In this episode of Healthcare Rewired, Mark Noble sits down with Sudeep Pisipaty, Chief Commercial Officer at Health Recovery Solutions (HRS), to explore how remote patient monitoring can help rural providers manage chronic conditions, extend care into the home, and act earlier when a patient’s health begins to decline.

The conversation examines why rural hospitals and clinics have struggled to implement RPM despite the clear need. From upfront costs and workforce shortages to connectivity, device logistics, and reimbursement, Sudeep walks through the practical considerations that determine whether a program can deliver lasting value for patients and care teams.

Drawing on HRS’s experience supporting Rural Health Transformation Program applications, Sudeep also shares how providers can align proposals with their state’s priorities, demonstrate measurable outcomes, and build a path to sustainability beyond the initial funding. The discussion offers concrete steps for organizations preparing to launch a program or expand one already in place.

Together, Mark and Sudeep explore:

• How RPM connects patient readings from home to clinical decisions and timely intervention.
• Why financial pressures, staffing constraints, and connectivity gaps remain barriers to rural adoption.
• What providers need in place to manage patient onboarding, device logistics, and ongoing clinical monitoring.
• How patient data, readmission rates, and avoidable emergency visits can help define a program’s focus.
• Why successful RHTP applications connect state priorities with measurable outcomes and long-term sustainability.
• The role of reimbursement planning and billing support in keeping programs viable after grant funding ends.
• How experienced partners can support technology, interoperability, clinical monitoring, and implementation.
• Why rural providers should engage with state agencies and potential partners early, before waiting for the right RFP.

Tune in for a practical conversation on how rural hospitals and clinics can use RHTP funding to build sustainable remote patient monitoring programs that keep patients connected to care at home.

In this episode of The Healthcare Rewired podcast, we sit down with Karsten Russell-Wood, Chief Marketing Officer at Equum Medical and a Fellow of the National Rural Health Association, to continue our two-part exploration of how rural communities can expand access to specialty care.

Building on the challenges outlined in our conversation with our last guest Zachary D’Argonne, Karsten explores how a virtual shared services model allows rural hospitals to combine demand and access the right level of specialist coverage without each organization carrying the cost of a full-time provider. The conversation examines what it takes to make these programs work across independent hospitals with different governance structures, EHRs, credentialing requirements, workflows, and local care teams.

Together, Mark and Karsten explore:

• How virtual shared services aggregate demand across hospitals to create a sustainable model for specialty coverage.

• Why fractional specialist capacity can better match the clinical and financial realities of rural hospitals.

• The operational challenges of coordinating care across multiple organizations, technologies, and local protocols.

• How transfer, admission, and financial data can identify the specialties with the greatest potential impact.

• Why starting with an immediate, clearly defined need can build the trust and momentum required to scale.

• How consistent specialist teams, simple clinical workflows, and shared performance measures support adoption.

• The potential to reduce avoidable transfers, retain appropriate admissions, strengthen local clinical confidence, and improve access to care.

• How rural hospitals and networks can use current funding opportunities to build programs designed for long-term sustainability.

Listen for a practical conversation on how rural health leaders can move from isolated specialty gaps to a coordinated shared services strategy that keeps more care within their communities.

In this episode of Healthcare Rewired, Mark Noble sits down with Zachary D’Argonne, President and CEO of the Eastern Plains Healthcare Consortium, to explore how rural health networks help independent hospitals build the scale, resources, and collective strength needed to remain sustainable.

We explore how collaboration has become increasingly important for rural and frontier hospitals facing workforce shortages, limited specialty access, and mounting financial pressure. The conversation looks at how networks can aggregate patient demand across multiple hospitals, making specialty services such as telehealth, visiting clinicians, and shared staffing models more financially viable than they would be for any single hospital operating alone.

The discussion also examines why keeping care local matters not only for patients, but for the financial sustainability of rural hospitals. Zachary shares a practical framework for developing shared services that can reduce costs, generate revenue, strengthen hospital operations, and support the long-term sustainability of the network itself.

Together, Mark and Zachary explore:

• Why rural health networks create scale while allowing hospitals to maintain their independence.
• Why recruiting full-time specialists is often financially and operationally unrealistic for critical access hospitals.
• The role of telehealth, traveling specialists, and larger health system partnerships in closing rural care gaps.
• A three-part framework for evaluating shared services based on cost savings, revenue generation, and network sustainability.
• and more!

Tune in for a practical conversation on how rural health networks can help independent hospitals expand specialty access, strengthen operations, and build a more sustainable future for the communities they serve.

In this episode of Healthcare Rewired, Mark Noble sits down with Christian Milaster, Founder and CEO of Ingenium Digital Health Advisors, to unpack what it really takes for rural hospitals and health systems to succeed under the Rural Health Transformation Program. As states move rapidly from funding awards to implementation and CMS accountability, many organizations face tight timelines, unclear expectations, and pressure to demonstrate measurable outcomes.

Christian shares practical guidance on how leaders can position their organizations for success by aligning initiatives with community needs, designing programs with sustainability in mind, and building the internal capabilities required to launch new services, not just operate existing ones. The conversation explores why change management, clinician engagement, and thoughtful workflow design are just as critical as technology itself, and introduces a simple framework for verifying the strategic, financial, and clinical value of new programs so outcomes can be measured from day one. 

Together, Mark and Christian explore:

• Why CMS reporting timelines feel compressed and how organizations should realistically interpret early progress expectations.

• How rural providers can align their strategic plans with state RHTP priorities to strengthen applications and impact.

• The difference between operating services and launching new ones and why many implementations fail without the right internal capabilities.

• The biggest barriers to innovation adoption, including clinician change resistance, workflow design, and integration challenges.

Host Mark Noble is joined by Dr. Roy Schoenberg, Founder and CEO of Aileen and former CEO of Amwell, for a timely look at the growing crisis in elder care and the role AI can play in addressing it. Roy discusses why caregiver shortages are reaching unsustainable levels, why traditional age-tech hasn’t delivered meaningful change, and how an AI companion focused on connection, not clinical tasks, may offer a new path forward. He also shares his perspective on responsible AI use for vulnerable populations and how solutions like Aileen could support both professional caregivers and families.

Together, Mark and Roy explore:

• Why the elder-care crisis is accelerating, and what’s driving caregivers into the “red zone.”

• How AI companions differ from traditional digital health tools and why relationships, not reminders, may be the unlock.

• What responsible use of AI looks like for vulnerable populations, especially amid a lack of clear regulation.

• How home-care and senior-living organizations may be the critical entry point for AI-supported companionship.

• The distinction between AI that improves efficiency and AI that reshapes care models and why that matters for rural health transformation.

• Why future-proofing AI strategies means staying agile, not locking innovation into fixed models.

Tune in for a thoughtful, hopeful, and urgent conversation about the future of elder care, the role AI can play, and why this moment calls for bold, human-centered innovation.

In Part 2 of our Rural Health Transformation series, host Mark Noble sits down with Michelle Hager, Managing Partner at Blue Cirrus Consulting and one of Becker’s Top Women in Health IT to Know, to unpack what it takes to build sustainable, data-driven rural health strategies under tight deadlines.

With $50 billion in new federal funding and only months for states to submit plans, Michelle offers practical insights into how leaders can balance centralization vs. regional models, apply lessons from broadband expansion, and design technology frameworks that ensure long-term success beyond one-time funding.

In this episode of Healthcare Rewired, host Mark Noble sits down with Dr. Saurabh Chandra, Chief Telehealth Officer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, one of the first federally designated Centers of Excellence for Telehealth in the United States.

Together, they explore the real-world challenges facing rural healthcare: provider shortages, chronic disease burdens, and the growing risk of hospital closures. As states prepare their plans for the Rural Health Transformation Program, Dr. Chandra shares a clear call to action: act fast, act smart, and design with sustainability in mind.

From remote patient monitoring to multi-specialty telehealth networks, Dr. Chandra outlines how states can use technology and data to build programs that endure beyond five years of funding. His roadmap is simple: start with proven solutions, scale what works, and collect the data that will prove long-term value.

This is a conversation about urgency, opportunity, and the responsibility to turn historic funding into measurable impact for rural America.

Meet Dr. Karen Rheuban, a trailblazer in telemedicine and the driving force behind the University of Virginia's Center for Telehealth.

In this episode, Dr. Rheuban shares her journey from a practicing pediatric cardiologist to a leader in digital health innovation. Discover how she overcame early challenges, engaged with policymakers, and transformed healthcare access for rural communities. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to understand how to shift the paradigm in healthcare. Tune in to learn from Dr. Rheuban's invaluable insights and experiences.