touch point podcast

Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore how marketing and communications teams can adapt their digital content strategies for a future where search behavior is fragmenting and more patients are turning to generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot instead of traditional search engines. They also discuss how AI models often cite structured, well-answered content from trusted sources and how to adapt the format and structure of content matter as much as the message.

Guest expert Martha Van Berkel, CEO and co-founder of SchemaApp, shares how health systems can use schema markup and structured data to improve visibility across emerging search platforms and which schema types have the highest impact for healthcare. If your digital team is still optimizing only for Google’s blue links, this conversation will help you prepare for the new reality where getting found means thinking beyond SEO, and building for a world where AI answers first.

Mentions from the Show:

How To Win In Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

SEO vs. AEO vs. GEO: Key Differences & Optimization Strategies in 2025

Google still leads, but Gen Z and AI are reshaping search behavior: Survey

Has The Helpful Content Update Impacted SEO Content?

How AI Is Changing Medical SEO

Martha Van Berkel on LinkedIn

SchemaApp.com

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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Consumerism is impacting all health systems but does this mean the same thing in the same way to academic medical centers, urban hospitals, and rural health systems? Reed Smith and Chris Boyer unpack the growing tension between what patients want and what different types of health systems are built to deliver. From broadband gaps in rural markets to brand-driven loyalty in AMCs, they explore whether “digital transformation” really means the same thing in each context—and what happens when strategy drifts from mission. Later, Chris sits down with Andy Chang, Chief Marketing Officer at UChicago Medicine, who shares how his team is driving consumer-centered digital strategy within the complexity of an academic medical center. It’s a candid look at how one system is adapting to a consumer world, without losing sight of what makes it unique.

Mentions from the Show:

2025 US health care outlook - Deloitte

2025 Trends in Hospitals and Health Systems

Exploring Disparities in Urban and Rural Healthcare Markets: A Closer Look at PRC’s National Consumer Study Data

Andy Chang on LinkedIn

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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As the martech stack continues to evolve, health systems are facing a growing challenge: how to balance enterprise-grade safety and security with the performance demands of modern digital marketing. In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer tackle that tension head-on, exploring what transformation really looks like when your tools, teams, and tactics need to evolve simultaneously.In the first segment, Reed and Chris unpack the deeper implications of today’s marketing technology decisions. From navigating compliance constraints to reconsidering the value of “speed to campaign,” they ask whether risk tolerance is becoming the silent killer of innovation. In the second segment, they explore how martech fragmentation, misplaced analytics, and slow procurement cycles are creating structural disadvantages for health systems trying to compete on digital experience.To bring in real-world perspectives, this episode includes audio highlights from a recent live panel moderated by Chris Boyer, featuring Aaron Mauck, Tom Armitage (MVP Health), and Raj Venkata (Align). The panel shares unfiltered insights about aligning legal and marketing, moving beyond vanity metrics, and making martech decisions that actually drive transformation.

Mentions from the Show:

Aaron Mauck on LinkedIn

Tom Armitage on LinkedIn

Raj Venkata on LinkedIn

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

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Health systems are increasingly asked to make decisions based on data, but not all research is created equal. In this encore episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer revisit the essential differences between market research and marketing research—clarifying how each plays a distinct role in informing healthcare strategies.

They’re joined by Steve Koch of Cast and Hue, who offers a deeper dive into qualitative research methods, including the strengths and limitations of focus groups versus 1:1 interviews. Together, they explore how empathy-driven research can uncover powerful insights that help organizations align their messaging, experiences, and offerings with real patient and consumer needs.

Mentions from the Show:

Original episode: https://touchpoint.health/podcast/tp394-gaining-insights-into-market-research/

Market Research: An Important Investment For Long-Term Viability

Cast & Hue

Focus Groups Vs. Interviews: Which Approach Provides Richer Insights?

Steve Koch on LinkedIn 

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore how adopting a product thinking mindset—one rooted in user-centered design, continuous iteration, and outcome-driven strategies—can help healthcare marketers close usability gaps, collaborate cross-functionally, and build digital experiences that evolve with patients’ needs. With nearly half of users reporting frustration with digital health tools, this shift isn’t just timely—it’s necessary.

Guest Brad Muncs, VP of Strategy at Symetris, joins to share real-world lessons on moving beyond the redesign cycle and treating websites, portals, and campaigns as living products. He walks through how this mindset drives business alignment, improves speed to market, and builds digital maturity in step with operational and clinical priorities. From KPIs that matter to frameworks that work, this conversation unpacks why product thinking is becoming the go-to approach for health systems aiming to lead, not lag, in digital transformation.

Mentions from the Show:

The four pillars of product thinking

Healthcare Should Look to Other Industries to Drive Digital Transformation, J.D. Power Says

Shifting To A Product Mindset Can Make Your Digital Product Thrive

Who really owns your website?

The Power of Proactive Website Evolution

Service page about evolution and product approach

Brad Muncs on LinkedIn

https://symetris.com/en

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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From clinical burnout to back-office understaffing, health systems are navigating a complex workforce reckoning. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore how digital technology is being positioned as a lifeline—but question whether we're applying it in the right ways. Rather than viewing automation and AI as quick fixes to fill vacancies, they challenge the industry to consider how tech can be used to fundamentally rethink the design of work itself.

Together, they unpack where digital solutions are truly easing operational strain and improving care, and where they risk simply reinforcing broken systems. Drawing on examples from health systems rethinking job design, and recent studies highlighting employee disengagement and workforce fatigue, the conversation zeroes in on what it really means to build a tech-enabled workforce in 2025. This episode skips the hype and goes straight to the operational heart of one of the industry’s toughest challenges.

Mentions from the Show:

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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With all of the emphasis lately on developing digital experiences, it’s often overlooked that the customer experience transcends online and offline touchpoints. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the concept of a hybrid CX approach, integrating offline and online experiences, and the role AI has in supporting the new customer journey. Ian Lindsey from Cerecore joins to discuss the important role the call center agent has in improving the overall PX.

Mentions from the Show:

Younger Generations are Feeling FatigueHybrid CX: Integrating Offline and Online Experiences SeamlesslyBowstring.tv

Customer Experience in the Age of AI

CereCore brings a healthcare operator heritage to IT services, serving healthcare organizations across the nation and abroad. Learn more at cerecore.net

ebook Diagnosing Your Health System’s IT Support Desk - explaining how to use service level metrics to uncover hidden costs, increase user satisfaction and efficiency

Cerecore support assessment (at no cost and no commitment) to discover where to begin gaining greater efficiency in IT support

Ian Lindsey on LinkedIn

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore how AI is transforming the digital discovery journey — and why traditional SEO tactics may no longer cut it. They discuss: 

The Collapse of the Keyword Empire - as AI-generated results increasingly dominate SERPs, healthcare brands must rethink how they show up in search.

Intent, Not Indexing -  AI search surfaces content differently, prioritizing context over keywords. This shift forces a new content strategy grounded in helpfulness, not hierarchy.

Search as Experience - with Google rolling out Search Generative Experience (SGE), the very notion of “ranking” is dissolving into curated, AI-assembled summaries.

Adapt or Disappear – what marketers must do today to remain visible in a world where GenAI is the first interaction layer.

Thought leader Carrie Liken joins to unpack the implications of Google’s generative search future, the collapse of zero-click visibility, and what it means for hospitals trying to compete in a rapidly changing landscape.

Mentions From the Show: 

How AI is reshaping SEO: Challenges, opportunities, and brand strategies for 2025 Search Engine Land

Search trends for 2025: Is a new ecosystem emerging?

2025 trend: Generative search will become the new normal, shaking up ad spend

How to navigate the changing landscape of search in 2025

AI-driven search ad spending set to surge to $26 billion by 2029, data shows

Carrie Liken on LinkedIn

Carrie Liken on SubStack

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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Chris Boyer and Reed Smith challenge a growing assumption in healthcare: that technology is the strategy. While health systems face urgent pressures—from constrained budgets to rising demand—they’re investing heavily in digital solutions. But are they using technology to truly enable transformation, or simply chasing shiny objects? In this episode, they explore:

Why digital transformation is often confused with digital adoption.

The risk of letting vendor roadmaps dictate your innovation priorities.

How to reposition technology as a flexible enabler—not the end goal.

What health systems can learn from other industries that center business outcomes, not features.

They are also joined by David Norris, CEO of Affineon, who shares why now is the right time for bold innovation. Drawing from his work with both enterprise healthcare systems and startups, he outlines how aligning technology with long-term strategy creates value—not just velocity.

Mentions From the Show: 

Shaping Tomorrow’s Healthcare: Reflections on Digital Health 2025

How voice AI can slash healthcare clinicians' workloads — and offer companionship for older adults

Medical centres compete to achieve ‘smart hospital’ status

David Norris on LinkedIn

Affineon website

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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Chris Boyer and Reed Smith break down one of the industry’s most misunderstood trends, separating the headline-worthy buzz from the meaningful, strategic work that marketing teams should actually be focused on. The cover: 

AI-Experience Design - defining what it is and why other industries are framing it differently than healthcare.

The Urgency Gap – Most healthcare marketing teams haven’t laid the foundational work (data hygiene, journey design, content mapping) required to even get to AI-experience design.

Consumer Experience Convergence – How AI-experience design will eventually blur with consumer and service design strategies—and what that means for your MarTech roadmap.

AI in the Real World – Why AI tools are only as useful as the systems, standards, and use cases you build around them.

Matt Cyr founder and president of LoopAgency, joins to unpack the concept of AI-experience design and what foundational steps to take today that set the stage for success tomorrow.

Mentions from the Show: 

Matt Cyr on LinkedIn

Loop Agency

Marc Needham on LinkedIn: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the AI

Teri Sun on LinkedIn: Websites not dead in the age of AI

Carrie Liken on Substack: This Week Google Changed Search Forever

Harnessing AI to Transform Consumer Healthcare Experiences

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