Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Justin Schrager, MD, Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Vital.io and Nick Sterling, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Information Officer at Vital.io. They discuss their paths into medicine, and how a Thanksgiving dinner and a frustrating EHR interface sparked the creation of Vital.io. They also discussed their journey from clinical decision support to patient-centered communication offers healthcare professionals a compelling look at how thoughtful design and AI can transform the way we engage with patients in acute care settings.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:02]Paths into healthcare and technology

[02:55] The birth of Vital.io

[05:07] From clinician tools to patient empowerment

[06:56] Solving the communication crisis

[14:02] Why EHR portals weren’t enough

[23:50] Designing for accessibility and empathy

[28:54] AI in action

[39:11] Justin and Nick’s favorite well-designed things

[42:37] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Marina Gerner, PhD, journalist, NYU Stern adjunct professor, and author. They discuss her groundbreaking book, The Vagina Business, which explores innovation in women's health, and the cultural and financial barriers that hinder progress. They also discuss gender bias in medical diagnosis, the rise of Femtech, the stigma surrounding female-focused products, and the challenges of bringing these innovations to market. Marina shares insights from her research, including examples of transformative technologies and the importance of destigmatizing conversations around female health.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[00:09] Marina’s background and her book: The Vagina Business

[01:29] Gender data gaps

[02:52] The emergence of Femtech

[04:00] Innovation and obstacles in birth care

[05:30] Title controversy and pushback

[13:02] Femtech vs. Scamtech

[14:09] The pink tax in healthcare and global innovations

[27:03] Marina’s favorite well-designed thing

[28:52] Outros

Check out Marina's book here and follow her on Linkedin.

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Mukul Mehra, MD, gastroenterologist and founder of IllumiCare. They discuss the intersection of clinical care and financial stewardship. Dr. Mehra shares his journey from practicing medicine to launching a company aimed at reducing low-value care through contextual nudging and clinical financial decision support. They also discuss perspectives on how cost transparency, provider incentives, and thoughtful design can improve patient outcomes and reduce unnecessary spending without compromising clinical autonomy.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:36] Choosing gastroenterology

[02:49] The start of IllumiCare

[04:29] Uncovering low-value care

[09:14] The therapeutic cascade

[11:13] Building cost awareness

[17:15] Clinical financial decision support

[29:27] Incentivizing low-value care reduction

[38:05] Mukul’s favorite well-designed thing

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Dr. Minal Shah, Medical Director of Virtual Care and System Medical Informaticist at CommonSpirit Health. Craig and Minal discuss Minal’s professional journey and her experiences in clinical informatics, virtual care, and AI strategy. They also discuss smarter alert design and real-time location tracking to rethinking hospital workflows and the promise of AI copilots in clinical care. In addition, they explore how a hospital built around clinician pain points led to smarter workflows, why real-time location services (RTLS) trump flashier tech, and how an evolved Epic Monitor is winning over even the most skeptical patients.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[00:15] Minal’s professional journey

[01:08] Designing smarter alerts

[05:35] Digital interruptions and use of “thank you”

[12:22] De-implementation

[21:08] Building Saint Francis Interquest Hospital

[25:29] Reimagining the Epic monitor

[28:20] AI beyond the scribe

[32:03] Minal's favorite well-designed thing

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Brandy Parker, Senior Design Director at IDEO. We discuss Brandy’s journey from social science to design innovation, and how early-stage, even poor prototypes can drive smarter design and stronger team alignment. Brandy also takes us inside the design of Teal Health, an at-home cervical cancer screening solution aimed at increasing access and comfort for underserved communities. We unpack the importance of unboxing experiences in healthcare, and how design can remove invisible barriers that build trust for patients and providers

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[04:15] Teal Health

[09:41] Why unboxing matters in healthcare design

[13:16] Rethinking patient “adherence" through accessibility

[18:07] History and hidden barriers to health research

[20:33] The value of bad prototypes

[25:21] Testing that helps teams learn

[26:30] The power of workarounds

[31:54] Brandy's favorite well-designed thing

[34:03] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Dr. Christian Pulcini, pediatric emergency medicine attending at the University of Vermont Medical Center. We discuss Dr. Pulcini’s journey into medicine, his early interest in pediatrics, and how that evolved into a focused commitment to caring for children with complex medical needs. We also discuss the role of human-centered design in healthcare innovation, and highlight its ability to generate more agile, practical solutions compared to traditional research methodologies.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:16] Teacher to ER Doctor

[05:05] Implementation science and human centered design

[08:28] Design in action

[13:52] Reimagining emergency care

[22:35] The power of a name

[24:57] Designing with end users

[28:13] Delivering the ICAP in real life

[38:29] Christian's favorite well-designed thing

[40:13] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

To learn more, check out this article

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Randolph Bias, founder and CUO at UXonSpec. We discuss his insights on the evolution of the field, the rise of design thinking, and why intuition alone falls short. We also discuss the critical role of user research and data in shaping effective design, and why investing in usability is essential for long-term success.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[00:17] Academic and professional background

[04:00] The evolution of human factors

[07:20] Data versus intuition

[09:15] Selling usability

[15:20] Watching versus asking

[18:30] UX as a profession

[21:22] The cost of poor UX in healthcare

[29:14] Randolph’s favorite well-designed thing

[30:42] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Karen Joswick, President and CEO at Benevolence Health. They discuss CMS’s TEAM program, and how it differs from previous value-based care models. They also discuss leveraging digital tools and AI for patient support, and how digital apps, portals, and AI-powered decision support can drive better outcomes

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[00:46] What is TEAM

[06:06] The importance of consistent care pathways

[08:41] Data, surgeons, and the patient voice

[22:26] Pre-surgical prep

[23:25] Tech tools for follow-up and recovery

[26:36] Rethinking clinical decision support with AI

[29:25] Turning data into actionable insights

[32:32] Karen’s favorite well-designed thing

[33:52] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Kai Romero, MD, head of clinical success at Evidently. They discuss her journey from emergency medicine to hospice care, and how curiosity can fuel bold career pivots. They also discuss the importance of rethinking innovation in hospice and health technology, emphasizing that streamlining workflows and prioritizing human-centered design often delivers greater impact than adopting complex technological solutions.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:14] Rethinking end-of-life care

[04:10] Using curiosity to drive career choices

[10:26] Innovation in hospice

[22:16] Blood bank story

[24:05] Communication gaps in the professional setting

[25:03] About Evidently

[29:08] The human aspect of medical records

[35:56] Kai’s favorite well-designed thing

[37:20] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Shreya Shah, MD, healthcare informatics leader at Stanford Medicine. They discuss her path into clinical informatics, and the role of AI in reducing clinician burnout. They also discuss the need to balance AI integration with clinical judgment, emphasizing that AI should serve as a support tool to enhance rather than replace clinical reasoning and decision-making.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[00:26] Background and career path

[01:00] Path into clinical informatics

[04:06] Importance of workflow in health IT

[05:03] Implementation science

[06:12] Intro to Ambient AI in clinical settings

[10:31] Patient and doctor comfort with technology

[19:15] Balancing AI

[22:32] Rapid evolution of AI tools

[38:53] Shreya’s favorite well-designed thing

[40:32] Outros

For a full transcript, click here