The 229 Podcast

By This Week Health

Some conversations are too important to stay in the room. The 229 Podcast, hosted by Bill Russell, continues the dynamic discussions from our community events, bringing together healthcare leaders who... more

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FAQs about The 229 Podcast:

How many episodes does The 229 Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 203 episodes available.

The 229 Podcast episodes:

October 09, 2025The 229 Podcast: Exploring How Epic Cosmos is Changing Care with Phil Lindemann
October 9, 2025: Phil Lindemann, VP of Data and Research at Epic, reveals how Cosmos has grown to 300 million patient records, transforming clinical decision-making through AI-powered insights. Discover how physicians now access precision cohorts and outcome-driven treatment recommendations at the point of care, backed by over 1,000 automated quality checks per query. Phil discusses the evolution from manual analytics to AI-assisted tools, the explosive growth in healthcare research with two peer-reviewed papers published weekly from Cosmos data, and breakthrough applications like Christ Hospital's 25% improvement in early-stage lung cancer detection. Learn why data literacy remains the critical challenge even as AI revolutionizes healthcare analytics, and how Epic's closed-loop system ensures patient data drives better care without being sold.
Key Points:
01:39 Journey at Epic: From CDs to Cosmos
15:27 Research and Innovation with Cosmos
23:29 AI's Role in Transforming Healthcare
26:35 Challenges and Innovations in Data Analytics
31:31 Ensuring Data Privacy and Future Prospects
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42min
October 07, 2025Executive Interview: Where Will AI Focus First and Huntzinger Announcement with Bob Kitts
October 7, 2025: Bob Kitts, CEO and Founding Partner of Avarion (formerly Huntzinger Management Group), shares insights on navigating healthcare IT transformation in an era of unprecedented change. From AI integration strategies that vary dramatically between rural hospitals and academic medical centers to the coming revolution in revenue cycle management, Bob explains why successful technology adoption starts with business needs, not buzzwords. Learn how CTOs are already embedding AI into security and operational tools, why digital roadmapping and analytics must work together, and how healthcare organizations can deliver real ROI during times of intense economic pressure.
Key Points:
00:37 Background and Evolution of Huntzinger Management Group
02:41 Industry Trends and AI Integration
09:22 Major Announcement: Huntzinger Rebrands to Avarion
11:40 Conclusion and Future Outlook
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14min
October 06, 2025Newsday: IT Expecting 18% Hiring Cut and Innovating Access in the AI World with Bill Willis
October 6, 2025: New research reveals an expected 18% reduction in hiring over the next two years, but this isn't about downsizing—it's about strategic reallocation. Bill Willis, CTO of IDMWORKS, joins to discuss these new breaking statistics. With 62% of organizations prioritizing AI skills over traditional development experience, the industry faces a critical choice between reducing headcount or upskilling existing talent. Meanwhile, cybersecurity experts warn that the traditional network perimeter has vanished, requiring a fundamental rethink of identity management and password-free authentication. Discover why data governance has never been more crucial for successful AI implementation and how smart leaders are preparing for this seismic shift in healthcare technology.
Key Points:
01:04 Scarcity in IT Hiring

11:38 The Evolving IT Security Perimeter

18:21 HIPAA Security Rule Updates

26:54 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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29min
October 03, 2025Executive Interview: The AI-Enabled Vendor Problem and Necessary Transparency with Ed Gaudet
October 3, 2025: Healthcare leaders are sitting on a cybersecurity time bomb, and most don't even know it. Censinet CEO and Founder Ed Gaudet reveals that 80% of healthcare vendors have quietly AI-enabled their products while organizations still rely on outdated SOC 2 certificates for risk assessment. Drawing lessons from the Change Healthcare crisis, Ed explains why hope has become the default security strategy and how single points of failure are hiding throughout health system operations. From building a $7M ARR startup to transforming third-party risk management, this conversation exposes the uncomfortable truth about vendor compliance and offers a blueprint for healthcare leaders ready to stop playing cybersecurity roulette with patient care.
Key Points:
00:35 Challenges of Founding a Healthcare Startup
07:43 Addressing Third-Party Risk in Healthcare
15:49 The Critical Role of Business Processes
18:21 Challenges in Vendor Risk Management
25:55 Personal Insights and Podcasting
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29min
October 02, 2025The 229 Podcast: Shockingly Human Care and Why Scribes Won’t Fix Healthcare with Spencer Dorn, MD
October 2, 2025: Dr. Spencer Dorn, Vice Chair and Professor of Medicine from UNC Health, brings a refreshingly honest perspective to healthcare AI adoption that challenges industry assumptions. As a gastroenterologist who deliberately chose not to use AI scribes despite the hype, he reveals why AI tools only save about one minute per patient and questions whether billion-dollar valuations are justified. The conversation takes unexpected turns, from his experience with the streamlined UK healthcare system to the controversial OpenAI demo featuring a woman who received her cancer diagnosis through a patient portal. Spencer explores what AI can and cannot do in critical moments, the humanity healthcare is losing through digitization, and why typing speed might be the best predictor of AI adoption success.
Key Points:
03:37 A Refreshingly Human Healthcare Experience in the UK

09:16 AI Scribes and Human Touch

17:18 OpenAI Demo and Cancer Diagnosis

20:12 Consumer Tools and Health Queries

30:34 Technology's Impact on Rural Healthcare

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34min
October 01, 2025Executive Interview: DCH's Quality Turnaround Journey With Faith Burkett and Billy Helmandollar
October 1, 2025: How does an 880-bed health system in rural Alabama transform from a Leapfrog safety grade of D to B in just two years while achieving CHIME Most Wired Level 9 recognition? DCH Health System's CIO, Billy Helmandollar, and Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, Faith Burkett, reveal the multidisciplinary approach that drove their remarkable turnaround. Discover how simple fixes like standardizing barcode scanners and addressing WiFi dead zones boosted medication scanning compliance from 85% to 95%, dramatically improving patient safety. Plus, learn about their innovative EMR hosting solution that saves local clinics up to $10,000 monthly and their early adoption of MEDITECH Expanse Pathology as they continue expanding their digital transformation across western Alabama.
Key Points:
03:36 Achievements and Growth

09:38 Community and Technical Support Initiatives

12:46 Clinical Workflow Enhancements

14:28 Future Plans and Innovations

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19min
September 29, 2025 Newsday: The Perfect Storm in Healthcare Cybersecurity: AI, Costs, and Risk with Russell Teague
September 29, 2025: In this episode of Newsday, Drex is joined by Russell Teague of Fortified Health Security for a candid look at the storm brewing in healthcare IT. From the promises and pitfalls of AI to the growing sophistication of cyber threats, they explore how health systems are balancing innovation with risk. The conversation dives into financial pressures, shifting reimbursement models, and the tough choices CIOs and CISOs are facing as budgets tighten. With insights from the front lines, this discussion sheds light on how leaders can think differently, consolidate wisely, and prepare for the challenges reshaping healthcare cybersecurity.
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25min
September 26, 2025Newsday: Salesforce Breach Spreads and New Liability Era with George Pappas
September 26, 2025: George Pappas, CEO of Intraprise Health by Health Catalyst, joins This Week Health for the News. Together, they unpack the Salesforce breaches that turned cybersecurity companies into victims and the explosion of personal injury lawyers now chasing data breach cases. With class action lawsuits up fivefold and cyber insurance policies being voided for non-compliance, they explore whether Epic's bold new AI platform strategy could be the answer—or create even bigger problems. As state cyber funding expires and critical infrastructure remains vulnerable, George tackles the uncomfortable question: in a world where everything connects to everything else, who's really watching the watchers?
Key Points:
00:53 Discussing SBOM Guidance

09:22 Salesforce Security Issues

15:04 State and Local Government Security

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21min
September 25, 2025The 229 Podcast: Automated Pharmacy Centers of the Future with Tricia Julian and Nilesh Desai
September 25, 2025: How did Baptist Health Kentucky scale from 10,000 to 90,000 prescriptions? Tricia Julian, CIO, and Nilesh Desai, Chief Pharmacy Officer, of Baptist Health System reveal the details behind their three-and-a-half-year project of creating an automated prescription center, achieving a 93% patient retention rate, and creating a system where robots handle medication. As health systems face mounting Medicaid cuts and pharmacy benefit management becomes their second-largest expense, could centralized automation be the answer? Explore this pioneering approach in this 229 podcast.
Key Points:
03:48 Advanced Pharmacy Automation

07:42 Building and Scaling the Central Pharmacy

09:42 Changing the Pharmacy Game

15:07 Future Plans and Final Thoughts

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21min
September 24, 2025Solution Showcase: Webinar Rerun - EHR Implementation post M&A With Amirah Centinario
September 24, 2025: Amirah Centinario, EVP at Optimum Healthcare IT, dives into the hard truths and hacks to healthcare M&A. What separates the organizations that pull off lightning-fast integrations from those that crash and burn? Amirah reveals why some health systems are acquiring distressed entities at breakneck speed, the hidden costs that blow up budgets, and the one factor that can make or break a merger before it even starts. And what happens when the acquired hospital's technology is actually better than what you're trying to implement?
Want more Information? Check Out Optimum Healthcare IT’s M&A Overview HERE
Key Points:
01:28 Challenges in Mergers and Acquisitions

08:16 Change Management Strategies

16:35 Preparing for Future M&A

23:21 Industry Trends and Regulatory Impact

32:29 Phases of Mergers and Acquisitions

42:07 The Importance of a Playbook in Acquisitions

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47min

FAQs about The 229 Podcast:

How many episodes does The 229 Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 203 episodes available.