The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast
The Heart of Healthcare is a weekly podcast featuring conversations with prominent figures in the healthcare industry. Hosted by health tech veterans Halle Tecco, Michael Esquivel, and Steve Kraus, the show covers topics related to digital health, innovation, and the future of healthcare. It won a 2026 Webby Award.
Episodes
Training Doctors for the Next 40 Years | Stanford Medical School Dean Dr. Lloyd Minor
It's back-to-school szn, and while some kids are stressing over earlier wake-ups, this year's incoming medical students have a bigger question to answer: how do you train for a career that could still have you practicing medicine in the 2070s, when the tools of medicine are changing so rapidly?For our back-to-school episode, we sat down with Stanford University School of Medicine Dean Dr.
Can Oura Become the Doctor in Your Pocket? | Oura CEO Tom Hale
We're on summer break and replaying one of our favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on September 22, 2025.A wearable can collect endless data, but it only matters if people trust it enough to change their behavior.In this replay, Oura CEO Tom Hale joins Steve and Michael to explain how the company combines clinical-grade accuracy with a consumer-friendly product. They discuss
📣 Digital Health Download: August 2026
This month is about the gap between what a system offers and what people actually get from it: drugs that work better with support nobody's paying for, AI that's already answering more medical questions than most doctors ever will, and a labor market where staying healthy can mean staying stuck. Halle and Michael break down the stories reshaping digital health in August.We cover:Why GLP-1
Why We Demand Perfect Machines Yet Tolerate Human Carnage | Dr. Jonathan Slotkin
Every day, roughly 100 Americans die in crashes caused by human drivers. Yet when a self-driving car hesitates at an intersection or makes the news for an unusual mistake, public trust can evaporate.In this special episode, Dr. Jonathan Slotkin reads his latest Noema essay exploring why we demand perfection from machines while accepting human error as inevitable. Drawing on lessons from m
Shareholder Primacy Is Breaking Healthcare | Eric Ries
Healthcare companies are built to improve patients' lives. So why do so many prioritize shareholders over the people they're meant to serve?This week, Halle sits down with Eric Ries, author of Incorruptible, to unpack the rise of shareholder primacy, what it is, and why he believes it's at the root of many of society’s biggest challenges. They discuss the surprising history of corporate g
Can AI Build the First New Pharma Giant in Decades? | Formation Bio CEO Ben Liu
Over the last decade, the number of drug candidates entering development has doubled, yet the number of successful drug approvals remains flat at ~50 per year.This week, we sit down with Formation Bio founder and CEO Ben Liu. His company has raised more than $600 million to build what he hopes will become the first new enduring pharmaceutical company in decades, powered by AI. Ben explain
Building A Healthcare Unicorn In Three Years | Assort Health Founders Jeff Liu and Jon Wang
They built a $1.2 billion healthcare AI company in under three years, but they say the hardest part of healthcare AI isn't the AI.This week, Halle sits down with Assort Health co-founders and co-CEOs Jeffery Liu and Jon Wang, whose company reached a $1.2 billion valuation in under three years. They discuss why building great healthcare AI takes far more than good models, how they scaled f
📣 Digital Health Download: July 2026
July marks five years of The Heart of Healthcare, and we're grateful for every listener who's tuned in. If you've enjoyed the show, please show your love by leaving us a review!This month, Steve and Halle take stock of an industry where capital is concentrating, incumbents are making big bets, AI is moving from promise to early proof points, and a public health crisis is quietly building
Healthcare’s Oppenheimer Moment | Listener Q&A
Back by popular demand, 3x Heart of Healthcare guest Eric Larsen joins Steve to answer listener questions on healthcare's AI revolution. Drawing on the ideas behind his latest essay, Healthcare's Oppenheimer Moment, Eric argues that healthcare may be approaching a once-in-a-generation inflection point, and discusses what leaders need to understand before it's too late.We cover:Whether fou
How AI Changed Healthcare Fundraising and Venture Capital
Healthcare AI funding is booming, but the money is flowing to fewer companies than ever before. As investors pour capital into a small group of breakout winners, founders are navigating a fundraising environment where expectations seem to change every quarter. Based on interviews with 24 healthcare founders and a dozen healthcare investors, Halle breaks down what is actually happening in
What Healthcare Can Learn From Waymo | Qualified Health Founder and CEO Justin Norden
Autonomous vehicles may be the closest real-world example of AI operating in life-and-death situations at scale. Justin Norden believes healthcare has a lot to learn from how that industry approached safety, testing, adoption, and trust. This week, Michael and Halle sit down with the founder and CEO of Qualified Health, fresh off the company’s $125 million Series B, to discuss why he
📣 Digital Health Download: June 2026
Healthcare is simultaneously propping up the US economy and facing one of its most uncertain moments in years.This month, Halle and Steve unpack the growing contradictions shaping digital health right now: healthcare jobs are driving nearly half of US job growth while provider bankruptcies surge, AI is flooding into healthcare faster than regulators can keep up, and Washington continues t
Investing in “Whole Person Care” | Lance Armstrong
Most careers don’t follow a straight line. But few require starting over in full view of the public.This week, Halle sits down with Lance Armstrong to discuss how he rebuilt his life and career after multiple turning points, including surviving advanced cancer, and how those experiences shaped his perspective on health, performance, and reinvention. Now, through his venture firm Next Vent
How AI Will Finally Make Healthcare Deflationary | Eric Larsen
AI in healthcare may be entering a new chapter, one where the biggest question is no longer whether the technology works, but who is willing to deploy it, measure it, and take responsibility for the risk.This week, Steve sits down again with Eric Larsen to revisit his predictions from last year’s Webby-winning episode on generative AI in healthcare. Eric argues that the first wave of AI h
What It Takes To Scale Care With AI | Akido Labs CEO Prashant Samant
Medicaid reimbursements are shrinking, providers are pulling back, and vulnerable populations are losing access to care. Akido Labs is betting that AI can expand care capacity fast enough to reverse that trend.This week, Halle sits down with Prashant Samant, co-founder and CEO of Akido Labs, to discuss what it actually takes to scale care with AI. They explore why Akido built a full-stack
📣 Digital Health Download: May 2026
AI is everywhere in healthcare, and May's big question is whether it's actually delivering. The money is flowing, the promises are bold, but some cracks are starting to show.Steve and Michael break down the month's biggest stories.We cover:Digital health hitting its strongest funding quarter since the pandemic peak, and why deal concentration tells the real storyHow Medvi built a billion-
Is ChatGPT Now the World's Largest Health App? | OpenAI VP of Health Nate Gross, MD
Forty million people use ChatGPT for health-related questions every day, making it one of the most widely used tools for health information in the world. So what is their team doing to maximize impact and minimize harm? For one, they've brought in hundreds of physicians globally to continuously review outputs and shape how the models respond across different scenarios, literacy levels, an
The Chaos Of Drug Pricing in the US | GoodRx CEO Wendy Barnes
Nearly one billion prescriptions are abandoned at the pharmacy counter every year, often because patients are blindsided by the cost.This week, co-host Halle Tecco is joined by Wendy Barnes, President and CEO of GoodRx, to discuss the chaos of prescription drug pricing, the murky world of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and how digital tools are changing patient affordability. They brea
Building a Health System for “Customers” | Baylor Scott & White Health CEO Pete McCanna
Pete McCanna, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, believes that health systems are built around the wrong objective… and he has an ambitious goal to change that.This week, Halle sits down with McCanna to unpack how one of the largest and most successful health systems in the country is shifting from a supply-driven model to one built entirely around the customer. They discuss why lega
📣 Digital Health Download: April 2026
We’re back with our monthly rundown of the top headlines in health tech!Today, Halle flies solo to share the biggest stories that shaped Q1, from the rising pressures on PBMs to how consumers are using AI.Stories covered:What's happening to PBMs (it's not pretty)New data from Rock Health on consumer use of AISocial media companies find liable for addictive designHealthcare hiring is slowi
The Drugstore Cowboy | C.O. Bigelow Owner & Pharmacist Alec Ginsberg
Last year, his independent pharmacy spent $13 million on brand-name drugs for patients processed by the three biggest Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) which earned a profit margin of 0.01%.In this episode, Halle speaks with Alec Ginsberg, owner and fourth-generation pharmacist at C.O. Bigelow, the oldest surviving apothecary–pharmacy in the United States. Alec is fighting against the forc
Where Healthcare Policy Is Headed | Chief Counselor at HHS, Chris Klomp
Chris Klomp, Director of Medicare and Deputy Administrator of CMS, and Senior Advisor to HHS Secretary RFK Jr., has big ambitions to reshape how healthcare works in the United States.This week, Steve sits down with Klomp to discuss how his experience as a digital health entrepreneur is guiding his current role overseeing a roughly $2 trillion department. Klomp shares the government's st
Hard Founder Truths in 2026 | Listener Q&A
This week, Halle and Michael sit down for a special in-person listener Q&A to answer a range of founder questions you submitted.Topics include:What investors are prioritizing right now and how first-time founders can stand outHow to think about board seatsWhat to do if your growth has plateauedThings to keep in mind when negotiating a health system contractHow to think about choosing
Can a Simple Blood Test Solve Cancer? | Guardant Health CEO Helmy Eltoukhy
Breakthrough blood tests that can flag dozens of cancers before symptoms appear are gaining momentum, yet questions remain about accuracy, equity, and how these tools will fit into routine care.In this episode, Steve talks with Helmy Eltoukhy, co-founder and co-CEO of Guardant Health, a $14 billion publicly-traded precision oncology company. The conversation explores the science behind ce
📣 Digital Health Download: March 2026
Pharma ads, biotech IPOs, $1M longevity programs, oh my!This month's Digital Health Download skews towards biotech, which is having a moment. Tune in to hear Halle and Michael cover the latest headlines.We cover:Why pharma ads are surging and the growing push for restrictions on D2C drug advertisingHims & Hers’ $1.15B acquisition of Eucalyptus, its global expansion strategy, and
Precision Medicine Is (Almost) Here | Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkosky
When Eric Lefkofsky’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, it exposed how little technology and data were shaping cancer care, pushing the serial entrepreneur to build a different model.Lefkofsky is the founder and CEO of Tempus, now a $10B publicy traded health tech company, and previously founded Groupon. At Tempus, he’s building a tech-first company applying multimodal data and AI to
A Roadmap for Innovators and A Giant Leap for AI | Dr. Bob Wachter & Halle Tecco
In this episode (recorded live), Halle Tecco speaks with Dr. Robert Wachter, Chair of Medicine at UCSF, about their concurrently released books on healthcare innovation and AI.They share thoughts on the dual challenge of innovation in healthcare and the role of AI, covering:Why past waves of tech failed to change healthcare and why AI may finally break throughHow AI is making a difference
The New Care Dyad | Dr. Karen DeSalvo
Physicians now face a world where search bars, chat apps, and large AI models are becoming many people’s first stop for health questions, long before they enter a clinic.Former Google Chief Health Officer and national health IT leader Dr. Karen DeSalvo joins us to unpack what this shift means for clinicians, regulators, and patients, and why 15% of daily Google searches are questions no o
📣 Digital Health Download: February 2026
We’re back with our monthly rundown of the top headlines in health tech!Today, Halle and Steve sort through the biggest stories shaping the year ahead, from AI prescribing to lawsuits galore.We cover:AI prescribing (in Utah!)The FDA updated guidance on clinical decision support for AI in medicineThe lawsuit against Prenuvo after a missed stroke warning, and the broader debate over account
Building the Largest Health Data Ecosystem in the US | Datavant CEO Kyle Armbrester
It has been said that we don’t have “big data” in healthcare, but instead a large amount of “small data.”In this episode, Halle speaks with Kyle Armbrester, CEO of Datavant and former CEO of Signify Health (acquired for $8B), about why healthcare data still moves the way it did decades ago and what it will take to modernize it at scale. Kyle reflects on building and leading large health t
Is Healthcare the Ultimate Test for AI? | Ankit Jain
This week, Steve sits down with Ankit Jain, co-founder and CEO of Infinitus Systems, to talk about why voice-based AI has become one of the most rapidly adopted tools in healthcare operations, what’s actually working in the field, and where the hype still outpaces reality. Ankit shares six years of lessons from building AI agents that handle 35-minute medical calls end to end, plus his pr
🔮 2026 Digital Health Predictions | Annie Lamont
Is 2026 the year that changes everything in healthcare?Steve and Halle sit down with legendary healthcare VC Annie Lamont for their annual predictions episode to dive into 2026 predictions and trends that founders and operators should pay attention to. We cover:📉 Why 2025 was "the most brutal year ever" for health plans🏥 Why providers outpaced payers in AI adoption and where the next
The Antidote to the “Industrial Wellness Complex” | Zeke Emanuel
For our first episode of 2026, Dr. Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel, oncologist, bioethicist, architect of the Affordable Care Act, and author of Eat Your Ice Cream joins us to share why he believes the longevity movement is overblown and how real health comes down to simplicity. In his new book, Zeke argues that instead of chasing expensive fads and wellness trends, we should focus on six straight
Former Presidential Candidate Gets Real About America's Future | Andrew Yang 🧢
We’re closing out the year with a candid conversation about where America is headed.For our final episode of 2025, Halle and Steve sit down with entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang to talk plainly about the forces reshaping American life, from rising healthcare costs and gaps in coverage to AI-driven job disruption and the strain on the social safety net. We co
The Rise of Clinician Innovators | Dr. Reena Pande
Many clinicians quietly wonder if there's a “next chapter” beyond the hospital walls, and an increasing number are stepping into health tech roles that didn’t exist a decade ago.Dr. Reena Pande has lived that shift firsthand: from cardiologist at a top academic center, to early employee and CMO at AbleTo, to now leading clinician executive search at Oxeon. She joins us to unpack what it r
Soul-Driven Healthcare Investing | General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja
Hemant Taneja believes you can sneeze and reach a billion dollars in healthcare revenue, but that most of that revenue tells you nothing about whether the system is actually getting better.This week, Halle sits down with the CEO of General Catalyst and author of The Transformation Principles to discuss what happens when you stop treating revenue as the primary KPI and start asking harder
The Haves & Have-Nots Of 2025 | Threshold Ventures Co-founder Emily Melton
The Haves & Have-Nots Of 2025 | Threshold Ventures Co-founder Emily MeltonThis week for our 2025 recap, we’re joined by VC Emily Melton, co-founder of Threshold Ventures. Melton highlights her reflection of 2025, which splits the market into "haves and have-nots" with nothing in between, noting the concentration of venture dollars on "high flyers" and the indifference shown to establi
📣 Digital Health Download: December 2025
The first trillion-dollar healthcare company, a $298M longevity round, and a telehealth CEO headed for federal sentencing. Last month had range.Today on the show, Halle and Michael sort through the biggest December stories shaping the year ahead, from runaway longevity funding to a telehealth scandal headed for federal sentencing.We cover:🧬 Two hot funding rounds in longevity, including F
Fixing Rural Healthcare Before It Collapses | Homeward Co-founder & CEO Dr. Jennifer Schneider
As millions of Americans hit the road to visit family for Thanksgiving, many will pass through, or return to, rural communities. Nearly 60 million Americans live in these areas, yet many struggle to access even basic healthcare as rural hospitals close at record rates.Dr. Jennifer Schneider, co-founder and CEO of Homeward Health, is tackling this crisis head-on by reimagining how care is
How a Small Team Built the Fastest-Growing Clinician App Ever | OpenEvidence Co-founder & CTO Zack Ziegler
On the heels of raising $210 million at a $6 billion valuation, OpenEvidence is the fastest-growing physician app in history, now reaching over 40% of U.S. physicians and powering 17 million monthly clinical queries.In this conversation, co-founder and CTO Zack Ziegler shares how his background in early large language models led him to build an AI that helps clinicians make better decisio
Truth, Power, and the Cost of Speaking Up | Theranos Whistleblower Tyler Shultz
A billion-dollar startup. A promise to change healthcare forever. And behind the scenes… a massive lie.Tyler Shultz was just starting his career when he joined Theranos, only to discover that the company’s breakthrough blood tests didn’t actually work. Speaking up meant risking everything—his career, his family relationships, and his personal safety—but it also helped expose one of the bi
📣 Digital Health Download: November 2025
Does it feel like we packed in a decade of progress this year in digital health? We think so. Today, Halle and Steve break down the biggest digital health stories of the moment, from funding trends to AI rivalries and new rules shaping the future of care.We cover:💸 What non-AI healthcare startups should do in today’s AI-obsessed investor market🧠 Is there room for more than one winner
UpToDate’s AI Glow Up | Wolters Kluwer Health VP BD & Strategy Dr. Holly Urban
Over 3 million clinicians around the world depend on UpToDate to guide patient care, and now the gold standard in clinical decision support is integrating generative AI. But in a world where AI models often hallucinate, how do you build something that doctors can actually trust?In this episode, Halle talks with Dr. Holly Urban, VP of Business Development and Strategy at Wolters Kluwer Hea
Inside the Rise of AI Agents | Sierra Co-founder Clay Bavor
Most people spend over 30 hours a year dealing with customer service—on hold, repeating account numbers, and navigating endless phone trees. But what if AI could fix that without losing the human touch?Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra (now valued at $10B) and former VP at Google, joins us to explore how AI agents are reshaping how companies interact with customers and what that means for
Build, Scale, Repeat | Serial Founder Tom X. Lee
This milestone 200th(!!!) episode of The Heart of Healthcare Podcast features none other than Dr. Tom X. Lee, the serial physician-founder behind Epocrates (acquired for $293M), One Medical (acquired by Amazon for $3.9B), and now Galileo, a tech-enabled medical group aiming to rewire care delivery from the ground up.We cover: 🧠 Why most doctors aren’t wired for management (and what traits
📣 Digital Health Download: October 2025
Happy Q4 Heart of Healthcare Listeners! We’re back with your monthly Digital Health Download, where we discuss the biggest industry headlines of the month. We cover: 💊 Pharm tariffs, D2C drug ads, and TrumpRx? 📉 The ACA tax credit standoff and how it could double premiums for millions 🛒 UnitedHealthcare’s new storefront and what it signals about point solution fatigue📈
Can We Make Cancer Nonlethal? | Reed Jobs & Matt Bettonville of Yosemite
Cancer drugs cost more than ever, yet survival benefits are often modest—and in some cases, patients can’t even access the care that already exists. After losing his father, Steve Jobs, to pancreatic cancer, Reed Jobs committed himself to making this the last generation that loses parents to the disease.Reed now leads Yosemite, a venture fund spun out of Emerson Collective in 2023, a
Lessons From 5,000 Hours of Startup Pitches | EIC of Second Opinion Christina Farr
Some founders win support because of their product, others because of their story. In healthcare, where trust is everything, the ability to tell a compelling and authentic narrative can make or break a company.On this episode, Halle talks with longtime friend and colleague Christina Farr—reporter turned investor and now author of The Storyteller’s Advantage. Chrissy has spent thousands of
Can Wearables Move from Wellness to Medicine? | ŌURA CEO Tom Hale
Thanks to improved accuracy and new form factors, wearables have evolved from novelty step counters to tools that can predict illness, nudge healthier behaviors, and even influence alcohol consumption. But can they really bridge the gap between consumer wellness and enterprise healthcare?In this episode, ŌURA CEO Tom Hale discusses the lessons his team has learned from developing one of t
Dissecting the BVP State of AI Report 2025 and What it Means for Healthcare | BVP's Sofia Guerra and Kent Bennett
AI companies are hitting growth milestones in record time—some reaching $100 million in revenue in just two years. But while this pace feels familiar in tech, healthcare has always been slower to adopt new tools. That may finally be changing.Kent Bennett and Sofia Guerra of Bessemer Venture Partners join Steve Kraus to unpack findings from Bessemer’s State of AI 2025 report and what they
📣 Digital Health Download | September 2025
Healthcare’s “back-to-school” season delivered no shortage of big headlines! From Epic’s big leap into AI to a looming insurance “blood bath,” Steve and Michael break down the stories that shaped digital health this month.We cover:🖥 Epic’s 200 new AI “colleagues” and what it means for the battle between systems of record vs. systems of action💼 Why healthcare CEOs are cashing record payche
Healthcare Consumers Are Waking Up | Collective Health Co-founder & CEO Ali Diab
Healthcare costs keep climbing, and yet patients and employers often feel powerless to change the system. What if outsiders—those not steeped in the traditions of healthcare—are actually the ones best positioned to fix it?This special episode is a reshare from The Benefits Playbook podcast, where Halle joins Collective Health CEO Ali Diab. Together, they unpack what it takes to make healt
The Reason Hospital Software Fails | Commure CEO Tanay Tandon
Hospitals are under immense pressure: burned-out clinicians, outdated systems, and rising costs have made delivering care harder than ever. Tanay Tandon, founder and CEO of Commure, shares how his team is rethinking hospital infrastructure by combining AI, forward-deployed engineering, and a provider-first mindset. Backed by over $750M in funding, Commure is using strategic M&A a
Managing Medicaid in Challenging Times | Boston Medical Center CEO Dr. Alastair Bell
One in four Americans is enrolled in Medicaid, yet the system designed to support them is constantly at risk—underfunded, politically vulnerable, and often overlooked.Dr. Alastair Bell, President and CEO of Boston Medical Center Health System, shares how his organization is reimagining what it means to care for underserved populations, while managing nearly 40% of Massachusetts’ Medicaid
Why Intractable Healthcare Problems Might Finally Be Solvable | Solv Co-founder & CEO Heather Fernandez
Three simple questions plague every American seeking healthcare: Where should I go? When can I be seen? And how much will it cost me? Despite seeming basic, these questions have remained largely unanswerable—until now.In this episode, we explore how Heather Fernandez, co-founder and CEO of Solv, is building the infrastructure behind same-day care for 210 million Americans. We discuss how
What The One Big Beautiful Bill Means For Digital Health | Marwood Group Managing Director Joseph Mercer
A new federal law is reshaping how healthcare is paid for and delivered in America.In this episode, Steve sits down with health policy expert Joe Mercer to unpack the details of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It’s the most significant healthcare legislation since the ACA, with ripple effects across Medicaid, rural hospitals, and the ACA exchange.We cover: 🧾 What Medicaid work requirement
This Founder Just Raised $243M to Free Doctors from Their Screens | Ambience Co-founder & CEO Mike Ng
Fresh off a $243 million fundraise from Oak HC/FT and A16Z, Ambience Healthcare is on a mission to kill medical billing — and build “Iron Man suits for doctors.”Today we sit down with co-founder and CEO Mike Ng to talk about how Ambience is tackling one of healthcare’s most painful problems: the administrative burden that eats up 73% of a clinician’s day. We cover: 🏥 How Ambienc
Building a $33B Digital Health Juggernaut | Dexcom Chairman & CEO Kevin Sayer
Dexcom generates more than $4 billion in annual revenue and has a market cap north of $30 billion, making it one of the biggest digital health companies in the world. And it all started with a better way to measure blood sugar.In this episode, Halle is joined by Kevin Sayer, CEO of Dexcom, the company that pioneered continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Under Kevin’s leadership, Dexcom sca
Will AI Doctors Be Legal in 3 Years? | Coalition for Health AI President & CEO Dr. Brian Anderson
More than a thousand AI medical devices have FDA clearance, yet fewer than two percent of radiologists actually use them.In this episode, Steve sits down with Dr. Brian Anderson—CEO and co‑founder of the Coalition for Health AI—to unpack why trust, transparency, and regulation could make or break the next wave of AI‑powered medicine.We cover:🤖 Why only 2% of radiologists use AI tools desp
Winning Over the Skeptics | Prenuvo CEO & Founder Andrew Lacy
When Andrew Lacy launched Prenuvo, the medical establishment largely dismissed it as fringe. Now, some of those same skeptics are collaborating with him on research.In this episode, Halle and Michael sit down with Andrew, founder and CEO of Prenuvo, to unpack what it takes to build trust in an unconventional idea. He opens up about how a moment of personal reckoning led him to pivot from
The Making of Omada Health | Omada Health Co-Founder & CEO Sean Duffy
In their first podcast since going public, Omada Health CEO Sean Duffy joins us to reflect on the journey to bend the curve of chronic disease.From walking away from the traditional PMPM model to staying grounded in clinical outcomes, Sean shares hard-earned lessons from over a decade of building Omada—from a startup in Rock Health’s Chinatown office to IPO. We cover:🔧 Killing PMPM b
📣 Digital Health Download | July 2025
Dare we say digital health is back? The IPOs are IPOing, and startups (at least the AI ones) are back raising mega rounds. In this month’s Digital Health Download, Halle and Steve break down the recent headlines, including a blockbuster funding cycle for AI tools, a dramatic breakup between Novo Nordisk and Hims, and why Oregon’s new law could shake up how startups structure clinical
The PillPack Founders Are Back for Round Two | Co-founder and Former CEO of PillPack TJ Parker
What does one do after selling their company to Amazon for $1 billion? Start a new one, of course.In this episode, Halle sits down with TJ Parker, pharmacist, entrepreneur, and advocate for consumer-centric digital health. After co-founding PillPack and selling it to Amazon, TJ stayed on for four years helping build Amazon Pharmacy. Now, he’s back at it with General Medicine, a new compan
Special Episode: Digital Health's Evidence Problem
Most medical care is backed by varying types of evidence, yet we apply higher standards to digital health tools before they’re trusted, adopted, or reimbursed.In this special episode, guest host Lucia Savage is joined by Dr. Vindell Washington of Verily and Dr. Aaron Carroll of AcademyHealth for a candid conversation about the uneven standards we apply to digital versus traditional care.
Do We Really Need Healthcare Superintelligence? | CEO & Co-founder of Color Health Othman Laraki
Most AI in healthcare promises superintelligence—but what if that’s the wrong goal entirely?In this episode, Michael and Halle speak with Othman Laraki, co-founder and CEO of Color Health, to talk about why real-world care doesn’t need a perfect model—it needs a better system. Othman breaks down how Color evolved from a consumer genetics startup into a nationwide virtual cancer clinic, wh
Inside a New Model Changing American Healthcare | Risant CEO Jaewon Ryu
Over half of Americans now live with at least one chronic condition, yet our healthcare system still revolves around episodic, reactionary care instead of continuous, coordinated support.We talk with Dr. Jaewon Ryu—former CEO of Geisinger and now CEO of Risant Health—about how integrated delivery systems are reshaping the way care is paid for and delivered. With decades of experience span
📣 Digital Health Download | June 2025
Is the digital health IPO drought over? Halle and Michael dig into the Hinge Health IPO and what it signals for the return of digital health companies to the public markets. They explore how much equity founders typically hold at IPO, the growing role of private equity, and why down rounds aren’t the deal-breaker they once were.Plus: Elizabeth Holmes’ husband launches a head-scratching st
Why Healthcare Is Totally Unprepared for AI | TowerBrook Advisors President Eric Jon Larsen
US healthcare has more unproductive labor and more unstructured data than any other industry, making it both vulnerable to disruption from generative AI and especially unprepared for it.That’s the provocative thesis of Eric Larsen, president of TowerBrook Advisors. In this episode, he joins host Steve Kraus to explain why generative AI is unlike any other technology we've seen—and why the
A New Era at Optum | Optum Chief Executive Officer Dr. Patrick Conway
Over 160 million Americans are served by Optum, yet many still don’t fully understand what it actually does—or why it matters.Dr. Patrick Conway, newly appointed CEO of Optum and former head of CMS Innovation Center and Blue Cross NC, joins Steve for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of healthcare delivery, affordability, and the potential of value-based care at a national scale. Wit
The Flywheel Holding Women’s Health Back | Rock Health CEO Katie Drasser & Tia Founding CEO Carolyn Witte
Women make 80% of healthcare decisions and outspend men two to one on care—yet when it comes to designing, funding, and scaling health tech, they’re still treated like a niche.In this episode, we break down the broken flywheel holding women’s health innovation back including fewer growth-stage investments, limited exits, and a system not built to serve women as the primary users of care.
📣 Digital Health Download: May 2025
In this month's Digital Health Download, Steve and Halle unpack the headlines shaping healthcare, policy, and technology—with an eye toward where things may be heading next. From shifting political support for Medicaid and the ACA to state-level action on PBMs, they explore the unexpected ways the system is evolving.We cover:🩺 Why more Republicans are backing Medicaid and ACA expansion—an
Stopping Healthcare's Tapeworm with Zero Inflation Healthcare | Clayton Christensen Institute Director Ann Somers Hogg
The average American family spends over $24,000 a year on healthcare, and costs continue to rise faster than inflation. Why can't we create a healthcare system that delivers more value for less money?In this conversation with Ann Somers Hogg, Director of Healthcare Research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, we explore the concept of "Zero Inflation Healthcare" and uncover why traditio
From Family Business to Startup Success | Thyme Care Founder & CEO Robin Shah
Each year, 2 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer and face a fragmented, overwhelming healthcare system with minimal guidance between doctor visits, even as they make life-altering decisions.In this episode, we talk with Robin Shah, Founder & CEO of Thyme Care, who has devoted his 17-year career to improving oncology care and is now building a virtual support system that has al
The Health Insurance Founder That Hates Insurance | Oscar Health Co-founder Mario Schlosser
Health insurance has a Net Promoter Score of around 0-10 industry-wide, one of the lowest ratings of any industry. This is exactly why the founders of Oscar Health, with no background in healthcare and a distaste for the industry, started the company in 2012. Since then, Oscar has grown to 1.7 million members, gone public, and achieved profitability—all while receiving an NPS significantl
📣 Digital Health Download: April 2025
In this month's Digital Health Download, Steve, Halle, and Michael take a deliberately optimistic look at key headlines in healthcare technology. From the impressive impact of AI scribing tools on physician satisfaction to encouraging survival rates among digital health unicorns from the ZIRP-era, the hosts highlights bright spots in an often challenging industry.We cover:🏆 Rock Health's
Healthcare’s Eras Tour | NEA Co-CEO Mohamad Makhzoumi
Venture capital in healthcare has evolved from "the trailer park of venture investing" to a fundamental core tenant of the ecosystem, reflecting a quarter-century transformation of the entire industry.In this episode, we sit down with Mohamad Makhzoumi, co-CEO of NEA, who shares his 25-year journey from unpaid intern to leader of one of the largest healthcare investment funds, offering hi
A Brave New Medicaid World | Waymark Co-founder & CEO Dr. Rajaie Batniji
One in four Americans relies on Medicaid, yet the program faces billions in federal funding cuts.In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rajaie Batniji, co-founder and CEO of Waymark, about delivering tech-enabled community care to Medicaid patients.We discuss what cuts to Medicaid could mean, the impact of "value veneers", and how predictive algorithms can overcome bias in healthcare delivery
The Real Reason the Teladoc-Livongo Merger Went Sideways | Scrub Capital Co-Founder Rebecca Mitchell, MD
In 2020, telemedicine company Teladoc acquired remote patient monitoring company Livongo for a record $18.5 billion, creating a $38 billion entity. Today, the combined company is worth less than a tenth of that.Rebecca Mitchell, who spent years as a product leader at both companies, reveals how this landmark healthcare deal fell short of expectations despite strong underlying products, an
AI and Hard Tech in Healthcare | YC Partners Jared Friedman and Ankit Gupta
Startup capital accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator has a long history of backing healthcare startups, with a particular focus on technical founders tackling difficult problems. In this episode, YC partners Jared Friedman and Ankit Gupta share their insights on healthcare investment, the transformative potential of AI, and why they believe young, tactical founders will conti
📣 Digital Health Download: March 2025
In this monthly healthcare news roundup, Halle and Steve break down the biggest healthcare headlines this month.We cover:🏥 How a $5/month medication subscription service is improving adherence and saving patients money🧠 How microplastic levels in our brains have increased 50% in just eight years⚕️ The viral beef between a surgeon and UnitedHealthcare💉 Louisiana's decision to stop promotin
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