Lifers with Christina Farr

In this episode of Lifers, Christina Farr sits down with Dr. Bob Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF and author of the seminal book The Digital Doctor. After years of observing the "hope, hype, and harm" of health technology, Dr. Wachter discusses his new book, A Giant Leap, and why he has moved from a skeptic to a staunch optimist regarding AI's role in medicine. They dive into t...

This week on Lifers, Niyum Gandhi, CFO of Mass General Brigham, and Mike Desjadon, CEO of Anomaly, discuss the financial pressures facing health systems today. They cover why hospital expenses are rising faster than revenue, what health systems actually look for when evaluating startups, and why collaboration matters more than finger-pointing. — Join Christina for an upcoming webinar: * 5/19 - Wha...

Dr. Kameron Matthews (Chief Health Officer, Impact Care) and Shelli Pavone (President & Co-Founder, Inlightened) join Chrissy Farr to tackle healthcare's biggest challenges: the Medicaid crisis, state licensing chaos, the death of primary care, and why Silicon Valley keeps getting it wrong. — Join Christina for an upcoming webinar: * 5/19 - What will AI do for employer healthcare and benefits with...

This week on Lifers, Christina Farr sat down with Sachin Jain, CEO of SCAN Health Plan. Sachin makes a compelling case for "radical common sense" in healthcare—the idea that we've normalized dysfunction for so long that simple, patient-centered solutions now feel revolutionary. He challenges the industry's toxic positivity and truth-telling problem, arguing that real change requires leaders to ack...

This week on Lifers, Christina Farr sat down with Mike Desjadon, CEO of Anomaly and Warris Bokhari CEO of Claimable. They discuss automating patient appeals, the challenges of the current payment model, and their approach to working directly with patients. They share insights on denial rates, what they've learned from claim files, and why they believe healthcare needs more direct challengers. —SPO...

In this episode of Lifers, Christina Farr engages in an insightful conversation with V, CEO of Sword Health. V shares his unconventional journey from Portugal to the U.S. healthcare market, emphasizing the importance of providing high-quality care to reduce overall healthcare costs. —SPONSOR:This episode is brought to you by Arbiter. As Michelle says: "We don't need another instrument for the orch...

Chrissy Farr sits down with Michelle Carnahan, who spent 26 years at Eli Lilly witnessing the development of breakthrough GLP-1 drugs before transitioning to direct-to-consumer healthcare (Thirty Madison) and then co-founding Arbiter, a startup that raised $52M at a $400M valuation. Michelle and Chrissy discuss the GLP-1 revolution, transformative shifts in health insurance, and how her company is...

In this episode of the Second Opinion, Christina Farr interviews Dickon Waterfield, president of Lantern to discuss the intricacies of U.S. healthcare costs, particularly the disparity between Medicare and commercial prices. They cover the unsustainable burden on employers to provide healthcare, the evolving nature of digital health solutions, and the market's reaction to recent IPOs in the sector...

In this episode of Second Opinion, Christina Farr and Lifeforce CEO Dugal Bain-Kim dive into the billion-dollar longevity economy, examining why health optimization became a status symbol and how personal data drives better health decisions than population-level advice. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  —LINKS: Lifeforce: https...

This week on Second Opinion, Christina Far interviews Courtney Bragg, CEO and co-founder of Fabric Health, about their innovative approach to delivering healthcare services in laundromats. They discuss the challenges and opportunities in the Medicaid system, the importance of building trust and relationships in healthcare, and the critical role of human elements alongside technology.— 📰 Be notifi...

This week on Second Opinion podcast, Christina Farr and Ash Zenooz interview Eric Jon Larsen about the the potential and challenges of AI in healthcare and various industries, debating its role, accuracy, impact on jobs, and future implications for human society. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  —SPONSOR:🏥Thatch makes it easy...

This week on Second Opinion, Christina Farr and Luba Greenwood discuss the acquisition of 23andMe by Regeneron, the involvement of Hims and Hers in the GLP-1 market, and two significant IPOs in the digital health sector. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess   —SPONSOR:🏋🏻‍♀️Strengthen your cells from the inside-out with Fatty15, a...

In this episode of Second Opinion, Christina Farr, Stephen Klasko and Jessica Beegle, discuss the persistent challenges in healthcare despite technological advancements. They explore the integration of AI, the struggle with outdated systems, and the need for aligning incentives to drive meaningful change. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclu...

This week on Second Opinion, Christina Farr and Ash Zenooz interview Stephen Buck, CEO/Co-Founder of Courage Health, a public benefit company providing cancer survival rates to patients and physicians, helping facilitate conversations about living life to the fullest. They talk about the inefficacy of employer-based healthcare, the lack of political bipartisan collaboration, and the rising trend o...

This week on Second Opinion, we're sharing an episode from Peter Lee's Microsoft Research Podcast with guests Dave deBronkart and Christina Farr. They examine how AI has transformed healthcare since GPT-4's launch two years ago, with Dave and Chrissy sharing insights on patient empowerment through AI tools and the evolving digital health business models in specialized care areas. This episode was...

This week on Second Opinion, Christina Farr and Ash Zenooz interview Seraphina Therapeutics CEO Steph Venn-Watson, unpacking why men dominate the longevity space, the cellular secrets of aging, and C15:0’s potential to boost health. —📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  —SPONSOR:🏋🏻‍♀️ Strengthen your cells from the inside-out with...

In this episode of Second Opinion, hosts Christina Farr, Ash Zenooz, and Luba Greenwood discuss the latest trends in healthcare, including conferences, the economic impact on health tech and biotech sectors, the potential for AI to reduce administrative burdens, and the dynamics of the IPO market. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveacce...

In this episode, Christina Farr sits down with Dr. Jeff Wessler, cardiologist and CEO of Heartbeat Health, about the challenges of behavior change in cardiology, the role of technology in health, the importance of preventative measures, and the emerging trend of longevity-focused health interventions. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusive...

This week on Second Opinion, Christina Farr interviews Liana Douillet Guzmán, CEO of FOLX, about the healthcare challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. They discuss systemic discrimination, the growing demand for inclusive care, and the importance of patient-centered, community-based healthcare solutions tailored to the unique needs of LGBTQ+ individuals. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine...

In this episode of Second Opinion, Christina Farr interviews Dr. Asima Ahmad MD, MPH, FACOG, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Carrot, discussing her journey as a fertility specialist and entrepreneur. They explore the challenges and advancements in fertility treatment, the importance of early fertility education, and the impact of new technologies on making fertility care more accessible an...

This week on Second Opinion, we're featuring Christina Farr, Ash Zenooz, and Luba Greenwood's conversation with Sami Inkinen, CEO of Virta Health. They discuss the company's mission to reverse type 2 diabetes and obesity through personalized nutrition and intensive telemedicine. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess   🙏 Help shape...

This week on Second Opinion, Christina Farr sits down with healthcare investing legend Zen Chu, who shares his framework for backing resilient entrepreneurs and insights from early investments in companies like Abridge and PillPack. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess   🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at...

The week on Second Opinion, Christina Farr and Luba Greenwood sit down with Georgina McMillan to discuss the impact of celebrities and influencers on the healthcare and longevity sectors, exploring how their endorsements and social media presence can both promote health awareness and lead to misinformation, and the need for authentic and scientifically-backed partnerships. — 📰 Be notified early w...

In this episode of Second Opinion, Christina Farr and Luba Greenwood discuss men's health with Saad Alam, co-founder and CEO of Hone Health. They cover the rapid cultural shift in attitudes toward men's wellness, Alam's personal journey with hormone imbalances, and the emerging trends in health treatments for men, including testosterone therapy and lifestyle changes. — 📰 Be notified early when Tu...

Ash Zenooz and Luba Greenwood interview Dr. Dean Ornish, a cardiologist, researcher, and advocate for lifestyle medicine who notably treated Bill Clinton. They discuss his journey into preventative medicine, the development of the Ornish Diet, and his data showing reversal of chronic diseases and improving overall health and longevity. — 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication:...