The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show

Every medical breakthrough begins with a clinical trial. Yet for millions of patients, participating in one has never really been an option.Only 12% of U.S. hospitals are currently equipped to run clinical trials, leaving most patients dependent on where they live, where they receive care, and whether they can travel to one of the relatively few centers offering research.Heather Grey believes we’ve been asking the wrong question.Instead of asking how we get more patients to clinical trials, what if we brought clinical trials to the patients?In Episode 200 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Heather Grey, CEO and co-founder of Elixir Trials, to explore her effort to rethink how clinical research reaches patients, physicians, community hospitals, and underserved health systems.Heather has spent more than 15 years working across clinical trials, pharmaceutical partnerships, and healthcare. The idea behind Elixir Trials came into focus during a dinner with the leadership team of a safety net hospital struggling just to make nursing payroll.The hospital wanted to participate in clinical research. The patients were there. The physicians were there.What they didn’t have was the money, people, technology, regulatory infrastructure, and operational support required to build a clinical trial program.Heather saw a problem worth solving.Elixir Trials is building a model designed to turn community hospitals into research-ready sites without forcing each organization to recreate the infrastructure of a major academic medical center.The conversation goes well beyond clinical trials.Heather shares the unlikely path that took her from kindergarten teacher and single mother to pharmaceutical sales, clinical research executive, and eventually founder and CEO. She talks about the grandmother who taught her that nobody else gets to decide what she is capable of, why building LEGO helps her think through difficult problems, and why she never set out to become an entrepreneur.Michael and Heather also unpack two of the biggest bottlenecks in clinical research today: patient enrollment and patient adherence.When participating in a trial means repeatedly traveling hours away from home, leaving the physician you trust, and adding appointments while already dealing with a serious illness, access becomes more than a logistical problem.It becomes a human one.In this episode:00:00 – Welcome to Episode 200 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show04:24 – Why Heather builds LEGO when she gets stuck07:05 – What Heather was like as a kid08:01 – The grandmother who shaped how Heather sees possibility11:17 – From kindergarten teacher and single mom to healthcare14:52 – The problem Heather could no longer ignore15:07 – Why only 12% of U.S. hospitals can offer clinical trials17:13 – The dinner that became the origin story of Elixir Trials20:59 – Using philanthropy to expand clinical trial access22:45 – Leaving a successful career to build something new24:13 – Where the traditional clinical trial model breaks down26:46 – Building Elixir Trials like a LEGO set27:42 – The two biggest bottlenecks in clinical research29:21 – Why bringing trials closer to patients matters31:26 – Technology vs. trust: which is harder to build?34:12 – How becoming CEO changed Heather’s view of leadership36:37 – Where AI can actually improve clinical research40:05 – A message for community hospitals considering research41:26 – Where to follow Heather and Elixir Trials42:09 – Lightning roundLearn more about Elixir Trials: elixirtrials.com📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEAbout the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Every health system seems to be investing in AI.The bigger question is whether they’re actually building the foundation to use it.In E199 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Dr. Justin Norden, CEO and co-founder of Qualified Health, to talk about what happens when healthcare moves beyond experimenting with AI and starts building it into the way the organization actually operates.Justin brings an unusual perspective to the conversation. He’s a physician, computer scientist, former Apple team member, venture capitalist, healthcare AI entrepreneur and, yes, a three-time world champion in ultimate frisbee.Their conversation gets into one of the biggest challenges facing health systems right now: AI tools are multiplying faster than many organizations can integrate, govern and measure them.Justin explains why Qualified Health approaches the problem from the infrastructure level, creating a common foundation that can support use cases across revenue cycle, clinical care, operations and the workforce instead of continually adding another disconnected solution.They also dig into:• Why trust may be the most important currency in healthcare AI• What health system leaders should look for when evaluating AI companies• Why customer outcomes matter more than AI marketing• How one health system generated significant financial impact in less than six months• Using AI to identify gaps in guideline-driven patient care• Why healthcare AI requires infrastructure, governance and measurable outcomes• How AI could change health system margins, workforce and operations• Why Justin believes health systems could soon begin separating into two very different groups• What happens when AI stops being a “project” and becomes part of how a health system operatesTimestamps: 00:00 – Why Health Systems Are Losing Control of AI03:16 – Meet Dr. Justin Norden03:26 – From World Champion Athlete to Healthcare AI05:22 – Why Medicine + Computer Science08:41 – The Trust Problem in Healthcare AI11:20 – What Qualified Health Actually Does14:16 – How AI Created $15M in Health System Impact18:00 – How Health Systems Can Separate AI Hype From Reality21:07 – Why Customer Results Matter More Than Marketing22:38 – What Healthcare Could Look Like in Five Years26:08 – AI Can’t Just Be Another ProjectJustin also shares why some of the healthcare problems that interest him most aren't things medicine doesn't know how to solve.They're the things we already know how to solve, yet patients still fall through the cracks.That may be where AI ultimately creates some of its greatest value.If you work in healthcare leadership, digital health, AI, clinical operations, or health system innovation, this is a conversation worth hearing.📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEAbout the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

What happens when $50 billion is put toward transforming rural healthcare?The money may be available. The need is certainly there. But Sunny Lu Williams believes the real question is whether rural communities will have a meaningful voice in deciding what transformation actually looks like.In Episode 197 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Sunny Lu Williams, President of TechServe Corporation, to explore the future of rural healthcare, community-based access, population health, and the Rural Health Transformation Program.Sunny’s story begins long before healthcare.Her grandmother immigrated to the United States from Taiwan, learned English, and started TechServe in 1992. Three generations later, Sunny is leading the family business and pushing it into an entirely different chapter.Their conversation explores why schools, faith-based organizations, community groups, and local leaders may become critical pieces of the healthcare infrastructure in rural America.Sunny also explains why simply putting more money into the existing healthcare system may not create transformation.The bigger challenge is making sure rural communities have a seat at the table.In this conversation:• How Sunny became the third generation of her family to lead TechServe• What she learned about leadership from watching another family business• Why TechServe moved from traditional IT into population health• Why schools can become a powerful front door to healthcare• How StatWatch supports community health, case management, and patient monitoring• What happened when nearly $20 million in contracted federal awards were rescinded• Why data and measurable outcomes matter when funding disappears• The opportunity behind the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program• Why governance may be one of the biggest barriers facing rural communities• The connection between rural health and economic development• Why transformation has to be built with communities, not simply delivered to them• Sunny’s vision for community-based healthcare access five years from nowOne idea from Sunny captures much of the conversation:“You can only be strategic on the outcomes.”This episode is about rural healthcare, but it’s also about something bigger: who gets a voice when systems are redesigned, where healthcare actually happens, and what it takes to build something that lasts.If you care about rural health, population health, healthcare access, community health, health innovation, or the future of healthcare delivery, this conversation is worth your time.Timestamps: 03:51 Why Rural Healthcare Transformation Matters04:26 The Immigrant Story Behind TechServe08:15 Becoming the Third Generation to Lead the Family Business11:00 Changing the Culture of a Family Business12:07 Why TechServe Moved Into Healthcare13:10 Schools as a Front Door to Healthcare16:09 How StatWatch Works17:23 Bringing Healthcare Into the Community21:01 Measuring the Impact of Community Health22:00 When Nearly $20 Million in Federal Funding Disappeared25:32 Why Outcomes Matter More Than Intent26:57 The $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Opportunity28:48 Where TechServe Fits Into Rural Health Transformation30:57 What Could Keep Rural Communities From the Funding31:15 The Governance Problem No One Talks About35:00 What TechServe Actually Does Today36:42 Lightning Round39:40 What Rural Healthcare Could Look Like in Five Years41:46 Closing Thoughts📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEAbout the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

He was bleeding through his shirt, called six doctors' offices, and not one of them picked up. That single moment — not a whiteboard session, not a pitch deck — is why Oakkar Oakkar built Keona Health.Oakkar is the CEO of Keona Health, an AI engineer, a surfer, and a jiu-jitsu dad who's spent over a decade trying to fix the most overlooked part of healthcare: what happens before you ever see a doctor. In this conversation, we get into why patient access is a 23-million-pathway problem, why most "AI wrapper" tools fail patients at the exact moment it matters most, and what surfing and jiu-jitsu taught him about building through years of "we thought this would take way less time than it did."If you've ever been stuck on hold, transferred five times, or repeated your symptoms to four different people — this episode is for you.🕐 TIMESTAMPS00:00 – Introduction: Why access is where healthcare actually starts04:14 – What surfing taught Oakkar about patience, chaos, and control07:56 – The origin story: how Keona Health actually started14:16 – "We thought it'd take a few years." Reality: 3-4x longer.19:00 – What "access" actually means (and why we've watered the word down)20:15 – The 23 million pathways problem in primary care22:40 – Where healthcare is getting AI wrong right now25:06 – Hallucination, handoffs, and why "ChatGPT wrappers" fail in healthcare31:42 – The moment Oakkar questioned everything34:11 – The AI "renaissance" — why it feels like starting the company over37:00 – What building Keona taught him about people, not machines40:15 – Advice for founders staring down a problem that feels too bigLearn more about Keona Health: https://keonahealth.com/Follow Oakkar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oakkar/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEAbout the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Bryan Hunt, CFA, General Partner at Relevance Ventures, joins host Michael Stamatinos on the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show to break down what two decades of grilling CEOs on Wall Street taught him about spotting the founders who are built to last, why he'd rather back a missionary than a mercenary, and how a $6-psychiatrist startup grew to 800 in five years by solving access instead of chasing headlines.For over twenty years, Bryan Hunt sat on the other side of the table from CEOs, founders, and leadership teams as one of Wall Street's top-ranked analysts at Wells Fargo Securities, asking the question that actually matters: is this a great story, or is this a great business? He's since moved to the other side of that table entirely, investing in healthcare, medical technology, and wellness companies through Relevance Ventures.In this episode, Bryan and Michael get into the framework Bryan uses to separate missionaries from mercenaries, the origin story behind Talkiatry, a telepsychiatry company that scaled from six psychiatrists to 800 in five years after its founder couldn't get access to his own mental health care, and the investing mistake that made background checks a permanent part of Relevance's process. Bryan also shares the founder story behind Chobani, why nearly half of early-stage venture bets fail, and the economics behind why preventative medicine may be the biggest untapped opportunity left in American healthcare.⏱ TIMESTAMPS0:00 — Introduction: Who is Bryan Hunt and what is Relevance Ventures?3:57 — Two decades on Wall Street: what 20 years of grilling CEOs teaches you6:42 — Missionaries vs. mercenaries: the filter Bryan uses to evaluate every founder9:15 — Inside Talkiatry: from 6 psychiatrists to 800 in five years15:31 — Spotting an exceptional CEO: obvious immediately, or does it take time?19:40 — Visionary or just confident? The difference between conviction and delusion23:23 — The founder story behind Chobani, and what made him a missionary24:36 — The investment mistake that changed Relevance's process for good31:37 — Reading the exit: when it's time for a founder to sell34:26 — Why preventative medicine might be healthcare's biggest missed opportunityIn This Episode→ How Bryan Hunt spent 20+ years as one of Wall Street's top-ranked analysts before becoming a venture investor→ The "missionaries vs. mercenaries" filter Relevance Ventures uses to evaluate every founder→ The real story behind Talkiatry's growth from 6 psychiatrists to 800 in five years→ Why Relevance Ventures started running background checks on founders, and what changed their mind→ The economics of preventative care, and why every dollar spent there returns $5.60 later in life→ What separates a true visionary from someone who's simply confident and wrongLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-hunt-cfa-17677087/Website: https://www.relevanceventures.com/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEAbout the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Three out of every four healthcare workers are burning out. And it's not for the reason you think.Dr. Katherine Meese spent 15 years building the science that most healthcare leaders have never had access to. In this episode, she sits down with Michael Stamatinos to challenge everything the industry thinks it knows about why its people are leaving and what it actually takes to keep them.This is not a burnout episode. This is an episode about systems. About trust. About the human margin.Before Katherine became the leading voice on healthcare workforce in America, she started her career in oil and gas — working across 10 countries on four continents.Why does an industry built entirely on human beings treat its people worse than the oil industry treats its equipment?Katherine breaks down the real answer, and it will change how you lead.TIMESTAMPS01:45 — The 75% burnout stat every leader needs to sit with04:42 — Katherine's background and why she jumped from oil and gas to healthcare07:34 — The 30-hour shift moment that changed her career trajectory09:37 — The paradox: why the most mission-driven industry has the worst track record for its own people11:21 — What the research actually showed was causing burnout (it was not what anyone expected)13:56 — The 6 drivers of burnout across industries and why workload is only one of them17:21 — The game of telephone inside organizations and the cost of misalignment19:51 — The one question every leader should be asking their managers right now22:01 — "What matters to me is safe with you" — the most powerful definition of trust in healthcare24:34 — Where the phrase Human Margin came from and why it needs to sit alongside financial margin26:37 — The eyeball story and the physician CEO who finally got it28:40 — The two types of leaders Katherine cannot reach (and one of them will surprise you)31:24 — Genfluence: the biggest myth about Gen Z in the healthcare workforce33:22 — The iPhone, social media, and the rewiring of an entire generation's brain36:39 — Disrespect as the number one predictor of toxic culture38:03 — Stereotype threat and how words alone can actually change performance41:37 — The formula for shutting down gossip and toxic behavior on your team44:50 — The bucket vs. the umbrella: the mindset shift that changes everything for frontline leadersIN THIS EPISODEWhy resilience training is not the answer — and what the data actually shows is driving burnoutThe six factors that cause burnout across industries (and why leaders only fix one of them)How to measure workforce health beyond turnover numbersWhy trust in senior leadership is now predicting more than trust in direct supervisorsThe selective filtering problem inside organizations and how to fix itWhat Gen Z is actually dealing with and why calling them fragile misses the science entirelyThe stereotype threat research that proves words change performanceABOUT DR. KATHERINE MEESEKatherine Meese, PhD is an award-winning researcher, author, and CEO of HUmargin Group. She has spent over 15 years studying healthcare workforce, organizational behavior, and what it actually takes to keep people well inside complex health systems. She is the co-author of five books, including The Human Margin: Building the Foundations of Trust and her most recent, Genfluence: How to Lead a Multigenerational Workforce. Her organizational behavior textbooks are used in over 160 schools nationwide and she has delivered over 130 keynotes and workshops across the globe.She is on a mission to rehumanize the work of healthcare. Using science. Using data. One leader at a time.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherineameesephd/Website: www.katherinemeese.com📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEAbout the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

A patient can order groceries in seconds. Track a package in real time.Open a bank account from their phone. Then they walk into a doctor's office, and someone hands them a clipboard.We've all been there.On this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, host Michael Stamatinos sits down with Jen Hopper, Digital Transformation Leader at Beacon Health System, one of the largest locally owned nonprofit health systems in the Midwest, serving thousands of patients every day across Indiana and Michigan.Over nearly 200 conversations with healthcare leaders, founders, and operators, Michael has heard a common theme: healthcare doesn't struggle because it lacks innovation. It struggles because turning innovation into meaningful experiences for patients is incredibly hard.That's exactly where Jen spends her time.As Beacon has grown through acquisitions and expansion, she's been in the middle of one of healthcare's hardest jobs, standardizing processes, improving digital access, and helping create experiences that feel more intuitive, more personal, and more human.What makes Jen's perspective so refreshing is that she doesn't think of people as users or encounters.She thinks of them as stakeholders.It's a subtle difference. It's also an important one because once that mindset shifts, the conversation changes.The question stops being "How do we deploy this technology?"And becomes: How do we make this experience better for the person sitting in the waiting room?In this conversation, Michael and Jen explore:• Why digital transformation remains so difficult in healthcare.• Why buying technology and being operationally ready for technology are two completely different things.• What healthcare leaders are getting wrong about AI.• Why healthcare keeps building shiny new front doors while the house still needs work.• And why the future of healthcare will belong to organizations that can blend innovation with human connection.The work Jen and her team are doing may never make headlines.It may never be the topic of conversation at a dinner party.But thousands of patients will have a better experience because of it. And that's work worth talking about.In this episode:• Why digital transformation initiatives often fail• The hidden work required before technology can scale• Why standardization is so difficult in healthcare• The difference between patient acquisition and operational readiness• What healthcare leaders consistently get wrong about AI• Why patient feedback needs to happen in real time• The balance between automation and human connection• Why clean data matters more than most organizations realize• How healthcare can finally start meeting patients where they areChapters03:35 The experience that shaped Jen's career07:12 Patients now have a choice10:30 Why standardization is so difficult14:15 What vendors consistently get wrong18:15 The AI treadmill20:30 Lessons from digital registration23:20 Building the front door before the house is ready25:35 The healthcare conversation nobody is having29:35 The patient outcomes that make the work worthwhile33:10 The biggest AI mistake healthcare may make41:45 The opportunity healthcare cannot afford to missFollow Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhopperBeacon Health System: https://www.beaconhealthsystem.org/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Most people think the biggest barriers in healthcare are access, staffing, or technology.Brian Marsella thinks it's something else.Money.Millions of Americans delay or avoid care every year because they're worried about what it might cost, what bill might show up later, or whether they can afford to walk through the door in the first place.In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Brian Marsella, President of PayMedix and Board Chair of Erie Family Health Center, for a candid conversation about one of healthcare's most overlooked barriers to access: the patient financial experience.With more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning Cigna, Aetna, and now PayMedix, Brian has had a front-row seat to how financial friction shapes patient behavior, health outcomes, and the future of healthcare.The conversation explores:• Why 67% of Americans earning less than $90,000 delay or avoid care• The unintended consequences of high deductible health plans• Why patients ignore medical bills until the final notice arrives• How financial friction changes health outcomes• What employers, providers, and health plans can do differently• Why fixing the payment experience could unlock better access to careThis isn't really a conversation about healthcare payments.It's a conversation about trust.And what happens when people are forced to choose between their health and their finances.If you've ever wondered why healthcare still feels so hard to navigate, this episode is for you.⏱ Chapters03:58 Brian's unexpected start in healthcare10:00 The hidden cost of delayed care15:27 Lessons from Erie Family Health Center18:59 Did healthcare create this problem itself?27:11 How PayMedix works37:37 Why change is so difficult40:42 What leaders misunderstand about the patient financial experience43:39 A vision for the future of healthcare46:11 Final thoughtsFollow Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-marsella/Paymedix: https://paymedix.com/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

Healthcare has a workforce crisis, but what if the real problem isn't staffing?In Episode 192 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Tess Michaels, Founder and CEO of Clasp, to explore a bold new approach to solving one of healthcare's biggest challenges: attracting and retaining clinicians before they ever enter the workforce.With more than 3 million clinical positions sitting unfilled across the United States and student loan debt surpassing $1.7 trillion, health systems continue to rely on sign-on bonuses and short-term incentives that often fail to improve long-term retention. Tess believes there's a better way.Drawing inspiration from the ROTC model, Clasp pioneered "Loan Linking Hiring," an innovative approach that connects healthcare employers with future clinicians while they're still in school. Instead of paying large bonuses upfront, employers invest in student loan repayment over time, creating stronger loyalty, improving retention, and helping clinicians begin their careers with greater financial confidence.Throughout the conversation, Tess shares:• Why the healthcare workforce shortage is really a retention problem• How student loan debt influences where clinicians choose to work and how long they stay• Why traditional sign-on bonuses often create more turnover than loyalty• How Clasp partners with leading health systems including Northwestern Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Novant Health, and OhioHealth• The psychology behind long-term employee retention• Lessons learned from building a venture-backed healthcare company over the past eight years• The hardest moments of entrepreneurship that rarely make the headlines• How immigrant parents, education, and purpose shaped her leadership journey• Why investing in people earlier changes the future of healthcareThis episode is about far more than recruiting. It's a conversation about leadership, innovation, trust, financial wellness, workforce strategy, and designing systems that create better outcomes for both clinicians and patients.If you're a healthcare executive, hospital leader, HR executive, workforce strategist, investor, entrepreneur, clinician, or simply passionate about the future of healthcare, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Learn more about Clasp: https://www.clasp.com/Connect with Tess Michaels: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmichaels/⏱️ Timestamps01:15 The healthcare workforce crisis: 3 million open clinical roles03:05 Meet Tess Michaels and the origin of Clasp04:25 Growing up in a family of physicians06:00 Leaving Goldman Sachs and private equity to become a founder08:00 The insight that led to Clasp10:40 Why healthcare's staffing problem is really a retention problem14:25 How Loan Linking Hiring works15:40 Why sign-on bonuses fail18:55 Real stories of clinicians whose lives changed21:10 How health systems justify the investment24:00 Winning the first healthcare customer25:30 Building Clasp over eight years26:15 The hardest part of being a founder28:50 How Tess's immigrant family shaped her leadership31:15 A message to the next generation of clinicians33:30 Where to learn more about Clasp34:10 Final thoughts📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/

What if the biggest challenge in healthcare isn’t creating more innovation…but actually getting it into the hands of the people who need it most?In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with John Fryer, Chief Growth and Corporate Development Officer at Lumeris, to explore one of the most important questions facing healthcare today:How do we scale access to care without losing the human connection that makes healthcare work?Primary care is facing a defining moment.Millions of Americans struggle to access basic preventative care. Physicians are stretched thin. Health systems are under increasing pressure. And AI is entering healthcare faster than ever before.But technology alone won’t fix the problem. John shares how Lumeris is helping redesign the future of primary care by combining value-based care, artificial intelligence, clinical expertise, and new operating models that allow physicians to spend more time doing what they do best: caring for people.In this conversation, we discuss:• The conversation with Cerner founder Neal Patterson that changed the trajectory of John’s career• Why healthcare attracts people who want to solve incredibly difficult problems• Why trust and relationships still determine whether healthcare transformation succeeds• The difference between healthcare innovation and actually deploying innovation at scale• How AI can make healthcare more personal, not less human• Why rural America represents one of the greatest opportunities for healthcare transformation• How we redesign care around patients instead of around legacy systems• Why the next generation of healthcare leaders needs creativity, courage, and a builder mindsetJohn also shares powerful stories from the front lines, including how AI helped create a meaningful connection for a 90-year-old patient experiencing isolation and why the future of healthcare depends on pairing technology with empathy.Healthcare transformation does not happen through technology alone.It happens when the right people, partnerships, incentives, and trust come together around a problem worth solving.This is a conversation about the future of primary care, the role of AI, and the leaders building what comes next.Learn more about Lumeris:https://www.lumeris.com/Connect with John Fryer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-blendu-gudapati-phd-mba-rn-2049072a/📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBEIf this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the ShowThe Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare.Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/