Mavericks in Healthcare: Chronicles of Innovation

The future of healthcare is not about AI making decisions for us. It is about technology helping us make better decisions for ourselves.

In this episode of Mavericks in Healthcare, Ken Ehlert, CEO and Co-founder of Lore, joins Ajay Mody and Asher Perzigian to explore how human-centered AI can help people navigate the everyday and life-changing decisions that shape their health.

The conversation examines where technology ends and human judgment begins. Ken shares how conversational AI can help people clarify priorities, weigh trade-offs and make more informed healthcare decisions without replacing human choice. From lifestyle decisions and GLP-1 medications to complex treatment options, the discussion highlights why healthcare innovation must keep the individual at the center.

They also explore privacy, affordability, healthcare risk markets and the potential for better decision-making to reduce the total cost of care. Looking ahead, Ken explains why the most valuable AI tools will not replace human judgment, empathy or connection. Instead, they will help people become the orchestrators of their own health and lives.

Tune in to hear why the future of healthcare may depend less on machines making decisions and more on empowering people to make better ones.

Healthcare is being rewritten in real time. As AI moves from promise to practice and digital innovation accelerates across the industry, organizations and entrepreneurs shaping the future are creating new possibilities for how care is delivered, experienced, and scaled.

In this episode of Mavericks in Healthcare, Julie Yoo, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), shares why she believes healthcare is at a once-in-a-generation inflection point. Julie leads early-stage healthcare investing at a16z, a venture capital firm backing entrepreneurs and companies transforming healthcare and technology. As Julie says, "It could not be a better time to start a health tech company."

Drawing from her experience as both a healthcare founder and investor, Julie explores how AI is creating new opportunities across care delivery, clinical workflows, operational efficiency, and patient engagement. She discusses the health tech trends attracting investment, the challenges founders must navigate, and why today's environment presents unprecedented opportunities to build and scale innovative healthcare solutions.

From venture capital and digital health to AI's growing role in healthcare transformation, this conversation offers a front-row seat to the ideas, technologies, and innovators shaping the future of the industry. Whether you're a healthcare leader, entrepreneur, investor, or innovator, this episode provides valuable insights into where healthcare is headed next.

What happens after a patient leaves the hospital may matter as much as the care they received inside it. In this conversation, Ajay Mody and Asher Perzigian sit down with Dimer Health CEO and Co-Founder Caroline Hodge to discuss why the post-discharge period remains one of healthcare's biggest challenges—and how Dimer Health is helping patients recover safely at home through a technology-enabled transitional care model.

Caroline shares the vision behind Dimer Health, the healthcare gaps the company is working to address, and the lessons learned while building a new approach to care transitions. At the heart of the discussion is Dimer Health's mission to guide patients through every health transition with seamless, proactive, personalized care—combining physician-led expertise with purpose-built technology to improve outcomes and deliver a higher standard of care. As a winner of Accenture's HealthTech Innovation Challenge, Dimer Health is gaining recognition for its innovative approach to extending care beyond traditional healthcare settings.

You'll also get an exclusive preview of Dimer Connect, a platform reimagining the discharge experience as a seamless, connected, and interactive patient journey—and offering a glimpse into what's next for personalized, proactive care.

For healthcare leaders focused on innovation, patient engagement, and the future of care delivery, this conversation provides a firsthand look at the next generation of patient support and care coordination.

The future of healthcare isn't just smarter agentic AI—it's better access. Hyro is transforming how patients connect with health systems through responsible AI that simplifies scheduling, streamlines support, and helps people get the care they need.

In this episode, Hyro CEO and Co-Founder Israel Krush shares how AI agents are helping some of the nation's largest health systems modernize the patient experience. Driven by the belief that many of healthcare's biggest challenges can be solved through responsible AI, Hyro has focused on improving what Israel describes as one of the most critical interactions in healthcare: the connection between patients and the health system. From automating appointment scheduling and call center operations to closing care gaps and improving engagement, Hyro is driving measurable results while keeping care human-centered. As Israel explains, "We want to transform healthcare. We want to disrupt healthcare. We don't want to own healthcare."

Israel also discusses what it takes to scale agentic AI in healthcare, why responsible guardrails matter, and how organizations can move from experimentation to real-world impact. Along the way, he shares lessons on leadership, innovation, digital transformation, and building technology that solves meaningful healthcare challenges.

Tune in to learn how AI agents are reshaping access to care and creating better experiences for patients, providers, and health systems alike.

What if we could cut hospitalizations nearly in half—before symptoms even show up?

Kelly Constable, CEO of CloudCath, is making that a reality with a breakthrough remote monitoring platform that detects infections early for dialysis patients—replacing subjective, manual checks with continuous, data-driven insight at home.

In this episode, Kelly shares how CloudCath is transforming chronic kidney disease (CKD) care by enabling earlier intervention, reducing hospitalizations, and helping patients stay out of the ER while preserving quality of life. She dives into the power of real-world data, the shift toward home-based and value-driven care, and why scalable, tech-enabled solutions are essential in the face of workforce shortages.

We also explore the business of healthcare innovation—from building the right board and network to commercializing medtech and scaling adoption in complex ecosystems.

Topics: remote patient monitoring, chronic kidney disease (CKD), home dialysis, early infection detection, digital health innovation, AI and data in healthcare, value-based care, medtech commercialization

If no one is paying attention, you don't have a message—you have noise. Scott Becker, Founder and Publisher of Becker's Healthcare and Partner at McGuireWoods, shares how that realization reshaped healthcare media and turned a small legal newsletter into one of the most trusted sources for healthcare leaders navigating constant change.

From cutting through information overload to building trust with executives, this conversation dives into what healthcare leaders actually read, why short form relevance beats volume, and how community, data, and relentless iteration drive impact. Along the way, Scott offers candid insights on access, affordability, workforce pressures, and the evolving role of technology and AI—making this a must listen for healthcare leaders and builders focused on clarity, credibility, and staying ahead of what's next.

What if healthcare scarcity and workforce shortages aren't a crisis to manage—they are an assumption to challenge? In this episode, we sit down with Munjal Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Hippocratic AI, to unpack how healthcare specialized AI is helping systems create infinite hours of care and ensure clinicians can work at the top of their licence—not replace them. Built from more than 180 million real-world patient interactions and rigorously validated for clinical accuracy, safety, empathy, and regulatory compliance, Hippocratic AI is setting a new bar for AI that can operate in real care environments. We dig into the "abundance mindset" reshaping how providers, payers, and life sciences organizations think about patient engagement—and why the ROI math is finally starting to make sense. Munjal also shares three major announcements: Polaris 5.0, their most advanced clinical voice AI model yet - outperforming every major frontier AI model on medical safety and tasks; AI Front Door, an omnichannel approach that replaces rigid call trees with human centered conversations; and Nurse Co-pilot, designed to give nurses back hours in their shifts by safely offloading routine bedside tasks like education and intake. From rethinking triage logic to imagining a world where your health system calls just to check in — this conversation will change how you think about what's possible in healthcare.

Headlines may shape how we talk about healthcare, but incentives shape how it actually works. In this episode of Mavericks in Healthcare, we're joined by Christina Farr for a candid conversation on what lies beneath the storylines dominating the industry.

Drawing on her experience at Reuters, CNBC, and Fast Company, and her current roles as CEO and editor-in-chief of Second Opinion Media and investor and co-founder of Scrub Capital, Christina explains why surface-level coverage often misses the mark. We unpack reimbursement models, healthcare business economics, AI's real impact, and why operational depth matters more than hype when evaluating innovation.

The discussion spans value-based care versus outcomes-based pricing, decentralized and cash-pay care models, employer healthcare pressures, and the urgent need for integration across siloed systems. Christina also shares what she looks for in founders, the responsibility of healthcare media, and what must change for the system to become more sustainable for patients, providers, and employers alike.

What if pediatric care were designed around families first — not systems, incentives, or billing complexity? In this episode, Chris Johnson, Founder & CEO of Bluebird Kids Health, joins Mavericks in Healthcare to unpack how value‑based care can transform pediatric outcomes while making care more affordable, accessible, and sustainable — even for the most complex populations. Chris shares why pediatrics has historically lagged behind adult care in value‑based models, what it truly takes to serve Medicaid populations at scale, and how Bluebird is rethinking everything from clinic design to care teams to better support children, families, and clinicians alike. Drawing on lessons from scaling prior value‑based care organizations, he breaks down what healthcare leaders often underestimate when building for equity, trust, and long‑term impact. The conversation also explores the role of technology and AI in simplifying care delivery — not adding burden — and how thoughtful, human‑centered design can improve experience while driving measurable outcomes and cost savings. This episode offers a practical, real‑world blueprint for health system leaders, payers, and innovators focused on improving pediatric care delivery without compromising quality, access, or clinician well‑being. If you're interested in the future of value‑based care, pediatric innovation, or building healthcare models that truly work for families, this is a must‑listen.

Healthcare is undergoing profound transformation, and few leaders have had a closer view of that evolution than Kelly Hancock, Executive Vice President, Chief Caregiver Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at Cleveland Clinic. With more than 30 years of experience—from bedside nursing to executive leadership—Kelly reflects on the moments that shaped her purpose and the mission-driven culture she champions today.

In this episode, Kelly unpacks the most critical issues impacting healthcare right now: workforce shortages, caregiver burnout, retention, resilience, and the shifting expectations of today's clinical workforce. She highlights innovative programs like peer support networks, holistic wellbeing initiatives, and apprenticeship pathways that are redefining how health systems attract, support, and grow talent.

Looking ahead, Kelly explores the role of emerging technologies—including AI, predictive analytics, and clinical command centers—in enhancing operations while preserving human-centered care. Her insights offer a clear, grounded vision for what the future of caregiving should look like—and how leaders can build stronger, more connected teams in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.