Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Hillery Smith Shay, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer and SVP of Communications at Children's Minnesota, leads enterprise experience and digital transformation in pediatric care. She discusses building a systemwide total experience across digital, human, clinical and environmental touchpoints. She also covers launching Epic as a digital front door, operationalizing experience into culture, and tackling funding and unpredictability challenges.

Dr. David Klein, an academic critical care physician and policy advisor at Marwood Group, and Joseph Mercer, Marwood managing director specializing in federal health policy and private equity diligence. They discuss regulatory diligence, state Medicaid and budget pressures, shifts toward home and value-based care, Medicare Advantage rule changes, compliance scrutiny, and where investors are hunting for stable, transactable healthcare plays.

William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Mayo Clinic Laboratories and leader in laboratory medicine and pathology. He talks about defining the specific value innovation should deliver. He covers dedicating resources and centralized oversight while keeping autonomy. He explores balancing structure with creativity and engaging stakeholders for lasting change.

Nancy Beran, MD, Vice President and Chief Quality Officer of Ambulatory Care at Northwell Health and internist who co-founded a women's health practice. She discusses scaling a PHQ-2 depression screening to 700,000 patients and building workflows with behavioral health navigation. She outlines redesigning ambulatory quality oversight across 1,000 sites and aligning data, staffing, and Epic integration for standardized care.

Dr. Zafar Chaudry, a physician and Chief AI and Information Officer with 40 years in healthcare, describes Seattle Children’s AI journey. He talks about migrating data to the cloud and consolidating systems. He outlines an agentic Pathway Assistant for clinicians. He covers translation and ambient AI, cybersecurity, cost and app rationalization, and patient-centered app features.

Heitham Hassoun, MD, Cedars-Sinai International chief executive and former academic surgeon, explains building a global care network. He discusses clinic expansion in London, Singapore, Dubai and Mexico City. He talks quality control, workforce training, and blending medical travel with local centers. He reflects on international partnerships and the future globalization of medicine.

Joseph Izzo, MD, CMIO and emergency physician with a computer science background, leads informatics, AI governance, and clinical analytics at a public teaching hospital. He talks about large-scale and ambient AI adoption, the risks of shadow tools and cybersecurity, practical EMR-embedded improvements for smaller hospitals, and building multidisciplinary AI governance and data-driven care.

Dan Collard, co-founder of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group and co-author of Rewiring Excellence, is a healthcare leader focused on process improvement and workforce retention. He discusses iterative “rewiring” for practical change. Topics include diagnostic approaches before prescribing, emotional onboarding, early engagement to cut turnover, and day-one personal retention plans.

Rev. Inetta A. Reddell, Pastoral Care Coordinator and former Association of Professional Chaplains president, blends pastoral care, bioethics, and inclusive leadership. She discusses advancing diversity, building trust amid resistance, sustaining resilience through self-care, and centering human connection and ethical practice in healthcare.

Matt Boles, MD, MHA, MSc — longtime anesthesiologist and chief medical officer at Salem Health. He discusses converting anesthesia to an employed model, boosting procedural capacity without new ORs, using Lean and Epic traffic control, engaging clinicians for cultural change, and priorities for 2026 like payer pressure, virtual nursing, and APP integration.