As artificial intelligence continues to reshape healthcare, rural providers face a tough reality: limited infrastructure, staffing shortages, tight budgets, and often, a lack of in-house tech expertise. These constraints make it harder to adopt cutting-edge tools, and many worry rural systems will be left behind in the AI boom.

But some industry leaders see it differently.

In this episode of "Podnosis," we explore how AI could actually become a great equalizer for rural healthcare. Fierce Healthcare's Heather Landi speaks with Amar Kendale, president and co-founder of Homeward Health, who shares why rural systems might be uniquely positioned to leapfrog outdated technology altogether and how AI can help address long-standing gaps in access and care delivery.

Then, she sits down with Punit Soni, CEO of Suki, to talk about the practical side of AI adoption in small and under-resourced settings. From infrastructure workarounds to flexible pricing models, Soni explains how rural clinics and hospitals are making AI work and what it will take to scale those efforts.

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• ‘I wish we could be more optimistic’: A look at AI implementation at an Arizona FQHC
• Provider organizations face major misalignment in AI investment and business strategy: Accenture
• Suki adds 12 partners as rural hospitals increasingly adopt AI
• Rural areas rapidly losing independent docs, practices: PAI report

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If you work in healthcare, chances are you have limited visibility into your patients. A primary care provider might not know when a patient visits the hospital, and vice versa. But what if all relevant data could be surfaced and shared in real time with everyone involved in a patient's care?

Watershed Health is working to make that possible. The platform enables real-time data sharing by connecting electronic health records, paper-based documentation and nontraditional systems. The goal: to help organizations better coordinate care across the continuum.

In this episode, Senior Writer Anastassia Gliadkovskaya spotlights a new large-scale data-sharing initiative Watershed launched in Austin, Texas. She speaks with Watershed CEO Effie Carlson and Jeff Richardson, CEO of Integral Care, a behavioral health provider partnering with Watershed, about what the collaboration means for care coordination.

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• Watershed Health rolls out large-scale data sharing platform across Austin, Texas region
• Protecting sensitive patient data from interstate exchange
• Holon Solutions, Nevada HIE team up to help providers access data at the point of care
• Indigenous tribe becomes first in Michigan to tap state HIE for data sharing between tribal, non-tribal providers

This episode is sponsored by Optum Rx. 

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Employers are doubling down on efforts to improve employee wellbeing, but the approach is becoming more nuanced. Mental health, physical health and financial wellness remain key priorities, but integration and targeted engagement are taking center stage. 

In this episode of "Podnosis," Fierce Healthcare Senior Writer Paige Minemyer speaks with Jim Winkler, chief strategy officer at the Business Group on Health, about the findings from the organization’s survey on employer wellbeing strategies and how companies are adapting their programs for greater impact.

To learn more about this topic: 

• Employers set to put more pressure on well-being vendors to improve outcomes, survey finds
• 2025 outlook: Employers face yet another year of healthcare cost increases
• Employers are bracing for healthcare costs to spike in 2025. Here's why
• Employers' enthusiasm for virtual care is on the decline: Business Group

This episode is sponsored by Optum Rx. 

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In a recent sponsored episode of Podnosis, CorroHealth Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jerilyn Morrissey joined host Chris Hayden to discuss the growing impact of payer denials on hospitals and the critical role of clinical documentation. Morrissey said documentation affects everything from patient safety to revenue and is scrutinized at every stage of the care process. Despite advancements in AI and workflow software, she said providers still struggle with the volume and complexity of documentation requirements, often forced to choose between speed and quality.

CorroHealth aims to ease that burden by combining advanced technology with clinical insight to support health systems’ efforts in utilization management, clinical documentation improvement and denial prevention. Morrissey emphasized the need for targeted, data-informed interventions over one-size-fits-all approaches. She said hospitals should focus on the highest-impact areas and coordinate efforts across departments to see meaningful results. To hear the full conversation, listen to the latest episode of Podnosis.

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At-home care is gaining momentum as patients seek more convenient options and hospitals face mounting capacity challenges. 

This week on "Podnosis," Krista Drobac, founder of the Alliance for Connected Care, joins us to outline the policy changes her organization is advocating for in Washington. She discusses efforts to boost reimbursement for remote monitoring, advance SNF-at-home programs, generate stronger evidence for emerging care models and secure an extension of hospital-at-home policies.

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• Senators introduce RPM Access Act to increase rural payment rate for remote monitoring
• Senate sends CR extending telehealth, hospital priorities to Trump's desk
• Winners and losers in healthcare after averted shutdown
• Bipartisan Policy Center urges Congress to extend Medicare hospital at home, telehealth policies by end of year

This episode is sponsored by Optum Rx. 

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When providers work together, patients are more likely to get their needs met at the right place and the right time. This leads to better health outcomes and lower healthcare costs. 

In outpatient behavioral health, a certain subset of patients need intensive or specialized care. But referrals to higher levels of care are often inefficient and risk patients dropping out of treatment altogether.

Grow Therapy, a hybrid mental health provider, has launched a coordinated care program to help oversee such referrals. Senior Writer Anastassia Gliadkovskaya chats with Cynthia Grant, PhD, LCSW, head of clinical excellence at Grow, about how the program works and what Grow hopes to get out of it.

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• Mental health tech startup Grow Therapy snags $88M, builds out measurement-based care tech
• Thriveworks launches free provider booking platform to streamline mental health referrals
• HCA Healthcare rolls out in-EHR referrals to Talkiatry's telepsychiatrists

This episode is sponsored by Optum Rx. 

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AI is racing into healthcare, but most organizations are still stuck at the starting line. 

A new report from Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain & Company and Amazon Web Services offers a view of AI in healthcare, drawing on a survey of more than 400 leaders across payers, providers and pharma. The findings reveal a stark contrast: more than 80% of respondents believe AI will transform clinical decision-making in the coming years, yet only 30% of pilots make it to production.

This week on "Podnosis," Fierce Healthcare Executive Editor Heather Landi talks with Sofia Guerra, vice president at Bessemer, to explore why adoption is falling short and what it will take to scale.

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• The talent behind health tech unicorns: A look at the builders and how AI will shape the next generation
• ATA Nexus: The next wave of digital health and AI investment amid a cloudy economic outlook
• The rise of AI scribes: What’s the real-world impact?
• Fierce Healthcare Fundraising Tracker—Kaiser backs AI supply chain startup; Persivia nabs $107M
• 2025 outlook: What's next for AI scribes and virtual care
• The biggest opportunities for healthcare AI and the hurdles that stand in the way: Bessemer report
• Early evaluation of AI scribes finds decreased burnout but limited financial ROI

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The healthcare industry is preparing for significant regulatory change in the latter half of 2025, and much of the conversation on the first quarter earnings calls was about setting the tone for those complications. Tariffs, Medicaid cuts and the likely end of the enhanced ACA subsidies all have major implications for payers and providers, and industry behemoth UnitedHealth Group is headlining those trends with an unusual miss and the departure of its CEO, Andrew Witty.

This week on "Podnosis," Associate Editor Dave Muoio and Senior Writer Paige Minemyer sit down to take a look back at the first quarter earnings season and forecast what’s ahead for these industries. 

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• Elevated medical costs continued to drag insurers in Q1 2025. Here's a look at how the major payers fared
• UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down, company suspends 2025 outlook
• Flu volumes, payer battles, policy uncertainty take center stage during CHS' Q1 earnings
• UnitedHealth Group shares plunge, CEO calls out 'unusual and unacceptable' Q1 results
• HCA Healthcare reaffirms 2025 guidance, beats on Q1 earnings
• Elevance Health execs seek to ease Wall Street's concerns about elevated MA costs
• Molina Healthcare sees opportunities for more acquisitions
• Cigna's Evernorth unveils 2 new programs aimed at GLP-1s
• Backstopped by Q1 overperformance, Tenet Healthcare will stay aggressive amid policy uncertainties
• Centene CEO London weighs in on state of Medicaid cuts, enhanced ACA subsidies on the Hill
• Universal Health Services waves off Q1 behavioral volume stumble, Medicaid supplemental payment uncertainty
• Why Humana is focusing on 'diversification' as it shores up MA business
• Aetna to exit the ACA exchanges in 2026
• Alignment Healthcare grows Q1 revenue to $927M, hires former MultiPlan CFO
• Clover Heath raises guidance, revenue jumps 33% with net loss trimmed to $1M
• Ardent Health on the lookout for M&A, JV deals following strong Q1 performance
• Oscar Health hits $275M profit, decries proposed shortened enrollment window

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AI scribes have seen rapid growth in the healthcare market over the past year, but reliable data on their actual performance is still hard to come by. Much of the available information comes from vendor claims, leaving a gap in independent, real-world assessments.

In this episode of "Podnosis," Fierce Healthcare's Emma Beavins sits down with Caroline Pearson, executive director of the Peterson Health Technology Institute, which recently released one of the first reports examining how AI scribes impact provider burnout, after-hours work, and their return on investment. 

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• Early evaluation of AI scribes finds decreased burnout but limited financial ROI
• 2025 outlook: What's next for AI scribes and virtual care
• Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Delivery Systems: Early Applications and Impacts

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Human-centered design is crucial in healthcare—but it’s often invisible. Rooted in systems thinking, it considers the broader ecosystems that shape patient needs.

Design can make or break a patient’s experience. Yet many organizations don’t fully understand what this approach involves or how to implement it effectively.

CannonDesign works across sectors, including healthcare, to help organizations design smarter. Senior Writer Anastassia Gliadkovskaya speaks with Abbie Clary, principal and co-director of CannonDesign’s global health practice, about the firm’s design philosophy, its importance to health equity and how healthcare organizations’ approach to design is evolving.

To learn more about the topics in this episode: 

• Designing with neurodiversity in mind
• Industry Voices—Why redesigning healthcare requires a human-centered approach
• Inside the plans to build a health innovation hub in New Jersey’s SciTech city

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