Dr. Geraldine “Polly” Bednash was appointed executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in December 1989.  In her role as Chief Executive Officer, she oversees the educational, research, governmental affairs, publications, and other programs of the organization that is the national voice for baccalaureate and graduate-degree education programs in nursing – the nation’s largest health care profession. Prior to serving as executive director and CEO, Dr. Bednash headed the association’s legislative and regulatory advocacy programs as director of government affairs.  Before joining AACN, Dr. Bednash was assistant professor at the School of Nursing at George Mason University and a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Fellow in Primary Care at the University of Maryland. She has served on multiple boards and commissions including the Advisory Board for the National Center for the Analysis of Health Care Data and on the editorial boards of several leading nursing publications. Her publications and research presentations cover a range of critical issues in nursing education, research, clinical practice, and legislative policy. Her vast experience includes service as an Army Nurse Corps staff nurse in Vung Tau, Vietnam. Dr. Bednash received her Bachelors degree Texas Woman’s University, a master’s degree from The Catholic University of America, and her doctorate from the University of Maryland. Int his interview, Dr. Bednash discusses the ACA and its importance to the future of the health system, team-based practice, anti-competitive laws, and education.

Joan Grant is here today to share her story as a patient. Joan, who is now in her 80s, has experienced several challenges with her health. Importantly, her shoulder was limiting her functional abilities and her knee was injured due to a fall over her dog. Joan met with physicians who advised her to undergo surgery; however, she did not feel that was the right path for her. Instead, she underwent a series of acupuncture treatments and physical therapy and has regained her function. Joan discusses this journey and provides her insights into her health care, describing some of the challenges she met when in the health system including Medicare, coordination of care, and access.

Dr. Harrison Spencer is the President and CEO of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). He previously served as Dean of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  Prior to going to London, Dr. Spencer was Dean of the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans.During a career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he served as an epidemic intelligence service officer and at the field station in El Salvador. He founded and directed the CDC research station in Nairobi, Kenya for 5 years and then served as Senior Medical Officer at the Malaria Action Program of the World Health Organization in Geneva.  Before going to Tulane, he was Chief of the Parasitic Diseases Branch at CDC. A graduate of Haverford College, his medical degree is from Johns Hopkins, and he has a Masters in Public Health degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the University of London. He is board certified in internal medicine and preventive medicine; is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the American College of Preventive Medicine. Dr. Spencer was elected a Founding Fellow of the United Kingdom Academy of Medical Sciences in 1998 and to the U.S. Institute of Medicine in 2003.

Dr. Anthony Shih is a physician executive who has held a number of leadership positions across the healthcare industry.  He started his medical career as Assistant Medical Director for a community-based mental health organization serving immigrant and refugee populations in Oakland, California.  In 2001, Dr. Shih joined IPRO, one of the nation's leading independent, non-profit, health care quality improvement organizations. At IPRO, he held a variety of senior management positions, including Vice President of the Health Care Quality Improvement Program, Medical Director of Managed Care, Chief Quality Officer and Vice President of Strategy.  In addition, he also led IPRO’s Health Care Transparency Group, a Web and technology team that was an early leader in public reporting of health care performance information. Dr. Shih most recently served as the Executive Vice President for Programs at the Commonwealth Fund, a national health services research and philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting a high performance health system in the United States.Dr. Shih is board-certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.  He earned his B.A. in economics from Amherst College, an M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine, and an M.P.H. from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.In this interview, Dr. Shih discusses payment reform, access, quality, and the cost of care, as well as many other critical topics in health today.

Major Stuart Campbell began his career as a communications and engineering specialist in the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). After 6 years on “A” team he left the service and attended the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he completed his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology in 1994.  He reentered the Army to attend the Army Baylor Graduate Program in Physical Therapy to complete his Masters degree in Physical Therapy in 1996. He has had a variety of assignments at Ft. Drum, Ft. Sam Houston, and Ft Carson. Major Campbell has had specialty assignments at the Army Burn Unit, He was the first Physical Therapist assigned to a Special Forces Group, and ended his career as the Officer in Charge of Physical Therapy at the Center for the Intrepid, Brooke Army Medical Center.  Major Campbell retired from Active on 1 March 2010.  He is currently the Program Manager for the Center for the Intrepid and Brooke Army Medical Center. In this interview, Major Campbell discusses the origins of the Intrepid, a "gift from the American people", human performance optimization, and several other topics related to health.

David E. Albert, MD is an Oklahoma native. He is a physician, inventor and serial entrepreneur who has developed medical and other life-saving technologies and products over the last 30 years, turning a number of those innovations into tech startups. Today, he is a founder of three tech companies, InnovAlarm, Lifetone Technology and AliveCor. His previous startups include Corazonix Corp (sold to Arrhythmia Research Technology and Data Critical (sold to GE). Dr. Albert left GE in 2004 as Chief Scientist of GE Cardiology to disrupt several new markets. His latest invention, the iPhone ECG, became a global sensation via a 4-minute YouTube Video in January around the Consumer Electronics Show and was featured on local media, ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News among many other media outlets. Dr Albert has 37 issued US patents, a large number pending and several new "secret inventions" in development. He has authored or co-authored over 50 scientific abstracts and publications principally in the Cardiology literature. Also, Dr Albert has lectured at the Entrepreneurship programs at the MIT Sloan School and the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Albert graduated with Honors from Harvard College and from Duke University Medical School. Dr. Albert lives in Oklahoma CIty with his wife and his two "young kids". The Albert's two other children are grown and out of the house. In this interview, Dr. Albert discusses disruptive technologies and how they are leading into a new era of medical care.

Dr. Richard Oliver until recently was Dean of the School of Health Professions at the University of Missouri, where he led the school to national prominence. Among his achievements, he created The Eldercare Center, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded model program in adult day health care.  It is the nation’s only school of allied health to house this type facility, which is now named the Adult Day Connection. He also is Co-inventor of the Virtual Health Care Team interactive website. Founder and President of the National Allied Health Research Institute he currently serves as President of the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions. Dr. Oliver is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades at local, national, and international levels for excellence in health services. In this interview, Dr. Oliver discusses multiple topics including accreditation, higher education, and of course allied health.

We started this show to transform health. In addition to our podcasts, we will be providing topic updates on some of the most relevant issues in health today. Concussions, or mild traumatic brain (mTBI), are central today in athletics for both men and women. Diagnosis, screening, and treatment, among many other elements, are important considerations. This topic update provides a brief overview of the discussion to this point.

Dr. Chris Wasden is a Managing Director at PwC, the world’s largest professional services firm, and the Healthcare Innovation Leader. He focuses on digital and consumer health innovation by applying Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud technologies to enable technology and business model innovation. Prior to PwC he led nine startups, which included corporate ventures, venture financed startups, incubators, and family owned businesses. He is a named inventor on 20 issued patents. He has authored over 40 reports and papers on technology and business model innovation, with a focus on Social, Mobile, Analytic and Cloud technologies in digital mobile health. He leads innovation and digital mobile health engagements with large and small organization to help leadership enable transformational change that gets innovation into the DNA of the culture to drive greater growth and success on a sustainable basis. Dr. Wasden has a doctorate in human and organizational learning from George Washington University in Washington, DC, an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School, and two bachelors degrees in accounting and Asian studies from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. In this interview, Dr. Wasden provides great insights into the necessity and potential of disruptive technology in health, as well as some of the obstacles.

Dr. David Katz has a remarkable array of leadership activities in multiple areas throughout health. Among his many achievements, he was a widely supported candidate for Surgeon General in 2009, President or Medical Director of different leading organizations, an inventor of the NuVal nutritional system which is in over 1700 US supermarkets, holds 5 US patents, and has published over 200 scientific articles and chapters. Currently the Founding Director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, Dr. Katz has been named one of America’s top Physicians in Preventive Medicine and one of the top 25 most influential people in the lives of children. Dr. Katz received his BA with honors from Dartmouth College, his MD from Alberst Einstein, his Masters in Public Health from Yale and is double-board certified and a clinical instructor at Yale School of Medicine. Hear Dr. Katz discuss disease, wellness, prevention, and important trends in health delivery.