The BetterCare Podcast

EvidenceCare’s Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Shephali Wulff, System Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at SSM Health. Dr. Wulff shares how SSM Health uses timely performance data, evidence-based care pathways, and clinician engagement to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes. She also discusses successful initiatives addressing sepsis, deliriu...

What if the biggest opportunity to improve patient safety isn't fixing people, but fixing the systems they work in? In this episode of The Better Care Podcast, Dr. Brian Fengler speaks with Dr. Tracey Hoke, Chief of Quality and Performance Improvement and Chief of Population Health at UVA Health, about building safer, higher-performing health systems. Dr. Hoke explains why improving systems is the...

Ep 33 – Reducing Clinical Variation with Data, Cost Transparency, and Al. - Dr. Aaron Daley (Riverside Health) EvidenceCare’s Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Aaron Daley, Chief Medical Officer and Associate Vice President at Riverside Health. Dr. Daley shares how health systems can use data, evidence-based guidelines, and better operational systems to reduce...

EvidenceCare’s Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Aaron Daley, Chief Medical Officer and Associate Vice President at Riverside Health. Dr. Daley shares how health systems can use data, evidence-based guidelines, and better operational systems to reduce clinical variation, improve length of stay, and support safer care. He also discusses the role of cost transpa...

EvidenceCare's CEO, Bo Bartholomew, sits down with Dr. DeAnn Bullock, Chief Medical Officer at Nashville General Hospital , to discuss clinical leadership at a safety-net hospital. From her background in emergency medicine to her current role overseeing hospital-wide clinical operations, Dr. Bullock shares how Nashville General delivers care to underserved populations while maintaining quality and...

In this episode of The BetterCare Podcast, Bo Bartholomew (EvidenceCare) talks with Jason Zachariah (EVP, Chief Operating Officer, Lifepoint Health ) about the real-world mechanics of running a distributed system: connecting data across settings, improving flow from ED to inpatient to post-acute, clarifying ownership around bed management and transfers, and building an inclusive culture that enabl...

In this episode of The BetterCare Podcast, Amy Deaton ( EvidenceCare ) sits down with Dr. Edmund Jackson ( UnityAI ) during Nashville Healthcare Sessions 2025 to talk about where AI is delivering dependable value in healthcare operations today, and how to deploy it safely and responsibly. Drawing on Edmund’s experience leading data science at HCA Healthcare and now building AI for clinical operati...

EvidenceCare’s VP of Clinical Strategy, Carol Howard, sits down with Darin Gordon—Founding Partner of Speire Healthcare Strategies , President & CEO of Gordon & Associates, and former Director and CEO of TennCare—to break down what the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) means for hospitals and Medicaid programs across the country. Drawing on his decades of public service and n...

EvidenceCare’s Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Michael van Duren, current Medical Director at Providence Health Plan and an expert clinical advisor to multiple companies and health systems over the years. They discuss how health systems can approach the difficult but necessary work of reducing unwarranted clinical variation with practical strategies that eng...

EvidenceCare’s Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Walker Keach, Medical Director of Hospital Care Management and Patient Flow at Denver Health . Dr. Keach shares how his team successfully reduced length of stay (LOS) by launching a multimodal improvement initiative—without compromising patient outcomes. Dr. Keach walks us through the urgent 100-day challenge is...

EvidenceCare’s VP of Clinical Strategy, Carol Howard, leads a discussion on mastering change management and process improvement in hospitals. Panelists Candice Powers from USA Health , Jason Metcalf from CommonSpirit , and Ryan Schultz from UAB Medicine share their insights into effectively managing change in complex healthcare environments and the nuances of choosing the appropriate project manag...

EvidenceCare’s Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviewed four digital health experts in their respective areas – Dr. Aaron Wilcox from Kaiser Permanente , Meghan Huffman from Novant Health , Dr. Jordan Messler from Glytec , and Dr. Rich Loomis from Elsevier . In this episode, we cover helpful digital health strategies for hospitals, specific use cases for AI in clinical...

In this special episode, guest host, Dr. Rex Hoffman ( Providence ) facilitates a conversation with Dr. Doug Koekkoek and Dr. Mark Olszyk on how to be a successful hospital Chief Medical Officer. All 3 of our guests have extensive experience as CMOs and have collaborated together on books and presentations to help other aspiring CMOs to succeed in their positions. Most recently, Dr. Rex Hoffman au...

EvidenceCare’s CEO, Bo Bartholomew, interviews Scott Becker, Founder, Publisher, and Chief Content Officer for Becker's Healthcare . Scott shares stories and examples of bringing entrepreneurship to large organizations, how clinical leaders can build great teams and avoid burnout, and innovative approaches to some of healthcare’s biggest issues such as physician shortages and rising costs. Key Tak...

In this episode of The Better Care Podcast, EvidenceCare's VP of Clinical Strategy, Carol Howard, hosts a live panel of experts on regulatory updates and strategies for health systems related to Medicare Advantage and the two midnight rule to assure compliance and optimize revenue capture. Guests: Jackie Kimmell, Senior Director of Strategy Catalyst, The Health Management Academy Dr. Adam Fall, Co...

In this special episode of The Better Care Podcast, EvidenceCare's President & COO, Amy Deaton, engages with industry leaders live at the Nashville Healthcare Sessions conference to discuss the evolving industry landscape. These conversations focus on rural healthcare challenges, integrated mental health services for women's health, and patient-centric solutions in digital innovation. Guests:...

In this special episode of The Better Care Podcast, EvidenceCare's CEO, Bo Bartholomew, brings together a diverse group of healthcare leaders to explore innovation and transformation within the industry. Recorded live from the Nashville Healthcare Sessions conference, the conversations emphasize the importance of collaboration, technology, and strategic partnerships in redefining patient care. Gue...

EvidenceCare’s Co-Founder & CMO, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Melinda Hancock, EVP & Chief Transformation Officer for Sentara Health . Melinda shares how health systems can use transformation processes to align and balance clinical practices, patient outcomes, and financial sustainability. Key Takeaways: Healthcare Transformation: How to approach integrating clinical and financial goals,...

EvidenceCare’s CEO, Bo Bartholomew, interviews Adam Kaufman, digital health expert and consultant, currently at Baylor Scott & White Health . Adam and Bo provide insight into the evolution of digital health innovation and economics for healthcare leaders looking to navigate today's complex landscape. Key Takeaways: Economic Distribution in Healthcare: They break down how healthcare spending is...

EvidenceCare’s Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Jon Handler, Senior Fellow of Innovation at OSF HealthCare . Jon explores the intricacies of healthcare innovation, sharing his journey on getting adoption for various clinical technologies and the critical nexus of coding and clinical practice. Key Takeaways: Practical tips for engaging clinicians and hospita...

EvidenceCare’s Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Stacey Johnston, VP and Chief Applications Officer at Baptist Health (Jacksonville) . Stacey shares the complexities and triumphs of transitioning to a new EHR system and takes listeners behind the scenes of Baptist Health's remarkable journey achieving a ten-star Epic implementation rating within its first ye...

EvidenceCare’s Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Michelle Flemmings, Industry Executive & Market Development Director at Oracle . Michelle shares a compelling and challenging vision for using AI technology in healthcare and her journey from emergency physician to physician executive. Key Takeaways: How to challenge executive hesitation for adopting AI fo...

EvidenceCare’s Chief Operating Officer, Amy Deaton, interviews Novlet Mattis, SVP and Chief Digital & Information Officer at Orlando Health . Novlet shares how technology is leveraged at Orlando Health to greatly enhance patient care and outcomes, as well as the importance of doing the hard work of updating outdated systems. This discussion is hospital leaders wanting to be at the forefront of...

EvidenceCare’s Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Fengler, interviews Dr. Miguel Benet, SVP of Clinical Operations at Community Health Systems (CHS) . Miguel shares the focus behind significant reduction in patient safety events over the past decade at CHS, and their approach to scaling clinical operations while considering local market needs. Key Takeaways: The importance of patien...

EvidenceCare’s CEO, Bo Bartholomew, interviews Al Smith, SVP and Chief Information Officer at Lifepoint Health . Al shares his background and journey to becoming a CIO and how he manages IT resources in a lean environment, as well as the top IT initiatives for Lifepoint, including a detailed breakdown of cost-cutting, efficiency, and growth. Key Takeaways: Combatting the biggest healthcare IT risk...