Family caregivers are the unsung heroes holding America’s healthcare system together.

In this episode, Dr. Barry Jacobs, a clinical psychologist, family therapist, and author of The AARP Caregiver Answer Book, discusses the emotional, financial, and logistical realities faced by family caregivers, who often serve as the silent backbone of elder care in the U.S. 

Dr. Jacobs shares his deeply personal journey, from losing his father at 15 to years of caring for aging parents and in-laws, revealing how these experiences shaped his lifelong mission to support caregivers. He delves into the various roles caregivers play, from medical advocates and financial organizers to emotional anchors, and how unprepared most are for the demanding marathon of caregiving. 

Dr. Jacobs and host Christopher Kunney delve into the internal family conflicts that caregiving can trigger, the importance of teamwork, and the common mistake of denial when facing aging and illness. He also examines government and community support systems, new Medicaid models that compensate family caregivers, and the emergence of digital caregiving technologies that integrate human connection with data-driven support. 

Finally, he closes with wisdom on adaptability, self-care, and learning as the keys to surviving and thriving as a caregiver.

Tune in and learn how to strengthen families, embrace technology, and prepare for the emotional journey of caregiving!

Resources

• Connect with Dr. Barry Jacobs on LinkedIn here.

• Follow Health Management Associates on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.

• Buy Barry’s book The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers here.

• Get The AARP Caregiver Answer Book by Barry on Amazon here, or check it out on the AARP website.

• Contact Barry here.

• Learn more about WellLink on LinkedIn and explore their website.
  

What if technology could be the key to healing trauma instead of deepening it?

In this episode of Straight Out of Health IT, Dr. Brook Bello, a champion against human trafficking, a national policy advocate, a technology thought leader, and founder of the More too Life Foundation, and the visionary behind VR Eval Incorporated and the Coming Home Platform, shares how she’s redefining trauma recovery through innovation. As the visionary behind VR Eval Incorporated and the Coming Home Platform, Dr. Bello is building an AI-driven, trauma-informed ecosystem that connects survivors, veterans, and justice-involved individuals to care, community, and hope. Her mission is clear: ensure that technology liberates, not enslaves.

Through her powerful personal story of survival and resilience, Dr. Bello reveals how lived experience inspired her to develop tools for “scalable compassion,” using digital case management, gamified therapy, and AI to expand access to mental health and social services, especially in underserved regions. She discusses how her platform helps providers and survivors alike, bridging the growing gap between those who need care and the shrinking number of professionals available to give it.

Dr. Bello also introduces the concept of prescription gaming, a new frontier in “tech for good,” where digital experiences are intentionally designed to calm, heal, and restore. With AI-enhanced learning, job readiness features, and therapeutic pathways, her vision reimagines how millions can find connection and recovery through technology.

Tune in to hear how Dr. Brook Bello is using innovation to transform trauma into healing and technology into a force for liberation!

Resources

• Connect with Dr. Brook Bello on LinkedIn here and visit her website here.

• Learn more about the More Too Life Foundation, soon to be More To Living, on LinkedIn and their website here!

• Learn more about the VR Eval Coming Home platform on LinkedIn here and explore their website here!

• Get a copy of Dr. Brook Bello’s books, Shame Undone here, and the Fine Heart Table Book here!

Disciplined, purpose-driven innovation, anchored in governance, data, and the human experience, beats shiny-object hype.

In this mega-episode, Lisa Fry, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at SCP Health, discusses “purposeful innovation” that reduces clinician burden and elevates patient experience: ED-volume prediction to align coverage, early pilots of ambient scribing, and patient-preferred models like hospital-at-home. She explains the guardrails, an enterprise architecture review board, commitments to core platforms, and stage-gated pilots with predefined success metrics, to avoid the “tyranny of the urgent” and scale only what works. 

Nancye Feistritzer, DNP, RN—VP, Center for Care Delivery & Innovation at Emory Healthcare, talks about how bold initiatives, including the Apple hospital work and implementing Epic on Apple devices, succeed only when they explicitly align with an organization's strategy, mission, and values. 

Nick Yaitsky, Board Member for TAG Digital Health, urges outcome-first AI roadmaps: accept that healthcare data is imperfect, mitigate bias by fine-tuning models to local populations and even individual patients, and build trust in the same way we came to trust GPS, through consistent, measurable results and governance. 

Olga Ryzhikova, Founding Partner at Kepler Team, tackles adoption by starting integration where clinicians work (SMART on FHIR/SSO), designing modern user experiences, and favoring ambient, low-click workflows so tools remain in use. 

Ron Strachan, Global Healthcare CIO Advisor, addresses rural access, noting that resilient, low-bandwidth virtual care and platform economies can “meet patients where they are.” His own brain-tumor journey underscores how imaging precision and reliable infrastructure can change outcomes. 

Finally, Wes Whitaker, AVP of Growth Strategy & Data Analytics, shows population health at scale: unifying EHR, eligibility, claims, and ADT into a modern cloud/Databricks stack, then applying predictive models to anticipate ER visits, target outreach, drive attribution, and prove ROI, while tightening security with role-based access. 

Together, their message is clear: govern hard, integrate early, pilot fast, measure relentlessly, and scale empathetically. 

Tune in and learn how to innovate with rigor, scale with empathy, and deliver measurable value!

Resources

• Connect with Lisa Fry on LinkedIn here.
• Follow SCP Health on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.
• Follow and connect with Nancye Feistritzer on LinkedIn.
• Learn more about Emory Healthcare on LinkedIn and their website.
• Connect with and follow Nick Yaitsky on LinkedIn.
• Discover more about the TAG Digital Health Society on LinkedIn and explore their website.
• Follow and connect with Olga Ryzhikova on LinkedIn.
• Learn more about the Kepler Team on their LinkedIn and explore their website.
• Connect with Ron Strachan on LinkedIn here.
• Explore Zoom’s website and learn more about them on their LinkedIn.
• Follow and connect with Wes Whitaker on LinkedIn.
• Discover more about Premise Health on their LinkedIn and visit their website.

From reshaping healthcare through innovation and AI to navigating complex mergers, regulations, and public health challenges, this special compilation brings together leading voices who are driving transformation in every corner of the healthcare ecosystem.

At the Southeastern Healthcare Innovation Summit, attorney Benjamin Wilson explored the critical intersection of healthcare, technology, and regulation. He emphasized that success in mergers and acquisitions hinges on early collaboration between legal, financial, and tech leaders. With rising scrutiny in AI, data privacy, and antitrust, Wilson encouraged organizations to proactively engage communities to ensure equity, transparency, and compliance—stressing that foresight and cooperation are essential to avoiding costly setbacks.

Daniel Para Mata, founder of Bamberg Health, highlighted the organization’s global mission to unite healthcare innovators across continents. Through international conferences and partnerships, Bamberg fosters cross-regional collaboration to tackle shared challenges—like regulation and access—while preparing to expand into regions like Chicago and the Middle East, creating a worldwide network of providers, policymakers, and tech leaders committed to better care.

Dr. Tobi Amosun, Deputy Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, offered a practical look at how states are responding to budget constraints and shifting public health priorities. Tennessee, for example, is stabilizing its efforts through targeted state funding, maternal and infant health initiatives, and community-driven programs that empower young people and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations.

Jeff Hatfield, CEO of Four Points Health, showcased agentic AI and intelligent automation tools designed to help rural hospitals survive and thrive. His patented tech predicts and prevents claim denials, offering smaller hospitals access to enterprise-grade efficiency via a scalable SaaS model—cutting costs and boosting operational strength without breaking the bank.

Finally, Leslie Kirk, CEO of Innsena, unpacked healthcare innovation through an investor’s lens. She emphasized the importance of adaptability, collaboration, and ecosystem awareness—reminding founders that resilience and strong relationships are vital to navigating uncertainty. True innovation, she believes, lives at the intersection of purpose and business.

Tune in to this powerful compilation of conversations, where leaders across law, innovation, AI, public health, and investment share how they’re rethinking healthcare for a smarter, more connected future.

Resources

• Connect with Benjamin Wilson on LinkedIn here.

• Follow Ropes & Gray on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.

• Connect with Daniel Para Mata on LinkedIn here.

• Follow Bamberg Health on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.

• Learn more about the Southeast Healthcare Innovation Summit here!

• Connect with Dr. Tobi Amosun on LinkedIn here.

• Follow the Tennessee Department of Health on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.

• Connect with Jeff Hatfield on LinkedIn here.

• Follow Four Points Health on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.

• Connect with Leslie Kirk on LinkedIn here.

• Follow Innsena on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.

AI is rapidly reshaping healthcare, but the future will depend on how it is implemented responsibly, equitably, and intelligently.

In this special crossover episode of Straight Outta Health IT and HIMSSCast, hosts Christopher Kunney, Mike Miliard, and Susan Morse sit down with two health innovation leaders, Dr. Ryan Sadeghian, Assistant Chief Medical Information Officer and practicing pediatrician at the University of Toledo, and Rachini Moosavi, Chief Analytics Officer at UNC Health. Together, they explore how AI, data, and governance are reshaping healthcare from the ground up. Their discussion seamlessly blends frontline experience with enterprise strategy, demonstrating how technology can drive both clinical efficiency and equitable innovation.

Dr. Sadeghian presents a physician’s perspective on how generative AI can alleviate workload through targeted applications. He describes a pediatric chatbot his team developed, trained with more than 420 logical pathways to provide safe, easy-to-understand guidance for parents while meeting HIPAA, ADA, and legal standards. His “small wins” approach, focusing on measurable ROI through milestones like denial reduction and workflow improvement, demonstrates how trust, data fluency, and leadership credibility form the foundation of successful AI adoption.

Rachini Moosavi dives deeper into data infrastructure and governance, explaining UNC Health’s collaborative approach to building its AI ecosystem. She outlines the journey from data governance to creating an AI & Automation Advisory Group that oversees bias, vendor accountability, and the ethical use of AI. Both guests stress that defining governance, ensuring equity, and maintaining human-centered care are essential as healthcare evolves toward cloud, data mesh, and interoperable systems that enable responsible AI-driven transformation.

Tune in and learn how to build an AI-powered healthcare future grounded in trust, governance, and equity!

Resources:

The hosts:

• Connect with Susan Morse on LinkedIn here.

• Follow Healthcare Finance News on LinkedIn and visit their website.

• Connect with and follow Mike Milliard here.

• Find out more about Healthcare IT News here.

• Visit the HIMSS website and connect with them on LinkedIn.

• Listen to HIMSSCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music!

• Watch Christopher Kunney’s recent TED Talk here!

The guests:

• Connect with and follow Ryan Sadeghian on LinkedIn and visit his website.

• Learn more about The University of Toledo Health on their LinkedIn and website.

• Follow and connect with Rachini Moosavi on LinkedIn.

• Discover more about UNC Health on LinkedIn and explore their website.

• Learn more about WellLink on their website and follow them on LinkedIn.

The race to harness AI in biopharma is on, with billions invested to unlock faster, smarter drug discovery and development.

In this episode of Straight Out of Health IT, Matthew Studney, SVP, Global R&D IT & Partnerships at Merck, shares how his team is strengthening foundational platforms, upgrading systems, and driving digital transformation across discovery, development, clinical research, and pharmacovigilance. He explains how Merck is reimagining the flow of data, ensuring access for scientists, and piloting machine learning and generative AI solutions to accelerate research and deliver treatments more effectively.

Matt highlights how deep learning models are shortening drug development cycles, how pharmacovigilance safeguards patient safety, and why ensuring representative clinical trial data is critical for global equity. He emphasizes that while innovation creates headlines, scaling is what creates true value, and success depends on building strong foundations that support researchers worldwide.

Matt also shares his insights on the future of AI in biopharma, busts myths about hype versus impact, points to challenges of change, and offers advice for early-career professionals: build depth, embrace AI, and be useful.

Tune in to hear how AI and data science are transforming the future of drug discovery at Merck!

The most common mistake healthtech founders make is building a great product without aligning it to market, regulatory, and reimbursement realities.

In this episode, Sally Ann Frank, Global Health and Life Sciences Lead for Microsoft Startups, discusses her journey from computer science to healthcare innovation and how she helps early-stage companies thrive in the complex healthtech landscape. She reflects on milestones like IoT-driven remote monitoring, the growing centrality of AI, and the cultural shift toward cloud adoption. 

Sally shares insights from her book The Startup Protocol, emphasizing the need for startups to align product, go-to-market, and compliance strategies while engaging “proxy customers” early to validate ideas before investing heavily. She highlights the critical role of partnerships, integration with electronic health records, and ensuring solutions solve problems that healthcare organizations are willing to pay to fix. 

Diversity and equity are also front and center, with efforts to support minority founders through targeted programs. Looking ahead, Sally previews her upcoming book, The Unicorn Protocol, in which unicorn founders reveal the lessons behind their success, from servant leadership to seizing overlooked opportunities.

Tune in and learn how to navigate the unique challenges of building successful digital health startups!

Authentic leadership is about alignment, not performance.

In this episode of Straight Outta Health IT, Dawn Whitney, Founder and CEO of ElevateX Leadership Collective, shares how her 30 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience led her to create a coaching model rooted in intentionality, transformation, and mental health. She explains why many leaders wear masks of relevance and self-worth, and how ElevateX helps them break free from limiting beliefs.

Dawn highlights the difference between authentic leadership and performative success, showing how authenticity is grounded in purpose, presence, and truth. She reframes imposter syndrome as a potential superpower, calling on leaders to reject burnout as a badge of honor and instead lead with clarity, rest, and wholeness.

The conversation also explores the role of storytelling, the impact of cultural conditioning on leadership, and the importance of organizations that allow people to be fully human. Dawn closes with a vision for the next decade: cultivating “deeper leaders” who shed limiting beliefs, lift others up, and lead unapologetically.

Tune in to hear Dawn’s journey and insights on redefining leadership for the future!

The rise of the “virtualist” is reshaping how healthcare is delivered.

In this episode of Straight Out of Health IT, Dr. Lyle Berkowitz, Founder and CEO of KeyCare, shares how his platform is building a future for physicians who choose to practice primarily in telehealth. He explains how flexibility, reduced bureaucracy, and expanded insurance coverage have fueled this trend, especially for working parents, frequent travelers, and semi-retired doctors. While some critics point to limits in physical exams, Dr. Berkowitz notes that most diagnoses rely on patient history, and virtual care can improve access, prevent unnecessary ER visits, and even offer valuable glimpses into patients’ home environments.

He highlights virtual care’s role in advancing health equity by enabling care outside traditional clinic hours and reducing appointment backlogs for complex cases. By integrating directly with Epic’s MyChart, KeyCare ensures coordinated visits, preserves patient trust, and eliminates the need to repeat medical histories. Even patients without internet access can benefit through phone consultations, which are still better than no care at all.

Dr. Berkowitz outlines KeyCare’s differentiator: embedding entirely within Epic to seamlessly share data with health systems, support chronic care through the “three C’s” (cover, co-manage, complete), and offload low-complexity cases from hospitals. He envisions KeyCare evolving into a national virtual medical group that partners with health systems and payers, while leveraging ambient AI to enhance care delivery.

Tune in to hear how Dr. Berkowitz is redefining what it means to “see the doctor” in the digital age!

Firearm-related suicides are a hidden public health emergency driven by social despair and systemic inequities.

In this episode of Straight Out of Health IT, WellLink’s Brian Lane, President and CEO, and Dr. Kim Byas, Vice President of Community Engagement and Impact, share how the Center for Health Affairs in Cleveland partnered with AWS to launch a groundbreaking Social Determinants of Health Innovation Hub. Using clean, harmonized data and predictive modeling, their team has uncovered powerful correlations between firearm suicides and factors like unemployment, housing insecurity, and lack of transportation. This data-driven approach is transforming suicide prevention efforts from reactive to proactive.

They discuss how this work has led to targeted interventions, such as deploying trained social workers instead of law enforcement to crisis calls, and inspired replication of the model in other states and internationally. With over 250 organizations collaborating across sectors, the initiative is creating scalable solutions that address both behavioral health crises and their root causes.

Brian and Dr. Byas also reveal how AI and large language models are being used to test interventions, improve care pathways, and reduce healthcare costs, all while strengthening community resilience. Their work proves that solving complex health challenges requires both advanced technology and deep community partnerships.

Tune in to hear how data, collaboration, and innovation are reshaping the future of suicide prevention!