The Healthcast

Oral health is part of total health. So why is it still treated separately?

On this episode of The Healthcast, Phil Zappone welcomes Dr. Maria Kunstadter and Leah Sigler of The TeleDentists to explore how virtual dental care can bridge the gap between dentistry and medicine.

From toothaches and dental anxiety to primary care integration and AI-assisted screenings, they discuss helping patients connect with the right specialist, understand their options, and take the next step toward hands-on care.

In this episode:
• The emergency room visits that inspired The TeleDentists.
• Building a virtual care company before the pandemic.
• Why oral health belongs in conversations about total health.
• How virtual consultations can help patients overcome dental fear.
• The company’s three pillars: education, symptom relief, and triage.
• Bringing dental consultations into primary care, including rural communities.
• Using AI to support dental screenings and patient understanding.

Chapters:
00:17 Meet Dr. Maria Kunstadter and Leah Sigler
00:51 The problem that sparked The TeleDentists
05:22 Building before COVID—and meeting the surge
08:32 Connecting oral health and total health
17:02 How a virtual dental visit works
20:24 Education, symptom relief, and triage
22:19 What virtual dentistry can—and can’t—address
28:19 Integrating dentistry into primary care
31:39 National reach and barriers to adoption
34:31 AI in dentistry and patient care
36:47 What’s next for teledentistry
40:55 Where to learn more

Learn more about The TeleDentists: https://www.theteledentists.com

Learn how I help small businesses:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations about healthcare, technology, and the people shaping patient care.

What if AI could help doctors spend less time documenting and more time connecting with patients?

On this episode of The Healthcast, Phil Zappone welcomes physician-scientist Dr. Jonny Cummock, MD, PhD, to explore how AI can advance medical research and support more personal patient care.

Drawing on his research in AI-powered stroke imaging, Jonny discusses generating synthetic MRI images from CT scans, the potential of AI-assisted documentation, and how the next generation of physicians is learning alongside these tools. He also shares the personal experience that inspired his transition into radiation oncology and his commitment to helping children with brain cancer.

Throughout the conversation, he shares a hopeful vision: AI as a partner that helps clinicians pursue new possibilities while preserving the human connection at the heart of medicine.

Timestamps:
00:19 Meet Dr. Jonny Cummock
00:45 Combining patient care with scientific discovery
04:28 AI’s journey from research to everyday use
06:33 Exploring AI-powered stroke imaging and synthetic MRI
11:14 AI’s strengths and the path toward broader capabilities
14:08 Training the next generation of physicians with AI
16:52 Helping doctors spend more time with patients
19:12 Preparing for the next decade of medicine
21:39 A personal calling to radiation oncology
24:28 Making a difference through patient education
27:07 A vision for AI and human connection

Learn more about Jonny:
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathoncummock/

Learn how I help small businesses:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations about healthcare, technology, and the people shaping patient care.

#HealthCast #AIinHealthcare #MedicalImaging

Six experiences with cancer. Eight surgeries. And a perspective on life that will stay with you.

In this episode of The Healthcast, Phil Zappone sits down with author and patient advocate Jonathan Gegerson, who joins the conversation while actively receiving chemotherapy.

Jonathan shares how his first diagnosis changed his life, how his wife’s words—“We are going to get through this”—helped ground him, and why being present for his family matters more than any material achievement.

They also discuss the emotional weight of ongoing treatment, the often-overlooked role of caregivers, and the nurses whose compassion made his hardest days more manageable.

In this episode:
• Facing a cancer diagnosis and seeking a second opinion
• Navigating the daily mental and emotional challenges of treatment
• Finding joy in everyday life, even during uncertainty
• The importance of caregivers, family, and community
• What exceptional nurses do that patients never forget
• Speaking up and staying involved in your care
• Why support shouldn’t end when patients leave the hospital

Chapters:
00:17 Meet Jonathan Gegerson
00:49 Life before cancer
03:34 The first diagnosis
09:44 Facing cancer six times
10:23 The mental and emotional challenges
15:06 Recording while receiving chemotherapy
16:15 Redefining success and happiness
20:24 Love, caregiving, and a difficult recovery
26:47 What patients need from healthcare providers
29:01 Listening and patient advocacy
33:14 Why follow-up care matters
36:32 Living fully, one day at a time
38:44 Jonathan’s book and where to connect

Learn more about Jonathan:
Find Jonathan Gegerson on LinkedIn and explore his book, Perspective C, on Amazon.

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-gegerson-4633a814/

Perspective C | https://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Survivor-Jonathan-Gegerson-Suffering-ebook/dp/B0CT4Z9B1S?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&th=1&psc=1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._fMWG81CAYCV_Nzl7tooHA.H1d3foO73_km6XjukM320XtCxxgyqLT98uUIxKGy57s&dib_tag=AUTHOR

Learn how I help small businesses:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.

What if conversations about men’s sexual health opened the door to better preventive care?

In this episode of The Healthcast, Phil Zappone sits down with Dr. Elliot Justin, emergency physician, entrepreneur, and founder of FirmTech, to explore the connection between sexual and cardiovascular health.

Dr. Justin shares the story behind FirmTech’s wearable technology and his vision for bringing objective data into a field often guided by subjective questionnaires. They discuss tracking nocturnal erections, understanding changes over time, and helping patients become more engaged in their care.

In this episode:
• Dr. Justin’s journey from emergency medicine and telehealth to founding FirmTech
• The relationship between erectile function and cardiovascular health
• Why Dr. Justin challenges conventional approaches to erectile dysfunction
• Why trends matter more than a single measurement
• How wearable data could support more personalized conversations about treatment
• What’s next for FirmTech and women’s sexual health technology

Chapters:
00:17 Meet Dr. Elliot Justin
00:57 From emergency medicine to sexual health technology
08:08 The design behind FirmTech’s wearable
10:45 Exploring the cardiovascular connection
16:32 Rethinking erectile dysfunction
23:25 Why trends matter more than snapshots
27:45 Personalized care and tracking treatment response
29:37 How the technology collects data
33:33 Building FirmTech and what comes next
37:12 Future goals and adoption challenges
38:57 Where to learn more

Connect with Dr. Elliot Justin & FirmTech:
Website | https://myfirmtech.com
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/myfirmtech/
FirmTech LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/myfirmtech/
Dr. Justin’s LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliot-justin-md/

Learn how I help small businesses:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.

What happens when you build a successful business but neglect the health that makes it possible?

In this episode of The HealthCast, Phil Zappone sits down with Dr. Quinto Pauletti to explore the connection between personal health, leadership, and sustained performance. Dr. Pauletti shares how his family’s experiences with serious illness shaped his career and why he built a concierge practice focused on executives, founders, and high-performing professionals.

They discuss his approach to personalized diagnostics, the role of trust and motivation in behavior change, and why more time with patients matters. They also explore where AI can support healthcare—and why listening, relationships, and everyday habits remain central to his approach.

In this episode:
• How personal loss shaped Dr. Pauletti’s approach to care
• Why he encourages founders to treat health as a core business asset
• How his concierge model incorporates genetic, hormonal, and gut testing
• Finding the personal “why” behind lasting behavior change
• Building a practice around time, relationships, and quality of life
• Using AI to support clinicians and reduce administrative work
• Returning to the basics before chasing supplements and biohacking
• His book, Running on Empty, and his interest in genetics and epigenetics

ABOUT THE GUEST
Dr. Quinto Pauletti is a chiropractor by training whose precision health practice serves executives, founders, and high-performing professionals. Over the past decade, his work has combined genomic, microbiome, and hormonal diagnostics with a root-cause clinical model focused on sustained high performance.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:42 Family illness and the path into healthcare
03:20 Choosing chiropractic and exploring root causes
07:14 Entrepreneurship and lessons from building a practice
09:52 Health as a founder’s greatest asset
12:18 Connecting personal health and business performance
13:59 What concierge care makes possible
17:29 Motivation, trust, and behavior change
19:47 Growth, time freedom, and defining “enough”
22:33 Where AI belongs in personalized healthcare
24:03 Rethinking the patient experience
28:34 The future of healthcare
30:05 Back to basics: habits, supplements, and biohacking
32:05 Perspectives on GLP-1s and behavior change
34:44 Collaboration, humility, and listening in medicine
38:37 Running on Empty and what’s next for Doc Q
39:59 Where to connect and learn more

CONNECT WITH DR. PAULETTI
Doc Q: https://doc-q.com
Running on Empty: https://runningonemptybook.com
Running on Empty Quiz: https://runningonemptyquiz.com

Check out what I do helping small businesses here:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.

What if managing daily life isn’t about being more productive—but feeling less overwhelmed?

In this episode of The HealthCast, Phil Zappone sits down with Matt Canning, founder and CEO of NoPlex AI, to discuss his approach to “chaos management.” Inspired by his daughter’s experience with ADHD, Matt set out to build a simpler way to manage everyday tasks, responsibilities, and routines.

Matt explains why traditional productivity tools can fall short for people with ADHD and how NoPlex approaches reducing friction and decision fatigue. He also shares leadership lessons from his engineering career, the challenges of growing a consumer app, and his perspective on AI, fragmented healthcare data, and personalized care.

In this episode:
• The family story behind NoPlex.
• Designing for simplicity with the “shortest path to intent.”
• ADHD awareness, social media, and changing workplace conversations.
• Supporting employees while giving experienced team members autonomy.
• Turning collected data into actionable insights.
• Scaling a business without overengineering.
• Opportunities for AI in personalized care and elder care.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:49 What is NoPlex?
01:54 The name and designing for simplicity
03:44 The family story behind the app
05:56 Why rethink productivity tools?
10:47 Social media and ADHD awareness
12:30 Matt’s personal mission
14:37 Leadership lessons and building teams
18:44 Decision fatigue and everyday overwhelm
24:02 Fragmented data and actionable insights
26:18 Meaningful user feedback
27:07 The challenges of growing NoPlex
28:24 Innovation, trust, and organizational buy-in
29:51 Rethinking how healthcare information connects
33:20 Scaling without overengineering
35:26 Healthcare opportunities and elder care challenges
37:15 AI’s potential in medical imaging
39:41 Personalization in apps and healthcare
40:43 What’s next for NoPlex?
41:45 Where to learn more

Episode Resources:
Website | https://www.noplex.com/

Check out what I do helping small businesses here:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.

What if healthcare learners could see how disease progresses—and explore the consequences of clinical decisions—in a simulated human body?

In this episode of The HealthCast, Phil Zappone sits down with Dr. Aaron Smith, Chief Medical Officer, and Heather Tuttle, Chief Nursing Officer at AI Body, to discuss how digital physiology simulation can connect classroom learning with clinical practice.

They explain how AI Body’s physiology-based models make complex concepts visual and interactive, giving students and practicing clinicians opportunities to explore disease progression and treatment responses. The conversation covers their journeys from bedside care into healthcare technology, the challenges facing new clinicians, and why frontline involvement matters when building tools healthcare teams will actually use.

Topics include:
• Connecting physiology education with clinical decision-making.
• Supporting learner confidence, engagement, and retention.
• Recognizing deterioration before a patient needs rescue.
• Simulating burn injuries and fluid resuscitation for professional education.
• Using constrained large language models with human oversight.
• Building clinician trust through collaboration.
• Preparing for AI’s potential impact on healthcare roles and scopes of practice.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:53 What is AI Body?
02:55 Dr. Aaron Smith’s journey from the NHS to healthcare technology
04:37 Heather Tuttle’s path from emergency nursing to product development
08:08 Why healthcare education needs to evolve
11:54 Workforce shortages and retaining new clinicians
16:21 The personal purpose behind their work
21:59 Becoming part of the solution
23:52 Making physiology visual and interactive
28:01 Applications in higher education
30:54 Burn simulation and professional development
34:13 Why collaboration matters in healthcare innovation
39:16 Technology adoption challenges
41:15 Scaling a physiology platform
43:22 Building clinician trust
46:05 AI, clinical training, and the future of healthcare
52:33 Where to learn more about AI Body

Learn more about AI Body: https://www.aibody.io

Episode Resources:
Website | https://www.aibody.io
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/aibody/
Aaron | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-aaron-smith/
Heather | https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherdaretuttlern/

Check out what I do helping small businesses here:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.

When AI influences a clinical decision, who owns the outcome?

In this episode of The Healthcast, Phil Zappone sits down with Michael Tekely, founder of Medical Malpractice Insurance and Clinical Risk Management Academy LLC, to explore how AI is changing the conversation around patient safety, clinical judgment, and accountability.

Drawing on his experience in malpractice insurance and clinical risk management, Michael discusses why healthcare organizations need to document how AI recommendations influence care—and how clinicians respond to them. He also introduces his framework and prototype tool for reconstructing AI-influenced clinical events.

In this episode:
• Potential gaps between AI adoption and malpractice insurance coverage.
• Why clear documentation matters when investigating adverse outcomes.
• Tracking AI recommendations, system versions, and independent clinical judgment.
• How workplace culture and workflow pressures affect clinicians’ ability to question AI.
• Michael’s perspective on AI and informed consent.
• Three priorities for hospital leaders preparing to deploy clinical AI.

Chapters:
00:19 — Introduction: AI, medicine, and malpractice
00:50 — Michael’s background in malpractice insurance
02:38 — A case that revealed the importance of documentation
06:23 — AI adoption and insurance coverage concerns
08:54 — A lawsuit that shaped Michael’s thinking about AI risk
14:48 — Building a culture of communication and accountability
18:01 — Reconstructing an AI-influenced clinical decision
24:39 — Michael’s academy, framework, and prototype tool
26:16 — What happens when clinicians follow AI recommendations?
27:53 — The human impact of malpractice and informed consent
29:39 — Will AI reduce malpractice or shift the risk?
30:43 — Three priorities for hospital leaders
31:51 — Opportunities and challenges ahead
33:18 — Protecting clinicians and improving patient outcomes
35:35 — Where to connect with Michael

Episode Resources:
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltekely/

Check out what I do helping small businesses here:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.

How can technology better support the individual needs of autistic people and their families?

On this episode of The Healthcast, Phil Zappone speaks with Cait Russell, occupational therapist and Chief Operating Officer at Multiple, a nonprofit accelerator supporting entrepreneurs building autism-related technology.

Cait shares how her background in business and occupational therapy led her toward systems-level change. She explains why accessibility, individualized support and meaningful outcomes should guide product development—and why even promising technologies can struggle to reach the people who need them.

The conversation explores tools that help therapists launch in-home practices, camera-free sleep tracking and personalized AI companions for everyday routines. Cait also discusses how Multiple brings families, clinicians, founders and investors together to help shape products and support their adoption.

In this episode:

• Moving from occupational therapy into nonprofit and innovation leadership
• Designing accessible, individualized technology from the start
• Evaluating whether products deliver meaningful outcomes
• Helping therapists build in-home private practices
• Using sleep data to inform support and interventions
• Why distribution and adoption are critical for startups
• Personalized AI companions for routines, work and school
• Involving autistic people and families in product development
• Multiple’s goal of connecting one million neurodivergent people to life-changing technology by 2030
• The personal story behind Multiple’s founding

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:41 From Clinical Care to Systems-Level Impact
02:50 Finding a Mission in Autism and Neurodiversity
04:18 Designing Accessible Technology with Meaningful Outcomes
07:14 Cait’s Path from Occupational Therapy to Multiple
10:20 How Multiple Supports Autism Innovation
11:59 Startup Examples: Therapy Access and Sleep Tracking
15:02 Why Startups Struggle with Adoption
16:09 Connecting Startups with Families and Clinicians
17:28 Personalized AI Companions for Everyday Support
20:02 Building an Autism Innovation Ecosystem
21:09 AI and the Potential for Individualized Support
24:05 Multiple’s Vision and Its 2030 Goal
26:04 The Story Behind Multiple’s Founding
28:53 Closing Reflections

Episode Resources:
Website | https://www.multiplehub.org/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/multiplehub/
Ryan L. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitrussellotd/

Check out what I do helping small businesses here:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.

Can AI transform healthcare if the underlying data is incomplete, fragmented or inaccurate?

On this episode of The Healthcast, Phil Zappone speaks with Ryan Leurck, Chief Analytics Officer and Co-Founder of Kythera Labs, about healthcare’s hidden data problem and why better data—not simply more advanced AI—will shape the industry’s future.

Ryan shares how his background in aerospace engineering and complex systems optimization led him into healthcare analytics. He explains why claims and EHR data are difficult to analyze, how Kythera Labs turns fragmented records into structured information and why healthcare leaders must verify the answers produced by AI.

They also discuss how hospitals can use data to understand patient leakage, referral patterns, market share and opportunities to improve service lines. Ryan shares an example in which a health system discovered substantially more patient leakage than it previously recognized, leading the organization to revise its strategy.

In this episode:

• Ryan’s transition from aerospace engineering to healthcare analytics
• Why healthcare data is often incomplete, inconsistent and difficult to interpret
• How medical claims can be reconstructed into meaningful patient-care events
• Why raw data can produce confident but inaccurate AI answers
• Increasing AI accuracy by cleaning and structuring healthcare data
• How hospitals identify patient leakage and out-of-market care
• Reducing the data-preparation burden on analytics teams
• Protecting patient information when implementing AI
• Why verification, validation and governance are essential
• The opportunities and challenges AI may create over the next five years

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:43 From Aerospace Engineering to Healthcare Analytics
03:55 The Meaning Behind Kythera Labs
05:08 Discovering Healthcare’s Hidden Data Problem
08:59 Building Companies with a Trusted Founding Team
10:38 Business Challenges and Finding Focus
12:20 How Kythera Turns Messy Claims into Usable Data
17:40 Who Uses Kythera Labs?
19:30 Helping Rural Hospitals Understand Patient Flows
21:46 Why Better AI Starts with Better Data
26:33 Customer Story: Uncovering Patient Leakage
29:24 Starting Analytics with the Right Questions
32:02 Supporting Patient Care Behind the Scenes
33:37 Healthcare’s Next Five Years: AI Opportunities and Challenges
36:02 What Hospital CEOs Should Know About Data and AI
38:41 What’s Next for Kythera Labs?
40:00 Where to Learn More and Closing Remarks

Episode Resources:
Website | https://www.kytheralabs.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/kythera-labs/

Ryan L. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleurck/

Check out what I do helping small businesses here:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

Subscribe to The HealthCast for more conversations with the people shaping healthcare.