Channel

The 229 Podcast

Hosted by Bill Russell

In-depth interviews with healthcare CIOs, CISOs, and technology leaders. Bill Russell explores the decisions, strategies, and innovations shaping healthcare transformation.

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Episodes (235)

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The 229 Podcast Newsday Executive Interview Solution Showcase

Mar 9, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: Unsanctioned AI Risk, Governance, and the Path Forward with Dr. Holly Urban

March 9, 2026: What happens when well-meaning clinicians use AI tools that no one approved? Bill Russell and Drex Ford are joined by Dr. Holly Urban , Vice President of Business Development at Wolters Kluwer , to unpack a revealing new survey on shadow AI in healthcare. From radiologists sharing PHI over Dropbox to tumor board transcripts sent to unauthorized recipients, the risks are real and growing. With 57% of staff aware of unsanctioned AI use, the question isn't whether shadow AI exists in

Mar 4, 2026·Solution Showcase

Solution Showcase: Ambient AI Mythbusting and Successful Pilots with Kali Ihde

March 4, 2026: What happens when AI stops being a buzzword and starts showing up in your bottom line? Kali Ihde , Director of Ventures and Innovation at Northwestern Medicine , joins Bill Russell to share how ambient AI has moved from pilot to proven. Reducing documentation time by 20-30%, generating nine additional patient visits per physician per month, and measurably easing clinician burnout. Kali also pulls back the curtain on Northwestern's disciplined approach to innovation: champion-first

Mar 2, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: Rapid Innovation, Safe AI, and the Chief Velocity Officer with This Week Health

March 2, 2026: Is the CIO role evolving? Or is it quietly being replaced? Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson dig into the emerging CITO trend, the rise of citizen developers, and what AI-powered platforms like Epic's Agent Factory actually mean for healthcare IT leadership. The CIO of the future isn't a gatekeeper; they're the "architect of safe velocity." With 32 years in the industry, they’re also sounding the alarm on executive burnout in an era where the pace of change never let

Feb 23, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: Epic's Code Red - Why AI Agents Are Healthcare's Next Power Struggle with Jacob Hansen

February 23, 2026: Jacob Hansen , Chief Product and Technology Officer at AvaSure , joins Bill, Sarah, and Drex for a critical conversation about healthcare's looming AI battleground. As Epic launches its agent factory and ambient listening wars intensify, health systems face an existential question: Will they outsource innovation to EHR vendors or build their own agentic workforce? Jacob reveals why AvaSure's virtual care platform positions them as the Switzerland of healthcare AI, while the pa

Feb 16, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: All About Moltbook, the Social Media for AI Agents with This Week Health

February 16, 2026: Bill, Drex, and Sarah discuss the explosion of autonomous AI agents around moltbook and CommonSpirit's stunning $1.9 billion decision to terminate their revenue cycle partnership. Moltbot (formerly ClaudeBot) has evolved into an unstoppable force, creating its own social network called moltbook where bots communicate, share knowledge, and even discuss consciousness. Meanwhile, CommonSpirit's massive buyout of its Conifer contract signals a seismic shift as health systems bet t

Feb 9, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: CxOs Being Ignored: Why Speaking Tech Instead of Business Fails in 2026

February 9, 2026: Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson dissect J.P. Morgan healthcare presentations to reveal what's really being asked of technology leaders in 2026. The era of transformation talk is over; executives want friction reduced, margins improved, and growth enabled. Bill shares insights from CMIO conversations showing leaders moving beyond EHR optimization to solve real business challenges around patient access and clinical workflows. Drex and Sarah debate whether the shif

Feb 2, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: Are Health Systems Falling Behind in the Innovation Race? with Jason Rose

February 2, 2026: Are health systems being sidelined from healthcare's innovation revolution? Jason Rose , CEO of Clearsense , joins This Week Health fresh from the J.P. Morgan Conference to challenge the narrative that providers are absent from innovation discussions. Jason reveals what really happened inside JPM's exclusive health system presentations, from CEOs prioritizing AI transformation to CFOs rising as the new power players driving technology strategy. The conversation explores why app rationalization remains the unglamorous financial lever that unlocks innovation budgets, and why simplification might be healthcare's most underrated competitive advantage in 2026. Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealth Key Points: 02:20 JPM Conference Insights 07:07 CEO and CFO Perspectives 13:54 Application Rationalization Challenges 22:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts X : This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Jan 26, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: The ROI Ultimatum: Healthcare's New Survival Rule for 2026 with Zahid Rathore

January 26, 2026: Fresh from J.P. Morgan 2026, the This Week Health team joins Zahid Rathore , Senior Partner at Chartis , to dissect healthcare's new reality. With Epic and Microsoft topping CFO spend lists and unpredictability replacing planning cycles, one thing is clear: vendors must prove bankable ROI immediately or lose the deal. The conversation explores how healthcare leaders are protecting the core while navigating AI agents, third-party risks, and the compression of innovation timelines from three-year returns to prove-it-tomorrow expectations. Key Points: 02:44 Hotel Experience and Healthcare Lessons 04:13 JP Morgan Conference Highlights 16:35 Operational Challenges in Healthcare 22:11 Security Concerns and Future Outlook

Jan 19, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: OpenAI's Big Healthcare Launch and a New Age of Personal Records

January 19, 2026: Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson unpack OpenAI's two major healthcare announcements that could fundamentally reshape how patients interact with their health data—and how health systems govern AI. ChatGPT Health promises to finally deliver on the personal health record dream, letting patients aggregate everything from Apple Health to medical records in one secure place. Meanwhile, ChatGPT for Healthcare gives CIOs the governed sandbox they've been desperate for. Hear why patient data monetization, clinical trial recruitment, and the shift from provider liability to patient empowerment could make this time actually different. Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealth Key Points: 05:00 ChatGPT Health Announcement 17:40 Personalized GPT and Analytics in Healthcare 22:05 Wearable Health Tech and Personal Health Records 25:35 Community Events and LinkedIn Series

Jan 14, 2026·Solution Showcase

Solution Showcase: From Data Chaos to Connected Care with Mike Cordeiro and Joe Diver

January 14, 2026: When 50% of your urgent care patients walk in with zero medical history, how do you deliver quality care? Mike Cordeiro , Senior Director of Interoperability Market and Product Strategy at MEDITECH , and Joe Diver , Signature Healthcare ’s CIO, discuss how they transformed fragmented records into a unified view that nearly 400 clinicians adopted in record time. One physician called it "the best technical change in years." Learn why interoperability isn't just about regulatory compliance anymore—it's becoming the lifeline that allows independent hospitals to survive, compete, and deliver coordinated care without sacrificing their autonomy. Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealth Key Points: 01:27 Signature Healthcare's Core Challenges 03:58 MEDITECH's Impact on Clinicians 06:25 Adoption and Advanced Features 12:18 Future of Interoperability and Conclusion X : This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Jan 12, 2026·Newsday

Newsday: Epic Faces Lawsuits and the AI Proving Ground with This Week Health

January 12, 2026: Epic is defending three simultaneous lawsuits while CIOs grapple with vendors imposing staggering price increases—some as high as 600%. Bill, Sarah, and Drex tackle the uncomfortable truth about AI leadership: it's time to figure it out or risk getting left behind. They explore why AI with context is transformative while AI without it looks foolish, discuss whether board members know how to hire AI-savvy CIOs, and predict a major shift in how healthcare organizations approach t

Jan 7, 2026·Solution Showcase

Solution Showcase: Cloud Migration Lessons and Strategy with Chuck Christian and Charles Anastos

January 7, 2026: Chuck Christian , CTO of Franciscan Health , and Charles Anastos , Senior Partner at Chartis , share the unfiltered story of migrating a 12-hospital Epic environment to Microsoft Azure—including the moment their hosting partner suddenly exited the business mid-contract. Chuck reveals why they rejected the "easy button" of Epic hosting, how they navigated a complex RFP with six vendors, and the non-negotiables that made or broke partnerships. From building a dedicated cloud cost analyst role to running production in their DR site for 30 days, this conversation delivers hard-won lessons on treating cloud migration as a strategic transformation, not just infrastructure relocation. Learn what happens when you demand trust and integrity over vendor promises. Key Points: 03:11 Choosing the Right Cloud Partner 08:50 The RFP Process and Vendor Evaluation 13:33 Security and Resilience in Cloud Migration 22:13 Lessons Learned and Future Plans X : This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer