Outcomes Rocket

Rackspace Technology leverages decades of experience and a cloud-first approach to help healthcare organizations optimize costs, drive transformation, and enhance security. In this episode, PV SubbaRao, Senior Vice President of Global Healthcare and Life Sciences at Rackspace Technology, shares how his organization partners with key healthcare sectors to drive innovation. He discusses Rackspace's evolution from early internet hosting to leading cloud solutions that optimize costs and enhance efficiency. PV highlights how the company supports EHR implementations, data center transformations, and security improvements, helping health systems achieve 18-25% savings. He also explores the future of healthcare technology, emphasizing AI, quantum computing, and extended reality as key drivers of personalized medicine and data-driven value. Join us and learn how Rackspace's specialized healthcare team can help your organization transform and scale for the future! Resources: Connect with and follow PV SubbaRao on LinkedIn. Learn more about Rackspace Technology on their LinkedIn and website.

AI is set to revolutionize healthcare by streamlining workflows and improving patient care. In this episode, Shay Perera, Co-Founder and CTO of Navina, shares how his company uses AI to create a clinical co-pilot that enhances efficiency for healthcare providers. He explains how Navina helps make sense of overwhelming data, turning it into actionable insights. Shay envisions AI transforming patient care by reducing repetitive tasks and administrative burdens while integrating seamlessly into existing workflows. He also highlights the challenges of scaling value-based care and advocates for AI to simplify these processes for physicians. Tune in and learn how AI can improve healthcare's clinical and economic outcomes! Resources: Connect with and follow Shay Perera on LinkedIn. Learn more about Navina on their LinkedIn and website. Email Shay directly here.

Prioritizing real-world solutions and fostering a culture of innovation is key to successfully implementing new technologies in healthcare.  In this episode, Karli Arduini Ihde, Director of Innovation at Northwestern Medicine, discusses the organization's approach to evaluating and implementing innovative technology solutions. She highlights the challenge of navigating numerous AI options and the importance of selecting solutions that address key problems and show value within a 3–6 month pilot. Northwestern Medicine ensures responsible AI implementation with a team of data scientists who assess technologies for bias and effectiveness. Karli also shares how the organization is scaling AI innovation to improve efficiency and identify patient risks earlier than ever before. Tune in and learn why healthcare is on the cusp of transformative change! Resources: Connect with and follow Kali Arduini Ihde on LinkedIn. Learn more about Northwestern Medicine on their LinkedIn and website. Discover more about Northwestern Medicine’s innovations here.

Technology can be used to address critical healthcare gaps and improve clinical trial diversity. In this episode, Dr. Marisa Cruz, Vice President of Global Digital Medicine at AMGEN, shares her insights into AMGEN’s forward-thinking digital health initiatives. From the company’s ambitious goal to reduce cardiovascular incidents to innovations in AI-driven clinical trial diversity, Dr. Cruz discusses how cutting-edge technologies are being integrated to enhance patient outcomes and make healthcare more accessible. She also highlights the company’s initiatives to empower patients directly, allowing them to take a proactive role in their health through digital engagement. Dr. Cruz dives into the future of digital health and patient-centered care, spotlighting how innovation can bridge gaps in accessibility and improve health outcomes globally. This episode was sponsored by Amgen. Tune in and learn how AI and machine learning are bridging the gaps in healthcare!  Resources: Connect with and follow Marisa Cruz on LinkedIn. Follow Amgen on LinkedIn and visit their website. Explore Amgen PARC website. Discover the LATTICE Consortium website. 

Tackling the labor shortage in science and medicine requires valuing healthcare as a noble profession and using technology to streamline training. In this episode, Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, discusses the challenges of talent shortages amid a retiring baby boomer generation and a smaller incoming workforce, emphasizing the need for technology to fill the gap. He shares Penn Medicine's innovative initiatives, including flash radiation for cancer treatment and a startup providing maternal support, highlighting their commitment to both technological advancements and human connections. Kevin touches on the need to repair broken systems by speaking to the patients and fixing the issues, refocusing on clinical outcomes, and reimagining the delivery of care. He also underscores that embracing change management with intentionality is crucial for healthcare organizations. Tune in and learn how one of the nation's leading health systems is embracing bold strategies to improve healthcare delivery and workforce development! Resources: Connect with and follow Kevin Mahoney on LinkedIn. Discover more about Penn Medicine’s University of Pennsylvania Health System on their LinkedIn and website.

Sasha Tyndale, Director of Diversity and Patient Inclusion at AbbVie, brings 14+ years of expertise in clinical research to the forefront. She discusses the urgent need for inclusive clinical trials that reflect diverse populations affected by diseases. The ADMIRE program is highlighted as a key initiative to engage underrepresented healthcare providers. Sasha emphasizes the power of patient stories in shaping research and describes AbbVie's bold strategies to simplify trial participation and remove barriers, inviting listeners to become advocates for inclusive healthcare.

The alarming rise of early-onset cancers, particularly in individuals under 50, demands a critical shift in our understanding and approach to cancer care.  In this episode, Dr. Karin Tollefson, Chief Oncology Medical Officer at Pfizer, discusses the concerning 79% increase in cancer diagnoses among younger people since 1990, highlighting the urgent need to address this trend. She emphasizes that this is a multifactorial issue, with likely contributors including Western lifestyle factors such as poor diet, obesity, sedentary habits, and exposure to toxins, as well as genetic predispositions. Dr. Tollefson also underscores the need for increased screening accessibility, particularly with colonoscopies, and molecular testing to tailor treatments for younger patients often diagnosed at later stages. Furthermore, she addresses the importance of making clinical trials more accessible to diverse populations and ensuring comprehensive survivorship care, including mental health, family planning, and fertility considerations, as cancer survival rates increase. Finally, Dr. Tollefson calls on the need to partner with advocacy organizations and to educate the public about early detection, healthy lifestyles, and available resources.  Tune in and learn about the critical shifts needed in cancer care to address early-onset cases. Resources: Follow Dr. Karin Tollefson, Chief Oncology Medical Officer at Pfizer, on LinkedIn. Discover more about Pfizer on their LinkedIn and website. Read more on Pfizer in Oncology here.  Patient Resources/Advocacy Links: Explore This Is Living With Cancer’s Advocacy Support’s website. Visit the Global Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s website here. (Pfizer was one of their sponsors) Learn more about the transformative work CancerCare is doing. Find CancerCare’s guide on Biomarker Testing here. Read the best practices for Biomarker Testing Coverage here. (Pfizer had input and was a sponsor) Get AONN Biomarker Navigation here. For the Precision Medicine Toolkit, look here. Empower yourself or your patients with essential navigation resources–a site co-created with AONN, to find materials on breast, prostate, health equity, geriatric, and more. (Patient navigators can download and share educational tools for enhanced support.) Deepen your understanding of prostate cancer here. 

Artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize healthcare, becoming one of its most crucial applications.  In this episode, Kimberly Powell, the vice president of NVIDIA’s healthcare department, discusses how AI is transforming healthcare from drug discovery to surgical procedures. She highlights the ability of AI to represent drugs in computers, accelerating drug development and clinical trials, with some AI-designed drugs already in clinical trials. Kim explains how generative AI can enhance surgical outcomes through digital agents that aid in pre-op preparation, provide real-time surgical guidance, and automate post-op documentation. She notes how AI can help to provide healthcare access globally by codifying medical expertise and powering cost-effective, miniaturized devices. Kim also touches upon the importance of guardrails for privacy, security, and bias in AI systems, including embedding AI models directly into medical devices.  Tune in and learn how AI is reshaping the future of healthcare as a digital employee! Resources: Connect with and follow Kimberly Powell on LinkedIn. Discover more about NVIDIA on their LinkedIn and website.

Independent quality assurance labs are critical for evaluating health AI models, just like in other sectors.  In this episode, Dr. Brian Anderson, president and CEO of the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), discusses the organization's initiatives to create a national network of certified labs and a model card (AI nutrition label) to assess AI safety and effectiveness. He highlights the challenges in defining and measuring bias, especially in generative AI, and the importance of transparency and collaboration between industry, government, and academia to build trust. Dr. Anderson also covers the need for provider upskilling in AI literacy and the potential of AI tools, like ambient scribes, to mitigate clinician burnout. Finally, he explains how public access to evaluation reports is key to public trust. Tune in and learn about the future of AI regulation in healthcare and learn why physicians must educate themselves on AI! Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Brian Anderson on LinkedIn. Discover more about Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) on their LinkedIn and website.

Oral health is essential for overall well-being, as problems like cavities and gum disease can lead to serious issues, including heart disease and complications during pregnancy. In this episode, Dr. Maria Ryan, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Colgate-Palmolive, discusses the global health crisis of oral diseases, highlighting that 50% of people worldwide suffer from them. She emphasizes the need to integrate oral health into medical education and practice, noting the current disconnect between medical and dental professions. Dr. Ryan also touches upon the “Oral Health Quotient” (OQ), a tool aimed at educating the public on the importance of oral health, and the need to address the profound disparities in access to care, especially in underserved communities. She also advocates for preventive strategies, early education, and increased coverage of dental services to improve health equity.  Tune in and learn how dental health can impact overall wellness and why integrating oral care into healthcare systems is essential! Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Maria Ryan on LinkedIn. Discover more about Colgate-Palmolive on LinkedIn and their website.