QuickHITs

In this episode of QuickHITs, Tyler Smith sits down with Dr. Nicholas Gavin , Chief Clinical Innovation Officer at Mount Sinai, and Dr. Robbie Freeman , Mount Sinai's Chief Digital Transformation Officer. Nicholas and Robbie unpack what it actually takes to move a digital health tool from a small pilot to system-wide scale, including the operational gap, the Hawthorne effect, and why Mount Sinai b...

In this episode of QuickHITs, Tyler Smith sits down with Nitin Agarwal , CIO of Wayne Memorial Health , a rural health system in northeastern Pennsylvania serving patients who, in many cases, have nowhere else to go. Nitin shares how he climbed to the C-suite by learning to delegate, why he believes the best technology decisions start with conversation rather than a vendor deck, and what it really...

In this episode of QuickHITs, Tyler Smith, CEO of Health Data Movers, sits down with Dr. Bill Winkenwerder , Chairman of CitiusTech , for a wide-ranging conversation spanning four decades at the highest levels of healthcare leadership. Dr. Winkenwerder's career began with a simple but powerful realization: that the physician-patient relationship, while meaningful, wasn't enough to fix a broken sys...

On this episode of QuickHITs , Tyler Smith sits down with Andrew Thompson, management board member at the Estonian Multiomics Company (EMC), to explore how healthcare can evolve from a system focused on treating illness to one designed to prevent it. Andrew shares his journey building technology-enabled life sciences companies and how his work in Estonia led to the creation of EMC—an organization...

On this episode of QuickHITs, Tyler Smith sits down with Josh Wilda , Associate Vice President for Information Systems and Chief Information Digital Officer at University of Iowa Health Care , to explore how healthcare organizations are evolving from technology operators to strategic enablers of care. Josh shares his unique journey into healthcare IT, from his early days at Epic to leading digital...

In this episode of QuickHITs , Tyler Smith and Ken Booth are joined by Bryan Dechairo , COO of GeneDx , to explore how genomic testing is transforming the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. Bryan shares insights from his 30-year career in diagnostics—from the early days of PCR technology to the emergence of CRISPR and today's rapidly advancing genomic medicine. He explains how GeneDx is wor...

In this episode of QuickHITs , Tyler Smith sits down with John Henderson , VP, CIO & Digital Officer at Rady Children's Health , for a timely conversation on leadership, integration, and mission-driven innovation in pediatric healthcare. John shares his journey into pediatric healthcare and how purpose-driven work has shaped his leadership philosophy. He offers an inside look at guiding a complex...

In this episode of QuickHITs , hosts Tyler Smith and Ken Booth sit down with Scott Becker , founder of Becker's Healthcare and partner at McGuireWoods , for an in-depth conversation on entrepreneurship, healthcare transformation, and the future of the industry. Scott shares his journey from practicing law to building Becker's Healthcare into one of the most influential healthcare media platforms i...

In this episode of QuickHITs , we're excited to welcome Mohammed Abdelaziz , MD, MPH, FACP, Hospital Medicine Medical Director at Bon Secours Mercy Health King Mills Hospital . Dr. Abdelaziz brings deep experience navigating the real-world challenges of healthcare data, strategy, and execution. Throughout our conversation, Mohammed shares insight on how organizations can move beyond planning to op...

In this episode of QuickHITs , Tyler Smith and Ken Booth sit down with Luis Taveras , SVP & CIO at Jefferson Health , for a deep and engaging conversation about what modern technology leadership in healthcare truly requires. Luis shares how he approaches building IT cultures rooted in trust, curiosity, and accountability. He also shares why leaders must stay grounded in continuous learning as the...

In this episode of QuickHITs , hosts Ken Booth and Tyler Smith talk with J.D. Whitlock , Chief Information Officer at Dayton Children's Hospital , about what makes pediatric healthcare IT uniquely challenging, and where innovation is heading next. With 30 years in healthcare and a career spanning operational leadership and Air Force service, J.D. offers a clear, practical look at how technology im...

In this episode of QuickHITs , we sit down with Alex Romillo , CEO, and Oscar Perez , Chief Applications and Innovation Officer at Health Choice Network (HCN) . Together, they share how HCN is using technology, data, and mission-driven leadership to support community health centers across the country. Alex reflects on his nearly 30-year journey with HCN—from joining as employee #17 to leading a 40...

In this episode of QuickHITs , we're joined by Amber Schuetz , Director of Clinical Systems at Boys Town National Research Hospital . Amber's story is one of transformation. Starting her career as a registered nurse in critical care and clinics, she stepped into healthcare IT to become a leader who bridges clinical insight with digital innovation. Amber shares the defining moments that shaped her...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Nneka Sederstrom, Chief Health Equity Officer at Hennepin Healthcare. As the organization's first leader in this role, Nneka shares how Hennepin responded to the death of George Floyd by creating a system-wide strategy to confront racism in healthcare and build lasting trust with the community. Nneka reflects on the challenges and successes of launching a year-...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Anita Harris-Brown , Vice President, CNIO, and Clinical Applications leader at Cincinnati Children's Hospital . A former pediatric critical care nurse turned healthcare IT leader, Dr. Harris-Brown shares her journey from paper-based workflows to shaping one of the nation's top children's hospitals through technology and innovation. Dr. Harris-Brown reflects on...

In this episode of QuickHITs, we're joined by Rebecca Woods , Founder and CEO of Bluebird Leaders , a vibrant and fast-growing community on a mission to empower women in healthcare IT. Rebecca shares what inspired her to create the organization, how it's evolved into a powerful network of nearly 5,000 followers and 250+ members, and why community and mentorship are essential to changing the leader...

In this episode of QuickHITs , we're joined by Dr. Nirav Shah , Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer of AI and Innovation at Endeavor Health . With a clinical background in infectious diseases and a career spanning quality, analytics, and digital transformation, Dr. Shah shares how Endeavor is navigating the complex yet urgent task of scaling AI responsibly across a multi-hospital health sy...

In this episode of QuickHITs , Tyler Smith sits down with Olegas Niaksu , Head of Digital Health at AME International GmbH , researcher at Vilnius University , and digital transformation advisor to governments and global health organizations. Olegas shares how he unexpectedly entered the healthcare space and became fascinated by the complex world of hospital information systems. From there, his ca...

In this episode of QuickHITs, we're joined by Dr. Alistair Erskine , Chief Information and Digital Officer at Emory Healthcare and Emory University . With a background that bridges clinical care and digital transformation, Dr. Erskine offers a candid and practical perspective on how healthcare systems can utilize technology to enhance, rather than complicate, care delivery. Dr. Erskine and Tyler S...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Nish Patel , Director of the Structural Heart Program at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute. A practicing interventional cardiologist and structural heart specialist, Dr. Patel shares how his personal experiences and procedural expertise have shaped his patient-centered approach to care. Dr. Patel walks us through the evolution of structural hear...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Nigam Shah , a leading voice in healthcare AI and Stanford Health Care 's Chief Data Scientist. As a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, Dr. Shah has spent his career turning massive amounts of health data, from EHRs to wearables, into actionable insights that improve clinical care. Dr. Shah explains what it takes to bring AI out of the lab and into p...

In this episode of  QuickHITs , we sit down with  Dr. Yaa Kumah-Crystal , Health IT Clinical Director and Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics at  Vanderbilt University Medical Center , to explore how  voice technology  and  AI  are reshaping clinical workflows. Dr. Yaa shares her work leading the development of Vanderbilt's EHR voice assistant, Viva , and how tools like  ambient document...

In this episode of  QuickHITs , we sit down with Ramana Sastry, Executive Director of Clinical Technologies at UCSF Health, to explore the evolving landscape of medical technology management and the strategies hospitals can use to optimize costs without compromising patient care. Ramana shares how his team is leveraging data-driven maintenance strategies, automation, and AI insights to enhance equ...

In this episode of  QuickHITs , we sit down with  Khalid Turk , Chief Health Information Officer at the  County of Santa Clara , to explore his remarkable journey in healthcare IT and the transformative work his team is leading. Khalid shares how he tackled ambitious projects, including integrating two hospital systems in just five months, a challenge many thought impossible. He discusses his appr...

As we wrap up 2024, we're reflecting on one of the most transformative topics we explored on QuickHITs this year: AI in healthcare. From revolutionizing clinical workflows to enhancing patient outcomes, AI has been at the forefront of innovation, and we've captured some incredible insights along the way. Join Tyler Smith and Ken Booth for a special highlight reel featuring all the moments AI took...