The 229 Podcast

The 229 Podcast

By 229ProjectBusinessMedicineHealth & FitnessTechnology
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The 229 Podcast episodes

  • The 229 Podcast: Exploring How Emory Cut Denials in Half with Carla Haack, MD

    October 30, 2025: Healthcare systems often lose millions in revenue, not because clinicians aren't doing the work, but because critical informatics get lost between the operating room and the billing department. Dr. Carla Haack, Chief Financial Informatics Officer at Emory Healthcare, discovered this gap firsthand when she stepped away from surgery during the pandemic. In this conversation, she reveals how a change to surgical debriefs resulted in a million dollars in just 21 days and how Emory reduced its denial rate from 20% to 10%. Discover why bridging clinical care and revenue cycle management requires more than technology—it demands translation, trust, and understanding across vastly different worlds within the same healthcare system.

    Key Points:

    • 01:22 The Role of a Chief Financial Informatics Officer
    • 05:49 Innovative Solutions for Revenue Cycle Issues
    • 13:22 Debriefing in Clinical Settings
    • 25:17 Navigating Patient Information Challenges
    • 31:25 Collaborating Across Departments
    • 39:41 Hiring for Chief Financial Informatics Officer

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    48 min
  • Executive Interview: Empowering Healthcare with New Age Networks with Perry Welch

    October 29, 2025: Cellular networks are transforming healthcare delivery, but what makes 5G truly different from its predecessor? Perry Welch, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer at Airwavz Solutions, discusses creating a robust network infrastructure that can handle the demanding requirements of modern medical technology. As healthcare systems begin exploring what's possible with this upgraded network, the question shifts from "can our phones work?" to "what new capabilities can we unlock?" Discover why focusing on your network is becoming essential for healthcare environments.

    Key Points:

    • 03:20 WiFi vs DAS in Healthcare
    • 06:21 The Future of 5G and Beyond
    • 09:47 Implementation and Coverage Challenges
    • 15:34 Airwavz's Healthcare Focus and Conclusion

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    18 min
  • Newsday: Why Constraints Drive Innovation - AI Agents and the Jobs They Can’t Fill

    October 27, 2025: Bill, Drex, and Sarah discuss the realities of implementing AI agents across organizations. The group tackles uncomfortable questions about workforce displacement, the critical thinking skills being lost to automation, and the massive energy demands threatening AI sustainability. From simplifying complex systems to understanding what innovation really means under constraint, This Week Health explores the practical and philosophical challenges facing healthcare technology leaders today.

    Key Points:

    • 01:28 Upcoming Summits and Expectations
    • 05:22 AI Transparency and Critical Thinking
    • 17:20 Economic and Quality of Life with AI
    • 21:56 Balancing Innovation and Resource Constraints
    • 25:57 The Role of Simplicity in Innovation
    • 31:10 Healthcare System Complexities

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    Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

    33 min
  • The 229 Podcast: Balancing Technology, Growth, and Innovation in Dynamic Times Sarah Hatchett
    October 23, 2025: Sarah Hatchett, SVP and CIO of Cleveland Clinic, manages IT across a sprawling healthcare network spanning Ohio, Nevada, Florida, and international destinations. Sarah reveals how they track time spent on pilots, balance 60% run versus 40% innovation, and the real challenge of managing Epic's 160 annual feature releases. Explore inside their billion-dollar neurological hospital, built featuring real-time gait analysis as patients walk through the door, and why 3,500 physicians call their ambient listening tool "magical" after piloting five different products. Plus, the uncomfortable calculation every CIO faces: when do you stop waiting on Epic's roadmap and just buy the point solution that delivers value today?
    Key Points:
    • 01:17 Cleveland Clinic's Expansion
    • 04:35 Managing Technical Debt and Prioritizing Projects
    • 13:29 Innovative Projects at Cleveland Clinic
    • 16:51 Epic's Roadmap and Third-Party Solutions
    • 26:58 Best of Breed vs. EHR patient

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    36 min
  • Executive Interview: The Overlooked Opportunity in Call Center Automation with Scott D’Entremont

    October 22 – In this episode, Bill Russell sits down with Scott D’Entremont, CEO at Parlance, to explore the evolving role of AI in healthcare communication. From tackling rising operational costs to addressing the hidden issue of referral leakage, Scott shares how automation is reshaping call centers and front desks across healthcare systems.

    They unpack why integration is still a major hurdle, what most health systems get wrong about call routing, and why deep healthcare knowledge—not just flashy tech—is critical for real-world impact. With smarter AI models and better call navigation, the path to streamlined patient communication is clearer than ever.

    But with so many new players jumping into the space, how do you separate innovation from noise?

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    15 min
  • Newsday: MFA Isn't Enough and Why Healthcare Can’t Just Hack Back with Preston Duren
    Multi-factor authentication isn't the bulletproof security measure it once was. Preston Duren, VP of Threat Services at Fortified Health Security, explores how cybercriminals are outsmarting traditional MFA through sophisticated phishing tactics and MFA bombing. The conversation shifts to the debate over platform consolidation—does fewer mean safer, or are we creating attractive single points of attack? With AI rapidly transforming both offensive and defensive capabilities in cybersecurity, the panel tackles the controversial question of whether human oversight will soon become obsolete. Plus, the evolving landscape of cyber insurance and why some health systems are choosing to self-insure.
    Key Points:
    • 01:20 The Role of MFA in Cybersecurity
    • 07:46 Platform Vulnerabilities and Cyber Attacks
    • 13:57 Human vs. AI in Cybersecurity
    • 24:06 Bug Bounties and Ethical Hacking
    • 28:35 Cyber Insurance: Trends and Challenges

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    Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
    32 min
  • Executive Interview: The Battle for Clinical AI Trust with Yaw Fellin
    October 17, 2025: When ChatGPT entered healthcare with bold claims about clinical guidance, physicians took notice—and not always in a good way. Yaw Fellin, SVP and GM at Wolters Kluwer, discusses why expert-curated content still matters in the age of generative AI. With 7,600 clinical experts validating every recommendation, Wolters Kluwer is taking a fundamentally different approach than Big Tech's "let's see how it goes" mentality. Yaw reveals how they're grounding AI in trusted sources, keeping experts in the loop, and designing enterprise-grade clinical decision support that hospitals can actually rely on. Quality data trumps quantity every time—especially when patient safety is on the line.
    Key Points:
    • 00:43 Generative AI in Clinical Decision Support
    • 04:20 Ensuring Reliable AI Systems
    • 07:50 Context-Aware Clinical Decision Support
    • 10:53 Comparing UpToDate with Competitors

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    Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
    17 min
  • The 229 Podcast: Breach Simulations and the CISO Burnout Epidemic with Anahi Santiago
    October 16, 2025: How do you build a cybersecurity program that lasts over a decade? Anahi Santiago, CISO at ChristianaCare, shares what separates healthcare organizations that prioritize security from those where CISOs burn out in 18 months. She reveals why bringing state agencies and the National Guard into tabletop exercises transformed her team's preparedness, how she aligned security with patient safety from day one, and why healthcare's open environments create unique challenges that other industries never face. From managing 70,000 medical devices to building operational resilience across multiple states, Anahi offers hard-won insights on creating a culture where cybersecurity thrives—not just survives.
    Key Points:
    • 01:04 The Role and Longevity of a CISO
    • 04:58 Unique Challenge of Healthcare Cyber
    • 13:41 Tabletop Exercises and Preparedness
    • 19:33 Creating a Culture of Security
    • 27:36 Sports Analogies and Leadership in Healthcare

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    34 min
  • Executive Interview: EHR Competition Heats Up - What CxOs Need to Know with Polly Parrent
    October 15, 2025: Polly Parrent, SVP of EHR and ERP Services at Nordic Global, reveals why the EHR market is more competitive than many realize, with Epic, Oracle, and MEDITECH each advancing distinct capabilities that healthcare leaders need to understand. She warns that organizations sitting on the sidelines risk losing providers and revenue cycle competitiveness as AI-driven features reshape care delivery. From Oracle's semantic layer architecture to Epic's underutilized features and MEDITECH's modernization challenges, this conversation delivers critical insights for CxOs navigating their EHR strategy in 2025.
    Key Points:
    • 01:25 Insights from Oracle Summit and EPIC UGM
    • 05:43 Exploring Epic's Cheers and CRM Solutions
    • 08:38 Oracle's AI-Centric EHR and Market Competition
    • 11:29 Meditech's Market Position and Client Transitions

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    Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
    19 min
  • Newsday: CIO Turnover - Leadership Challenges in a Fast-Paced Era with Laura O’Toole
    October 13, 2025: Healthcare IT leaders are exhausted, CIO positions remain unfilled for months, and the pressure keeps mounting. In this candid conversation, Laura O'Toole, CEO and Founder of SureTest, explores why traditional CIO roles are transforming faster than organizations can define them. They discuss the widening gap between leadership expectations and operational reality, the critical shift from problem-solver to coalition-builder, and why empathy may be the most underrated leadership skill in healthcare technology. From managing burnout to navigating constant organizational change, this episode reveals what it really takes to lead effectively when "busy" has become the new normal and the rulebook keeps changing.
    Key Points:
    • 02:31 Managing Teams and Expectations
    • 09:57 Technology in Healthcare
    • 12:38 CIO Role and Market Dynamics
    • 20:21 The Importance of Building Coalitions
    • 26:25 Handling Global Events as a Leader
    • 31:22 Empathy and Connection in Leadership

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    Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
    35 min

About The 229 Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Some conversations are too important to stay in the room. The 229 Podcast, hosted by Bill Russell, Sarah Richardson, and Drex DeFord, continues the dynamic discussions from our community events,…