The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast

Fresh off a $243 million fundraise from Oak HC/FT and A16Z, Ambience Healthcare is on a mission to kill medical billing — and build “Iron Man suits for doctors.” Today we sit down with co-founder and CEO Mike Ng to talk about how Ambience is tackling one of healthcare’s most painful problems: the administrative burden that eats up 73% of a clinician’s day.  We cover:  🏥 How Ambience tac...

Dexcom generates more than $4 billion in annual revenue and has a market cap north of $30 billion, making it one of the biggest digital health companies in the world. And it all started with a better way to measure blood sugar. In this episode, Halle is joined by Kevin Sayer, CEO of Dexcom, the company that pioneered continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Under Kevin’s leadership, Dexcom scaled from...

More than a thousand AI medical devices have FDA clearance, yet fewer than two percent of radiologists actually use them. In this episode, Steve sits down with Dr. Brian Anderson—CEO and co‑founder of the Coalition for Health AI—to unpack why trust, transparency, and regulation could make or break the next wave of AI‑powered medicine. We cover: 🤖 Why only 2% of radiologists use AI tools despite 1...

When Andrew Lacy launched Prenuvo, the medical establishment largely dismissed it as fringe. Now, some of those same skeptics are collaborating with him on research. In this episode, Halle and Michael sit down with Andrew, founder and CEO of Prenuvo, to unpack what it takes to build trust in an unconventional idea. He opens up about how a moment of personal reckoning led him to pivot from tech to...

In their first podcast since going public, Omada Health CEO Sean Duffy joins us to reflect on the journey to bend the curve of chronic disease. From walking away from the traditional PMPM model to staying grounded in clinical outcomes, Sean shares hard-earned lessons from over a decade of building Omada—from a startup in Rock Health’s Chinatown office to IPO.  We cover: 🔧 Killing PMPM before...

Dare we say digital health is back? The IPOs are IPOing, and startups (at least the AI ones) are back raising mega rounds.  In this month’s Digital Health Download, Halle and Steve break down the recent headlines, including a blockbuster funding cycle for AI tools, a dramatic breakup between Novo Nordisk and Hims, and why Oregon’s new law could shake up how startups structure clinical care. W...

What does one do after selling their company to Amazon for $1 billion? Start a new one, of course. In this episode, Halle sits down with TJ Parker, pharmacist, entrepreneur, and advocate for consumer-centric digital health. After co-founding PillPack and selling it to Amazon, TJ stayed on for four years helping build Amazon Pharmacy. Now, he’s back at it with General Medicine, a new company focuse...

Most medical care is backed by varying types of evidence, yet we apply higher standards to digital health tools before they’re trusted, adopted, or reimbursed. In this special episode, guest host Lucia Savage is joined by Dr. Vindell Washington of Verily and Dr. Aaron Carroll of AcademyHealth for a candid conversation about the uneven standards we apply to digital versus traditional care. Together...

Most AI in healthcare promises superintelligence—but what if that’s the wrong goal entirely? In this episode, Michael and Halle speak with Othman Laraki, co-founder and CEO of Color Health, to talk about why real-world care doesn’t need a perfect model—it needs a better system. Othman breaks down how Color evolved from a consumer genetics startup into a nationwide virtual cancer clinic, why most d...

Over half of Americans now live with at least one chronic condition, yet our healthcare system still revolves around episodic, reactionary care instead of continuous, coordinated support. We talk with Dr. Jaewon Ryu—former CEO of Geisinger and now CEO of Risant Health—about how integrated delivery systems are reshaping the way care is paid for and delivered. With decades of experience spanning med...

Is the digital health IPO drought over? Halle and Michael dig into the Hinge Health IPO and what it signals for the return of digital health companies to the public markets. They explore how much equity founders typically hold at IPO, the growing role of private equity, and why down rounds aren’t the deal-breaker they once were. Plus: Elizabeth Holmes’ husband launches a head-scratching startup, a...

US healthcare has more unproductive labor and more unstructured data than any other industry, making it both vulnerable to disruption from generative AI and especially unprepared for it. That’s the provocative thesis of Eric Larsen, president of TowerBrook Advisors. In this episode, he joins host Steve Kraus to explain why generative AI is unlike any other technology we've seen—and why the $4.9 tr...

Over 160 million Americans are served by Optum, yet many still don’t fully understand what it actually does—or why it matters. Dr. Patrick Conway, newly appointed CEO of Optum and former head of CMS Innovation Center and Blue Cross NC, joins Steve for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of healthcare delivery, affordability, and the potential of value-based care at a national scale. With experi...

Women make 80% of healthcare decisions and outspend men two to one on care—yet when it comes to designing, funding, and scaling health tech, they’re still treated like a niche. In this episode, we break down the broken flywheel holding women’s health innovation back including fewer growth-stage investments, limited exits, and a system not built to serve women as the primary users of care. I’m join...

In this month's Digital Health Download, Steve and Halle unpack the headlines shaping healthcare, policy, and technology—with an eye toward where things may be heading next. From shifting political support for Medicaid and the ACA to state-level action on PBMs, they explore the unexpected ways the system is evolving. We cover: 🩺 Why more Republicans are backing Medicaid and ACA expansion—and what...

The average American family spends over $24,000 a year on healthcare, and costs continue to rise faster than inflation. Why can't we create a healthcare system that delivers more value for less money? In this conversation with Ann Somers Hogg, Director of Healthcare Research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, we explore the concept of "Zero Inflation Healthcare" and uncover why traditional heal...

Each year, 2 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer and face a fragmented, overwhelming healthcare system with minimal guidance between doctor visits, even as they make life-altering decisions. In this episode, we talk with Robin Shah, Founder & CEO of Thyme Care, who has devoted his 17-year career to improving oncology care and is now building a virtual support system that has already he...

Health insurance has a Net Promoter Score of around 0-10 industry-wide, one of the lowest ratings of any industry. This is exactly why the founders of Oscar Health, with no background in healthcare and a distaste for the industry, started the company in 2012. Since then, Oscar has grown to 1.7 million members, gone public, and achieved profitability—all while receiving an NPS significantly higher...

In this month's Digital Health Download, Steve, Halle, and Michael take a deliberately optimistic look at key headlines in healthcare technology. From the impressive impact of AI scribing tools on physician satisfaction to encouraging survival rates among digital health unicorns from the ZIRP-era, the hosts highlights bright spots in an often challenging industry. We cover: 🏆 Rock Health's 10th a...

Venture capital in healthcare has evolved from "the trailer park of venture investing" to a fundamental core tenant of the ecosystem, reflecting a quarter-century transformation of the entire industry. In this episode, we sit down with Mohamad Makhzoumi, co-CEO of NEA, who shares his 25-year journey from unpaid intern to leader of one of the largest healthcare investment funds, offering his insigh...

One in four Americans relies on Medicaid, yet the program faces billions in federal funding cuts. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rajaie Batniji, co-founder and CEO of Waymark, about delivering tech-enabled community care to Medicaid patients. We discuss what cuts to Medicaid could mean, the impact of "value veneers", and how predictive algorithms can overcome bias in healthcare delivery. Dr. B...

In 2020, telemedicine company Teladoc acquired remote patient monitoring company Livongo for a record $18.5 billion, creating a $38 billion entity. Today, the combined company is worth less than a tenth of that. Rebecca Mitchell, who spent years as a product leader at both companies, reveals how this landmark healthcare deal fell short of expectations despite strong underlying products, and what w...

Startup capital accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator has a long history of backing healthcare startups, with a particular focus on technical founders tackling difficult problems. In this episode, YC partners Jared Friedman and Ankit Gupta share their insights on healthcare investment, the transformative potential of AI, and why they believe young, tactical founders will continue to di...

In this monthly healthcare news roundup, Halle and Steve break down the biggest healthcare headlines this month. We cover : 🏥 How a $5/month medication subscription service is improving adherence and saving patients money 🧠 How microplastic levels in our brains have increased 50% in just eight years ⚕️ The viral beef between a surgeon and UnitedHealthcare 💉 Louisiana's decision to stop promotin...

From law school to leading one of healthcare's most successful value-based care companies, Oak Street Health co-founder Mike Pykos shares the story of building, scaling, and ultimately selling his company to CVS for $11 billion. He reveals the challenges of scaling a new care model, the importance of focusing on outcomes over financials, and what it takes to transform American healthcare. We cover...