Dr. Laurel Soot spent 16 years as a general surgeon before becoming Chief Medical Officer at Providence Health Plan, and throughout that entire journey, one question kept following her: why are patients still arriving in crisis for conditions the healthcare system could have caught years earlier?

In this episode of The Missing Piece, Dr. Soot shares the pivotal patient stories that changed the way she viewed medicine, the systemic failures driving preventable disease, and why healthcare must shift from reacting to illness to truly investing in prevention.

From the realities of AI in clinical settings to the financial incentives shaping modern healthcare, this conversation challenges the status quo while offering a clear vision for where the industry needs to go next.

Key Topics:
• Dr. Soot’s transition from surgeon to Chief Medical Officer — and the moment she realized she wanted to influence healthcare beyond the operating room
• Two patients in their 40s with preventable advanced cancers, and what their stories reveal about gaps in the system
• Where AI can genuinely improve care and why physician oversight remains critical
• The fee-for-service problem and how current healthcare incentives discourage prevention
• Why physicians are uniquely equipped for leadership roles within healthcare organizations

If you’re a clinician, healthcare executive, innovator, or simply someone passionate about the future of healthcare, this episode is a must-listen.

Follow the conversation:

Subscribe for weekly episodes: https://hubs.li/Q03RJW4g0

Follow April on LinkedIn: / april-reed-82259711

Sponsored by EHR Concepts - https://ehrconcepts.com

Learnista - https://learnista.com

Read more insights on The Missing Piece Blog for more conversations shaping the future of healthcare: https://podcast.ehrconcepts.com/

Jane Garcia spent 43 years transforming La Clinica de la Raza from a small grassroots clinic into one of the nation’s leading community health organizations — proving that healthcare is about far more than medicine. It’s about trust, access, and community.

In this episode, the longtime CEO shares how growing up without health insurance shaped her mission, why community health workers became critical during COVID-19, and how healthcare organizations can embrace AI without losing the human connection at the center of care.

From health equity and leadership to EHR transformation and universal healthcare access, this conversation explores some of the biggest challenges — and opportunities — shaping community healthcare today, including:

• Community healthcare leadership and health equity
• How trust lowered COVID-19 death rates
• AI adoption in healthcare and protecting community impact
• The evolution of EHRs and care coordination
• Why “health for all” remains the missing piece

Read the blog for more insights from Jane Garcia’s 43-year leadership journey: https://podcast.ehrconcepts.com/blog

If you believe healthcare should be a right — not a privilege — share this episode and subscribe for more conversations on the future of healthcare, leadership, and innovation.

Follow the conversation:

Subscribe for weekly episodes: ⁠https://hubs.li/Q03RJW4g0 ⁠

Follow April on LinkedIn:   / april-reed-82259711  

Sponsored by EHR Concepts - ⁠https://ehrconcepts.com⁠

Learnista - ⁠https://learnista.com