I Don't Care

Healthcare leaders often blame financial pressure, labor shortages, and market forces for the industry’s challenges, but Mark Van Sumeren argues that one of healthcare’s biggest constraints is self-imposed: the inability to make decisions quickly enough.On this episode of I Don’t Care, Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Van Sumeren, a healthcare strategist with more than four decades of experience spanning health systems, consulting, supply chain, publicly traded companies, and private equity-backed organizations. Together, they examine why healthcare organizations are uniquely prone to “paralysis by analysis” and why seemingly responsible delays can ultimately leave leaders with fewer and worse choices.Van Sumeren introduces the idea that “decision pace is capacity.” Every delayed decision continues consuming executive attention, staff time, analytical resources, and organizational bandwidth. Rather than advocating for reckless speed, he makes the case for deliberate speed: establishing clear decision ownership, defining the information required upfront, creating a decision window, and holding leaders accountable for reaching an answer.The conversation also explores how healthcare’s governance structures and incentive systems can unintentionally reward consensus and caution over execution. Stevenson and Van Sumeren discuss the value of measuring decision latency, creating greater accountability for outcomes, recognizing early warning signals, and adopting a “fail fast” mindset that allows organizations to change direction before an unsuccessful initiative consumes even more resources.They also turn to healthcare supply chain strategy, particularly the significant amount of nonclinical spending that often escapes the same scrutiny applied to medical supplies. Van Sumeren argues that health systems can learn from retail, manufacturing, and consumer goods companies by applying greater discipline to areas such as IT, facilities, construction, marketing, and professional services.Ultimately, the episode makes the case that healthcare does not have to abandon its mission-driven values to operate with greater urgency. Instead, leaders need structures that allow them to protect quality and compassion while making timely, accountable decisions before circumstances make those decisions for them.I Don’t Care on MarketScale: https://marketscale.com/shows/i-dont-care/Connect with Mark Van Sumeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markvansumeren/Health Industry Advisor: https://healthindustryadvisor.com/

Childcare has quietly become one of the biggest pressure points in the labor market, reshaping how people choose jobs, stay in jobs and build careers. What was once treated as a private family problem is now showing up in employers’ bottom lines through absenteeism, turnover, delayed returns to work and unfilled roles. The pressure is especially acute in industries like healthcare, where work is often in person, shifts are long and staffing gaps can quickly affect both operations and patient care. With childcare costs now rivaling or exceeding major household expenses in many states, the question for business leaders is no longer whether families are struggling, but how much workforce stability depends on helping solve it.So if childcare is affecting who can work, who stays, who calls out and who accepts a job offer, why is it still so often treated as an HR side issue instead of a CEO-level business strategy?On this episode of I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Nicole Riehl, President and CEO of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children, known as EPIC. Their conversation explores why childcare access is now tied directly to recruitment, retention, absenteeism, workforce planning and long-term economic competitiveness—and why business leaders may need to rethink what counts as core infrastructure for their employees.Top insights from the talk…Childcare affects business performance. Riehl explains that childcare shortages show up in turnover, call-outs, delayed returns to work, reduced productivity and difficulty filling specialized roles, especially in healthcare and 24/7 operations.Employers need better data before choosing solutions. EPIC works with employers to survey workers, assess local childcare supply, understand affordability challenges and identify whether solutions should include stipends, backup care, on-site childcare or partnerships with providers.Childcare benefits can produce measurable ROI. Riehl says employers often recover their investment through improved retention, faster recruiting, fewer absences and stronger engagement, with some childcare investments generating returns ranging from 100% to 400%.Nicole Riehl is President and CEO of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children, where she helps employers, executives and policymakers address childcare as a workforce, economic development and business competitiveness issue. Her career spans early childhood education, nonprofit leadership, finance, program strategy and systems-building, including senior leadership roles at Denver’s Early Childhood Council and quality improvement work with Qualistar Colorado. Recognized by the Denver Business Journal as an Outstanding Woman in Business and Power Book honoree, Riehl brings deep expertise in employer childcare solutions, early learning policy, workforce retention and cross-sector collaboration.

Biotech is living through a paradox: the science has rarely looked more powerful, while the institutions behind it have rarely seemed less trusted. The sector that helped accelerate vaccines, advance cancer treatment, and open new frontiers in brain disease is now facing public skepticism, political pressure on science, and rising competition from countries that see biotech as a strategic national asset. That frustration is being sharpened by affordability concerns, with recent polling finding that nearly six in ten U.S. adults worry about paying for prescription drugs. For an industry built around lifesaving innovation, the challenge is no longer just discovering what comes next; it is proving to the public that those breakthroughs are being developed in patients’ best interests.So, how can biotech and pharma restore public trust while continuing to deliver the breakthroughs patients are waiting for?On I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Dr. Jeremy Levin, Chairperson of Ovid Therapeutics and author of Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust. Their conversation explores why the public has lost trust in pharma, how pharmacy benefit managers and rebate structures complicate drug pricing, why biotech should be treated as a strategic national asset, and what the industry must do to reconnect with patients.Top insights from the talk…Trust is biotech’s central challenge. Dr. Levin argues that the industry’s biggest mistake has been losing sight of its covenant with patients. While biotech has delivered transformative medicines, he says the public often sees the industry as profiting from illness rather than partnering in care.Drug pricing is more complex than the sticker price. Dr. Levin points to pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, rebates, and opaque intermediary structures as major drivers of patient frustration, arguing that patients often blame drug companies without seeing how money moves through the system.American biotech faces a strategic test. Dr. Levin warns that if the United States does not protect scientific institutions, support the FDA, and recognize biotech as a national priority, innovation and investment may move elsewhere, including China.Dr. Jeremy Levin is a physician-scientist and biotechnology executive with deep experience leading life sciences companies, boards, strategy, alliances, and business development. He is Chairperson of both Ovid Therapeutics and Opthea, and he previously founded and led Ovid as Chairperson and CEO. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, where he helped guide industry leadership across biotechnology policy, innovation, and patient-focused drug development. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Teva Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Novartis.

Modern healthcare is caught between extraordinary clinical possibility and an increasingly strained delivery system: patients have more treatment options, data and information than ever, while hospitals and physician networks must coordinate care amid workforce pressure, rising complexity and limited tolerance for waste. That pressure is only expected to grow, with the Association of American Medical Colleges warning that the U.S. physician shortfall could climb as high as 86,000 by 2036, underscoring why better care now depends not only on medical innovation, but on whether clinicians, administrators and networks can build enough trust to make hard decisions together.How can healthcare leaders move beyond transactional relationships and build the trust needed for physicians and administrators to make better decisions together — for their networks, their practices and the patients they serve?On I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Dr. David Foster, Founder and Principal of Clinical Network Collaborative, about leading with purpose across medicine, administration and faith-based healthcare. Their conversation explores Foster’s decades of clinical and executive experience, the role of mission in leadership, the need to unify the physician voice, and why clinical integration may be one of healthcare’s most urgent priorities.What you'll learn...Physician alignment starts with listening, but it cannot stop there. Foster argues that physicians often feel unheard, while administrators are actively seeking clearer clinical input. The opportunity, he says, is to move from a “cacophony” of individual complaints to a unified physician voice that can help leaders set priorities.Collaboration is becoming a survival skill in a constrained healthcare environment. Foster emphasizes that practices, hospitals, payers and health systems all operate within networks. When resources are limited, clinicians and administrators must work together to decide what services to invest in, what duplication to reduce and how to keep patient care as the shared North Star.Healthcare leaders should stop fighting the tools and start improving the system. Asked what leaders spend too much time worrying about, Foster points to the electronic medical record. His view: EMRs are not going away, so leaders should focus less on resisting them and more on optimizing them to support better practice, workflow and patient care.Dr. David Foster, MD, MBA, FAAFP, is a physician executive and healthcare strategist with more than 30 years of experience spanning clinical practice, medical group leadership, governance, clinical integration and system-level transformation. He founded Clinical Network Collaborative to help clinicians, administrators, health system leaders and payers strengthen network performance through clearer dialogue, physician engagement and patient-first alignment. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at CommonSpirit Health, CHI St. Vincent, CHRISTUS Health and CHRISTUS Spohn Health System, where he led multi-state physician enterprise operations, grew provider networks, advanced value-based care, improved quality and access, and built governance structures that elevated the clinical voice in organizational decision-making.

For years, nutrition has sat awkwardly between personal responsibility and medical care: important enough for doctors to mention, but rarely supported like a real treatment plan. That gap is becoming harder to defend as diet-related diseases continue to strain patients, employers and the healthcare system. A study in JAMA Network Open found that expanding medically tailored meals in the U.S. could prevent an estimated 1.6 million hospitalizations a year, making the case that food can be more than general wellness advice — it can be part of how care is delivered.That raises the real question for healthcare leaders, employers and retailers: how do you turn food from a recommendation into a system of support?On I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Adam DeVito, Founder and CEO of Monj Health, and Maggie Biscarr, a food-as-medicine subject matter expert, about whether food can play a more central role in prevention, healing and healthcare strategy. Their conversation covers the history of food-as-medicine, the behavioral barriers that make healthy eating difficult, the role of culinary skills and community, and why employers and retailers may be uniquely positioned to connect food, pharmacy and long-term health.What you'll learn...Food-as-medicine is having a moment because healthcare costs, chronic disease and GLP-1 demand are converging. Biscarr explains that employers and payers are recognizing that nutrition is not just a lifestyle issue, but a workforce health, productivity and cost issue.Behavior change is the missing link. DeVito argues that people do not “eat nutrition”; they eat food, flavor and comfort. Monj aims to make healthy eating joyful through cooking, confidence-building, behavioral science and community.The future may depend on connecting systems. The guests discuss opportunities for employers, retailers, pharmacies and food-as-medicine platforms to work together so people can access education, incentives and practical support where they already live, work and shop.Maggie Troope Biscarr is a food-as-medicine strategist and independent consultant working across the food, retail and healthcare sectors, with current roles including co-lead of the NOURISH Movement, subject matter expert with Clareo Partners, and lead of the GLP-1 Advisory Group for Georgetown’s Portion Balance Coalition. She previously served as Director of Global Partnership Solutions at PepsiCo, where she built cross-sector partnerships focused on health, wellness, sustainability and consumer behavior change, including healthier-choice and recycling pilots with major retail partners. Earlier in her career, she led AARP Foundation’s SNAP and nutrition incentive portfolios, including fruit and vegetable incentive and Food Rx programs, building on her MSW and long-standing focus on health equity and social drivers of health.Adam DeVito is the Founder and CEO of Monj Health, a food-is-medicine platform that uses behavioral science, technology and coaching to help address obesity, diabetes and metabolic health at scale. He has led innovation and growth across food, digital health, enterprise platforms, nutrition and play, including senior roles at Kraft Foods and Sterling-Rice Group, where his teams developed major new products and brand strategies for leading food and wellness companies. Earlier in his career, he trained in classical French cooking, co-authored a healthy cooking book series for Time Inc., and later became Kraft’s first Executive Chef, helping develop DiGiorno Pizza and launch it into a $1 billion brand.

Healthcare leaders spend their careers designing better systems for patients, but the work looks different when they have had to move through those systems themselves. For Patrick Makarewich, a diagnosis of HPV-related head and neck cancer transformed familiar operational issues — scheduling, access, support services, staff flexibility, and communication — into deeply personal lessons. His experience reflects a larger reality in cancer care: HPV-linked oropharyngeal cancers have been rising, particularly among middle-aged men, making prevention, early detection, and patient-centered care urgent leadership concerns.How does a cancer diagnosis change the way a healthcare leader thinks about access, empathy, and the people behind every clinical process?On this episode of I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Patrick Makarewich, FACHE, Clinical Practice Manager for ENT, Head and Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, about how surviving HPV-related head and neck cancer reshaped his approach to leadership. Their conversation moves from Patrick’s diagnosis and treatment experience to clinic operations, workforce retention, generational leadership, patient access, and the cautious but promising role of AI in healthcare documentation and care delivery.What you’ll learn…Lived experience can deepen healthcare leadership. Patrick explains that going through cancer treatment gave him insights into patient fear, scheduling friction, support needs, and survivorship that he could not have fully understood from an administrator’s seat alone.Staff retention starts with daily leadership. He argues that the most important recruiting happens with the people already on the team, through flexibility, goal-setting, quality interactions, and support for employees’ real lives outside work.AI may help reduce provider burden, but healthcare still needs human judgment. Patrick discusses UT Southwestern’s creation of a Chief AI Officer role and describes how AI-supported note-taking could help providers with documentation while still requiring accuracy, oversight, and empathy.Patrick Makarewich, FACHE, is a transformational healthcare executive with deep experience in physician practice management, service line leadership, operational improvement, and patient-centered care. He currently leads Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery clinic operations at UT Southwestern, overseeing a large multidisciplinary team while improving patient access, provider efficiency, and employee engagement. Across roles at UT Southwestern, Acclaim Physician Group, JPS Health Network, Children’s Health, Cook Children’s, Premier, hospice leadership, and Kaiser Permanente/SCPMG-related consulting roles, he has driven service line growth, Lean process improvement, revenue cycle optimization, workforce efficiency, accreditation success, and multimillion-dollar cost savings.

Primary care in America is under pressure from nearly every direction: physician shortages, long appointment wait times, rising patient demand, and a care model still built around physical offices. The U.S. is expected to face a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, according to projections from the Association of American Medical Colleges, while federal shortage-area data continues to show gaps in primary care access across the country. At the same time, virtual care and AI are moving from pandemic-era workarounds to core infrastructure for how patients find, receive, and navigate care.But as the technology catches up to the need, can healthcare use it in a way that preserves what matters most: the relationship between patient and doctor?Welcome to I Don’t Care. In the latest episode, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Dr. Geoffrey Rutledge, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of HealthTap, to explore the evolution of virtual care, the failures of traditional primary care, and the proper role of AI in medicine. Their conversation spans the early days of online medical information, the rise of telehealth, HealthTap’s shift toward virtual primary care, and why Dr. Rutledge believes technology should strengthen clinicians rather than replace them.What you’ll learn…Virtual care is no longer just “digital urgent care.” Dr. Rutledge argues that telehealth began as a transactional service for immediate needs, but its real potential is longitudinal virtual primary care, where physicians can build relationships, understand lifestyle factors, and guide patients over time.Access problems are not limited to rural communities. While telehealth is often framed as a rural health solution, Dr. Rutledge and Dr. Stevenson discuss how patients in urban and suburban markets also face barriers such as traffic, childcare, mobility issues, and months-long waits for appointments.AI should support clinical judgment, not substitute for it. Dr. Rutledge says large language models are powerful tools for information retrieval, differential diagnosis, and reminding physicians of possibilities they may not have considered. But he cautions that AI is still weak at planning, prioritization, and understanding patient preferences, making physician oversight essential.Dr. Geoffrey Rutledge is a practicing physician, entrepreneur, and digital health leader with more than 30 years of experience applying technology to improve healthcare access, delivery, and outcomes. He is the founder and Chief Medical Officer of HealthTap, and previously held senior leadership roles at Healtheon/WebMD, Epocrates, Wellsphere, San Mateo Medical Center, and First Consulting Group. Dr. Rutledge earned his MD from McGill University and his PhD in medical computer science from Stanford, and has taught medicine at Harvard, Stanford, and UCSD while conducting NIH-funded research in medical informatics.

Emergency departments have become the place where nearly every fracture in the healthcare system eventually shows up: behavioral health gaps, delayed primary care, staffing shortages, transfer disputes and inpatient bottlenecks. As demand rises and care becomes more complex, the ED is no longer just a clinical entry point — it is a pressure test for the entire hospital. Research has linked ED crowding to treatment delays, poorer patient outcomes, violence against staff, turnover and burnout, making emergency care a window into the broader strain on hospitals.So what happens when the system’s safety net is treated less like a strategic entry point for care and more like a holding area for everything the rest of the hospital cannot absorb?That’s the question at the heart of the latest episode of I Don’t Care. Host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Dr. Jim Augustine, a renowned emergency department physician leader and medical director, about what is broken in emergency care, what can still be fixed, and why hospital leaders need to rethink the role of the ED. Their conversation covers emergency department overcrowding, boarding, benchmarking, EMTALA, behavioral health, post-COVID facility design and the future of hospital-at-home models.What you’ll learn…Boarding is not just an ED problem. Dr. Augustine argues that when admitted patients remain in the emergency department because inpatient beds or processes are unavailable, the issue reflects whole-hospital flow, not ED failure.Low-acuity patients are not the real cause of emergency department dysfunction. He warns that blaming ED crowding on sprained ankles or minor complaints distracts from larger operational problems, including inpatient throughput and community care breakdowns.Emergency departments need new planning assumptions. Dr. Augustine says older design formulas no longer fit today’s patient population, which is older, more medically complex, more behavioral-health intensive and more likely to require extended diagnostic workups or boarding.Dr. Jim Augustine is a longtime emergency physician and EMS medical director whose career spans emergency department leadership, fire and EMS operations, clinical governance, benchmarking and system design. He has held national leadership roles with the American College of Emergency Physicians, US Acute Care Solutions, the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance and the International Association of Fire Chiefs. A clinical professor, consultant, author and speaker, Dr. Augustine is widely recognized for his expertise in emergency care operations, ED data, department design and prehospital care.

As healthcare access strains under specialist shortages, long wait times, and rising administrative burden, some physicians are looking backward to move medicine forward. Patients can wait months for specialty care, doctors are often asked to see dozens of people in a single clinic session, and new care models are emerging around a simple but disruptive idea: bringing the physician back into the patient’s space. The stakes are practical and deeply human: whether healthcare can become faster, more personal, and more present without losing the efficiencies modern medicine depends on.Can technology restore what modern healthcare has lost: the physician’s presence with the patient, in the home, and at the center of care?Welcome to I Don’t Care. In the latest episode, Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Dr. Yevhen Pavelko, CEO and co-founder of Inviah, about rebuilding medicine around physician house calls. Their conversation explores how Inviah aims to create a mobile, physician-led care platform with built-in records, referrals and house-call access, while giving doctors more independence and patients faster, more personal care.Top insights from the talk…Dr. Pavelko argues that house calls are not nostalgia; they are a practical response to long waits, rushed visits, and limited access to specialists.The discussion examines how in-person care at home can reveal social, environmental, and family factors that clinics or telehealth may miss.Dr. Pavelko frames Inviah as a physician-led alternative to the traditional employment model, designed to reduce overhead, restore autonomy, and make medicine more human.Dr. Yevhen Pavelko is the CEO and co-founder of Inviah and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Illinois Chicago, specializing in general, foregut, bariatric, minimally invasive, and robotic surgery. He has held surgical and research roles across UI Health, OSF HealthCare, the University of Chicago Medicine, and Lviv National Medical University, with experience spanning clinical care, surgical education, research, and healthcare operations. Through Inviah, he is building a physician-focused model for same-day home medical visits designed to improve access, reduce unnecessary ER use, and restore a more patient-centered approach to care.

Artificial intelligence has moved from experimental promise to boardroom priority, but healthcare leaders are still trying to understand what is real, what is risky and what is just clever marketing. In emergency medicine, where patient status changes minute by minute and operational bottlenecks can ripple across an entire hospital, the stakes are especially high. The core challenge is not simply whether hospitals should adopt AI, but whether they can evaluate it critically enough to avoid wasting time, capital and clinician trust.So how should hospital executives, emergency physicians and operators decide which AI tools are worth trusting — and which ones are just hype?On this episode of I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Dr. Maureen Canellas, Associate Chief Medical Officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center, about the practical reality of AI in healthcare. Their conversation moves from emergency department operations and hospital governance to vendor skepticism, boarding, data standards, baseball and even NASA-inspired lessons in resource-constrained decision-making.Top insights from the talk…Most “AI” claims deserve scrutiny. Dr. Canellas argues that hospitals should look past slide decks and ask vendors detailed questions about data inputs, algorithm design, model behavior, privacy and whether the tool actually works in real time.Emergency departments need AI that respects clinical reality. In the ED, conditions change minute by minute. Dr. Canellas emphasizes that “real time” should mean real time, especially when vitals, labs and disposition decisions are constantly shifting.AI should help solve operational pain, not chase buzzwords. From boarding to throughput, Dr. Canellas says the best use cases are grounded in specific hospital problems, financial modeling and measurable return on investment — not vague promises to transform care.Dr. Maureen Canellas, MD, MBA, FACEP, is the Associate Chief Medical Officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center, an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School and an emergency physician at a high-volume Level I trauma center. She is an MIT research affiliate in healthcare AI and uses operations research, machine learning and emergency department benchmarking to improve patient flow, care delivery and patient experience. Dr. Canellas also serves on the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance Board of Directors, chairs its education committee and previously trained in emergency medicine at the University of Chicago, where she was chief resident and led multiple operations and administration research projects.

Access to clean water is still out of reach for a staggering number of people—and it’s not just a distant problem. According to estimates from WHO and UNICEF, over 2 billion people still don’t have safely managed drinking water at home, a reality that impacts everything from health to education and economic opportunity. As pressure from climate change and population growth builds, there’s increasing recognition that lasting solutions need to be built from the ground up, with communities at the center.Within that shift, purpose-driven initiatives are emerging that connect individual action with systemic change—focused on creating impact that lasts well beyond the moment.So what happens when a single individual attempts to run more than 15,000 kilometers across a continent—not for sport, but to catalyze transformation? Can a physical journey spark a scalable model for lifting communities out of poverty?Welcome to I Don’t Care. In a conversation centered on purpose and impact, Dr. Kevin Stevenson is joined by Veronique Bourbeau, founder and CEO of Run4Humanity, to unpack a continent-spanning effort to transform communities through water, education, and endurance. The conversation spans far beyond endurance athletics, diving into the mechanics of sustainable development, behavioral change, and what it truly means to empower communities from within.Key takeaways from the episode…It’s not about the run—it’s about systems change: The journey is a vehicle to deliver water access, agricultural support, sanitation, and education through locally driven programs.Community-first implementation is critical: Every initiative is co-created with local leaders and tailored to the unique needs of each region, ensuring long-term sustainability.Behavioral transformation is the missing link: Beyond infrastructure, Run4Humanity emphasizes financial literacy, health, and mindset shifts to break the cycle of poverty.Veronique Bourbeau is an ultra-endurance athlete, author, and global humanitarian. A former journalist turned humanitarian leader, she combines expertise in international development, partnership-building, and community-led program design with elite ultra-endurance achievements, including a 3,010 km run across Japan and a record-setting 444 km race victory in Malaysia. Through Run4Humanity, she leverages large-scale endurance initiatives and global partnerships to advance water security, economic resilience, and long-term behavioral change.

Electronic medical records (EMRs) have moved from a back-office upgrade to a frontline determinant of care quality, clinician burnout, and hospital economics. With U.S. hospitals often spending tens to hundreds of millions—sometimes exceeding $100 million—on EMR implementations, the stakes have never been higher for getting both the technology and the human adoption right. As healthcare continues shifting toward interoperability, outpatient care, and data-driven decision-making, the conversation around EMRs is no longer technical—it’s strategic.So what does it really take to build a business in the EMR space—and more importantly, how do you know when it’s time to walk away from it?Welcome to I Don’t Care, hosted by Dr. Kevin Stevenson. In the latest episode, Dr. Stevenson sits down with Mark Embry, partner and co-founder of MedSys Group, to unpack decades of experience in healthcare technology consulting, the evolution of EMR implementation, and the personal side of exiting a company after 30 years.Top insights from the talk…How EMR consulting evolved from niche staffing to mission-critical healthcare transformation work: What started as staffing has become strategic work shaping how health systems operate.Why user adoption—not just technology—is the biggest determinant of EMR success: Without workflow change and clinician buy-in, even the best systems fall short.What founders should consider when transitioning out of a business they’ve built from scratch: A strong exit balances financial outcomes with team, culture, and timing.Mark Embry is the co-founder and EVP of Client Relationships at MedSys Group, where he has spent nearly three decades leading EMR advisory, implementation, and healthcare IT consulting services for providers across the U.S. He played a key role in building the company from its origins as Genesys Group into a nationally recognized firm supporting major initiatives, including federal EHR modernization projects with the DOD and VA. With over 20 years in IT consulting, Embry specializes in strategic partnerships, healthcare technology transformation, and scaling consulting organizations to deliver high-impact client outcomes.

Healthcare systems are under pressure almost everywhere, but the strain is especially visible in lower-resource settings where demand is rising faster than infrastructure. In Pakistan, that pressure is playing out across a system that has to serve more than 250 million people with limited public investment. Public health spending remains below 1% of GDP, making the need for smarter, more scalable healthcare delivery increasingly urgent. That is why major projects like the Jinnah Medical Complex are drawing attention as potential models for what the next phase of healthcare reform could look like.That raises the real question at the center of this episode: can a major new medical complex help transform healthcare delivery in Pakistan, or will lasting progress depend on broader system design far beyond a single hospital?Welcome to I Don’t Care. In the latest episode, Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Dr. Muhammad Faheem Anwar, Chief Operating Officer of the Jinnah Medical Complex & Research Center, about the future of Pakistani healthcare. Their conversation explores the structural realities of Pakistan’s healthcare system, the ambitions behind the Jinnah Medical Complex in Islamabad, and the larger issues of digital health, oncology, workforce retention, prevention, and primary care reform.Key takeaways from the conversation…Pakistan’s healthcare system is not simply underdeveloped. It is highly uneven, with world-class care in some institutions but fragmented access and high out-of-pocket costs for much of the population.The Jinnah Medical Complex is being positioned not just as a large hospital, but as a replicable model for operational discipline, clinician training, digital health, and internationally benchmarked public sector care.The biggest long-term opportunity in Pakistan may not be tertiary expansion alone, but building a stronger primary care foundation, better data systems, and a more sustainable care delivery model.Dr. Muhammad Faheem Anwar is a healthcare operations and public health leader with more than 20 years of experience overseeing large multispecialty hospitals across Pakistan and the Gulf region, with deep expertise in hospital commissioning, operational readiness, governance, digital health integration, and health system strengthening. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of the Jinnah Medical Complex & Research Center, where he is leading the operationalization of a 1,460-bed quaternary care hospital, following senior leadership roles at The Indus Hospital, Central Park Teaching Hospital, Punjab Health Facilities Management Company, and the Punjab Information Technology Board. His career highlights include improving operational efficiency at scale, advancing quality and patient safety systems, leading HMIS implementation, and advising on health system reform, climate resilience, and performance improvement in low- and middle-income country settings.

Medicine isn’t what it used to be—not for the people practicing it. Independent physicians are becoming the exception, not the norm, as more doctors move into hospital systems, corporate groups, and academic networks. At the same time, the pipeline of specialists isn’t keeping pace with growing patient needs, particularly in complex fields like vascular surgery, where workforce models show demand is set to outstrip supply in the years ahead. The result is a profession being pulled in two directions at once: toward consolidation on one hand, and rising clinical demand on the other.In that kind of environment, what does it really mean to make a major career move—and how do you weigh opportunity, stability, and personal priorities when the ground beneath the profession is shifting?That question sits at the heart of the latest episode of I Don’t Care. Host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with vascular surgeon Dr. Bradley Trinidad to unpack the realities behind a major geographic and professional transition. Their conversation explores how evolving medical technology, shifting employment models, and personal values intersect to shape modern physician careers.Key takeaways from the episode…Family can outweigh career momentum: Dr. Trinidad left a high-volume, successful practice to prioritize proximity to family and improve quality of life.Alignment is everything in hospital employment: Success depends on shared goals between physician and institution, especially in a system where most doctors are now employed.The future of vascular surgery is less invasive—and more complex: Advances in endovascular techniques are reducing the need for open surgery while increasing the need for specialized expertise.Dr. Bradley Trinidad is a board-certified vascular surgeon with expertise in both complex open and advanced endovascular procedures. He serves as Director of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Ascension Providence in Waco, Texas, where he leads program development and the delivery of high-acuity vascular care. He previously founded and led the vascular division at Northwest Texas Hospital and now contributes to surgical education as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Healthcare isn’t short on strategy right now—it’s short on people, access, and experienced leadership where it matters most. In Texas alone, more rural hospitals have closed than in any other state over the past decade, leaving entire communities with limited access to care. At the same time, many health systems are realizing they haven’t built strong pipelines for the next generation of leaders—making the transfer of real-world experience more critical than ever.So what happens when seasoned executives step away from operational leadership and into academia—and can that shift help solve healthcare’s talent and access challenges?The latest episode of I Don’t Care focuses on what happens when decades of healthcare leadership experience meets the classroom. Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Dr. Michael Wiggins, Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, to explore his transition from hospital CEO to educator. The conversation spans leadership development, rural health innovation, academic medicine, and the evolving role of technology in care delivery.What you’ll learn…Why healthcare leaders need both practical experience and academic grounding to handle modern system complexity.How rural health challenges are reshaping leadership priorities, from access and infrastructure to community-centered care models.What emerging forces—AI, industry consolidation, and financial pressure—mean for the future of healthcare delivery and how leaders must adapt.Dr. Michael Wiggins, DBA, FACHE, is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience across academic medical centers, pediatric health systems, and community-based care. He has served as President and CEO of nationally recognized children’s hospitals, where he led strategic planning, operational excellence, physician partnerships, and philanthropy initiatives to improve care delivery and community health outcomes. Now an Assistant Professor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, he focuses on developing future healthcare leaders, advancing research, and guiding organizations on strategy, leadership alignment, and performance improvement.

As healthcare costs continue to rise, more patients are finding themselves navigating not just illness, but the growing complexity of paying for treatment. Specialty pharmacy sits right at the center of that challenge—often out of sight, but increasingly essential to how modern care actually works. These high-cost, high-touch therapies now make up more than half of total U.S. drug spending, despite representing only a small share of prescriptions, a shift that’s reshaping how patients access and stay on treatment.Why has specialty pharmacy become the linchpin between access, affordability, and outcomes in modern healthcare?On this episode of I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Grant Knowles, SVP of Clinical Services and Payer Strategy at Senderra Specialty Pharmacy, to unpack the evolving role of specialty pharmacy in improving patient outcomes. Together, they explore how clinical oversight, financial navigation, and emerging technologies are reshaping how patients access and adhere to life-changing therapies.Top insights from the talk…Specialty pharmacy goes beyond dispensing medication, serving as a central coordinator across fragmented healthcare stakeholders to manage complex therapies and patient needs.Financial toxicity remains one of the biggest barriers to adherence, with 23–25% of patients delaying or abandoning treatment due to cost pressures.Technology and AI are transforming patient engagement, shifting communication from phone calls to digital-first experiences while maintaining critical human touchpoints.Grant Knowles is a healthcare executive with over 15 years of experience across specialty pharmacy, managed care, and pharmaceutical operations, with expertise in business development, contracting, and supply chain strategy. He has held senior leadership roles, including SVP of Clinical Services and Payer Strategy at Senderra Specialty Pharmacy and executive positions at Ardon Health, where he led growth, operations, and industry partnerships. A managed care residency-trained pharmacist, Knowles is recognized for driving innovation, improving patient experience, and delivering sustainable growth in highly competitive healthcare markets.

There’s a growing tension inside healthcare right now—between the people leaving the workforce and the patients still arriving every day. It’s a dynamic that leaders can no longer afford to ignore. The numbers make that clear: the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. could be short of as many as 86,000 physicians by 2036, fueled by an aging population and a wave of retirements.So, how do healthcare organizations compete for talent at a time when the workforce is shrinking, expectations are shifting, and technology is rapidly changing how care is delivered?On this episode of I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with River Meisinger, Regional Vice President of MSP & Strategic Accounts at AMN Healthcare, to unpack the evolving landscape of healthcare recruitment. Together, they explore how systems can build sustainable pipelines for executives, physicians, and the next generation of leaders.Top insights from the talk…Workforce shortages are structural, not temporary, driven by burnout, aging clinicians, and insufficient talent pipelines.AI and data are reshaping workforce planning, but success depends on pairing technology with a human-centered strategy.Gen Z is redefining career expectations, forcing healthcare leaders to rethink mentorship, growth pathways, and workplace culture.River Meisinger is a senior healthcare executive at AMN Healthcare, specializing in enterprise workforce solutions, strategic partnerships, and talent optimization across physician, leadership, and clinical staffing. With more than eight years of experience, he has led large-scale efforts in executive search, interim leadership, and workforce planning to strengthen operations and support patient-centered care. He holds a Healthcare MBA from Simmons University and is recognized for his work in healthcare workforce innovation.

Healthcare today can feel overwhelming—not just for patients, but for the teams caring for them. After a major illness or injury, recovery isn’t handled by one doctor alone; it often involves a whole network of specialists, from physical therapists to nurses to social workers, all trying to help someone regain their independence and quality of life. Even with all the advances in modern medicine, one question still lingers: how do you get everyone working together in a way that truly feels seamless?So what happens when a physician approaches medicine not just as a science, but as a performance? What can healthcare learn from the way musicians interpret, adapt, and lead in real time?Welcome to I Don’t Care. In the latest episode, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Dr. Kevin Estes, a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physician whose career spans both the concert hall and the clinic. Together, they explore how Estes’ background in orchestral conducting and classical music informs his unique approach to patient care, team leadership, and medical decision-making.Key takeaways from the conversation…PM&R physicians as “conductors”: How these specialists lead and coordinate complex, multidisciplinary care teams—bringing together physical therapy, nursing, and medical specialists to deliver unified, patient-centered treatment across every stage of recovery.Creativity and flexibility in care: Why the ability to adapt, interpret, and think beyond rigid protocols is essential not only in music performance, but also in navigating unpredictable patient outcomes and personalized rehabilitation plans.An unconventional career path: The journey from Juilliard-trained musician to physician—and how that unique background shapes a more holistic, creative, and empathetic clinical perspective in modern medicine.Dr. Kevin Estes is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician specializing in post-acute care and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. Before entering medicine in his early 40s, he built a successful career as a professional musician and conductor, earning a master’s degree from the prestigious Juilliard School. His work included serving as music director at a prominent New York City church and collaborating with elite musicians in one of the world’s most competitive artistic environments. Today, he brings that same discipline, creativity, and leadership into his medical practice, helping patients rebuild function and meaning after life-altering conditions.

The U.S. healthcare system is facing a quiet but accelerating crisis: a widening gap between where specialists are needed and where they actually practice. In urology alone, there are roughly 1,100 open positions but only about 400 new specialists trained each year—a mismatch that’s only getting worse. As physician burnout rises and more clinicians seek autonomy and flexibility, traditional care delivery models are being pushed to their limits. The stakes aren’t abstract—they show up in delayed diagnoses, long travel distances, and communities left without access to care.So how do you deliver specialty care differently in a system that no longer fits how physicians want to work?On this episode of I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Dr. Joe Pazona, CEO of VirtuCare, to unpack a deeply personal and highly practical journey: from clinical frustration to entrepreneurial innovation. The conversation explores how one physician turned systemic gaps into scalable solutions—rethinking how specialty care can be delivered across underserved communities while improving physician quality of life.Top insights from the talk…The physician workforce shortage is no longer just a rural problem—it’s spreading into urban markets due to shifting lifestyle priorities and structural inefficiencies.“Top-of-license care” and team-based models are essential to scaling access without overburdening physicians.Entrepreneurship in medicine isn’t glamorous—it’s messy, risky, and full of failure—but it may be one of the most viable paths forward.Dr. Joe Pazona is a board-certified urologist and CEO of VirtuCare, where he develops scalable, team-based specialty care models that expand access and drive revenue for rural hospitals through hybrid care delivery. He has over a decade of clinical and leadership experience, including launching robotic surgery programs, building private practices, and pioneering telehealth-enabled service lines. As an entrepreneur, he specializes in healthcare innovation, physician workforce optimization, and aligning clinical operations with sustainable business models to address systemic gaps in specialty care.

Healthcare is being pushed to modernize faster than ever, as AI tools, virtual care, and digital patient experiences shift from innovation to expectation. Recent survey data from McKinsey & Company indicates that about half of U.S. healthcare leaders say their organizations have already put generative AI into practice, underscoring how quickly the technology is moving from experimentation to real-world use. But this acceleration comes with real tension: while AI makes it easier than ever to build software, healthcare still demands systems that are secure, scalable, and clinically reliable—raising the stakes for how these platforms are designed, developed, and deployed.So here’s the real question: In an era where AI can build healthcare platforms faster than ever, what actually separates a solution that works for the long haul from one that looks good at launch—but fails under real-world pressure?Welcome to I Don’t Care. In the latest episode, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Princy Dhupar, Director and Global Partnerships Head at Ditstek Innovations, for a conversation grounded in experience—not theory. Drawing on years of building healthcare platforms across global teams, Dhupar pushes back on the idea that speed and automation alone can deliver results. Instead, the discussion focuses on what actually drives success—clear communication, understanding the “why” behind a product, and combining AI with human expertise to build systems that can scale and last.What you’ll learn…How to use AI without over-relying on it: Why the strongest healthcare platforms combine AI speed with human oversight—and where AI alone falls short.Why defining the problem matters more than writing code: How getting clear on the “why” early can dramatically reduce rework and set the foundation for scalable systems.What actually makes offshore development work: The communication habits, transparency, and trust-building steps that separate successful partnerships from failed ones.Princy Dhupar is Director and Global Partnerships Head at Ditstek Innovations, with over a decade of experience in sales, business development, and strategic partnerships across healthcare and technology. She specializes in driving digital transformation through SaaS solutions, AI-driven automation, and legacy modernization, helping organizations scale efficiently while reducing operational costs. Her work spans startups and enterprises globally, where she has led high-growth initiatives, built long-term client partnerships, and delivered measurable outcomes across healthcare platforms and enterprise systems.

The U.S. healthcare system is under real strain—and it’s something both patients and physicians are feeling in everyday care. In Texas, those pressures are even more visible, where rapid population growth, rural access challenges, and regulatory complexity are making it harder for patients to get timely care and for doctors to focus on medicine instead of administrative work. These challenges aren’t driven by a single issue, but by a combination of workforce gaps, growing bureaucracy, and structural inefficiencies that have been building for years.So what happens next? As policymakers, insurers, and healthcare systems compete to shape the future of care, one central question emerges: Can physicians reclaim control of patient care in an increasingly corporatized system?That’s the question at the heart of this episode of I Don’t Care. Host Dr. Kevin Stevenson sits down with Dr. Brad Holland, President of the Texas Medical Association, to unpack the organization’s top priorities for 2026. Their conversation spans workforce shortages, regulatory reform, insurance power, and the evolving role of physicians in modern medicine.What you’ll learn…How prior authorization and insurance barriers are getting worse, delaying patient care while placing an increasing administrative burden on physicians.Why physician shortages aren’t about lack of interest, but instead driven by systemic training bottlenecks that turn away qualified candidates each year.How healthcare consolidation and insurance dominance are reshaping care, pushing costs higher and weakening the core physician-patient relationship.Dr. Brad Holland is a board-certified otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon with specialized expertise in voice and swallowing disorders, pediatric ENT, oncology, and facial reconstructive surgery. He currently serves as President-Elect of the Texas Medical Association and has held multiple leadership roles, including Speaker of the House for TMA and President of the Texas Association of Otolaryngology, reflecting deep influence in healthcare policy and physician advocacy. He also serves as clinical faculty at Baylor University and holds an Executive MBA, bringing both medical and leadership expertise to healthcare.

The healthcare landscape is changing rapidly, with the roles of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) expanding significantly. This shift makes it crucial to understand the differences in training and competencies between these professionals and physicians. A study by the Association of American Medical Colleges highlights a projected shortage of up to 139,000 physicians by 2033, which intensifies the need for clarity in who provides patient care.Why should patients care about who is providing their medical care?This episode of "I Don't Care," hosted by Dr. Kevin Stevenson, addresses this critical question. Kevin is joined by Dr. Purvi Parikh from Physicians for Patient Protection, a grassroots organization advocating for physician-led care. The discussion centers on the importance of transparency in medical credentials and ensuring that patients receive the highest quality of care.Key Points of Discussion:Training Differences: Physicians undergo extensive training, including medical school and residencies, accumulating over 16,000 clinical hours. In contrast, nurse practitioners and physician assistants have significantly fewer clinical hours, often leading to variations in the quality of care.Transparency and Misleading Practices: The proliferation of white coats among different healthcare providers can confuse patients. Dr. Parikh emphasizes the importance of clear credential display and proper introductions to prevent patients from mistaking non-physicians for physicians.Legislative Gaps and Corporate Exploitation: Some states have lax regulations allowing non-physicians to perform high-risk procedures. This has led to dangerous practices and patient harm, highlighting the need for stricter oversight and better legislation.Dr. Purvi Parikh is an allergist and immunologist affiliated with Physicians for Patient Protection. She holds a medical degree and has completed extensive post-graduate training. Dr. Parikh is a dedicated advocate for physician-led care, emphasizing the importance of transparency and patient safety in healthcare practices.

The healthcare industry grapples with an overload of information, patient safety concerns, and an increasingly digital landscape. This fact makes professionals who can bridge the gaps between various healthcare disciplines a precious commodity. In fact, according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), a lot of healthcare organizations and workers believe that it is becoming a critical aspect of their operations. Enter the interface professionals, or experts who straddle the worlds of healthcare, management, and technology. How do these interface professionals navigate the complex, interconnected systems of healthcare? And what does it take to excel in multiple domains at once? The latest episode of "I Don't Care with Kevin Stevenson" aimed to answer those pressing questions with distinguished guest, Dr. Mark Schnitzer. Dr. Schnitzer is an embodiment of what an interface professional should be. On the show host Kevin Stevenson explored Dr. Schnitzer's storied career as a neurosurgeon, healthcare executive, and now a coach and consultant in healthcare quality and informatics.Some other points that Stevenson and Dr. Schnitzer’s discussion included:The transition from electrical engineering to medical school and the subsequent choice of neurosurgery as a specialization.Dr. Schnitzer’s experience in healthcare systems in different cultural settings, notably Southern California, Hawaii, and Abu Dhabi.His unique approach to healthcare informatics, quality assurance, and patient safety.Dr. Martin Schnitzer is board-certified in healthcare quality and management. He has an impressive academic background, with a B.S. and Master's in Electrical Engineering, followed by a stint at Texas A&M Med School and a neurosurgery residency at Johns Hopkins. He has served as a medical director of two large healthcare organizations and currently works as a coach and consultant.

Navigating the complexities of healthcare finance has become increasingly vital as hospitals and healthcare systems face multifaceted financial challenges. The pressure is mounting from the intricacies of managed care to the nuances of patient billing. Declining revenue and lower-than-average payment recoupment, coupled with increased expenses over the past few years due to the global pandemic, created a perfect storm, leading to a rise in hospital closures.How do healthcare professionals navigate this intricate financial maze?In the latest episode of I Don’t Care, host Kevin Stevenson sits down with Dr. Cristian Lieneck, Ph.D., a Professor at Texas State University and an expert in healthcare finance, to unravel the subject’s complexities.Key discussion points include:• The challenges of determining true healthcare costs and setting appropriate charges• The impact of pay for performance and the implications of Medicare's strategies on commercial payers• The increasing trend of managed care organizations acquiring physician practices and its implicationsAbout Dr. Cristian Lieneck:Dr. Lieneck is a professor at Texas State University and an award-winning educator and researcher. With over a decade of experience in both graduate and undergraduate programs in health administration, he brings a wealth of knowledge from his time as a practitioner in the field. Dr. Lieneck’s journey into health administration began with the army, where he served in various capacities, including running a field evacuation unit and overseeing dental clinics.

Addiction & recovery is an interlocked journey familiar to many. In recent years, the conversation surrounding addiction, mental health, and the challenges of the entertainment industry has gained significant traction. With the rise of social media and the constant spotlight on celebrities, their pressures and vulnerabilities are more visible than ever. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 58.7 million U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2021. This number translates to more than one in every five adults. There are also an average annual 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S.What happens when personal tragedy, Hollywood glamour, and addiction collide?Welcome to “I Don’t Care,” hosted by Kevin Stevenson. In this episode, Kevin sits down with John Clint Mabry, an actor, real estate agent, and award-winning speaker, to delve deep into his incredible journey from growing up in San Antonio, attending Baylor University, to navigating the glitzy yet treacherous world of Hollywood.Main Points of Discussion:• John’s upbringing and his connection to Baylor University• The allure and challenges of Hollywood, including Mabry’s experiences with renowned celebrities• The tragic loss of Mabry’s brother and the silent battle with addiction and mental healthJohn Mabry is not just an actor; he's a beacon of resilience and strength. Growing up in San Antonio, John had a close-knit family and a strong connection to Baylor University, where he was deeply involved in fraternity life and sports. His journey took a turn when he ventured into Hollywood, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Adam Sandler, Bruce Willis, and Emma Stone. However, behind the glamour was a man grappling with addiction, personal loss, and the weight of expectations. Mabry’s accolades include recognition for his candid discussions about mental health, addiction & recovery.

There are many cost-related pain points in radiology, the medical specialty focused on diagnosing and treating diseases using imaging technology. Healthcare costs continue to skyrocket, and the patient's role has transitioned from passive recipient to active participant. With the advent of advanced imaging technology and a shift towards personalized healthcare, radiology has become a central pillar of medical care. However, this progress comes with challenges. In 2022, 38% of Americans delayed healthcare treatment due to the high costs, a significant portion of which is imaging related. These delays can lead to detrimental outcomes for patients with potentially curable diseases.How can the pain points in radiology be alleviated, and what role does the patient play in this evolution? Are cost-saving solutions available?I Don’t Care’s Kevin Stevenson spoke with a board-certified radiologist who takes a different approach to providing cost-reduction in radiology. Dr. Cristin Dickerson, founder, and CEO of Green Imaging, addressed the pressing issues of high-cost pain points in radiology and explored how patient empowerment can transform the healthcare landscape.Stevenson and Dickerson discussed the following:• Green Imaging’s innovative model and its mission to offer affordable imaging• The opportunities and challenges associated with the integration of Green Imaging into the healthcare system• Current trends in imaging, including the contentious issue of reference-based pricingDr. Cristin Dickerson is a seasoned professional in the field of radiology. A graduate of the University of Texas, she completed her radiology residency at MD Anderson, one of the country's most respected cancer centers. After a successful stint at the Diagnostic Clinic of Houston, she became involved in the business side of medicine, an experience that led her to establish Green Imaging. Leveraging her profound understanding of the healthcare industry's pain points, Dickerson and her team at Green Imaging now work towards making healthcare more accessible and affordable for patients across the United States.

The path of many healthcare workers, such as physicians, is a long one, but filled with much celebration along the way. There are the celebrations of getting into medical school, passing the boards during medical school, graduating, landing a residency, and completing a residency. But the path to becoming a healthcare hero is also emotionally daunting, with exposure to extreme human suffering, long hours, frustrations with insurance, and physical demands contributing to emotional fatigue.So, what are some ways healthcare workers can keep their emotional bank full and help fill the emotional banks of those they work with?On this episode of I Don’t Care host Kevin Stevenson, is joined by Quint Studer, Co-Founder of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group, Founder of Studer Community Institute, and author of The Calling: Why Healthcare is So Special, to talk about the uniqueness of the healthcare industry, how emotional health differs in healthcare workers compared to workers in other industries, and how burnout issues can be addressed.Healthcare is one industry where there are severe issues with emotional burnout. Surveys of more than 20,000 U.S. physicians showed almost a 50 percent burnout rate over a three-year period.Studer connected this to the origins of his book. “I think employees, leaders, any organization in healthcare, we start with a pretty full emotional bank account...but I think unfortunately, in healthcare, if we don’t replenish it all the time, there’s so many more withdrawals than deposits. So, the book was really meant about how do we replenish ourselves, and then if we replenish ourselves, how do we replenish others?”Stevenson and Studer also discuss...The inspiration for Studer’s publicationEmployee engagement and how healthcare workplaces can tackle issues that contribute to burnoutThe importance of belonging in healthcareStuder stated, “I think in healthcare, we’ve got to narrow that scope of what we’re asking managers to do right now because of the experience level. And maybe, someday, we can go back to a lot of stuff. But today, we call it ‘less equals always.’ And we do something always, we get the consistency.”Quint Studer is an experienced founder who has worked in professional training and coaching. He is Co-Founder of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group, Founder of Studer Community Institute, and Owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Studer is also author of The Calling: Why Healthcare is So Special. Some of Studer’s past positions include CEO of Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago and Senior Vice President of Business Development of Mercy Hospital in Wisconsin. Studer has a B.S. in Special Education and Teaching and an MS in Education, both from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Host Kevin Stevenson of the “I Don't Care” podcast talked with Stuart Archer, the CEO of Oceans Healthcare, a behavioral health service provider, about the growth and challenges of behavioral health in hospitals. Currently, the healthcare system is buzzing in behavioral health but there are still some improvements to be made.Even with many advancements and changes in attitudes regarding behavioral health, there’s quite a lot of work to be done in the area, and COVID-19 has coincidentally had some footing in that, said Archer.“Behavioral health is really in many ways still in the shadows of healthcare in general, and the funding decisions we make, and even in some of the decisions we make in our community,” said Archer. “I think if COVID has done one thing, is given us that common thing —  anxiety, stress, all those things that become something that we can all relate to during COVID and maybe in our own ways relate better to behavioral health patients in our communities.”Archer did not originally start out as a professional in behavioral health, and worked his way up by immersing himself within the field. Today, he leads Oceans Healthcare and their mission in partnering with various organizations to bring their inpatient and outpatient services to different communities.But the journey there was an eye-opening one for Archer, who stated that he remained shocked at the disparities that healthcare facilities have in behavioral health. While his company has worked to close those gaps, he acknowledged the biggest improvement in behavioral health was the elimination of state-run psychiatric hospitals and the deinstitutionalization of patients. Archer also credited medical evolution and open-minded attitudes for the huge change.However, the fact remains that most American healthcare facilities are not able to take on the needs of patients who have behavioral health concerns. He contends that mental health is an area that continues to see slow improvement because most facilities and hospitals were not built with the intention to serve patients with chronic health issues, such as behavioral health.In addition, every state has their own funding and budget when it comes to mental health, and for the most part, the country’s prison system continues to house the majority of the patients with behavioral health concerns.However, that tide is seeing some change as Archer pointed out that decreasing the stigmas, and working with hospitals and facilities to connect more with their communities on a more personal level, fostering some real breakthroughs.

If you’ve ever had to chase down a prior authorization before getting your medical procedure approved for coverage, you’re not alone. According to a recent white paper by the American Hospital Association, prior authorization has been found to be a barrier to care, restricting access to coverage for many patients. Paul Shorrosh, founder and CEO of AccuReg is here to change that. Shorrosh sits down with host Kevin Stevenson to talk about the importance of pushing for change and adapting prior authorization automation. According to Shorrosh, automating prior authorization helps hospitals and health systems integrate patient engagement, intake, and access to enable increased revenue. However, insurers have generally refused to automate. Instead, insurers have stayed old school, “So what they use is fax machines, phone calls, emails, and web portals,” said Shorrosh. Prior authorization not only prevents patient care but often results in unpaid bills and coverage denials, “So nothing good comes out of that process especially when a lot of those procedures could be approved by the payer in advance if it were an easier, more automated modern process,” stated Shorrosh.Given there is an existing industry standard, the 278 standard, for electronic authorization, widespread automation should not be an issue. However, Shorrosh said insurers are not being “held accountable to use it.” Shorrosh’s solution is to use a best practice approach involving five steps, in order:1. Identity and demographic validation2. Eligibility and benefit verification3. Prior authorization requirement check4. Submission management platform; submit request to payer5. Retrieving authorization and statusShorrosh said, “We’re not even asking the payers to reduce their requirements,” but pushing for change in an industry that is slow to adapt. To encourage this, Shorrosh said, “I hope that CMS and government entities will help with that, make this electronic.” Automating the prior authorization process not only improves speed of acceptance, but ultimately helps the patient.To learn more visit AccuRegsoftware.com or head to the prior authorization page.

When it comes to improving interpersonal development and character, one doesn’t often think of using art to sharpen their skills. However, attorney and art historian, Amy E. Herman, teaches clients from doctors to FBI agents how to utilize visual intelligence to better problem solve. As an entrepreneur, TED Talks speaker, cancer survivor and author, Herman explained how to strengthen these skills to enhance critical thinking and become more connected with others.Herman described a few of her processes she teaches and the theory behind why they work. For example, one process is what she calls the Four A’s: Assess the situation, Analyze the situation, Articulate your observation, and Act. She explained, “I simply use art as data to give people a new tool to really perfect those four A’s.”Since most of her clients utilize their left brain, which is the side utilized for numbers and analysis, her processes prod them to engage the right brain to see things from other viewpoints. “I think the best things and the best ideas happen on the exit ramp of your comfort zone,” Herman explained. “It refreshes your whole sense of critical thinking.”The basis behind these processes and theories is enhancing human connection. “Human to human, we make connections with people, and it enriches everything – from the service that you get to the conversations that you have – and you never know where that next business is going to come from, and it just makes our engagement that much less superficial,” Herman said.Ultimately, the theme of the episode is: “It’s not all about you.” By taking in multiple perspectives and appreciating making mistakes, Herman hopes clients and listeners will be able to problem solve more quickly and creatively.

Technology has become the true innovator in healthcare, and with great technical and medical minds, the next generation of medical devices is here. Talking about their company’s innovations, Rob Kaul, CEO, and Dr. Sonny Kohli, Chief Medical Officer, of Cloud DX, joined I Don’t Care. 

Pazona now practices in Nashville, but before that, he was in rural areas in Washington and Alabama, seeing many challenges. “These were lovely places, but it was difficult to practice cutting-edge medicine in a community that struggles to attract growth and new industries because that has a downstream effect on hospitals,” he said.Access to specialty medical care is difficult in such parts of the country. Urologists are even harder to find. He explained, “By 2025, we’ll have a shortage of 7000-9000 urologists. We’re only training about 300 a year and don’t have the supply to meet the demand because of fewer slots in residency programs. Telemedicine is a way to bridge that gap.”Many might think urology wouldn’t work in a virtual care environment. Pazona disagrees. “There are very few times I need to touch the patient physically. A urologist’s greatest asset is their wisdom in an area of medicine where many lack proper education.”Realizing that consumers are battling a broken system with confusion in referrals, insurance, and other barriers, Pazona started VirtuCare. No referral or insurance is required to have a telemedicine visit with a physician.“The platform is consumer-based and has cost transparency. I take patients as far as telemed will go. If they need hands-on, I refer them to a urologist in their area,” Pazona said.As for the future, Pazona believes that telemedicine should continue to be a solution beyond the pandemic. “There is a silver lining because it sparked innovation and forces people to take control of their healthcare decisions,” he added.

While there have been many downsides to the unexpected changes we all needed to make in 2020, there were also improvements made to how we work and live. The upsurge in telemedicine is an example of such progress made in the face of adversity. On the latest episode of I Don’t Care, host Kevin Stevenson spoke with Dr. Adam Saltman, Chief Medical Officer, Eko about the integration of telemedicine with digital technology and AI.Telemedicine can allow for more convenient access to care and can help keep patients and health care providers safe. That being said, there are some crucial missing components that can limit the quality of patient care. For example, physicians cannot listen to their patients’ bodies on their own via video conference. Really listening to the patient's heart, lungs, and bowel sounds through a stethoscope can typically only happen face to face. Eko closes this divide between physicians and patients with their digital stethoscopes, which transmit high fidelity sounds to remote physicians in real time as if they were at the bedside. In addition, Eko AI analysis algorithms help physicians screen for AFib and heart murmurs.According to Dr. Saltman, if they have the right technology available to them, physicians can overcome the distance based challenges of telemedicine. “When I listened to physicians say things like, ‘Well, I don't think a Zoom call is a really good physical exam,’ they're right. It's not a good physical exam,” Dr. Saltman said. However, he feels that if he can give them an EKG and therefore can give them heart sounds, lung sounds, bowel sounds, and whatever else they want to listen to, they can make telemedicine work. “Combined with that video, now they feel a lot more comfortable. They're getting a real medical evaluation. And the patients too, they feel that, wow my doctor actually listened to me even though I'm far away,” Dr. Saltman explained.Listen to Previous Episodes of MarketScale’s I Don’t Care Right Here!

While 2020 has been a year of change and challenges for many, nurses in particular have risen to the occasion and have shown up to provide support in a time when they are needed most. Their bravery, hard work, and compassion during the coronavirus pandemic is something none of us should ever take for granted. Kevin Stevenson, Host, I Don't Care had the chance to speak to Dr. Karen Wade, Author, Career Clarity for Nurses, about some of the issues hospital administrators and nurses are dealing with during the pandemic.It’s understandable that many nurses are feeling burnout after months of working on the frontlines. Dr. Ward wrote a book designed to help nurses stay on the job when many want to quit due to COVID-19 and other pressing issues related to healthcare system flaws. She explained that even before the pandemic, there was a high rate of nurses considering leaving their jobs and that number has increased from around 40% to 60% since the pandemic hit. “I think that there's going to be kind of a reckoning at the end of this. I think a lot of nurses just out of a sense of duty and devotion are hanging in there as long as they can. But at the end, I think they're going to take a breath and they're dealing with a certain amount of trauma that they are exposed to every day and they're going to need to take care of themselves,” Dr. Ward said.She explained that nurses simply don’t have time to take care of themselves in the way they need to right now and there may come a time when the dust settles that they begin to reevaluate their future. “Do I still want to do this? How do I take care of myself? It's going to be like a post trauma, post crisis experience and it'll be interesting to see how that pans out. But we're trying to put programs in place now to help to help people have options to be able to deal with those issues,” Dr. Ward noted.To continue this important conversation on the challenges nurses and healthcare workers are facing during the pandemic, check out the latest episode of I Don’t Care.

Catch up on previous episodes of I Don’t Care with Kevin Stevenson!

This week on I Don't Care, host Kevin Stevenson sits down with Rajesh Midha, Chief Strategy & Operating Officer of Bottle Rocket, to discuss how the company has personalized digital care through smart navigation to improve the patient journey.