Signal and Symptoms Podcast

The future of AI-enabled care is massive and available, but the question remains: will we be the ones leading it? In this episode, Dr. Robert Pearl – Former CEO of Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente), Author of "ChatGPT, MD", Forbes Contributor – joins the panel to challenge the core of how we practice medicine today. Medical students are entering training with AI capabilities that their...

If healthcare AI is truly evolving, why are there still gaps between what technology can do and what healthcare organizations are actually doing? These gaps aren't just inefficiencies. They're creating real clinical risks that directly impact patient outcomes. This year-end roundtable brings together three healthcare AI experts— Dr. Harvey Castro, Dr. Junaid Kalia, and Edward Marx —following their...

Innovation signals are everywhere, but what matters are those that move from laboratory potential to measurable clinical impact. Joining the conversation are Jim Pollock and Tom Meese from LumenAstra, demonstrating how clinical insight, technical capability, and strategic execution bridge the gap between healthcare innovation and patient outcomes. The discussion explores how their innovative work...

What if the biggest barrier to better cancer care isn't technology—it's how physicians approach treatment with ego?  In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Talia Baker, a transplant surgeon who walked away from clinical practice to solve a problem she witnessed firsthand: the liver cancer patient journey is fundamentally broken. Dr. Baker introduces the Lori MDT project, a vision for reshaping how...

What if we're running a sick care system pretending to be healthcare? AI promises to change that by improving access for patients and reducing burden for providers, but only if we have leaders who know how to guide the transformation. The challenge: healthcare offers no structured pathway for developing these leaders. Joining today's expert panel: Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA, President & CEO of the...

If AI is the future of healthcare, why is its adoption moving at a glacial speed? In this episode, Sherri Douville, CEO of Medigram and Chair of the Trustworthy Technology and Innovation Consortium (TTIC), argues the true bottleneck is not technology, but a crisis of accountability . She explains that systems—even those that are FDA-approved and cyber-secure —stall because hospital leadership lack...

What if the biggest threat to the future of medicine isn't AI—but our refusal to use it? That's exactly what keeps Dr. Anthony Chang up at night. As founder of Intelligence-Based Medicine (AIMed) and a pioneering pediatric cardiologist, he's dedicated his career to a singular mission: ensuring clinicians aren't left out of healthcare's AI revolution. In this episode, Dr. Chang joins us to outline...

Artificial Intelligence is being hailed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but if you're a clinician or a healthcare executive, it might feel more like a permanent roadblock. You’re past the hype, but still wrestling with the paradox: Why does technology that can predict diseases days in advance get stuck in endless, expensive pilot programs? Join physician-founder Dr. Junaid Kalia and internati...

What happens when breakthrough technology arrives before the infrastructure to support it? Healthcare organizations face AI transformation without the policies, governance, or strategic frameworks to implement it effectively. The gap creates a vacuum that patients are filling on their own—forcing leaders to rethink their approach. In this episode, Dr. Zayna Khayat joins the conversation as a healt...

Can AI-powered wearables and sophisticated diagnostic algorithms truly change clinical practice? Or are we mistaking technological capability for clinical readiness? In this episode, our hosts bring a dual perspective as physicians and healthcare AI futurists to a critical analysis. They examine emerging hardware and diagnostic approaches that could reshape real-time workflows, scrutinize what ben...

What if AI could have detected your patient's serious condition earlier than your current best practice protocols, potentially avoiding a complex intervention? For Ed Marx, this isn't hypothetical—he lived it.  This episode dives into the clinical realities of AI as a tool for early diagnosis , demonstrating how it's transforming the clinician-patient partnership and challenging providers to...

The question isn't whether AI works in clinical practice—it's about dismantling the bottlenecks that keep proven innovations trapped in academic papers instead of integrated into daily care. In this episode, our panel of experts cuts through the noise to ask: What's actually preventing healthcare from closing the implementation gap—and what can we do moving forward? Because we need more healthcare...

Healthcare AI is in its Wild West phase—messy, undefined, and full of potential.  In this episode, our panel takes a step back to ask: where are we on this path to innovation, and how do we prepare for what's next? The conversation explores where healthcare AI sits on the hype cycle. While some are just discovering what AI can do, others are already navigating the trough of disillusionment. O...

Healthcare AI mistakes aren't just expensive—they're potentially dangerous. While the technology holds huge promise, rushed deployments without proper guardrails often create more clinical burden than relief.  Our hosts discuss three major approaches to healthcare AI safety from tech giants Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft. The conversation reveals how physician-centered oversight and multi-agen...

The conversation in healthcare is shifting. It's no longer just about adopting AI, but about the cognitive cost of over-relying on it. In this episode, our expert panel—Dr. Junaid Kalia, Dr. Harvey Castro, and Dr. Sara Rana—examine the complex relationship between artificial intelligence and human cognition in clinical practice. Drawing on new research, the discussion highlights how dependence on...

In a world of tightening budgets, how can health systems find the margin to invest in innovation and transformation? This episode dives into the strategic and financial realities of healthcare today—a system strained by an aging population, staff shortages, and rising costs. But amid this pressure, huge amounts of capital is flowing into AI, with healthcare positioned as a major recipient of ventu...

In navigating healthcare innovation, leaders are tasked with a critical question: how do you vet a new AI solution when the stakes are so high? Because a bad AI investment is more than just a financial hit—it’s a risk to patient lives and a burden on your clinicians. The friction we see is often a symptom of systems where the C-suite’s goals for efficiency clash with the frontline's need for an op...

With healthcare embracing AI, are deployments delivering measurable success? The question isn't just about whether the technology works—it's a deeper diagnosis of why promising solutions are struggling to deliver meaningful results for clinician and patient outcomes. Your hosts Dr. Junaid Kalia (Neurologist & Founder) and Edward Marx (Healthcare CIO) bring perspectives from hospital floors and...

When Microsoft claimed AI achieved 80% diagnostic accuracy compared to doctors, it stopped healthcare leaders mid-scroll. But the real question isn't whether the technology works—it's whether it can improve patient care in the messy reality of hospital systems. In this episode, our panel of experts—a founder, physician, educator, and CFO—examine what Microsoft's article, “The Path to Medical Super...

What if the difference between healthcare leaders who thrive and those who fall behind isn't talent—but their approach to staying current with AI? In this episode, our host, Edward Marx, shares his transformation from a 16-year-old hospital janitor to a recognized CIO and healthcare technology thought leader. His journey through combat medic service and anesthesia technology work revealed a crucia...

Ever wondered what it takes to transform your career from a practicing physician to a visionary leader in healthcare? In this episode, we introduce our host, Dr. Harvey Castro, an emergency room physician who became an AI healthcare futurist by starting with a simple yet profound philosophy: leading with a "servant's heart." His journey is a testament to the power of combining your unique skills—c...

Three healthcare AI experts who've watched millions wasted on failed projects. Dr. Harvey Castro, Dr. Junaid Kalia, Edward Marx, and guest experts cover all things healthcare AI - from digital transformation to clinical reality.  Every Tuesday, we diagnose real failures, reveal what actually works, and help you avoid the expensive mistakes we've seen repeated everywhere. Because when AI decis...