Straight Outta Health IT

WellLink CONNECTNEO 2026

What happens when healthcare organizations stop working in silos and begin treating community partnerships as part of the care model? In this special episode of Straight Outta Health IT, Christopher Kunney joins healthcare leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and community advocates at the WellLink CONNECTNEO 2026 Conference in Cleveland. Together, they explore how collaboration, AI, data, and community partnerships can help address some of healthcare’s most persistent challenges. Rahul Mahadevan, Founder of WITT, discusses the nonclinical barriers that often prevent patients from receiving care, including transportation, food insecurity, family responsibilities, and the reluctance to ask for help.  Brian Lane, President and CEO of WellLink, explains how the organization is expanding its network to bring hospitals, businesses, faith groups, and community organizations together around shared health goals. Jason Ferri of Premier explores ongoing supply-chain challenges, including pricing volatility and shortages, and explains how collective purchasing can strengthen healthcare organizations. U.N. Amighi of HealthCorum highlights how transparent provider analytics can reduce wasteful spending while connecting patients with the right providers. John Paganini introduces Northern Ohio HIMSS' AI Center of Excellence and its efforts to advance AI literacy, governance, data management, and digital equity. Dominic Hopson of Neighborhood Family Practice emphasizes the importance of trusted, accessible primary care as the front door to the healthcare system. Across every conversation, a common theme emerges: meaningful healthcare transformation requires collaboration across organizations, sectors, and communities. Tune in to hear how Northeast Ohio’s healthcare community is connecting organizations, technology, and local expertise to build a stronger and more equitable healthcare ecosystem! Key Takeaways * Patients may delay or forgo treatment because of transportation, food insecurity, family obligations, and other nonclinical barriers. * Community support is more effective when patients can ask for help without feeling like a burden. * AI adoption in healthcare requires strong privacy protections, robust governance, and responsible implementation practices. * Healthcare technology creates greater value when integrated into existing workflows and supported by reliable data. * An aging population will place increasing pressure on care delivery across the continuum. * Hospitals, community organizations, businesses, and faith-based groups achieve more through coordinated action and shared resources. * Group purchasing organizations help providers navigate shortages, pricing volatility, and supply-chain disruptions. * Transparent provider analytics can reduce waste and guide patients toward higher-value care. * AI literacy must extend across the healthcare workforce and the communities it serves. * Strong primary care and strategic partnerships are essential to improving access and supporting underserved and rural communities. Resources * Connect with Rahul Mahadevan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-mahadevan-85a0171/]. * Follow WITT on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-witt-group/] and explore their website [https://www.wittforever.com/]. * Connect with Brian Lane on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianglane/]. * Follow Jason Ferri on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-ferri-8031244/]. * Follow Premier Inc on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/premierinc/] and explore their website [https://premierinc.com/]. * Connect with U.N. Amighi on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/u-n-amighi-83536aa/].  * Follow HealthCorum on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/healthcorum/] and explore their website [https://healthcorum.com/]. * Connect with John Paganini on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpaganini/].  * Follow Paguar Informatics on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/paguar-informatics/] and explore their website [https://paguar.com/]. * Connect with Domonic Hopson on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/domonic-hopson-mph-fache-aa5ab7a9/]. * Follow Neighborhood Family Practice on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/neighborhood-family-practice/] and explore their website [https://www.nfpmedcenter.org/].

Agentic AI & the Future of Revenue Cycle

Revenue cycle doesn’t just need more reporting; it needs smarter systems that can prevent problems before they happen. In this episode of Straight Outta Health IT, Jeff Hatfield, Co-Founder and CEO of Four Points Health, talks about how Agentic AI and intelligent automation are reshaping revenue cycle management for hospitals. He explains why denials, write-offs, payer complexity, and manual rework continue to drain financial resources and create unnecessary administrative burden. Drawing from both personal experience and years of working with hospital leaders, Jeff shares why healthcare needs to move beyond retrospective dashboards and toward real-time action. Jeff introduces the Agentic Claims Integrity System (ACIS), built to help hospitals shift from reactive denial management to proactive denial prevention. Rather than simply flagging problems after the fact, ACIS identifies issues upstream, intervenes before claims are submitted, and helps teams reduce avoidable denials and write-offs. He also explains how closed-loop systems can track payer behavior, validate whether fixes worked, and continuously improve performance over time. He also explores the human side of automation, emphasizing that AI should not replace healthcare teams but give them leverage. By reducing repetitive work, improving productivity, and speeding up reimbursement, intelligent automation can help staff focus on higher-value tasks while strengthening hospital financial performance. Hatfield also highlights the importance of making this technology accessible to rural and community hospitals, so AI does not widen existing gaps in healthcare. Tune in to hear how Agentic AI can help hospitals reduce denials, improve cash flow, ease staff burnout, and build a more sustainable future for healthcare operations! Resources * Connect with Jeff Hatfield on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyhatfield/]. * Follow Four Points Health on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/company/fourpointshealth/] and visit the website here. [https://www.fourpoints-health.org/]

Highlights from 2026 TX HIMSS Regional Conference

What happens when healthcare innovation is shaped not only by technology, but by the real human experiences behind it? In this SOHIT HIMSS 2026 episode of Straight Outta Health IT, Christopher Kunney speaks with healthcare leaders, informatics experts, entrepreneurs, and innovators at the Texas HIMSS Regional Conference about how technology, AI, data, and human experience are transforming healthcare. Erica Olenski, Founder of Monarch Futures and August’s Artists, shares how her experience as a caregiver and the loss of her son inspired her work in healthcare innovation. She emphasizes the importance of treating patient and caregiver experiences as valuable data that should inform the design of digital health solutions. The discussion continues with Elsie Gori, Nurse Informaticist and Program Chair for the Texas HIMSS Regional Conference, who explains how nursing informatics can improve care delivery through better workflow design, data utilization, AI, and smarter alert systems that help reduce alarm fatigue. Nayan D. Patel, SVP and General Manager for Transformation at Neteera, adds the perspective of both a former healthcare CIO and technology executive, highlighting the potential of contactless vital sign monitoring and the need for AI solutions that solve real clinical challenges without adding complexity to existing workflows. Katherine Taylor Pearson, President of the American Nursing Informatics Association, discusses her journey from military nursing to informatics leadership and explains why clinicians remain essential in guiding AI adoption and interpreting healthcare data. Closing the episode, Ted Lindsley, CEO of CognomIQ, explores how modern healthcare data platforms can replace fragmented systems, transform static data into actionable insights, and create the foundation needed for more effective operations, clinician innovation, and the future of healthcare AI. Tune in to hear how healthcare leaders are connecting lived experience, clinical insight, AI, and data infrastructure to build a more human and effective future for health IT. Resources * Connect with Erica Olenski on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericaolenski/]. * Follow Monarch Futures on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/monarch-futures/]. * Connect with Elsie Gori on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/elsiegori/]. * Follow Lone Star Communications Inc on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lone-star-communications-inc-/] and visit their website here [https://lonestarcom.com/]. * Connect with Nayan Patel on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nayandpatel/]. * Follow Neteera on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/neteera/] and visit their website here [https://www.neteera.com/]. * Connect with Katherine Taylor Pearson on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktaylorpearson/]. * Follow the American Nursing Informatics Association on LinkedIn and visit their website here [https://www.ania.org/]. * Email Katherine here [katherine.taylor-pearson@ttuhsc.edu]. * Connect with Ted Linsley on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedlindsleydfw/]. * Follow CognomIQ on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/cognomiq/] and visit their website here. [https://cognomiq.com/]

2025 Highlights Patient At The Center Symposium

What happens when healthcare leaders, innovators, and technology experts gather around a single mission: keeping patients at the center of every decision? At the Patient at the Center Symposium, hosted under the Straight Outta Health IT program, Christopher Kunney guided a series of conversations with healthcare leaders, innovators, and executives focused on redefining patient-centered care. The event featured Eugene Greyfer, founder and CEO of Advocaid and Chief Operating Officer at Veritas Health Services, who shared how his work in Texas Medicaid exposed a critical gap in access to diabetic supplies. He explained how Advocaid combines connected hardware and software, including a dual blood pressure and glucose monitoring device with built-in cellular connectivity, to help underserved patients transmit real-time health data to providers, fully covered through Texas’s remote patient monitoring (RPM) program. The symposium then expanded into broader system-level innovation with Jeffrey Heenan-Jalil, founder and CEO of hunterAI, who entered healthcare innovation after losing his brother to cancer and now focuses on healthcare financial transparency through AI-driven spend analytics. He described how his platform analyzes millions of transactions across hospital systems to identify inefficiencies, duplicate payments, and misaligned supplier contracts, with the goal of returning value back into hospital systems for reinvestment in patient care. Mitali Paul, Administrator for the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist and board member of the Southeast Texas chapter of ACH, emphasized that patient-centered care is not a philosophy but an operational standard, reflected in her organization’s nationally recognized outcomes and commitment to quality, compassion, and culturally competent care. Additional perspectives came from Ini Ekiko Thomas, Vice President at Memorial Hermann Health System and leader of its Innovation Hub, who highlighted the challenges startups face when working with large health systems, particularly around compliance, cybersecurity, vendor vetting, and aligning technology to real clinical or operational problems rather than “shiny object” solutions. Finally, event organizers Brittany Jones and Verndon Samuel of Gozio Health, alongside Josh Sol of FTI Consulting, explained that the symposium's purpose was to bridge the gap between providers, IT leaders, and innovators in a local setting where real collaboration could occur beyond large national conferences. Tune in to hear how today’s healthcare leaders are turning innovation into real-world impact by putting patients at the center of everything they do!  Resources * Connect with Jeffrey Heenan-Jalil on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyheenan-jalil/]. * Follow hunterAI on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/company/hunterai/] and visit their website here [https://www.hunterai.com/]. * Connect with Mitali Paul on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitalipaul/]. * Follow Houston Methodist on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/company/houston-methodist/] and visit their website here [https://www.houstonmethodist.org/]. * Connect with Ini Ekiko Thomas on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/iniekikothomas/]. * Follow Memorial Hermann on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/company/memorialhermann/] and visit their website here [https://memorialhermann.org/]. * Connect with Brittany Jones on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyb-jones/]. * Follow Gozio Health on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/company/gozio-inc-/] and visit their website here [https://www.goziohealth.com/]. * Connect with Josh Sol on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshsol/]. * Follow FTI Consulting on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/company/fti-consulting/] and visit their website here [https://www.fticonsulting.com/].

When the Mind Meets the Machine - AI, Mental Health, and the Fight to Keep Humanity at the Center of Care

AI is changing mental health care fast, but Dr. Fred Moss believes the real question is not whether technology can become human. It is whether humans can keep their humanity intact. In this episode of Straight Outta Health IT, Christopher Kunney speaks with Dr. Fred Moss, psychiatrist, mental health advocate, keynote speaker, podcaster, coach, and founder of the Welcome to Humanity movement. Drawing from more than 40 years in psychiatry and over 40,000 patient encounters, Dr. Moss challenges the way society has come to rely on diagnoses, medications, and technology to define human experience and emotional well-being. He reflects on how modern healthcare systems often prioritize efficiency, labels, and treatment protocols over genuine human connection, listening, and understanding. Dr. Moss explains why authentic communication remains central to healing, how AI can be useful when used as a tool rather than a replacement for human responsibility, and why clinicians and patients must be careful not to hand over their agency to machines. He also explores the growing role of telehealth, the risks of becoming emotionally disconnected in an increasingly digital world, and why preserving empathy, presence, and personal accountability matters now more than ever. Tune in to hear a bold conversation on AI, mental health, telehealth, and what it means to preserve the human soul in a rapidly evolving digital age. Resources * Connect with Dr. Fred Moss on LinkedIn here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drfredmoss/] and on Facebook here [https://www.facebook.com/welcometohumanityfb].  * Visit Dr. Moss’ website here [https://welcometohumanityretreat.com/].