MedAxiom HeartTalk

Cardiovascular ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are no longer a future concept — they are quickly becoming a critical part of care delivery. In this episode of MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson talks with Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, FACC, president and CEO of MedAxiom, and Aric Burke, founder and CEO of Atlas Healthcare Partners, about the momentum behind cardiovascular ASCs and the role MedA...

In this “Meet the Experts” HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with MedAxiom’s Lori Walsh, MHSA, executive vice president of Member Services and Operations, and Karen Wilson, MHA, vice president of Member Services. Lori shares why the relationships she built as a member still matter and how MedAxiom was founded on the idea that if you can’t learn from your peers, where else can you learn...

In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with Jasen Gundersen, MD, CEO and Christie Yoder, COO at CardioOne. Together, they explore practical strategies for immediate growth in cardiology practices, emphasizing small, achievable changes over long-term planning. 

In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with Maureen Knechtel, DMSc, PA-C, academic coordinator and associate professor of physician assistant studies at Milligan University, and Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, FACC, president and CEO of MedAxiom. They challenge the idea that onboarding begins and ends with orientation, revealing a gap many organizations don’t recognize until it’s...

In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, talks with Ali Rahimi, MD, MPH, CEO of ALYKA Health, about a revolutionary digital platform enhancing patient access and outcomes. Together, they discuss how this personalized solution bridges care gaps, improves engagement, and creates a scalable, affordable system for better patient health.

In this "Meet the Experts" HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS speaks with Nicole Dellise, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, CHFN, CCK, FACC, vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom. With an extensive background in advanced heart failure and structural heart care, Nicole shares insights on her leadership style, passion for patient access and where she believes cardiovascular programs ca...

In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS sits down with Craig Strauss, MD, MPH, vice president of Quality, Innovation and Advanced Analytics at Minneapolis Heart Institute. They explore the innovative "C5 program," developed for comprehensive cardiovascular care, that offers 24/7 physician support, significantly improves patient triage and hospital access, and reduces ER wait times. 

Cardiology is shifting from inpatient to outpatient care. In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, talks with Amy Brownell, MSN, FNP-C, FACC, cardiovascular service line director at Ascension Illinois Market about strategies for expanding ASCs and office-based labs while maintaining clinical quality. They also discuss operational and financial considerations that help health systems th...

Cardiovascular programs often evolve over time — but without intentional structure, silos can form, creating operational and strategic challenges. In this episode, Joel Sauer, MBA, executive vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom, is joined by Kootenai Health’s Kevin Kavanaugh, MD, cardiologist, and Rhonda Powell, MBA, CNMT, executive director of the cardiovascular division. Th...

Explore the strategic partnership between MedAxiom and Heartflow, as Nicole F. Knight, LPN, CPC, CCS-P, executive vice president of Care Transformation Services and Revenue Cycle Solutions at MedAxiom, sits down with Cara Santillo, senior vice president of Market Access and Reimbursement at Heartflow. Together, they detail how MedAxiom amplifies HeartFlow's message across the cardiology community....

A major change in outpatient cardiac care is underway. In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with David Kenigsberg, MD, FACC, FHRS, a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist based in Northern Broward County, Florida. Together, they unpack the shift toward performing ablation procedures in ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) — why it’s happening, how it improves patient access...

In this “Meet the Experts” HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with Katie Willerick, vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom, to explore what it really takes to move from dashboards to better patient care. Katie shares why “trust in the data” is essential to driving change and how building that trust across teams makes analytics fully actionable. She pulls back the cur...

Cardiology and emergency medicine teams are coming together to transform cardiovascular care. In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, is joined by David Wohns, MD, FACC, FACP, FSCAI, division chief of cardiology at Corewell Health, and Meredith Busman, MD, emergency physician at Corewell Health, to discuss how shared pathways, trust, and streamlined communication are improving patient...

In this “Meet the Experts” HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, talks with Joel Sauer, MBA, executive vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom, about building trust, aligning physicians and hospitals, and moving beyond purely transactional relationships. Joel reflects on what keeps him motivated—“I wanna be part of something bigger. And what’s bigger than patient care?” He also te...

What does it really take to build a successful ECMO program? In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, speaks with John Mehall, MD, president of Integration Health and senior vice president of Heart & Vascular Partners, about the expanding role of ECMO in cardiac care. Dr. Mehall discusses rising utilization, improved survival outcomes, economic benefits for hospitals, and the criti...

Population health strategies and technology are reshaping cardiovascular care. In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS sits down with Chanel Swartz, MBA, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, vice president of value-based care operations at US Heart and Vascular. They explore how remote patient monitoring is enabling care teams to scale, improve outcomes, and manage large patient populations, all while red...

In this “Meet the Experts” HeartTalk episode, host Melanie Lawson, MS, talks with Jenny Kennedy, DNP, RN, CHFN, NEA-BC, FACC, vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom. She explains the importance of being intentional when setting up remote heart failure programs and lessons from her nursing experience. She shares how her desire to “be a giant”—lift others up rather than seek the...

In this episode of MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with Clay Marsh, MD, chancellor and executive dean for Health Sciences at West Virginia University, to explore his unique perspective on redefining health. Dr. Marsh discusses the powerful role of biological age, mindset, purpose, and community in shaping long-term cardiovascular wellness. He shares compelling data linking s...

On this “Meet the Experts” HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with MedAxiom President and CEO Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, FACC, for a candid conversation about leadership, teamwork, and service – drawing lessons from both medicine and his early days in sports. He shares how trust and humility guide his approach and why he sees change as something to run toward, not from. Plus, he shares a...

In this episode of HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson is joined by MedAxiom's Joel Sauer, MBA, executive vice president of Consulting, and Karen Wilson, MHA, vice president of Member Services, to explore the complexity of subspecialty performance metrics in cardiovascular care. The conversation focuses on how MedAxiom’s MedAxcess data tool helps identify meaningful differences in cardiology subspecial...

Often referred to as the “sandwich generation,” today’s clinical leaders face a diverse set of challenges in navigating generational dynamics. In this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS addresses common leadership hurdles with Ana Mercurio-Pinto, vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom, and Nicole Lohr, MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA, division director at University of Alabama at...

In this episode of HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, is joined by Paula Furcron, director of specialty services at NextGen Healthcare, for a discussion on the growing role of AI in cardiovascular care. Together, they explore how artificial intelligence is enhancing patient engagement, streamlining workflows and improving both provider satisfaction and clinical outcomes. From self-scheduling to p...

In this "Meet the Experts" HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, speaks with Ana Mercurio-Pinto, vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom. With a rich background in academic medicine, cardiovascular service line operations, and research management, Ana shares how her work is reshaping the future of care delivery. From optimizing physician performance and budgets to integrating comp...

Remote patient monitoring is reshaping chronic care management. On this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, speaks with Patricia Dickson, director of operations at Capital Cardiology Associates; Jude Hebert, vice president of Clinical Programs at Cardiovascular Logistics; and Samson Magid, CEO and co-founder of HealthSnap. They dive into virtual care tools that help practices stay connect...

What makes the dyad leadership model so effective in cardiovascular care? On this MedAxiom HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, is joined by Joel Sauer, MBA, executive vice president of Consulting at MedAxiom and Jeff Carstens, MD, MBA, FACC, medical director of the Cardiovascular Service Line at UnityPoint Health. They explore how the dyad leadership model influences the design of physician compen...