Driving Transformational Change in Healthcare with Brian Dowd

Passionate Pioneers with Mike Biselli, a nationally ranked healthcare and innovation podcast, and a member of the Health Podcast Network, highlights the innovators, the game changers, and the pioneers who are deeply passionate and relentless in valiantly solving the problems our healthcare industry is facing.

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This episode’s Community Champion Sponsor is Ossur. To learn more about their ‘Responsible for Tomorrow’ Sustainability Campaign, and how you can get involved: CLICK HERE --- Episode Overview:  What if we could transform healthcare for underserved communities by empowering independent practices to deliver value-based care? Our next guest, Dr. Michael Poku, is doing just that as Chief Clinical Officer at Equality Health. With extensive experience in clinical leadership, medical informatics, and value-based care models, Dr. Poku is spearheading a transformative approach that equips independent practices with technology, care coordination, and hands-on support to optimize whole-person care for diverse populations, especially those on Medicaid. Join us as Dr. Poku shares his journey and Equality Health's mission to eradicate healthcare disparities via their pioneering model that is driving better outcomes, reducing costs, and delivering value-based care for diverse communities. Let’s go! Episode Highlights:Equality Health's mission to eradicate healthcare disparities by empowering independent practices to deliver value-based care for underserved, diverse communities, especially those on Medicaid.Dr. Poku's background spanning clinical leadership, medical informatics, and expertise in value-based care models positions him uniquely to drive Equality Health's innovative approach.Equality Health provides independent practices with technology, care coordination tools, and hands-on support to optimize performance and outcomes in value-based care.The transformative model meets practices where they are, helping under-resourced clinics adopt value-based care to improve patient health while increasing financial sustainability.Dr. Poku's vision for leveraging AI, predictive analytics and a "do good, do well" mentality to bring greater health equity through data-driven, whole-person care.
About our Guest:  Dr. Michael Poku is an accomplished healthcare executive with extensive experience in clinical leadership, medical informatics, and value-based care. Prior to serving as the Chief Clinical Officer for Equality Health, he was Senior Medical Director at Oak Street Health, overseeing multiple clinical teams and driving innovative models of value-based care delivery, resulting in improved patient outcomes and increased operational efficiency. His expertise lies in enterprise-wide strategy, clinical delivery innovation, medical cost management, and the development of technology-enabled and data-informed clinical tools and processes. Dr. Poku was also previously Chief Medical Officer at NextHealth Technologies through the company’s acquisition by Softheon Technologies, where he formulated and executed clinical and product strategies for an AI-powered healthcare analytics platform. During his tenure, he successfully led client success, sales, and ongoing product development, optimizing informatics processes to enable health plan customers to achieve maximum ROI from their analytics investments. Dr. Poku also served as Senior Medical Director at Signify Health, where he developed and led clinical strategies and execution for complex care management and at-home wellness programs. Dr. Poku continues to practice, holding academic faculty positions at various health systems. Throughout his career, Dr. Poku has authored numerous publications on topics such as care coordination, healthcare analytics, patient relationship management, and several topics at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Dr. Poku received his MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He trained at Johns...

Delivering Value-Based Care for Diverse Communities with Dr. Michael Poku

This episode’s Community Champion Sponsor is Ossur. To learn more about their ‘Responsible for Tomorrow’ Sustainability Campaign, and how you can get involved: CLICK HERE --- Episode Overview:  What if philanthropy and investment could work hand-in-hand to revolutionize cancer care? Our next guest, Alice Pomponio, is pioneering a groundbreaking model to do just that. As the Managing Director of BrightEdge - the American Cancer Society's impact investment arm - Alice is harnessing the power of venture capital to fuel mission-driven healthcare startups.  By investing in innovative technologies across the cancer care continuum, BrightEdge aims to not only generate financial returns, but also drive tangible improvements in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. Join us as Alice shares her personal journey that led her to this role, and explains how BrightEdge is reshaping the landscape of cancer philanthropy. Discover how this unique model is unlocking capital, amplifying impact, and bringing more equitable solutions to patients in need. Let’s go!  Episode Highlights:Alice shares her personal story of how tragedy transformed into a strategy to drive impact in the cancer spaceShe explains how BrightEdge, the American Cancer Society's impact investment arm, is pioneering a unique model to generate financial returns and drive mission-driven innovationAlice discusses how BrightEdge invests across the entire cancer care continuum - from prevention to diagnosis to treatment to survivorshipShe highlights how BrightEdge leverages the American Cancer Society's deep expertise and vast network to support and accelerate its portfolio companiesAlice outlines the future vision for BrightEdge, including plans to further infuse impact considerations into investment decisions and unlock new sources of capital
About our Guest:  Alice brings an extensive experience in life sciences and business, coupled with her passion for the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission. She is an expert in rare disease and precision oncology, and focuses on disruptive technology adoption and companion diagnostic/therapeutic co-development strategies with an eye toward value-based care. Most recently, she was an advisor at Red Sky Partners LLC and the founder and managing director of Accendo. At Red Sky Partners, Alice advised high-growth life sciences and health tech companies on go-to-market and product value strategies. In 2018, she founded Accendo to accelerate entrepreneurial consumer-facing approaches to patient access and affordability of quality care. She held prior strategy and operational leadership roles at Radius Health, AstraZeneca, and Sanofi Genzyme, where she launched multiple US and global specialty products and championed orphan drug and health equity initiatives across the globe. Her public sector experience spans innovation, trade, and healthcare policy through roles in the UK Government and US Office of Management and Budget. Alice holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from MIT. She serves on the Boards of Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, MassEcon, and PhagePro Inc. Additionally, she is a faculty member at Harvard-MIT HST Sloan Healthcare Ventures, a role she will retain during her tenure with the American Cancer Society. In addition to her industry experience, Alice is a longtime American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer leader. 
 Links Supporting This Episode:BrigtEdge Website: <a href="https://www.acsbrightedge.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Reinventing Cancer Care Philanthropy Through Impact Investing

This episode’s Community Champion Sponsor is Ossur. To learn more about their ‘Responsible for Tomorrow’ Sustainability Campaign, and how you can get involved: CLICK HERE --- Episode Overview:  How can technology reinvent the standard of prenatal and postpartum care? According to our next guest, Anish Sebastian, the answer lies in delivering a new virtual care model for expectant mothers. As the co-founder and CEO of Babyscripts, Anish is on a mission to eliminate maternal mortality and improve access to care through innovative digital solutions. Under his leadership, Babyscripts has built a clinically validated platform that allows providers to manage up to 90% of pregnancies virtually, empowering earlier detection of risks and the automation of elements of care.  While together, Anish shares his insights on leveraging remote patient monitoring, data-driven experiences, and strategic partnerships to transform the maternal healthcare landscape.  Discover how Babyscripts is redefining the patient-provider journey and championing a new era of proactive, personalized prenatal and postpartum care. Let’s go! Episode Highlights:Anish's personal experience with high-risk twin pregnancies inspired his mission to improve maternal health outcomesBabyscripts is delivering a new virtual care model for prenatal and postpartum care, leveraging remote monitoring and digital toolsUnder Anish's leadership, Babyscripts has partnered with over 75 health systems managing 250,000+ pregnancies annuallyBabyscripts' research efforts have resulted in multiple first-of-their-kind publications validating the benefits of their platformAnish's vision is to transform maternal care and ensure expectant mothers have access to the support and resources they need
About our Guest:  Anish Sebastian is the co-founder and CEO of Babyscripts, an innovative maternal healthcare company focused on reinventing the standard of prenatal and postpartum care through the delivery of digital education and remote patient monitoring experiences. In his time as CEO, Anish has led product development and has orchestrated partnerships with more than 75 health systems around the country that manage over 250K pregnancies annually, as well as partnerships with multiple national health plans and 30+ managed care organizations. Anish has led several evidence-based research endeavors that have resulted in multiple first-in-kind publications and white papers, further quantifying and validating the benefits of the Babyscripts product, including a pilot with GW-MFA for Babyscripts maternal mental health product, which is in beta-testing at the site and will be the subject of a focused research study. He is a recognized thought leader in the field of maternal healthcare and technology and a frequent speaker on the future of healthcare. 
 Links Supporting This Episode:Babyscripts Website: CLICK HEREAnish Sebastian LinkedIn page: CLICK HEREAnish Sebastian Twitter page: CLICK HERE Mike Biselli LinkedIn page: CLICK HEREMike Biselli Twitter page: CLICK HEREVisit our website: <a href="https://www.passionatepioneers.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"

Empowering Expectant Mothers Through Virtual Care with Anish Sebastian

This episode’s Community Champion Sponsor is Ossur. To learn more about their ‘Responsible for Tomorrow’ Sustainability Campaign, and how you can get involved: CLICK HERE --- Episode Overview:  How can artificial intelligence and predictive analytics transform the healthcare industry? According to our next guest, Rajeev Ronanki, it lies in simplifying the business of care. As the CEO of Lyric, Raj's leadership is marked by a commitment to reimagine healthcare through the lens of AI by reducing complexity and maximizing efficiency. With over 25 years of experience in innovation across healthcare and technology, Raj shares his valuable insights on leveraging machine learning, predictive modeling, and responsible AI to empower health plan payers with increased accuracy and cost savings Join us to learn how Raj and the Lyric team are driving innovation, harnessing the power of AI to simplify transactions, enhance collaboration between payers and providers, and ultimately deliver personalized, proactive care. Let's go! Episode Highlights:Leveraging AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics to simplify the business of healthcareDriving innovation to increase payment accuracy and transactional efficiency for health plansEnhancing collaboration between payers and providers through transparent data sharingEnabling personalized, proactive care by predicting potential health trajectoriesAdvocating for responsible and human-centric approaches to deploying AI in healthcare

 About our Guest:  Rajeev Ronanki has over 25 years of experience in innovation-driven industry and social change across healthcare and technology. As the CEO of Lyric, his leadership is marked by a commitment to reimagine healthcare, through the lens of artificial intelligence, to reduce complexity and help simplify the business of care. Previously, Raj spearheaded the transformation of Elevance Health into a digital health platform as President of Carelon Digital Platforms. Prior to that, he established and led Deloitte’s life sciences and healthcare advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and innovation practices.  A best-selling author and an authority on AI in healthcare, Raj is a coveted speaker, recently headlining the inaugural TED AI conference. He champions responsible AI, advocating for human-centric approaches, fairness, and bias reduction in technology. His career is a testament to his visionary leadership, constantly pushing the boundaries of healthcare technology. 
 Links Supporting This Episode:Lyric Website: CLICK HERERajeev Ronanki LinkedIn page: CLICK HERERajeev Ronanki Twitter page: CLICK HERE Mike Biselli LinkedIn page: CLICK HEREMike Biselli Twitter page: CLICK HEREVisit our website: CLICK HERESubscribe to newsletter: CLICK HEREGuest nomination form: <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqk_H_a79gCRsBLynkGp7JbdtFRWynTvPVV9ntOdEpExjQIQ/viewform" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Streamlining Healthcare Transactions through AI-Powered Insights with Rajeev Ronanki

This episode’s Community Champion Sponsor is Ossur. To learn more about their ‘Responsible for Tomorrow’ Sustainability Campaign, and how you can get involved: CLICK HERE — Episode Overview:  How can virtual care and innovative technology transform healthcare delivery? According to our next guest, Dr. Sarah Pletcher, it requires reimagining care models by leveraging cutting-edge solutions.  As System Vice President and Executive Medical Director for Strategic Innovation at Houston Methodist, Dr. Pletcher leads the nationally renowned health system in developing and accelerating pioneering care strategies for the next decade. An accomplished surgeon and telehealth trailblazer, Dr. Pletcher shares her valuable insights on virtual nursing programs reducing burnout, wearables enhancing patient monitoring, expanding hospital-at-home offerings, implementing ambient AI for safety, and rolling out system-wide virtual rounding capabilities.  Join us to learn how Dr. Pletcher is driving innovation at Houston Methodist, enhancing experiences and outcomes through tech-enabled, forward-thinking care delivery. Let's go! Episode Highlights:Pioneering virtual nursing programs that reduce burnout and retain staffLeveraging wearable sensors and remote monitoring to enhance patient careExpanding "hospital at home" and virtual care offerings to improve accessImplementing ambient AI and computer vision for safety and efficiencyRolling out system-wide virtual rounding capabilities in every patient room
   About our Guest: Dr. Sarah N. Pletcher is the System Vice President and Executive Medical Director for Strategic Innovation at Houston Methodist. In this role, she leads the health system on strategy, development, acceleration and execution of new care models and innovations that will move the health system into its next decade.  Prior to joining Houston Methodist, Dr. Pletcher was the founder of the Centers for Connected Care & Telehealth at Dartmouth- Hitchcock, where she led the health system in the selection and implementation of new strategies utilizing telehealth technology platforms, and developed new clinical products and telemedicine programs across multiple specialties, and in multiple settings. This work includes a national scale telemedicine program which includes more than 60 specialties and six 24/7 hospital service lines, covering 100 hospitals across 10 states, and providing care through 20,000 patient encounters every month.  As a consultant, Dr. Pletcher has advised health systems, policymakers, and investors about disruptive technologies and new business models that can provide value in serving populations. With over 25 years of healthcare innovation experience, she is frequently sought as a thought leader and invited speaker in areas of telemedicine, mhealth, innovation, clinical quality improvement, provider education and rural program development; and has been the principal investigator on over 15 million dollars of grant and foundational funding to advance these initiatives. Links Supporting This Episode:Houston Methodist website: CLICK HEREDr. Sarah Pletcher LinkedIn page: CLICK HEREHouston Methodist Twitter page: CLICK HEREMike Biselli LinkedIn page: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebiselli" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Driving Transformational Change in Healthcare with Brian Dowd

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