touch point podcast

In this encore episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore how evolving financial pressures and care delivery shifts are forcing health systems to rethink their business models. From the rise of value-based care to growing partnerships with retail and digital-first players, this conversation breaks down the key factors shaping the industry’s strategic realignment.

Topics include:

The growing divide between traditional hospital revenue streams and emerging care models.

How consumerism and digital health are driving new competitive threats.

Why innovation isn’t just about tech — it’s about new models of care and payment.

What this means for marketing, strategy, and long-term viability.

Originally aired as TP127, this episode includes an expert interview with Jeffrey Carr, industry leader and operational administrator for the Mayo Clinic. This conversation remains highly relevant in today’s environment of disruption, realignment, and strategic reinvention.

Mentions from the Show: 

Jeff Carr on LinkedIn

4 Hospital Business Models for Consumer-Centric Healthcare

Digital Clinic podcast

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 traditional performance marketing tactics have unraveled — and what must replace them. From cookie deprecation to HIPAA compliance and signal loss across Meta and Google, the rules have changed. But the need for results hasn’t. They discuss:

Why platform-optimized media is no longer reliable

How privacy and regulatory shifts are redefining performance marketing

The rise of media mix modeling and infrastructure-led strategy

What modern measurement looks like when attribution pixels disappear

Aaron Burnett, CEO of Wheelhouse DMG, joins to share how his team rebuilt performance marketing around privacy-first data, internal measurement models, and transparent media planning. He breaks down the critical difference between CDPs and data warehouses, the real-world challenge of earning trust to access EMR data, and how AI is reshaping execution without replacing strategy.

Mentions from the Show: 

Aaron Burnett on LinkedIn

WheelhouseDMG

Digital Clinic podcast

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 examine why the classic funnel framework may not reflect the complex, emotional, and often anonymous nature of how people engage with care decisions today.

Rethinking intent and awareness in healthcare journeys

Why decision-making is fragmented and reactive

How privacy regulations are eliminating visibility across the funnel

Why traditional conversion metrics miss the moments that matter

How progressive profiling and experience design create better results

Healthcare strategist Aaron Mauck joins the show to discuss how marketing leaders can navigate the demands of privacy, performance, and profitability. The conversation explores how to personalize ethically, demonstrate ROI without overtracking, and prepare for the next wave of AI and regulation.

Why it matters: Healthcare consumers are not leads to be pushed through a funnel. They are people seeking clarity, trust, and access. Today’s marketing must meet them on their terms.

Mentions from the Show: 

Aaron Mauck on LinkedIn

Freshpaint.io

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 challenge the outdated mindset of the hospital website and explore how health systems can architect unified platforms that drive growth, deliver care, and personalize experiences. 

The platform shift – Drawing from other industries, we explore how websites are becoming engines for acquisition, service delivery, and retention.

From brochure to business tool – What defines a true healthcare platform, and what signals that a system is still stuck in the past?

Progressive profiling in action – How health systems can collect data over time to build trust and power personalized journeys.

Operational impact – Why this matters now for CRM, downstream campaigns, and measurable ROI.

Shawn Gross, VP of Growth at Phase2 Technology, joins to share how progressive profiling helps health systems transform anonymous website visitors into engaged patients—without sacrificing trust or overwhelming users.

Mentions from the Show: 

Shawn Gross on LinkedIn

Phase2 Technology

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 unpack how the role of the Chief Marketing Officer has evolved—both across industries and within health systems.

The expanding CMO playbook – CMOs are now expected to drive growth, lead digital transformation, and influence business-wide decision-making.

The impact of AI and analytics – Today’s marketing leaders must be data-fluent and tech-savvy to keep pace.

Healthcare’s unique pressures – From navigating tight budgets to partnering with clinical and operational leaders, health system CMOs face distinct challenges.

Brand trust in the spotlight – The demand for transparency and ethical communication has never been higher.

Also, in a special panel recorded live at #HMPS25, we hear from three leaders at the forefront of this transformation:

Tanya Andreadis, VP, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer

Andy Chang, Chief Marketing Officer, UChicago Medicine

Chris Bevolo, Chief Transformation Officer, BPD

Mentions from the Show: 

Tanya Andreadis, VP Chief Marketing and Experience Officer

Andy Chang, Chief Marketing Officer, UChicago Medicine

Chris Bevolo, Chief Transformation Officer, BPD

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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Our digital world is ruled by AI algorithms who are now able to summarize your brand and influence search results. Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore how these digital forces are reshaping public perception of healthcare organizations—and what can be done to defend and strengthen online reputation before it drifts away into the ocean of algorithms. They discuss

Aaron Clifford from Press Ganey joins to share new research on how online reputation shapes consumer choice today, and what healthcare organizations must do to keep trust strong in the age of AI-driven consumer behavior.

Mentions from the Show: 

US FTC finalizes ban on companies buying and selling fake online reviews  Reuters, August 14, 2024

Fake AI-generated reviews are all over the internet, research shows Fast Company

Insights from Feedtrail’s Community Health Patient Experience Summit 2024 

Navigating the Tipping Point: Strategies for Reputation Management in a Volatile Healthcare Environment

Aaron Clifford on LinkedIn

PressGaney.com

Press Ganey Report: Consumer Experience in Healthcare

Reed Smith on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Chris Boyer on BlueSky

Reed Smith on BlueSky

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Today’s healthcare consumer is more empowered, more digital-savvy, and more skeptical than ever. Yet many health systems still engage them with outdated approaches and institutional thinking. In this episode, Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore the growing disconnect between what consumers expect and what health systems deliver—and what it will take to close that gap. They explore:

They also discuss why closing the gap requires more than marketing. It demands operational improvements that match the message, and small wins that collectively rebuild consumer confidence.

Later in the episode, Ryan Donohue of NRC Health joins to share insights from national research on patient behavior. He outlines the "Sinister Six" factors driving disengagement and explains how loyalty is shaped by experience, not advertising.

Healthcare organizations that succeed in 2025 will be those that align expectations with delivery and prove they understand what today’s consumers value most.

Mentions from the Show: 

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Forget product pitches and click-through rates - today’s best marketing doesn’t just inform, it evokes. In this episode, Chris Boyer and Reed Smith explore the rising influence of vibe marketing in healthcare and how AI is both accelerating and reshaping this emotionally-driven strategy. They dive into:

Later in the episode, they’re joined by Matt Cyr of Loop Agency, who shares how health system marketers can use AI as a creative partner, not a job-stealer. He discusses how his work with Roper St. Francis Healthcare is helping lean teams use AI to free up time for storytelling and strategy, while still getting it all done. In 2025, marketing isn’t about messaging; it’s about vibe. And AI might be the key to capturing it.

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Long before hashtags and apps, patient mentoring thrived quietly in community rooms and support circles—offering emotional validation and practical guidance where clinical care left off. In this episode, Chris Boyer and Reed Smith trace the evolution of peer-to-peer support in healthcare, and how digital platforms have transformed it from local to limitless. They dive into:

Later in the episode, they’re joined by Paul Hoffman, founder of InTandem Health, who shares insights on launching digital peer mentoring platforms—from clinical impact and marketing value to the surprising role peer programs can play in fundraising and health system transformation. In 2025, the most powerful engagement may not be provider-to-patient—but patient-to-patient.

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In 2024, U.S. healthcare and pharma ad spending will top $30 billion—but how much of it actually drives results? In this episode, Chris Boyer and Reed Smith dig into the hidden inefficiencies in health system media budgets and ask a bold question: Are we investing strategically, or just fueling the machine? They dive into:

They’re joined by Jane Crosby of True North, who shares her performance marketing playbook: how strategic bid management, integrated media planning, AI tools, and smarter collaboration are turning wasteful spend into efficient, results-driven campaigns.

In 2025, it’s time to stop asking if media is being wasted—and start asking how to turn it into a high-yield investment.

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