

This Week Health: Conference
This Week Health
“This Week Health: Conference” captures the essence and energy of attending a premier health technology conference designed specifically for health systems. With a rich lineup of shows like UnHack (the Podcast), TownHall, Keynote, and various sponsored content, this channel serves as a gathering place for innovative thinkers and industry leaders to share transformative ideas. Hosted by Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson—all of whom have firsthand experience in the trenches of health IT leadership—each episode fosters the spread of knowledge and the formation of new connections. By bridging geographical divides, we help ensure that breakthroughs in one part of the country can enhance healthcare delivery nationwide. Subscribe today to join a vibrant community working together to make healthcare more connected and informed, accessible wherever you listen to podcasts.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 19, 2025 • 15min
Interview In Action: Application Rationalization and ROI Found Fast with Jonathan Cook
March 19, 2025: Jonathan Cook, CTO for Clearsense, explores how healthcare organizations can achieve immediate ROI through data enablement and application rationalization. Cook reveals how Clearsense has evolved from an archiving solution to a comprehensive data enablement platform that indexes, structures, and makes accessible data across disparate systems while providing a clear path to cost savings. Key Points:05:12 ROI Found Fast08:15 AI Enablement and Future Prospects11:24 Business Continuity and Disaster RecoverySubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 19, 2025 • 11min
Interview In Action: From Complexity to Clarity in Cybersecurity with Tony Douglas
March 19, 2025: Tony Douglas, RVP of US Healthcare from Palo Alto Networks, explores solutions to the current vulnerabilities in healthcare security. Tony unpacks their "platformization" approach, consolidating multiple security functions into a single platform to combat breaches. How are healthcare providers balancing the benefits of AI with the risks of data exposure? The conversation highlights their new Unit 42 service offering remote SOC management with real-time zero-day threat intelligence.Key Points:02:23 Platformization: Simplifying Security04:13 AI Inconsistencies 07:51 Unit 42 and Global Threat IntelligenceSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 18, 2025 • 24min
TownHall: Cloud Infrastructure, AI, and Population Health with Sonney Sapra
March 18, 2025: Today on TownHall, Sue Schade, Principal at StarBridge Advisors, talks with Sonney Sapra, SVP and CIO at Samaritan Health Services. Sonney discusses his nearly four-year journey at Samaritan Health, detailing the organization's focus on technological innovation, financial sustainability, and population health. Why move to a fully cloud-based infrastructure? How can AI and ambient listening technologies transform healthcare? Sonny shares insights into these questions and more, including integrating health plan data to improve patient outcomes. He also delves into workforce management in a remote and hybrid environment, and emphasizes the importance of understanding organizational needs in vendor partnerships. Finally, Sonny discusses his future role as a TownHall moderator in 2025 and his passion for sharing knowledge within the CIO community. Subscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 17, 2025 • 37min
Flourish: Education Shifts and Leading Across Generations with Donita Brown
March 17, 2025: Dr. Donita Brown, Business Professor and Host of The Management Minute podcast, explores the fascinating shifts in workplace motivation across generations. Donita shares powerful insights on the demographic cliff affecting higher education and the potential rise of micro-learning formats like "micro MBAs." Through stories about family vacations, workplace dynamics, and lessons from her father, Dr. Brown offers listeners quick insights into generational leadership and career development.Key Points:03:50 The Power of Listening09:29 The Future of Higher Education20:48 Mastering Mutual Gains Negotiation29:35 Lessons from Writing a Book33:29 Staying Relevant and ThrivingSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 14, 2025 • 13min
Zero Trust Hospital Series: How to Promote a Zero Trust Culture with Tamer Baker
March 14, 2025: This is the sixth episode of the Zero Trust Hospital Series. Tamer Baker, Healthcare CTO at Zscaler, explores the critical aspects of promoting a zero-trust culture in healthcare organizations. How can healthcare leaders effectively communicate the strategic value of zero trust to their boards? What approaches yield the best results when tailoring messages to different stakeholders like CNOs and CMOs? The conversation delves into the transformative impact of zero trust on mergers and acquisitions, potentially reducing integration time while enhancing security. Want to get your copy of the new book "Zero Trust Hospital: The CXO Vision" by Zscaler? Pre-Order nowDon't miss our webinar after all six Zero Trust Hospital Series episodes! Register now: www.thisweekhealth.com/zerotrustKey Points:01:03 Communicating Zero Trust to the Board03:34 Engaging Internal Stakeholders09:32 The Avalanche Effect of Zero TrustSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 13, 2025 • 30min
Keynote: Pushing Boundaries in Community Care - Digital Innovation and Equity with Tracy Donegan
March 13, 2025: Tracy Donegan, Chief Information and Innovation Officer at MLK Community Healthcare, shares her approach to solving seemingly insurmountable problems through creative thinking and scrappiness, pushing beyond conventional limitations. The conversation explores MLK's commitment to health equity through innovative programs like their street medicine team and the upcoming empath unit for psychiatric patients. Tracy offers insights into the importance of fostering partnerships built on shared mission and reducing clinician burnout, all while maintaining a deeply personal connection to the community she serves.Key Points:01:48 Tracy's Professional Journey07:08 Digital Innovation and Patient Engagement10:11 Community Impact and Health Equity16:50 Lessons from the Pandemic23:49 Speed Round: Personal InsightsSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 12, 2025 • 16min
Interview In Action: Incremental Growth to Bounding Innovations with Colin Banas and Thomas Wells
March 12, 2025: From the floor of HIMSS 2025 in Vegas Colin Banas, CMO of DrFirst, and Thomas Wells, Medical director of Piedmont, explore the evolving landscape of healthcare technology. How might AI transform physician-patient relationships rather than diminishing them? What would need to change for true interoperability to become reality instead of remaining an endless talking point? The physicians discuss Piedmont's vast Georgia network and their innovative approaches to telehealth, virtual specialists, and the pressing need to address behavioral health through technology. Key Points:03:52 Interoperability and EHR Systems05:55 AI in Medication Management10:01 Telemedicine and Behavioral Health11:24 Closing Thoughts and Fun QuestionSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 11, 2025 • 29min
TownHall: Empowering Men, Mentorship, and Personal Growth with Jay Millar
March 11: In this episode of TownHall, Karla Arzola, Chief Information Officer at Campbell County Health speaks with Jay Millar, Client Director at World Wide Technology and author of 'Be a Hero in Your Home’. Jay shares his compelling journey from a challenging upbringing to becoming a mentor and leader dedicated to helping others succeed. How does one turn personal struggles into strengths? Why is mentorship crucial, especially for men facing unique societal pressures? Jay discusses the importance of finding mentors, being vulnerable, and taking intentional actions to improve one's life. He also highlights the significance of creating spaces for open, honest dialogue. This episode is perfect for anyone looking to understand the transformative power of mentorship and the steps to cultivate meaningful, supportive relationships both personally and professionally. Subscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 7, 2025 • 15min
Interview In Action: Driving Strategic Initiatives and M&A Success with Patience Phillips
March 7, 2025: In this Interview in Action live from ViVE ‘25, Bill talks with Patience Phillips, Senior Director Information Technology at St. Luke’s University Health System. They dive into Patience’s role overseeing IT physician services, various service lines, access centers, and project management offices. They discuss St. Luke’s transformation of their call centers, highlighting the shift to remote agents and standardizing processes. How does a healthcare network prioritize and execute strategic initiatives such as EPIC modules and ERP implementations? Patience explains her project management approach, including the use of hybrid agile methodologies. Patience also touches on her robust process for construction, mergers, and acquisitions, emphasizing rapid deployment, security, and standardization. How do they integrate new facilities effectively? Subscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Mar 7, 2025 • 13min
Interview In Action: AI That Actually Learns and a Keyboard-Free Future with Andrew Gostine
March 7, 2025: Dr. Andrew Gostine, CEO of Artisight, to discuss how Artisight is revolutionizing patient care with their integrated hardware and AI solutions. The interview focuses on their easy-to-implement hardware innovations. Shifting to software, Andrew highlights their AI’s ability to understand ambient video and audio, learning across thousands of hospital and operating rooms. Key Points:00:52 Artisight's Hardware Innovations06:11 Artisight’s Software Innovation08:07 Ambient Nursing DocumentationSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer


