation—Show notes:Forget Tech and Hollywood. California Is Powered by Healthcare Jobs. (WSJ)Oura Debuts Ring 5, Ahead of Potential IPO (WWD)Whoop Raises $575 Million at $10.1 Billion Valuation (Whoop)Fitbit Ditches the Screen With Its New $99 Whoop Rival (PC Mag)Why big digital health players are missing from Medicare's chronic care experiment (STAT)Character.AI Lawsuit (PA.gov) Marty Makary out as FDA chief (Axios)—

Most careers don't follow a straight line. But few require starting over in full view of the public.This week, Halle sits down with Lance Armstrong to discuss how he rebuilt his life and career after multiple turning points, including surviving advanced cancer, and how those experiences shaped his perspective on health, performance, and reinvention. Now, through his venture firm Next Ventures, he backs companies focused on what they call “whole person health” — spanning prevention, wellness, diagnostics, longevity, and healthcare outside the traditional system.We cover:Why he chose to become a VC, and what he likes (and dislikes) about the jobHow his experience as a patient shapes how he evaluates companiesWhy preventive care is growing outside the traditional healthcare systemWhat he looks for in founders building across the care continuumWhat it takes to rebuild trust and start overAbout our guest:Lance Armstrong is a former professional cyclist, entrepreneur, and investor. After surviving advanced testicular cancer, he founded Livestrong, helping raise more than $500 million to support cancer patients and survivors worldwide. In 2019, he co-founded Next Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on health, wellness, and consumer brands, with investments including Oura, Cofertility, Pair Team, and SteadyMD. Prior to Next Ventures, he was an active angel investor in companies such as Uber, DocuSign, and Athletic Brewing.—

For the 193rd episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, we are talking about trends in healthcare marketing and patient experience! We kick this episode off by discussing how we think the healthcare website is changing this year. Then, we debate where we think AI is affecting how patients seek and receive care. Next, we share the marketing message that surprised us at the Swaay.Health LIVE conference. Lastly, we conclude this episode by talking about our key takeaways from Swaay.Health LIVE that we think health IT leaders need to know. Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: How is the healthcare website changing in 2026? Where is AI changing how patients seek and get care? What marketing message surprised you at the Swaay.Health LIVE conference? What are the key takeaways from Swaay.Health LIVE that Health IT leaders need to know? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube. Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

AI in healthcare may be entering a new chapter, one where the biggest question is no longer whether the technology works, but who is willing to deploy it, measure it, and take responsibility for the risk.This week, Steve sits down again with Eric Larsen to revisit his predictions from last year's Webby-winning episode on generative AI in healthcare. Eric argues that the first wave of AI has been inflationary, reinforcing the old payer-provider payment model, but that the next wave could be deflationary as automation moves into revenue cycle, administrative work, clinical reasoning, and drug development. They discuss why incumbents still have a narrow window to co-develop the future, why clinical AI may move faster outside the US, and why liability may become the deciding factor in who wins.We cover:Why healthcare is still the sector most exposed to AI-driven changeHow AI has reinforced fee-for-service dynamics so far, and why that may soon reverseWhat makes some healthcare work more automatable than othersWhy liability may determine how fast clinical AI gets adoptedWhich health systems, payers, and life sciences companies are moving fastestWhat will change across providers, payers, and pharma over the next year—

Medicaid reimbursements are shrinking, providers are pulling back, and vulnerable populations are losing access to care. Akido Labs is betting that AI can expand care capacity fast enough to reverse that trend.This week, Halle sits down with Prashant Samant, co-founder and CEO of Akido Labs, to discuss what it actually takes to scale care with AI. They explore why Akido built a full-stack healthcare company, how its AI operates inside real clinical workflows, and why the hardest patients are the best place to test whether this model works.We cover:Why he chose to build a full-stack care modelHow AI changes who can deliver care, and whereWhy most healthcare AI tools fail once they hit real clinical workflowsWhy the doctor shortage cannot be solved by training more doctorsHow the bottleneck in healthcare AI is absorption, not innovationAbout our guest:Prashant S. Samant is CEO and co-founder of Akido, a healthcare technology company that builds clinical AI and operates a multi-state medical network serving hundreds of thousands of patients. He co-founded Akido in 2015 through USC's Digital Health Lab. In 2023, he and his co-founders received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year–Greater Los Angeles Award. Samant is also a co-founder and board member of Grid110, a nonprofit accelerator supporting early-stage entrepreneurs. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis.— Show Notes:Akido's recently-published white paper on street medicine—

For the 192nd episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, we are finishing our Mount Rushmore for Health IT! In case you missed it, we had so much to discuss that we started our Mount Rushmores in the previous episode. If you want to hear the full build, make sure to check out the previous episode as well. To complete our Mount Rushmores, we first talk about what Health IT Companies we think should be on it. Then we discuss who would be on our own personal Health IT Mount Rushmore. Do you think we missed out on putting someone on our lists? Is there anyone we added to our lists that you think we shouldn’t have? Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: Who should be on the Mount Rushmore of Health IT Companies? Who would be on your own personal Health IT Mount Rushmore? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube. Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

AI is everywhere in healthcare, and May's big question is whether it's actually delivering. The money is flowing, the promises are bold, but some cracks are starting to show.Steve and Michael break down the month's biggest stories.We cover:Digital health hitting its strongest funding quarter since the pandemic peak, and why deal concentration tells the real storyHow Medvi built a billion-dollar GLP-1 company on fake doctor profiles, fake reviews, and a drug with zero bioavailabilityWhy AI in prior authorization and billing may be inflating healthcare costs rather than cutting themThe peptide craze: what the science says, what regulators have banned, and why Michael is actually taking oneHow AI could collapse today's narrow medical specialties into a "generalist specialist" modelNew research showing Epic's out-of-the-box AI models fall short on real-world clinical benchmarks—Show notes:Rock Health Q1 2026 Funding ReportNYT Profile of Medvi + Futurism InvestigationPeterson Health Technology Institute: Administrative AI ReportSTAT News / Undark: BPC-157 and the Peptide CrazeHealth Affairs Scholar: Kocher & Wachter on the Generalist-Specialist ModelSpringer Nature / Journal of General Internal Medicine: Epic AI Model Meta-Analysis—

Forty million people use ChatGPT for health-related questions every day, making it one of the most widely used tools for health information in the world. So what is their team doing to maximize impact and minimize harm? For one, they've brought in hundreds of physicians globally to continuously review outputs and shape how the models respond across different scenarios, literacy levels, and edge cases. Second, they've hired my Rock Health co-founder, Nate Gross, MD, as their VP of Health.In this full-circle episode, I sit down with Nate, who also co-founded Doximity (DOCS) and knows a thing or two about building in digital health. We discuss the astonishing speed of AI progress, how models are trained for safety and accuracy, and what this technological evolution means for every part of the healthcare system.Key topics:How ChatGPT is becoming a 24/7 front door for health questions, and whether it is replacing Dr. Google or starting to compete with the healthcare system itselfHow OpenAI is trying to reduce hallucinations, avoid sycophantic behavior, and build guardrails for sensitive use cases like mental healthOpenAI's goals to “raise the floor, sweep the floor, and raise the ceiling” with new product launches like ChatGPT for Clinicians and GPT-RosalindHow Nate thinks about the AI race and what winning in healthcare actually requiresWhere startups should focus their efforts now that specialized products are launching for clinicians and life sciencesThe single hardest problem in healthcare that AI, according to Nate, probably won't fix anytime soon— About our guest:Dr. Nate Gross is the VP of Health at OpenAI. He previously co-founded Doximity and Rock Health. He graduated from the Emory University School of Medicine with an MD, Harvard Business School with an MBA, and Claremont McKenna College with a BA in Government. He serves as affiliated faculty for the Clinical Informatics Fellowship at Stanford.— Show notes:ChatGPT for CliniciansChatGPT for Health (for patients)OpenAI for HealthcareGPT-Rosalind—

For the 191st episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, we are building our own Mount Rushmore for Health IT! We have so much to discuss that this topic will actually be split up into two episodes. So for part 1, we first talk about who we think should be on the Mount Rushmore of Health IT Technologies. Then we discuss all of the Health IT People we would put on our Mount Rushmores.  Who would you add to our list and who would you remove from our lists? Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: Who should be on the Mount Rushmore of Health IT Technologies? Who should be on the Mount Rushmore of Health IT People? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube. Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

Nearly one billion prescriptions are abandoned at the pharmacy counter every year, often because patients are blindsided by the cost.This week, co-host Halle Tecco is joined by Wendy Barnes, President and CEO of GoodRx, to discuss the chaos of prescription drug pricing, the murky world of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and how digital tools are changing patient affordability. They break down the layered system of manufacturers, payers, and pharmacies that creates inconsistent pricing, and explore the current push for greater transparency.We cover:The cascade of drug pricing: from initial manufacturer costs and rebates to payer and pharmacy contracts, which results in vast price variability for consumersWhat it would take to get to price transparency in drug pricingThe current pressures on PBMs, including efforts to ban "spread" and the practice of offshoring rebate contracting for tax advantagesWhy pharmacies haven't gone online like other areas of consumer goodsThe future of medication access, including the growth of pharma's direct-to-patient programs and the low current adoption of home delivery despite widespread retail pharmacy closures— About our guest:Wendy Barnes is the President and CEO of GoodRx. She has over 30 years of leadership experience across the pharmacy and medical benefit industry. Most recently, Wendy served as CEO of RxBenefits, where she led the company in providing pharmacy benefit support to more than 2,000 self-insured clients, representing over 3 million lives. Prior to that, she served as President of Express Scripts Pharmacy, overseeing operations for 100 million beneficiaries. Her leadership spans roles at Rite Aid, Premier Inc., and the U.S. Air Force, where she served as a Medical Service Corps Officer. She holds a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from the United States Air Force Academy and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage.—

Pete McCanna, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, believes that health systems are built around the wrong objective… and he has an ambitious goal to change that.This week, Halle sits down with McCanna to unpack how one of the largest and most successful health systems in the country is shifting from a supply-driven model to one built entirely around the customer. They discuss why legacy systems operate like “walled castles,” what it takes to redesign care around real conditions instead of departments, and how Baylor Scott & White is testing a model that prioritizes access, personalization, and long-term trust over short-term profit.We cover:Why most health systems are structured to fill capacity, not create value for patientsThe reason why he uses the term "customer" instead of "patient" (and how his colleagues initially responded)How loyalty and trust make it economically sound to offer services that lose money.The strategy for deploying AI to create product differentiation for patients rather than just improving internal efficiencyThe limits of the “payvider” model and why it's harder than it looksThe three healthcare laws he thinks need to be rewritten—About our guest: As CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, Peter (Pete) McCanna is focused on empowering customers to live well by reimagining traditional healthcare—offering more convenient, personalized, and informed experiences. He is leading Baylor Scott & White's customer-centric transformation by bringing together the system's 59,000 team members around a common goal to keep people healthy and feeling connected and supported.Before becoming CEO, Pete served as the health system's president. In that role, he drove operational excellence, strengthened clinical alignment, scaled the system's digital health platform, MyBSWHealth, and deepened academic partnerships to address the critical need for healthcare professionals.Pete has nearly 40 years of industry experience. As executive vice president and chief operating officer at Northwestern Medicine, he exceeded targets for operating revenue, quality, patient experience, and employee engagement, making it one of the top 10 academic health centers in the country.Known as a thoughtful and innovative leader, Pete formerly served as chief financial officer at New Mexico-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services and the University of Colorado Hospital.Passionate about transforming healthcare, Pete was named one of Modern Healthcare's “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.” Driven by a deep sense of purpose, Pete currently serves as the inaugural board chair of Longitude Health, an innovative healthcare collaborative, and as a board member of University of Michigan Health, Texas Hospital Association, and Catholic Extension. He holds a master's degree in Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan.Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas. It includes 55 hospitals, more than 1,300 access points, a health plan, a research institute, and an accountable care organization, plus Levanto—a company offering digitally-enabled health solutions—and 3.5 million customers connected through MyBSWHealth.—Snow notes: Visit BSWHealth.com to learn more.Download the MyBSWHealth app.Explore Levanto.Health to learn about employer solutions built on Baylor Scott & White's digital platform and care model.—

For the 190th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, I am joined by a very special guest host, Reese Maynard, MS, MBA, Owner of AskShereese.tech, to take a look back and review the ViVE and HIMSS conferences! We kick off this review by sharing our big takeaway from ViVE and HIMSS. Next, we dive into everyone’s favorite topic – AI. We share what we were able to learn about AI during these conferences. And on the flip side, we debate on what we think we need to stop talking about with AI. Then, we highlight some of the companies and announcements that stood out and made an impact on us. Lastly, we wrap this review of ViVE and HIMSS up by discussing what we were hoping to see at these conferences, but unfortunately didn’t happen. Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: What are your big takeaways from the ViVE and HIMSS Conferences? What have we learned about AI, and what do we need to stop talking about with AI? What companies or announcements stood out to you around the conferences? What's something you didn't see at the conferences that you'd have liked to see? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

We're back with our monthly rundown of the top headlines in health tech!Today, Halle flies solo to share the biggest stories that shaped Q1, from the rising pressures on PBMs to how consumers are using AI.Stories covered:What's happening to PBMs (it's not pretty)New data from Rock Health on consumer use of AISocial media companies find liable for addictive designHealthcare hiring is slowing as efficiency becomes the focusHave we finally bent the healthcare cost curve in the United States?—The Heart of Healthcare podcast was nominated for a Webby award! We'd so appreciate if you could create a quick account and vote for us here. —

Last year, his independent pharmacy spent $13 million on brand-name drugs for patients processed by the three biggest Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) which earned a profit margin of 0.01%.In this episode, Halle speaks with Alec Ginsberg, owner and fourth-generation pharmacist at C.O. Bigelow, the oldest surviving apothecary–pharmacy in the United States. Alec is fighting against the forces squeezing independent pharmacies and charting a course for the future of the pharmacist.We cover:How the roll-up of PBMs, health plans, and retail pharmacies changed everythingWhat led him to remove his pharmacy's Rx-filling robotThe dramatic decline of independent pharmacies along with the closures of big box pharmacy storesThe one health policy he would put in place today to save independent pharmaciesThe history of the pharmacist's role and what's nextWhat he really thinks about compounding pharmacies and the Hims vs. Novo lawsuit—About our guest: Alec Wade Ginsberg is the fourth-generation pharmacist, owner, and Chief Operating Officer of C.O. Bigelow Apothecary, America's oldest pharmacy, founded in 1838 and still operating in New York City's West Village. With a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Alec bridges the clinical world of pharmacy with the realities of modern consumer culture.At Bigelow, he oversees the brick-and-mortar beauty retail and pharmacy operations, navigating everything from prescription drug shortages to the pressures of today's PBM-dominated marketplace. Beyond the counter, Alec is the founder and writer of Drugstore Cowboy, a weekly newsletter that dissects the intersection of drugs, business, and consumer culture — making the hidden mechanics of the U.S. healthcare system both understandable and entertaining for thousands of readers.His work has been featured across national media, and he's become a trusted voice for translating complex pharmaceutical issues — from GLP-1s to compounding to drug pricing — into plain English. Alec's mission is simple: to make Americans smarter about the pills in their cabinets and the system that puts them there.—Show notes:Drugstore Cowboy - Alec's free and super interesting newsletterC.O. Bigelow - The Nation's Oldest ApothecaryVirtual GLP-1 startups: Pill mills or the future of obesity care?—

For the 189th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, sponsored by Swaay.Health, Colin and I are answering the questions we’re asking at HIMSS! The first question we answer is — what is a mistake that we keep making in healthcare, and how can it be addressed? Next, we take a look at AI to answer the question of what the most important lesson learned is now that AI is everywhere. Then, we give our opinions on what implemented healthcare policy gets our thumbs up and why. Lastly, we conclude this episode with sharing what song we think best represents healthcare or health IT right now and why. Be sure to check out all our videos from HIMSS 2026 for other answers to these same questions. This week's episode is brought to you by Swaay.Health! If you are in healthcare marketing, PR, communications, or patient experience at a hospital, clinic, payer, health IT company, or agency, you need to be at our Swaay.Health LIVE 2026 event, April 29 to May 2 in Foxborough. It's the premier healthcare marketing and PR event to learn, network, and get energized. Head over to Live.Swaay.Health to learn more! Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: What is a mistake that we keep making in healthcare? How can it be addressed? What is the most important lesson learned now that AI is everywhere in healthcare? What healthcare policy has been implemented that gets your thumbs up? Why? If you could pick a song that represents healthcare or health IT right now, what would it be and why? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Swaay.Health is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene. Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

Chris Klomp, Director of Medicare and Deputy Administrator of CMS, and Senior Advisor to HHS Secretary RFK Jr., has big ambitions to reshape how healthcare works in the United States.This week, ​​Steve sits down with Klomp to discuss how his experience as a digital health entrepreneur is guiding his current role overseeing a roughly $2 trillion department. Klomp shares the government's strategy for restoring trust between providers and payers, driving down costs, and addressing a system where approximately 90% of healthcare dollars are still spent in a fee-for-service arrangement. We cover:Why 90% of US healthcare remains fee-for-service after two decades of reform.The intentional design of the new Access model to be deflationary and fuel entrepreneurship among insurgents.The commitment from the payer industry to make prior authorization invisible to patients and providers by 2027.CMS's aggressive stance on data interoperability and funding enforcement against data blocking.How the Most Favored Nation policy is re-wiring global prescription drug supply to lower prices without compromising innovation.—About our guest: Chris Klomp is the Director of Medicare and Deputy Administrator of CMS, and Senior Advisor to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. With extensive experience in healthcare payment reform and data sharing, he built and led Collective Medical, the largest U.S. real-time care collaboration data network, acquired by PointClickCare in 2020. There, he partnered with health systems, plans, providers, post-acutes, and state governments to advance value-based care through enhanced data access and insights.Chris has driven healthcare reform at state and federal levels, focusing on value-based care and interoperable health technology. Through Endurance Companies, a San Francisco-based multi-family office he co-founded with Stanford classmates, he has co-founded, invested in, advised, and served on the board of many innovative healthcare organizations, including Nomi Health, Maven Clinic, InnovaCare Health, and Health Joy. He also served as a Utah Senate-confirmed commissioner of the Utah Digital Health Services Commission, where he focused on leveraging technology for cost-effective, healthier outcomes. Previously, he was Vice President in Bain Capital's North American Private Equity group and worked at Bain & Company. Recognized as Utah Business' CEO of the Year and EY's Mountain Region Entrepreneur of the Year, Chris holds a B.A. with honors in Economics and English from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Stanford.—

On this episode Justin records live at ViVE 2026 in LA. Stay tuned for the next few weeks to hear all his guests. This week, Chris Paravate, MBA, PMP, CHCIO, CDH, CPHIMS, SVP, Chief Information Officer, Northeast GA Health System and Michael Silverstein, Managing Partner of Healthcare IT & Life Sciences, DRI. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

In this episode, Benny and Dennis are joined by Jonathan Barnes and Wayne Easterwood to discuss how fractional executives are becoming a practical and powerful solution for small and growing businesses that need experienced leadership—without the cost or long-term commitment of a full-time executive team.They explore when it makes sense to bring in fractional leaders, which roles are most commonly filled in small businesses, and how owners can avoid the common mistake of hiring too early, too late, or for the wrong problem. The conversation also connects fractional leadership to longer-term goals such as improving operations, supporting growth, and preparing a business for a future transition or exit.If you're a business owner wondering whether you really need a full-time executive—or simply stronger leadership right now—this episode offers a clear, real-world look at how fractional executives can help you scale smarter and be truly ready for what's next.Jonathan brings more than 25 years of experience in leadership, strategy, team development, and the disciplined execution of high-growth initiatives. His background spans all core business functions and multiple stages of company growth. He is the founder of Staffing as a Mission, a 2019 Inc. 500 company focused on Healthcare IT delivery. In 2020, he launched Work Heartily, an executive leadership firm serving growth-stage companies, and later co-founded Sitka Advisory Group to provide seasoned perspective, accountability, and strategic guidance to owners and leadership teams navigating inflection points. Jonathan is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator and a Full Focus Certified Pro, equipping teams and leaders with practical frameworks for clarity, alignment, and sustained execution.With nearly 30 years of technology leadership, strategy, and successful growth through acquisitions, Wayne's experience is primarily in healthcare technology, enterprise business systems, and administrative services. Most recently he led administrative services for a Nashville-based healthcare provider system.Contact information: Jonathan Barnes and Wayne Easterwoodhttps://www.workheartily.com/our-executives/Benny Carreon- Velocity Technology Group- benny@velocitytechnology.groupDennis Jackson-WorX Solution- dennisj@worxsolution.comwww.wfhwith2guys.com

This week, Halle and Michael sit down for a special in-person listener Q&A to answer a range of founder questions you submitted.Topics include:What investors are prioritizing right now and how first-time founders can stand outHow to think about board seatsWhat to do if your growth has plateauedThings to keep in mind when negotiating a health system contractHow to think about choosing between small funds and mega-VCsWhat “pay to play” really meansHow to handle co-founder equity when someone leaves early—

For the 188th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, sponsored by Swaay.Health, we are doing a deep dive into healthcare AI! We kick this episode off with a debate on whether or not hallucinations will continue to happen and if they’ll prevent AI from being implemented/accepted. Then we theorize about whether healthcare will ever trust AI agents to work without supervision. Next, we take a look at the data healthcare AI is trained on and discuss if we think the quality and diversity will ever be a major concern. Lastly, we conclude this episode by trying to decide if we are not talking about the cost of AI enough. This week's episode is brought to you by Swaay.Health! If you are in healthcare marketing, PR, communications, or patient experience at a hospital, clinic, payer, health IT company, or agency, you need to be at our Swaay.Health LIVE 2026 event, April 29 to May 2 in Foxborough. It's the premier event to learn, network, and get energized. Head over to Live.Swaay.Health to learn more! Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: Will hallucinations continue to (a) happen, and (b) be something that stops AI from being implemented/accepted? Will healthcare ever trust AI agents to work without supervision? Will the quality and diversity of data that healthcare AI is trained on ever be a major concern? Are we not talking enough about the cost of AI? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Swaay.Health is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene. Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

Breakthrough blood tests that can flag dozens of cancers before symptoms appear are gaining momentum, yet questions remain about accuracy, equity, and how these tools will fit into routine care.In this episode, Steve talks with Helmy Eltoukhy, co-founder and co-CEO of Guardant Health, a $14 billion publicly-traded precision oncology company. The conversation explores the science behind cell-free DNA, the rise of blood-based cancer screening, and the broader shift toward data-driven diagnostics.We cover:How liquid biopsy works and why cell-free DNA became such a powerful toolThe path from late-stage applications to large-scale early detectionWhat Medicare coverage of blood-based colorectal cancer screening signals for adoptionThe operational and regulatory hurdles that shape diagnostics businessesLessons from Helmy's entrepreneurial path across sequencing, diagnostics, and company-building—About our guest: Helmy Eltoukhy is the chairman and co-CEO of Guardant Health, a leading precision oncology company he co-founded in 2012. He is also an active investor and is involved in over 30 startup companies across the technology and healthcare sectors. In December 2024, Eltoukhy expanded his ventures into sports ownership by co-leading the acquisition of Sheffield United Football Club through COH Sports of which he is currently co-chairman.Last year, he was named by TIME100 Health as one of the most influential people in global health. He was also on Time Magazine's inaugural list of the 50 Most Influential People in Health Care and has been recognized by Fortune (40 under 40), the World Economic Forum (Technology Pioneer), and on the list of the Top 50 Healthcare CEOs in 2021.Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Eltoukhy is deeply committed to various philanthropic efforts and serves on the boards of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), and the UCSF Cancer Leadership Council. Prior to founding Guardant Health, Eltoukhy co-founded Avantome in 2007 to commercialize semiconductor sequencing, which was later acquired by Illumina. Eltoukhy is a named inventor on over 100 patents and holds PhD, MS, and BS degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University.—Learn more about the Rock Health CEO Summit at the New York Stock Exchange on March 27th.—

What does women's empowerment look like beyond inspiration — inside leadership, healthcare, and real impact?In this episode of The Mohua Show, Nivedita Basu — Founder & Chief Vision Officer, Global Cancer Care — shares her journey from shaping iconic women-led stories in Indian television to building accessible cancer care in India.She speaks about women in leadership, career reinvention, healthcare entrepreneurship, cancer awareness, preventive healthcare, and why women must prioritize their own health. This conversation explores:Leadership learned, not inheritedReinvention after reaching the peakWhy creative success alone is not enoughThe fear and misinformation around cancer careMaking preventive healthcare accessible, affordable, and normalDetachment, risk, and the courage to begin againBuilding brands with trust, empathy, and accountabilityIf you care about women's leadership, cancer awareness, career pivots, and social impact, this episode is a must-watch.

Pharma ads, biotech IPOs, $1M longevity programs, oh my!This month's Digital Health Download skews towards biotech, which is having a moment. Tune in to hear Halle and Michael cover the latest headlines.We cover:Why pharma ads are surging and the growing push for restrictions on D2C drug advertisingHims & Hers' $1.15B acquisition of Eucalyptus, its global expansion strategy, and the FDA crackdown on compounded GLP‑1 drugsThe return of biotech IPOs, with Eikon Therapeutics and Generate Biomedicines signaling investor interest in platform‑based drug discoveryVaccine makers scaling back research amid policy uncertainty, declining uptake, and tighter fundingTrumpRx's “most favored nation” drug pricing approach, and what one STAT analysis foundBryan Johnson's $1M per year “Immortals” longevity program—Show notes:Should drug companies be advertising to consumers? (The New York Times) Hims & Hers Enters $1.15 Billion Agreement to Acquire Eucalyptus (PharmExec.com)A sign biotech is back? Four drugmakers go public, raising nearly $1 billion in all (STAT)Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs (The New York Times) TrumpRx claims to offer the lowest prices. But many drugs have cheaper generics (STAT)Bryan Johnson's Immortals: $1M to try longevity regimen (Axios) —"Halle Tecco wanted to see tech used for better medical services and getting people engaged in their own health. Now, she's written a book on how she went about it." - The WSJMassively Better Healthcare is out now!—Rock Health's annual CEO Summit is returning to the New York Stock Exchange on March 27th! Learn more and nominate a CEO to join this invite-only event here. —

For the 187th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, sponsored by Swaay.Health, we are doing an Olympics-inspired episode, looking at Healthcare IT! We kick this episode off by debating what 3 healthcare IT challenges would be on the podium right now. Next, we talk about what Olympic medal would be given to health IT if one existed. Then we take a look at all of the Olympic sports to pick out which one best represents what it’s like in Healthcare/Health IT right now. Lastly, we conclude this episode by discussing when it is and isn’t great to win a healthcare IT contract, just like how winning the Olympics is a huge deal for a city, but can also be a financial challenge too. This week's episode is brought to you by Swaay.Health! If you are in healthcare marketing, PR, communications, or patient experience at a hospital, clinic, payer, health IT company, or agency, you need to be at our Swaay.Health LIVE 2026 event, April 29 to May 2 in Foxborough. It's the premier event to learn, network, and get energized. Head over to Live.Swaay.Health to learn more! Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: What 3 healthcare IT challenges would be on the podium right now? If there were an Olympic medal given to health IT, what would it be? What Olympic sport best represents what it’s like in Healthcare/Health IT right now? Winning the Olympics is a big deal for a city, but it can often be a financial challenge too. When is it great and not so great to win a healthcare IT contract? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Swaay.Health is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene. Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

When Eric Lefkofsky's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, it exposed how little technology and data were shaping cancer care, pushing the serial entrepreneur to build a different model.Lefkofsky is the founder and CEO of Tempus, now a $10B publicy traded health tech company, and previously founded Groupon. At Tempus, he's building a tech-first company applying multimodal data and AI to make diagnostics smarter and treatment decisions more tailored, starting in oncology and expanding across disease areas.We cover:What Tempus does in plain EnglishWhy Tempus built its own lab, and how it became one of the largest sequencers of cancer patients in the U.S.The hard part: extracting usable clinical data from EHRs and scaling to thousands of hospital connections and hundreds of petabytes of dataHow AI changes the patient-physician relationship, and why patients will increasingly arrive highly informedWhat Eric would change at CMS and HHS to responsibly pay for AI—About our guest: Eric Lefkofsky is the founder and CEO at Tempus, a leader in artificial intelligence and precision medicine. He is the co-founder and General Partner of Lightbank, a private venture capital firm specializing in investments in technology companies. He is also the co-founder of Pathos AI, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on re-engineering drug development; Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN), a global e-commerce marketplace; Mediaocean, a leading provider of integrated media procurement technology; Echo Global Logistics (NASDAQ: ECHO), a technology-enabled transportation and logistics outsourcing firm; and InnerWorkings (NASDAQ: INWK), a global provider of managed print and promotional solutions.He co-chairs the Lefkofsky Family Foundation with his wife Liz to advance high-impact initiatives that enhance lives in the communities served. Lefkofsky also serves on the board of directors of The Art Institute of Chicago and Northwestern Medicine. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.—

In this episode (recorded live), Halle Tecco speaks with Dr. Robert Wachter, Chair of Medicine at UCSF, about their concurrently released books on healthcare innovation and AI.They share thoughts on the dual challenge of innovation in healthcare and the role of AI, covering:Why past waves of tech failed to change healthcare and why AI may finally break throughHow AI is making a difference today in healthcareWhere AI-assisted diagnosis and prescribing could go next, and the risks of over-relying on humans “in the loop” How EHR vendors (like Epic) hold the "poll position" for AI implementation due to workflow integrationWhy innovators must become healthcare "anthropologists"; and clinicians must understand technology and AIPlus, a surprise guest from Prenuvo joins us to chime in. Order Halle's new book, Massively Better Healthcare hereOrder Bob's new book, A Giant Leap here—About our guest: Robert M. Wachter, MD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Author of 300 articles and 6 books, he coined the term “hospitalist” in 1996 and is often considered the “father” of the hospitalist field, the fastest-growing medical specialty in U.S. history. He is a past president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, past chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Master of the American College of Physicians, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. Modern Healthcare magazine has ranked him among the 50 most influential physician-executives in the U.S. more than a dozen times; he was #1 on the list in 2015. His 2015 book, The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age, was a New York Times bestseller. His new book is A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For the 186th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, we are doing a preview of this year’s ViVE and HIMSS conferences! We kick this episode off by discussing the differences between HIMSS and ViVE. Then we talk about whether we would pick one conference over the other, or if we would do both. Next, we theorize what topics will be discussed in the hallways at ViVe and HIMSS. We then talk about what topics we are the most interested in covering at ViVE and HIMSS. Lastly, we share our tips and tricks for not only surviving but thriving at both of these conferences. At ViVE, Colin and I will be in the Media Village doing paid and earned interviews. At HIMSS, we will have a big booth in the back corner where we will have our on-site interview studios – come visit us at 6453. If you are looking to showcase your thought leadership, build brand awareness, or tell an important customer or product story, you may want to consider one of our sponsored interview packages. Reach out on our contact us page to learn more. Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: So what's the difference between HIMSS and ViVE? Would you pick one over the other, or would you do both? What are the topics that will be discussed in the hallways at ViVE and HIMSS? What are the topics you are most interested in covering at ViVE and HIMSS? What are your tips for surviving and thriving at both these conferences? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

Physicians now face a world where search bars, chat apps, and large AI models are becoming many people's first stop for health questions, long before they enter a clinic.Former Google Chief Health Officer and national health IT leader Dr. Karen DeSalvo joins us to unpack what this shift means for clinicians, regulators, and patients, and why 15% of daily Google searches are questions no one has ever asked before.We cover:• Why consumer health search is becoming a powerful entry point into care• How Google built guardrails for safety, quality, and real-time monitoring of emerging risks• What the rise of GenAI “doctor in your pocket” tools could mean• The regulatory tensions ahead as states experiment with AI-driven medical decision support• How global demand, workforce strain, and new data sources (IoT, at-home diagnostics, wearables) are accelerating AI-supported primary care—About our guest: Dr. Karen DeSalvo is a health leader who has committed her career to improving health for everyone, everywhere. She was most recently Google's Chief Health Officer, where spearheaded a global team of health professionals dedicated to harnessing Google's technology and platforms to help everyone, everywhere live a longer, healthier life. Before Google, Dr. DeSalvo held significant roles in the U.S. government, including National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and acting Assistant Secretary for Health. She was also the Health Commissioner in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, where she led public health recovery efforts. Dr. DeSalvo currently sits on the Boards of Directors for Welltower and CityBlock Health and is a member of the Council of the National Academy of Medicine. —Pre-order Halle's new book, Massively Better Healthcare.—

We're back with our monthly rundown of the top headlines in health tech!Today, Halle and Steve sort through the biggest stories shaping the year ahead, from AI prescribing to lawsuits galore.We cover:AI prescribing (in Utah!)The FDA updated guidance on clinical decision support for AI in medicineThe lawsuit against Prenuvo after a missed stroke warning, and the broader debate over accountability in AI-assisted diagnosticsTexas' antitrust case against Epic - are they being anti-competitive?New evidence shows GLP-1 drugs lower employer healthcare costs by 9%Why healthcare hiring is slowing downHalle's book is now available! (Order now on Amazon)Show notes:Utah begins pilot of prescribing AI medication (Utah Department of Commerce)FDA issues guidance on wellness products, clinical decision support software (AHA)Man got $2,500 whole-body MRI that found no problems—then had massive stroke (Ars Technica)Texas sues Epic, accusing it of running a monopoly (Wisconsin Public Radio)Why cover GLP-1s? They'll lower employer healthcare costs, study says (Healthcare Dive)Hospitals' make-or-break year (Axios)

The 185th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast is sponsored by Swaay.Health, be sure to join us at our Swaay.Health LIVE 2026 Event, April 29 to May 2, in Foxborough. This time, we are talking about 4 intriguing healthcare IT stats! The first intriguing statistic we discuss is that 1 in 4 active weekly users of ChatGPT ask it health-related questions. Next, we talk about two very interesting things that happened with healthcare technology investment in 2025 – the total amount invested was $47 billion, which is 12% lower than in 2024, and nearly half (46%) of it was put into AI. Then, we take a look at how 60% of patients reported delaying or skipping medical care because of the cost. Lastly, we end this episode with the intriguing stat of generative AI being used in RCM workflows by 80% of health systems. Thank you again to this episode’s sponsor, Swaay.Health! If you are in healthcare marketing, PR, communications, or patient experience at a hospital, clinic, payer, health IT company, or agency, you need to be at our Swaay.Health LIVE 2026 Event, April 29 to May 2, in Foxborough. It's the premier event to learn, network, and get energized. Head over to live.swaay.health to learn more. Here's a preview of the stats we discuss in this episode which were pulled from our various healthcare IT Bonus Feautures articles: 1 in 4 active weekly users on ChatGPT ask it health-related questions – OpenAI 46% of healthcare technology investment in 2025 is AI – 2025 investment was $47 billion (12% lower than 2024) – Silicon Bank 60% of patients report delaying or skipping medical care because of cost – Alphaeon Survey 80% of health systems are using generative AI in RCM workflows – HFMA Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Swaay.Health is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene. Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

Healthcare IT leaders are finding innovative ways to address one of medicine's challenges: the exponential growth of clinical knowledge that physicians must navigate daily. In our recent interview, we hear from Julia Vu, Pharm.D., Vice President, GTM North America at Elsevier and Colin Banas, MD, MHA, Chief Medical Officer at DrFirst about their partnership to integrate AI-powered clinical decision support directly into e-prescribing workflows.Both leaders bring extensive backgrounds in clinical informatics, having worked through the Meaningful Use era and witnessed firsthand the challenges of fragmented systems and information overload. Their collaboration addresses a critical gap: providing physicians with trusted, evidence-based content at the moment they need it, without adding to alert fatigue.Learn more about ELSEVIER: https://www.elsevier.com/Learn more about DrFirst: https://drfirst.com/Healthcare IT Community: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

It has been said that we don't have “big data” in healthcare, but instead a large amount of “small data.”In this episode, Halle speaks with Kyle Armbrester, CEO of Datavant and former CEO of Signify Health (acquired for $8B), about why healthcare data still moves the way it did decades ago and what it will take to modernize it at scale. Kyle reflects on building and leading large health tech companies and explains how fixing data flow could reduce administrative waste, improve security, and make care easier for patients and providers alike.We cover:Why healthcare billing still happens after the fact and how that fuels administrative wasteHow missing data standards led to fax-based workflows and brittle systemsWhy healthcare data is such an attractive target for cyberattacksHow clinical data can be shared digitally without being owned or resoldLeadership lessons from scaling companies through IPOs and acquisitions—About our guest: Kyle Armbrester is Chief Executive Officer of Datavant, a healthcare data platform company with a mission to make the world's health data secure, accessible, and actionable. Datavant operates the largest and most diverse health data exchange in the U.S., connecting more than 70 percent of the 100 largest health systems, all U.S. payers, and 300 plus real world data partners.Previously, Kyle served as CEO of Signify Health, where he led more than 200 percent revenue growth, took the company public in 2021, and guided its acquisition by CVS Health in 2023 for approximately $8 billion. He later served on the CVS Health executive management team, overseeing healthcare delivery strategy and interoperability.Earlier in his career, Kyle was Chief Product Officer and Head of Corporate Development at athenahealth, where he helped scale revenue from $320 million to $1.2 billion and launched the company's partnership marketplace. Kyle has served on multiple healthcare boards and holds an MBA and AB from Harvard University.—Chapters:00:01:20 Introduction to Kyle Armbrester and his journey in healthcare00:03:58 The impact of Athena Health on healthcare innovation00:06:20 Datavant: Revolutionizing health data interoperability00:08:15 The role of Datavant in reducing administrative burden00:12:20 Understanding Datavant's value proposition across stakeholders00:14:00 Consumer products and data accessibility at Datavant00:18:25 The scale and impact of Datavant in healthcare00:19:35 Cybersecurity challenges in healthcare data management00:23:57 Bridging the gap in healthcare regulations00:26:13 Unlocking the value of untapped healthcare data00:29:25 Challenges of value-based care models00:33:23 The reality of being a CEO in healthcare00:37:00 Navigating IPOs vs. Acquisitions00:39:44 Innovating healthcare incentives for better outcomes—Pre-order Halle's new book, Massively Better Healthcare.—

This week, Steve sits down with Ankit Jain, co-founder and CEO of Infinitus Systems, to talk about why voice-based AI has become one of the most rapidly adopted tools in healthcare operations, what's actually working in the field, and where the hype still outpaces reality. Ankit shares six years of lessons from building AI agents that handle 35-minute medical calls end to end, plus his predictions on what 2026 and 2027 will really look like as enterprises attempt to build their own agents.We cover:Why so much of healthcare still runs on phones, faxes, and portalsHow AI agents are handling long, high-stakes medical calls without going off trackWhat large enterprises now expect around security, governance, and zero-hallucination requirementsWhy providers, payers, and pharma are adopting AI for different operational workflowsWhy 2026 may be the year many health systems try to build their own agents, and why most will return to vendors by 2027—About our guest: Ankit Jain is the co-founder and CEO of Infinitus Systems, the agentic healthcare communications platform that automates high-stakes clinical and administrative conversations at scale. Under his leadership, Infinitus supports 44% of the Fortune 50, and many of the largest healthcare organizations in the US. A serial entrepreneur, advisor, and investor, Ankit has built companies and guided innovation at the intersection of technology and AI. He founded Quettra (acquired by Similarweb), helped launch Google Play and the search engine Cuil, and went on to co-found and manage Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund. His background in building distributed systems and safety-constrained AI, combined with hands-on experience scaling products in regulated environments, gives him a pragmatic perspective on how to design trustworthy AI that earns adoption in healthcare. Ankit frequently works with industry leaders on governance, education, and integration strategies that make automation safe, approachable, and scalable.—Chapters:00:01:38 Introduction to Ankit Jain and Infinitus Systems00:02:54 The journey into healthcare entrepreneurship00:03:55 Inspiration behind Infinitus and its mission00:04:55 Evolution of AI in healthcare communications00:08:12 Navigating competition in the AI healthcare space00:10:30 Defensibility and product development insights00:14:00 AI's role in enhancing healthcare accessibility00:15:20 Go-to-Market strategies and lessons learned00:17:52 Deepening engagement in healthcare workflows00:19:33 Competitive dynamics in healthcare AI00:20:42 Addressing industry concerns and challenges00:22:14 The need for industry self-regulation00:23:40 Navigating consumer privacy and AI interactions00:25:27 The future of jobs in healthcare AI00:28:30 The evolution of healthcare AI00:29:37 Lessons for entrepreneurs in healthcare—Pre-order Halle's new book, Massively Better Healthcare.—

For the 184th episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, we are talking about how we think consumer health tech will impact provider organizations! We kick this episode off by sharing what consumer health tech has us most excited. Next, we talk about what consumer health tech we think won’t last. Then, we debate how we think the adoption of consumer health tech will impact provider organizations. Lastly, we end this episode by theorizing how long we think it will be until we have an AI doctor at our beck and call. Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: What consumer health tech has you most excited? What consumer health tech do you think won't last? How will consumer health tech's adoption impact provider organizations? How long until we all have an AI doctor at our beck and call? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

Is 2026 the year that changes everything in healthcare?Steve and Halle sit down with legendary healthcare VC Annie Lamont for their annual predictions episode to dive into 2026 predictions and trends that founders and operators should pay attention to. We cover:

We’ve been posting our wonderful Healthcare IT Today Community’s predictions for Healthcare IT in 2026, and we were feeling a little left out, so for the 183rd episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast, we wanted to share our own predictions! We kick this episode off by sharing our predictions for AI scribes in 2026. Then we predict what AI will do in healthcare in 2026. Next, we predict what technologies we think we will all be talking about this year. And lastly, we share our predictions on what companies and organizations will be news-makers. Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: What is your prediction for AI scribes in 2026? What is your prediction for AI in healthcare in 2026? What other technologies will we be talking about next year? What companies or organizations will be news-makers in 2026? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

With the 182nd episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast being one of the last episodse we do this year, we are taking a look back at 2025! We kick this episode off by discussing some of the top changes, trends, and innovations we saw this year. Then, we share what news item or event stood out to us the most in 2025. Next, we talk about what 2025 story surprised us. Last, we conclude this episode by taking a look back at all of the conferences we attended in 2025 to share which conference experience stood out the most. Here's a preview of the topics and questions we discuss in this episode: What are some of the top changes, trends, or innovations you saw in 2025? What news item or event in 2025 stood out to you the most? What 2025 story surprised you? What conference experience stood out the most to you in 2025? Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

We are back again for another exciting round of buy or sell for the 181st episode of the Healthcare IT Today Podcast! In case you are unfamiliar with how these episodes work, or if you just need a refresher, Colin and I sit down to discuss a variety of trends and topics in health IT. We then decide whether we believe it will happen (aka we ‘buy’ it) or we think it won’t happen (aka we ‘sell’ it). Here's a preview of the topics and trends we discuss in this episode: AI is going to solve a lot of problems in healthcare in the next 12 months. Cost reductions will have a major impact on Health IT spending in the next 6 months. The government shutdown will have a big impact on healthcare. Data quality is the biggest threat to AI. Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the Healthcare IT Today podcast. We publish a new Healthcare IT Today podcast every ~2 weeks. Thanks to our friends at Healthcare Now Radio, you’ll be able to listen to the latest episodes of Healthcare IT Today on their radio station for the first two weeks. Then, we’ll be publishing each episode as a podcast and YouTube video here after it finishes on the radio. You can also subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today podcast on any of the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Stitcher Podcast Radio TuneIn Spotify iHeartRadio Pandora Thanks for listening to Healthcare IT Today and if you enjoy the content we’re sharing, please rate the podcast on your favorite podcasting platform. Along with the popular podcasting platforms above, you can Subscribe to Healthcare IT Today on YouTube.  Plus, all of the audio and video versions will be made available to stream on HealthcareITToday.com. If you work in Healthcare IT, we’d love to hear where you agree and/or disagree with the perspectives we shared. Feel free to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments of this post, in the YouTube comments, with @Colin_Hung or @techguy on Twitter, or privately on our Contact Us page. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if you have any ideas for future episodes. Thanks so much for listening! Listen to Our Latest Episodes:

On this episode Justin records live at HLTH25 in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for the next few weeks to hear all his guests. This week Justin talks to Michael Silverstein, Managing Partner of Healthcare IT & Life Sciences, DRI and Kamal Jethwani, MD, Co-Founder, Decimal.health and VP, Digital Ventures, Moffitt Cancer Center. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

Send us a textPhone lines are jammed. Staff are overwhelmed. Patients wait, hang up, or fall through the cracks entirely. Meanwhile, the pressure to improve access keeps climbing.In this Executive Feature, Chetan Reddy, Founder and CEO of Confido Health,  joins host, David E. Williams to discuss why patient access is breaking down, how AI voice agents can resolve routine calls instantly, and what it takes for practices to improve patient experience without adding staff.

Introduction: In this episode, host Sandy Vance sits down with Joerg Schwarz, Senior Director of Industry Strategy & Solutions for Healthcare Interoperability at Infor, and Adam Luff, a healthcare technology executive and VP of Solution Consulting at Infor. Together, they take a fascinating look at the real-world state of healthcare data. Together, they unpack what AI is actually doing for the industry, why pulling meaningful information from existing systems is so challenging, and how proprietary schemas and non-queryable databases keep organizations stuck with costly “zombie systems.” They explore the promise of using AI to finally unlock that trapped data, along with the critical measures needed to ensure accuracy, quality, and transparency as new technologies evolve. Make sure to check out this episode if you've ever wondered what's behind the “black box” of healthcare data.In this episode, they talk about:What AI does for the healthcare industryThe challenges that come with extracting dataWhy the data in current databases isn't searchable and queryableProprietary schemas Unable to pull one data table at a timeUsing AI to extract data from zombie systems The time and money it takes to keep zombie systems aliveMeasures with new tech that need to be taken to ensure accuracy and qualityTransparency and rejecting the “black box” approachA Little About Joerg and Adam:As a trusted and highly skilled Global Business Strategy Executive and seasoned thought leader in the Healthcare IT domain, Joerg keeps an acute focus on the customer while leading teams, building strategic partnerships, and delivering solutions with measurable outcome improvements. His knowledge runs wide and deep with a 360-degree vantage point through the lenses of Technology, Sales, Marketing, and Academia. He combines the realities of leading key stakeholders and teams through innovation with respect to Healthcare IT and Life Sciences throughout his distinguished career. Joerg is highly motivated towards the evolution of connected managed care, population health, and clinical analytics. Communicating complexity is a signature quality Joerg possesses in service to delivering mutual benefit "win-win-win's" by successfully navigating complex problems, accelerating brand and product growth, and being a key contributor in go-to-market decisions.Adam Luff is a healthcare technology executive and VP of Solution Consulting at Infor. With his 25 years in the Healthcare Technology industry, Adam focuses on operational efficiency that leads to providers getting paid faster and simpler.

Over 3 million clinicians around the world depend on UpToDate to guide patient care, and now the gold standard in clinical decision support is integrating generative AI. But in a world where AI models often hallucinate, how do you build something that doctors can actually trust?In this episode, Halle talks with Dr. Holly Urban, VP of Business Development and Strategy at Wolters Kluwer Health, about UpToDate Expert AI, a new tool trained exclusively on UpToDate's physician-authored content — not the open internet — and what it means for the future of medicine.We cover:

Most people spend over 30 hours a year dealing with customer service—on hold, repeating account numbers, and navigating endless phone trees. But what if AI could fix that without losing the human touch?Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra (now valued at $10B) and former VP at Google, joins us to explore how AI agents are reshaping how companies interact with customers and what that means for the most complex service industry in the world: healthcare.We cover:

This milestone 200th(!!!) episode of The Heart of Healthcare Podcast features none other than Dr. Tom X. Lee, the serial physician-founder behind Epocrates (acquired for $293M), One Medical (acquired by Amazon for $3.9B), and now Galileo, a tech-enabled medical group aiming to rewire care delivery from the ground up.We cover:

Happy Q4 Heart of Healthcare Listeners! We're back with your monthly Digital Health Download, where we discuss the biggest industry headlines of the month. We cover:

Cancer drugs cost more than ever, yet survival benefits are often modest—and in some cases, patients can't even access the care that already exists. After losing his father, Steve Jobs, to pancreatic cancer, Reed Jobs committed himself to making this the last generation that loses parents to the disease.Reed now leads Yosemite, a venture fund spun out of Emerson Collective in 2023, alongside Investor Matt Bettonville. Yosemite pairs life sciences and digital health investments with a grantmaking model to accelerate cancer research and ensure breakthroughs actually reach patients.We cover:

Some founders win support because of their product, others because of their story. In healthcare, where trust is everything, the ability to tell a compelling and authentic narrative can make or break a company.On this episode, Halle talks with longtime friend and colleague Christina Farr—reporter turned investor and now author of The Storyteller's Advantage. Chrissy has spent thousands of hours hearing startup pitches, advising founders, and studying what makes certain stories resonate while others fall flat. She shares insights from her years as a journalist and investor, and lessons from her new book on how narrative power shapes companies and industries.We cover:

Thanks to improved accuracy and new form factors, wearables have evolved from novelty step counters to tools that can predict illness, nudge healthier behaviors, and even influence alcohol consumption. But can they really bridge the gap between consumer wellness and enterprise healthcare?In this episode, ŌURA CEO Tom Hale discusses the lessons his team has learned from developing one of the most widely used health-tracking devices. We explore what draws people to wearables, what sustains their engagement, and how these tools may be shaping behavior and healthcare itself. We cover: