E193 | What Happens When Patients Are Afraid of the Bill? | Brian Marsella

E194 | Jen Hopper | Why Is Healthcare Still Using Clipboards?

A patient can order groceries in seconds. Track a package in real time. Open a bank account from their phone. Then they walk into a doctor's office, and someone hands them a clipboard. We've all been there. On this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, host Michael Stamatinos sits down with Jen Hopper, Digital Transformation Leader at Beacon Health System, one of the largest locally owned nonprofit health systems in the Midwest, serving thousands of patients every day across Indiana and Michigan. Over nearly 200 conversations with healthcare leaders, founders, and operators, Michael has heard a common theme: healthcare doesn't struggle because it lacks innovation. It struggles because turning innovation into meaningful experiences for patients is incredibly hard. That's exactly where Jen spends her time. As Beacon has grown through acquisitions and expansion, she's been in the middle of one of healthcare's hardest jobs, standardizing processes, improving digital access, and helping create experiences that feel more intuitive, more personal, and more human. What makes Jen's perspective so refreshing is that she doesn't think of people as users or encounters. She thinks of them as stakeholders. It's a subtle difference. It's also an important one because once that mindset shifts, the conversation changes. The question stops being "How do we deploy this technology?" And becomes: How do we make this experience better for the person sitting in the waiting room? In this conversation, Michael and Jen explore: • Why digital transformation remains so difficult in healthcare. • Why buying technology and being operationally ready for technology are two completely different things. • What healthcare leaders are getting wrong about AI. • Why healthcare keeps building shiny new front doors while the house still needs work. • And why the future of healthcare will belong to organizations that can blend innovation with human connection. The work Jen and her team are doing may never make headlines. It may never be the topic of conversation at a dinner party. But thousands of patients will have a better experience because of it. And that's work worth talking about. In this episode: • Why digital transformation initiatives often fail • The hidden work required before technology can scale • Why standardization is so difficult in healthcare • The difference between patient acquisition and operational readiness • What healthcare leaders consistently get wrong about AI • Why patient feedback needs to happen in real time • The balance between automation and human connection • Why clean data matters more than most organizations realize • How healthcare can finally start meeting patients where they are Chapters 03:35 The experience that shaped Jen's career 07:12 Patients now have a choice 10:30 Why standardization is so difficult 14:15 What vendors consistently get wrong 18:15 The AI treadmill 20:30 Lessons from digital registration 23:20 Building the front door before the house is ready 25:35 The healthcare conversation nobody is having 29:35 The patient outcomes that make the work worthwhile 33:10 The biggest AI mistake healthcare may make 41:45 The opportunity healthcare cannot afford to miss Follow Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhopper [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhopper] Beacon Health System: https://www.beaconhealthsystem.org/ [https://www.beaconhealthsystem.org/] 📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE If this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the Show The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation. The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo] 🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/ [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/]

E193 | What Happens When Patients Are Afraid of the Bill? | Brian Marsella

Most people think the biggest barriers in healthcare are access, staffing, or technology. Brian Marsella thinks it's something else. Money. Millions of Americans delay or avoid care every year because they're worried about what it might cost, what bill might show up later, or whether they can afford to walk through the door in the first place. In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Brian Marsella, President of PayMedix and Board Chair of Erie Family Health Center, for a candid conversation about one of healthcare's most overlooked barriers to access: the patient financial experience. With more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning Cigna, Aetna, and now PayMedix, Brian has had a front-row seat to how financial friction shapes patient behavior, health outcomes, and the future of healthcare. The conversation explores: • Why 67% of Americans earning less than $90,000 delay or avoid care • The unintended consequences of high deductible health plans • Why patients ignore medical bills until the final notice arrives • How financial friction changes health outcomes • What employers, providers, and health plans can do differently • Why fixing the payment experience could unlock better access to care This isn't really a conversation about healthcare payments. It's a conversation about trust. And what happens when people are forced to choose between their health and their finances. If you've ever wondered why healthcare still feels so hard to navigate, this episode is for you. ⏱ Chapters 03:58 Brian's unexpected start in healthcare 10:00 The hidden cost of delayed care 15:27 Lessons from Erie Family Health Center 18:59 Did healthcare create this problem itself? 27:11 How PayMedix works 37:37 Why change is so difficult 40:42 What leaders misunderstand about the patient financial experience 43:39 A vision for the future of healthcare 46:11 Final thoughts Follow Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-marsella/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-marsella/] Paymedix: https://paymedix.com/ [https://paymedix.com/] 📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE If this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the Show The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation. The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo] 🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/ [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/]

E192 | How Clasp Is Transforming Healthcare Recruitment and Retention

Healthcare has a workforce crisis, but what if the real problem isn't staffing? In Episode 192 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Tess Michaels, Founder and CEO of Clasp, to explore a bold new approach to solving one of healthcare's biggest challenges: attracting and retaining clinicians before they ever enter the workforce. With more than 3 million clinical positions sitting unfilled across the United States and student loan debt surpassing $1.7 trillion, health systems continue to rely on sign-on bonuses and short-term incentives that often fail to improve long-term retention. Tess believes there's a better way. Drawing inspiration from the ROTC model, Clasp pioneered "Loan Linking Hiring," an innovative approach that connects healthcare employers with future clinicians while they're still in school. Instead of paying large bonuses upfront, employers invest in student loan repayment over time, creating stronger loyalty, improving retention, and helping clinicians begin their careers with greater financial confidence. Throughout the conversation, Tess shares: • Why the healthcare workforce shortage is really a retention problem • How student loan debt influences where clinicians choose to work and how long they stay • Why traditional sign-on bonuses often create more turnover than loyalty • How Clasp partners with leading health systems including Northwestern Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Novant Health, and OhioHealth • The psychology behind long-term employee retention • Lessons learned from building a venture-backed healthcare company over the past eight years • The hardest moments of entrepreneurship that rarely make the headlines • How immigrant parents, education, and purpose shaped her leadership journey • Why investing in people earlier changes the future of healthcare This episode is about far more than recruiting. It's a conversation about leadership, innovation, trust, financial wellness, workforce strategy, and designing systems that create better outcomes for both clinicians and patients. If you're a healthcare executive, hospital leader, HR executive, workforce strategist, investor, entrepreneur, clinician, or simply passionate about the future of healthcare, this is an episode you won't want to miss. Learn more about Clasp: https://www.clasp.com/ [https://www.clasp.com/] Connect with Tess Michaels: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmichaels/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmichaels/] ⏱️ Timestamps 01:15 The healthcare workforce crisis: 3 million open clinical roles 03:05 Meet Tess Michaels and the origin of Clasp 04:25 Growing up in a family of physicians 06:00 Leaving Goldman Sachs and private equity to become a founder 08:00 The insight that led to Clasp 10:40 Why healthcare's staffing problem is really a retention problem 14:25 How Loan Linking Hiring works 15:40 Why sign-on bonuses fail 18:55 Real stories of clinicians whose lives changed 21:10 How health systems justify the investment 24:00 Winning the first healthcare customer 25:30 Building Clasp over eight years 26:15 The hardest part of being a founder 28:50 How Tess's immigrant family shaped her leadership 31:15 A message to the next generation of clinicians 33:30 Where to learn more about Clasp 34:10 Final thoughts 📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE If this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the Show The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation. The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo] 🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/ [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/]

E191: John Fryer | The Healthcare Shift That Will Impact 100 Million Americans

What if the biggest challenge in healthcare isn’t creating more innovation…but actually getting it into the hands of the people who need it most? In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with John Fryer, Chief Growth and Corporate Development Officer at Lumeris, to explore one of the most important questions facing healthcare today: How do we scale access to care without losing the human connection that makes healthcare work? Primary care is facing a defining moment. Millions of Americans struggle to access basic preventative care. Physicians are stretched thin. Health systems are under increasing pressure. And AI is entering healthcare faster than ever before. But technology alone won’t fix the problem. John shares how Lumeris is helping redesign the future of primary care by combining value-based care, artificial intelligence, clinical expertise, and new operating models that allow physicians to spend more time doing what they do best: caring for people. In this conversation, we discuss: • The conversation with Cerner founder Neal Patterson that changed the trajectory of John’s career • Why healthcare attracts people who want to solve incredibly difficult problems • Why trust and relationships still determine whether healthcare transformation succeeds • The difference between healthcare innovation and actually deploying innovation at scale • How AI can make healthcare more personal, not less human • Why rural America represents one of the greatest opportunities for healthcare transformation • How we redesign care around patients instead of around legacy systems • Why the next generation of healthcare leaders needs creativity, courage, and a builder mindset John also shares powerful stories from the front lines, including how AI helped create a meaningful connection for a 90-year-old patient experiencing isolation and why the future of healthcare depends on pairing technology with empathy. Healthcare transformation does not happen through technology alone. It happens when the right people, partnerships, incentives, and trust come together around a problem worth solving. This is a conversation about the future of primary care, the role of AI, and the leaders building what comes next. Learn more about Lumeris: https://www.lumeris.com/ [https://www.lumeris.com/] Connect with John Fryer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-blendu-gudapati-phd-mba-rn-2049072a/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-blendu-gudapati-phd-mba-rn-2049072a/] 📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE If this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the Show The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation. The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo] 🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/ [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/]

E190: The Patient Story AI Still Can’t See | Jenni Gudapati, PhD

What happens when the healthcare system has all the data…but still misses the patient? Dr. Jenni Gudapati, PhD has spent nearly three decades asking that question. She started her career as an emergency room and critical care nurse in rural America, where she saw the same patients returning again and again. At first, they were labeled “frequent flyers.” Then one patient changed everything. The patient wasn’t coming to the ER because the system lacked clinical information. She was coming because nobody had stopped long enough to understand her story. That moment reshaped Jenni’s entire view of healthcare. Since then, she has gone on to: * Build an award-winning graduate healthcare leadership program at Boise State University * Help develop national conversations around health equity and quality standards through CMS advisory work * Lead discussions around value-based care, population health, and healthcare transformation * Co-found Healthy Insights AI to help healthcare organizations better understand the complete patient story In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Dr. Jenni Gudapati to discuss why healthcare transformation requires more than data, dashboards, and technology. They explore: 05:00 What working as an ER nurse taught Jenni about the gaps in healthcare 08:00 The patient story that changed the trajectory of her career 14:00 Losing her father because of a preventable care coordination failure 17:00 Why hospitals and insurance companies aren’t the “bad guys” 21:00 The future of value-based care and Medicare Advantage 23:00 Why healthcare data without context creates problems 25:00 Building Healthy Insights AI 31:00 Why great nurses see things algorithms miss 34:00 Working on national healthcare policy conversations 37:00 Developing the next generation of healthcare leaders 40:00 Building relationships that create healthcare transformation Healthcare does not have a shortage of information. It has a shortage of understanding. And sometimes the most important data point is the story nobody thought to ask for. Learn more about Healthy Insights AI: https://healthyinsights.ai [https://healthyinsights.ai] Connect with Dr. Jenni Gudapati: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-blendu-gudapati-phd-mba-rn-2049072a/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-blendu-gudapati-phd-mba-rn-2049072a/] 📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE If this conversation moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked an idea, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe for more episodes with healthcare leaders who are not just thinking differently, they’re building differently. About the Show The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation. The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo] 🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/ [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/]