Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders

The first two episodes in this Healthcare is Hard podcast series on “Opportunities in Oncology” explored the relationship between academic medical centers and community care, with guests Dr. Stephen Schleicher from Tennessee Oncology, and Dr. Harlan Levine from City of Hope. For the third and final episode in the series, Dr. Daphne Haas-Kogan joined Keith Figlioli for a conversation that dives more deeply into patient care, innovations in care delivery and the opportunities for entrepreneurs. Dr. Haas-Kogan is Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mass General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also the Willem and Corrie Hees Family Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Haas-Kogan received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University and her medical degree at UCSF. She completed her residency in radiation oncology at UCSF in 1997 and became vice-chair for research at UCSF in 2003, and educational program director in 2008. Dr. Haas-Kogan’s laboratory research focuses on molecular underpinnings of brain tumors and pediatric cancers. She leads large multi-institutional initiatives funded by NIH/NCI, philanthropic organizations, and industry collaborators. For this episode of Healthcare is Hard, some of the topics Dr. Haas-Kogan discussed with Keith include: The collaborative approach to careThe precision of radiation oncology.AI in oncologyTo hear Dr. Haas-Kogan and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Dr. Harlan Levine began his career practicing internal medicine but soon moved into business leadership roles at national healthcare organizations to help improve the dysfunction with payer-provider relationships that he experienced firsthand as a physician. At United Health Group, Dr. Levine joined as clinical lead of the team that launched Optum, where he subsequently served as chief medical officer for more than six years. He also led the health management practice at Towers Watson and served as executive vice president of comprehensive health solutions at WellPoint, among other roles. In 2013, Dr. Levine joined City of Hope, one of the country’s largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations. City of Hope’s uniquely integrated model spans cancer care, research and development, academics and training, and a broad philanthropy program that powers its work. City of Hope’s growing national system includes its Los Angeles campus, a network of clinical care locations across Southern California, a new cancer center in Orange County, California, and cancer treatment centers and outpatient facilities in the Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix areas. In addition to currently serving as president of health innovation and policy at City of Hope, Dr. Levine is also chair of the board of AccessHope. A spinout from City of Hope, AccessHope partners with the nation’s most prestigious cancer research centers to help make leading-edge cancer care available to all, regardless of geographical location. Dr. Levine joined Keith Figlioli for the second episode of a Healthcare is Hard series exploring opportunities in oncology. Some of the topics they discussed include: Community practice vs. academic medical centersfirst episode of this series, Dr. Stephen Schleicher from Tennessee OncologyDefining value in oncologyAI in oncologyTo hear Dr. Levine and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

There’s been a massive gap in oncology where people who have been responsible for a dramatic increase in the standard of care have lacked a solid understanding of the business, payment and policy constructs required to deliver it. Dr. Stephen Schleicher has spent the early part of his career working to fill that gap. Dr. Schleicher entered medical school with an interest in oncology, anchored by an appreciation for the psychological toll cancer can have on a person, their family and caregivers that he gained from parents who were both psychologists. During his internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Schleicher also worked at McKinsey and earned his MBA at Harvard Business School as part of a fully-funded fellowship. Through this combined experience, he started to develop a niche in the oncology space where clinical, business and policy decisions intersect, at a time when value-based care was just starting to gain momentum. After a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Schleicher joined Tennessee Oncology, one of the nation’s largest community-based cancer care practices, and shortly after became medical director of value-based care at OneOncology, a large community oncology network founded by Tennessee Oncology that spans multiple states. He subsequently returned his focus to Tennessee Oncology where he served as chief medical officer for two years and still practices as a breast cancer medical oncologist. Dr. Schleicher is also a board member and executive committee member at the Community Oncology Alliance. To set the stage for a Healthcare is Hard series focused on Oncology, Dr. Schleicher talked to Keith Figlioli about both the clinical and business trends influencing cancer care. Topics they discussed include: Community providers vs. health systemsOncology’s cost center.The value based care dilemma. To hear Stephen and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Elements of the new Trump administration are coming into focus as announcements of key healthcare appointments and nominations provide indications for what the market can expect starting in January. To dissect the impact these changes might have, Wall Street Analyst Jeff Garro joined Keith Figlioli to wrap up a four-part series of episodes on election implications. Previous episodes featured conversations with JP Morgan’s Lisa Gill, Canaccord Genuity’s Richard Close, and Maverick Health Policy’s Julie Barnes. Jeff Garro is Managing Director and an equity research analyst covering Healthcare IT for Stephens, a family of privately held, independent financial services firms founded in 1933 that’s focused on building value for companies, state and local governments, institutions and high-net-worth investors. Prior to joining Stephens in September 2022 Jeff held research analyst roles at Piper Sandler and William Blair. During this conversation, Jeff discussed the policy changes and broader market signals he’s watching to advise clients on investments in the healthcare IT market. Some of the topics he discussed with Keith include: Balance in management teamsPredictions by payer typePublic vs. private marketsThe post-COVID resetTo hear Jeff and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A

Healthcare was not a major focus during the 2024 election where other key issues drove most of the discussion. This left a vacuum around specific healthcare policies and what to expect from a second Trump Administration. With few details available and political capital to spend from the ‘red sweep’ this election, healthcare stakeholders are pondering how much of the incoming administration’s preference for disrupting the status quo will extend to the healthcare industry. For the third episode in a four part series on election implications – and the first one since votes were counted and winners declared – JP Morgan analyst Lisa Gill joined Keith Figlioli on the Healthcare is Hard podcast to analyze the outcome. Lisa has more than three decades of healthcare industry experience and has spent most of her career at JP Morgan where she has been covering the healthcare services industry for the last 27 years. In this episode, Keith talked to Lisa about the lessons she’s learned covering healthcare for several decades, and asked her to share her outlook for what to expect in the months and years ahead. A few of the topics they discussed include: Cycles of innovationConsolidation and diversificationOptimism for managed carePreviewing the 43rd Annual JP Morgan Healthcare ConferenceTo hear Lisa and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

With the White House and Congress up for grabs this election, anticipation in the healthcare industry is high. Shifts in healthcare policy will influence how care is paid for and delivered, which will of course influence the flow of investment dollars in both public and private markets. During the first episode of a four-part series on election implications, beltway insider Julie Barnes laid out potential scenarios for the direction healthcare policy might take depending on election outcomes. With that background, Part 2 of the series zooms in on healthcare investing. For more than 20 years – and now six presidential election cycles – Richard Close has covered the healthcare space as a Wall Street analyst. He was one of the first analysts covering healthcare technology and as Managing Director, Digital and Tech-Enabled Health Equity Research at Canaccord Genuity, he focuses on introducing the investment community to disruptive and innovative companies that are leading the digital transformation in healthcare. In this episode of Healthcare is Hard, Richard talked to Keith Figlioli about the election and how it could impact investments in the healthcare sector. A few of the topics they discussed include: Predictions on prioritiesContrasts in public vs. private marketsOptimism for health techTo hear Richard and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Julie Barnes has made a career helping health plans, tech vendors, investors and others in the healthcare space decipher health policy. She’s a former Hill staffer who earned her law degree and spent a decade in corporate law serving healthcare clients before moving to policy think tanks, business consulting, and founding Maverick Health Policy. At Maverick, she provides strategic advice on federal health policy to private companies and industry coalitions, with particular focus on health data and value-based care. With the U.S. presidential election less than two months away, Julie is kicking off a series of Healthcare is Hard episodes that will explore the implications of the shifting power structure in Washington. Next year, there will be a new administration and a new makeup of the U.S. Congress – that much is certain. How these changes will impact health policy and healthcare investing in public and private markets is a much bigger question. During the next few episodes, both before and after votes are cast in November, Keith Figlioli will shed light on these topics with an expert panel of guests. A few of the topics Keith and Julie discussed during the first episode of this series include: The alphabet soup of healthcare policyAI changing everythingWhite House hysteriaTo hear Julie and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

OSF HealthCare stands as a model health system for those who want to do innovation right. One of the defining characteristics of the Peoria, Illinois-based system is how it aligns innovation with operations for everyone – all 24,000 employees across 159 locations, including 16 hospitals. Becky Buchen is responsible for driving innovation at OSF HealthCare. As SVP of Innovation Operations she works to engage and educate people on the innovation process, leveraging the eco-system for innovation built at OSF, including simulation, analytics, OSF Ventures, Innovation Studio, Digital Innovation Development and Performance Improvement. Becky’s background in performance improvement has been a major influence in OSF HealthCare’s approach to innovation. Prior to her role leading innovation, she served as VP of Performance Improvement where she focused on implementing methodologies to monitor, assess and improve patient experience, patient outcomes, and overall operations. In this episode of Healthcare is Hard, Becky talked to Keith Figlioli about how OSF HealthCare formalized its vision for innovation more than a decade ago and the thoughtful approach to ensuring that it would be fully integrated – not simply a “bolt on.” The goal was to truly make an impact and transform how care was delivered across the organization, and to do so, OSF HealthCare recognized that it had to apply the same level of rigor for exploring, testing and measuring innovation initiatives as it historically had to performance improvement. In her conversation with Keith, Becky discussed specifics about OSF HealthCare’s approach to innovation that both digital health entrepreneurs and other health systems can learn from. Some of the topics they discussed include: Integrating innovation into cultureWhat health systems are getting wrong (and right)Retooling and reskilling due to artificial intelligenceTo hear Becky and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

With great power comes great responsibility and in healthcare, those words may have never held more meaning than they do with the advent of artificial intelligence. AI most certainly has the power to transform healthcare, and those in the industry working to develop and use it have an immense responsibility to shape principles that ensure these technologies help, not harm. The Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) was created with a mission to be the trusted source of responsible AI in health that serves all. CHAI was founded in early 2021 by a small group of industry stakeholders and has quickly grown to now encompass more than 2,500 participants representing health systems, technology providers, government agencies, advocacy groups and others. Dr. Brian Anderson is one of CHAI’s co-founders and now serves as its first CEO. Before CHAI, Dr. Anderson was the Chief Digital Health Physician at MITRE, a nonprofit corporation that manages federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) supporting various U.S. government agencies. At MITRE he led research and development efforts across major strategic initiatives in digital health alongside industry partners and the U. S. Government. Prior to MITRE, Dr. Anderson led the Informatics and Network Medicine Division at athenahealth. He has also served on several national, and international, health information technology committees in partnership with the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In this episode of Healthcare is Hard, Keith Figlioli spoke with Dr. Anderson about the origins of CHAI, its intended role ensuring responsible use of AI in healthcare, and the complex issues already emerging as the industry navigates the early stages of AI adoption. Some of the topics they discussed include: Aligning AI with valuesAI assurance.Giving everyone a voiceTo hear Dr. Anderson and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Chris Coburn has been driving health system innovation for decades. He is currently chief innovation officer at Mass General Brigham (MGB), the nation’s largest academic research enterprise with over $16 billion in annual revenue, 1.5 million patient visits and more than $2.4 billion in research expenditures. MGB also has a managed care organization, out-patient facilities and community hospitals. 7,000 of its faculty are appointed at Harvard Medical School. As head of innovation, Chris leads a team of nearly 150 people tasked with the worldwide commercial application of the unique capabilities and discoveries of Mass General Brigham’s 85,000 employees. His unit’s business development responsibilities include investing, company creation, international consulting, innovation management, industry collaborations, and licensing. Commercialization revenue exceeds $160 million annually and more than 300 companies have been spun-off from Mass General Brigham in the last decade. Prior to joining Mass General Brigham, Chris was founding director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations and served for 13 years as its executive leader. During his tenure, Cleveland Clinic spun off 57 companies that raised more than $700 million in equity financing. There were none before his arrival. In this special episode of Healthcare is Hard, recorded live at the Digital Health Innovation Summit (DHIS) in Boston, Keith Figlioli led a keynote discussion with Chris about the current state of healthcare innovation. Some of the topics they discussed include: Embracing innovation from inside and outside of MGBCorporate venture capital in healthcareGetting operators to embrace digital innovationTo hear Chris and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Optum Rx serves more than 62 million people, processes 1.6 billion prescriptions and generates more than $110 billion of revenue annually. Dr. Patrick Conway, CEO of Optum Rx, is the third and final guest in a series of Healthcare is Hard episodes exploring the transformation of the pharmacy business – following conversations with Mark Cuban and Dr. Troyen Brennan. Dr. Conway brings an expansive view of the healthcare system to this discussion and his role leading one of the most influential organizations in the pharmacy space. He became CEO of Optum Rx in August 2023 and before that, served as CEO of Care Solutions at Optum for more than three years. He was president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for two years and spent more than six years at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services where he held several positions including Chief Medical Officer, Director of CMMI, and Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality. Before joining CMS, he oversaw clinical operations and quality improvement at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and he is still a practicing pediatrician in Boston where he occasionally works at an area medical center on weekends. Some of the topics Dr. Conway discussed with Keith Figlioli in this episode of Healthcare is Hard include: VBC – A way or THE wayAffordable innovationChoice and transparencyTo hear Dr. Conway and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

In the first of a series of episodes exploring opportunities for innovation in the pharmacy space, Mark Cuban offered perspective from an outsider intent on disrupting the status quo. In this, the second episode, Dr. Troyen Brennan gives an insider point-of-view from someone who has studied and worked in the space for decades. Dr. Brennan was Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health for nearly 14 years, and before that, Chief Medical Officer at Aetna for two years. He was also a practicing physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for 15 years where he was president of Brigham and Women’s Physician Organization. During that time, he was also Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Law and Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is the former Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine and has published six books and more than 600 articles offering his insight into the American healthcare system, and his ideas on how to improve it. With extensive knowledge of how the industry has evolved, and an understanding for why many of the complexities in the industry exist, Dr. Brennan offers a unique viewpoint about where and how disruption in the pharmacy space can succeed. In his eyes, the idea of good and bad actors in the pharmacy space is a false narrative. With an historical perspective, he explains how industry processes were all sensible when they were first implemented, and how that viewpoint is critical to understanding and addressing some that may have become seemingly senseless over time. A few of the topics he discussed with Keith Figlioli in this Healthcare is Hard episode include: Six ways PBMs have lowered cost.Flexibility of PBMs. The path to greater affordability.To hear Dr. Brennan and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Mark Cuban built a career disrupting industries and creating new ones. Now, his sights are set on healthcare. There’s no secret ingredient to Mark’s success. As the world sees very publicly on Shark Tank, his style is the opposite of keeping secrets. It’s based on providing respectful, but direct, honest and unvarnished opinions. He’s bringing that style to healthcare in order to inject what he says the industry is lacking most. Trust. To kick-off a series of Healthcare is Hard podcast episodes that will dive deep into all aspects of reinventing the pharmacy space, Keith Figlioli sat down with Mark to discuss his vision and strategy behind Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, and many other healthcare-related topics. With Cost Plus Drug Company, Mark is bringing radical transparency to what he says is the most opaque industry he’s ever been involved in. He’s doing it by pricing every single product the same way – the cost of a drug, plus 15% markup, plus pharmacy fee (if any), plus shipping – and publishing these details for everyone to see. Through this model, Mark aims reduce costs and improve access to drugs, while rebuilding trust in the industry. With 2,400+ drugs now available, he’s off to a fast start and talked to Keith about other evolving elements of the business including wholesale operations for providers, partnerships with grocery and pharmacy chains, and more. Some of the other topics Keith and Mark discussed include: The Netflix model for specialty drugs.Transparent, direct contracting. Millions of AI models.To hear Mark and Keith discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

In most industries, innovation leads to an improved product or service while ultimately helping to lower cost. Healthcare is the exception. Despite a constant pursuit of new science, technology, operational efficiencies, business models and more, healthcare expenditures in the U.S. have continued to increase for decades with little sign of bending the cost curve downward. What causes this phenomenon in U.S. healthcare, and what can we do about it? In their book, Why Not Better and Cheaper?: Healthcare and Innovation, twin brothers James B. Rebitzer and Robert S. Rebitzer offer answers to those questions. Jim and Bob’s book brings together research on incentives, social norms, and market competition to argue that the healthcare system generates the wrong kinds of innovation. They contend that U.S. healthcare makes it too easy to profit from low-value innovations and too hard to profit from innovations that reduce the costs of care. As a result, we get a system where innovation abounds, but finding ways to deliver increased value at lower cost is remarkably ineffective. In this episode of Healthcare is Hard, Keith Figlioli talked to Jim, a professor at Boston University’s School of Business, and Bob, National Advisor at Manatt Health, for an in-depth discussion about their work. Their conversation explored topics including: Misaligned incentivesThe fourth vital sign of healthcareInnovation vs. irrational financeTo hear Keith, Bob and Jim discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Through its work with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities and the industry’s largest database of patient feedback, Press Ganey gives organizations the data and insights they need to put the human experience at the center of healthcare. Since it was founded nearly 40 years ago by Professors Press and Ganey at the University of Notre Dame, the company has built a reputation for being the prominent source of patient feedback, but it hasn’t stopped there. Its solutions capture the voice of the patient, physician, nurse, and employee to keep healthcare focused on people by enabling organizations to address safety, clinical excellence, patient and member experience, and workforce engagement. Pat Ryan became CEO of Press Ganey in 2012 after more than 30 years working with healthcare leaders and providers, including a dozen years as a Press Ganey client. Pat has served on several health system boards and has worked throughout his career to improve the quality and safety of care while lowering cost and achieving caregiver resilience to deliver truly patient-centered experience. In this episode of Healthcare is Hard, Pat spoke with Keith Figlioli about the increasing focus on human experience in healthcare transformation. Drawing knowledge from his career and from Press Ganey’s unrivaled understanding of patients and the professionals who serve them, Pat shared his perspective on topics including: The link between patient experience and financial successRedesigning healthcare from the outside in.The trust factorOpportunities for innovation.To hear Keith and Pat discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

This is the final episode in a four part series with heads of strategy at providers and payers from across the healthcare ecosystem to explore “the new normal” in a post-COVID operating environment. For this episode Keith Figlioli welcomed Sukanya Soderland, Chief Strategy Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, to explore how a regional payer is adapting. This follows previous episodes that offered a diverse perspective from heads of strategy at: OhioHealth (Episode 58)CommonSpirit Health (Episode 59)Humana (Episode 60)To wrap up this series, Sukanya provides a glimpse into the strategy at BCBS MA, the largest health plan in Massachusetts and a mostly commercial-focused payer that serves nearly three million members across New England. Unlike most not-for-profit organizations, BCBS MA pays significant federal, state, and local taxes and assessments. Without soliciting or receiving charitable donations, or benefiting from tax-exempt financing, BCBS MA stays competitive by generating a small margin from operations that it reinvests in its business, people, and technology, and by remaining deeply focuses on the community its serves. In her discussion with Keith, Sukanya shared her outlook on issues including: Shared empathy between operations and innovationBuilding vs. buying vs. co-designingChanging dynamics in how people access careTo hear Keith and Sukanya discuss these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

The previous two episodes of Healthcare is Hard explored the “new normal” from the provider perspective with heads of strategy at an innovative regional health system, OhioHealth, and one of the nation’s largest, CommonSpirit. For the third episode in this series, Keith Figlioli welcomes Humana’s Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, Dr. Vishal Agrawal, to shift the discussion towards payers and how they’re adjusting to the post-COVID world. Today, Humana is one of the nation’s largest health insurers that also provides payer-agnostic primary care, home health and pharmacy services through its CenterWell brand. However, delivering health care services is not new to Humana. The company’s roots date back to the 1960s where it began as a nursing home business, and by the 1990s, it grew to become the nation’s largest hospital company. While its care delivery assets eventually merged into HCA Healthcare as the company focused on insurance, this deep history provides a unique advantage as the industry continues its shift towards value. In this episode of Healthcare Is Hard, Dr. Agrawal shared some of the strategic priorities for Humana as he helps the organization navigate the new normal in healthcare. These include: Breaking the facility-centric modelChronic care managementRemoving waste from the systemConsumer choice & personalization

CommonSpirit Health is one of the nation’s largest integrated health systems comprising 142 hospitals and 2,200 care sites across 24 states. Three years ago, at the height of the pandemic, CommonSpirit’s Chief Innovation Officer, Rich Roth, and now former CEO, Lloyd Dean, spoke with Keith Figlioli on the Healthcare is Hard podcast to discuss their approach to leading the organization through healthcare’s most challenging times. As the country emerges into a new normal, CommonSpirit’s Chief Strategy Officer, Sheri Shapiro, joins the podcast to discuss how she’s leading this large organization with diverse markets and service lines into the future. Sheri recently joined CommonSpirit to lead strategy in June 2023, undertaking a wide ranging role that spans responsibility for market strategy and development, growth and partnerships, strategy transformation, innovation, marketing and communications, brand management, the international division, sales and payer strategy. She brings more than 20 years of healthcare management consulting, health system leadership and brand management to the position, including seven years leading strategy at another one of the country’s largest health systems, Trinity Health. In this episode of Healthcare Is Hard, Sheri talked to Keith about how she views the new normal and how she’s helping CommonSpirit navigate these uncharted waters. Some of the topics they discussed include: Guiding principles for a large health systemPortfolio rebalancingMisconceptions of healthcare economicsTo hear Keith and Sheri talk about these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

There are many reasons why central Ohio is a fertile ground for innovation and why the areas surrounding Columbus are ideal for testing new approaches to consumer behavior. It’s a diverse city with five Fortune 500 companies and 19 Fortune 1,000 companies in a wide range of industries, from banking and insurance to fashion. No single industry contributes more than 18% of GDP and together, they bolster a region that’s experiencing active and sustainable growth. In addition, Columbus has a relatively low cost of living, temperate climate and demographics that are reflective of the country at large. The bottom line is this well-balanced community creates an environment of low volatility that makes it an ideal place to try new things. These attractive attributes extend to healthcare as well. Central Ohio has a diverse payer market where no one payer holds more than a third of market share. Several leading health systems support the community, including OhioHealth, which is one of the largest. OhioHealth is a faith-based, nonprofit system with 35,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 14 hospitals, 200+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home health, medical equipment and other health services spanning 47 Ohio counties. As OhioHealth’s Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Michael Krouse is responsible for the future direction of the organization and ensuring a strategic framework that delivers operational excellence and growth by meeting consumers’ needs with a diverse portfolio of services. Michael joined OhioHealth as CIO in 2007 after spending the previous 20+ years in healthcare executive roles at UW Medicine, First Consulting Group, E&Y and Arthur Young in the Pacific Northwest. In this episode of Healthcare is Hard, Keith Figlioli spoke with Michael to explore “the new normal” in healthcare and what the industry will look like at it settles into the post-COVID world. Michael discussed his perspective and predictions on the new normal including: The sweet spot of scaleLumpy operating marginsSpinning up new business lines quicklyInside innovation ecosystemsTo hear Keith and Michael talk about these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.

Before taking responsibility for operational performance of Booz Allen Hamilton – the $9+ billion technology and consulting leader with 32,000+ employees worldwide – Kristine Martin Anderson built a career pioneering healthcare IT. Most notably, she spent nearly 14 years at an early innovator in the space, CareScience, where she helped advance work in quality measurement before overseeing the launch of the nation’s first web-based clinical decision support system for hospitals, and the nation’s first health information exchange, among other groundbreaking initiatives. After CareScience, Kristine joined Booz Allen in 2006 to help grow, and ultimately run, the firm’s healthcare business. Kristine later became president of the firm’s civilian sector and ultimately ascended to her current role as chief operating officer. Nearly all of Booz Allen's business is through government contracts, and its clients include all of the cabinet-level departments of the U.S. federal government, from defense and homeland security, to transportation and public health. Kristine’s extensive work with the government and experiences pioneering healthcare IT put her in a unique position to navigate the complex demands of the healthcare industry. She shared some of her knowledge with Keith Figlioli in this episode of Healthcare is Hard, where they discussed topics including: Advice for winning government contractsHow AI adoption will be slow and unevenThe state of quality measurementProspects for entrepreneursTo hear Keith and Kristine talk about these topics and more, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.