Digital Health Leaders Podcast

CHIME
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  • Tech News
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Russ Branzell, President & CEO of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), interviews leaders in Digital Health from around the world. These thought leaders share their knowledge, challenges, best practices, and ideas for helping to transform health and care on a global level.

  1. 3d ago

    The Orchestration Imperative: Why Execution is the New AI Advantage

    In this episode, Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, and Sundar Subramanian, CEO of Zyter, examine why the next competitive advantage may lie not in accessing more AI, but in orchestrating technology, people, and processes around the work that matters. Their conversation moves beyond individual use cases to explore workflow redesign, cross-functional accountability, human oversight, and the foundations required to scale AI-enabled execution. They also consider how leaders can measure whether orchestration is actually improving clinical, operational, financial, and workforce outcomes rather than simply adding another layer of technology. Key Takeaways: What separates AI experimentation from a repeatable capability to deliver enterprise value. Why meaningful AI adoption may require redesigning workflows, not simply automating existing steps. How leaders can establish accountability when AI-enabled work crosses organizational and functional boundaries. Where human judgment and oversight must remain explicit as AI coordinates increasingly complex work. Which outcomes executives should measure when deciding whether an AI investment is ready to scale.

  2. 6d ago

    The Business of Better Care: Creating Simplicity in Modern Healthcare

    Complexity may be inherent to healthcare, but that doesn’t mean leaders have to accept it. Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, welcomes Venkat Kavarthapu, CEO of symplr, for a conversation about what it takes to make simplicity a strategic advantage across modern healthcare organizations. From listening more closely to the people experiencing operational challenges to using AI and data to rethink how technology is built and delivered, Venkat explores how leaders can reduce friction without sacrificing capability. He also shares perspectives on stepping into the CEO role, building trust across teams, and ensuring faster innovation ultimately translates into better experiences and outcomes for healthcare organizations, clinicians, and patients. Key Takeaways: Where AI and data-driven innovation can reduce complexity for healthcare organizations and their workforces. How technology leaders can use AI to accelerate development while keeping customer value and outcomes at the center. Why meaningful innovation begins with listening to the people experiencing healthcare’s most persistent pain points. How trust, culture, and decisive leadership enable sustained performance through growth and change.

  3. Oct 14

    The Architecture of Trust: Securing Healthcare in the Age of AI

    Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, welcomes Christopher Logan, Healthcare CISO at Zscaler, to explore what it takes to build security architectures that protect care delivery when systems, users, data, vendors, and AI increasingly operate beyond traditional boundaries. From uncovering systemic risks that conventional assessments may miss to strengthening operational resilience and securing AI at the architectural layer, they examine how healthcare leaders can rethink Zero Trust, access, and cyber preparedness without creating new barriers to clinical care. Key Takeaways: What distinguishes cybersecurity investment from true operational resilience when critical systems or connections fail. How Zero Trust must evolve as identity, workloads, data, devices, and third parties move beyond the traditional network perimeter. How security leaders can strengthen segmentation and access controls without introducing unacceptable clinical friction. How security leaders can strengthen segmentation and access controls without introducing unacceptable clinical friction.

  4. Oct 12

    Trust at Machine Speed: Governing Identity in the Age of Agentic AI

    Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, sits down with Fran Rosch, President and CEO of Imprivata, to examine how agentic AI challenges long-standing assumptions about identity, access, authority, and accountability and what happens to healthcare identity and access management when the user is no longer human. As AI agents gain the ability to reason, delegate, and act across systems, traditional security controls may no longer be enough. Their conversation explores what healthcare leaders must reconsider about identity lineage, Zero Trust, human oversight, and governance as organizations prepare to secure a growing population of autonomous digital agents. Key Takeaways: Which assumptions behind traditional identity governance are challenged when AI agents can reason and act independently. How organizations can preserve identity lineage and accountability as AI agents delegate work across systems. How Zero Trust and authorization models may need to evolve for dynamic, agentic environments. Why governing an agent's access may be fundamentally different from governing its intent and actions. Where human authority should remain nondelegable as healthcare increasingly operates at machine speed.

  5. Oct 7

    The Distance Between Vision and Value: Closing the Gap in Digital Health Strategy

    Peak Perspectives: Conversations from the Climb Healthcare leaders rarely suffer from a shortage of ambitious ideas. The harder challenge is deciding which ones deserve investment and turning those choices into measurable results. Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, welcomes Peyman Zand, Chief Strategy Officer at CereCore, for a conversation about what separates a compelling strategy from one that actually delivers. From allocating finite resources and realizing greater value from existing technology investments to creating governance that accelerates rather than restricts innovation, they examine the decisions behind sustainable enterprise performance. Peyman also explores the growing strategic implications of AI and what leaders must protect when possibility, profitability, and responsibility don't neatly align. Key Takeaways: How leaders can prioritize investments and confidently say “not now” to compelling opportunities. Why effective governance can create greater clarity, accountability, and momentum for innovation. Where strong strategies most often break down between executive vision and measurable execution. What responsible strategic leadership requires when growth, performance, innovation, and ethical considerations compete. How health systems can uncover more value from technology capabilities they already own before making the next investment.

  6. Sep 29

    Small Patients, Big Lessons: Data, Decisions, and the Human Judgement Behind Better Care

    As innovation moves faster than healthcare can absorb it, Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, and Dr. Rod Tarrago, CMIO of Pediatrics at Amazon Web Services explore how leaders decide what deserves their attention and what truly improves care. From making healthcare data actionable at the point of care to determining when AI is ready to assume greater responsibility, their conversation examines how leaders can pursue technological advancement without losing sight of safety, clinical judgment, and the people innovation is ultimately meant to serve. Key Takeaways: How clinical experience, particularly in pediatrics, can shape approaches to technology adoption, risk, and innovation. What leaders risk overlooking when technological possibility moves faster than organizational priorities and patient needs. How healthcare organizations can turn expanding volumes of data into better decisions, safer care, and meaningful outcomes. Where leaders should draw the line between AI autonomy and nonnegotiable human judgment. How digital health leaders can balance speed, responsibility, and collective ambition as they prepare for healthcare’s next great advancement.

  7. Sep 23

    From Automation to Autonomy: Reinvesting Capacity to Build Healthcare's AI Workforce

    Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, is joined by Sandy Gupta, Co-Founder, President, and COO of Innovaccer, as they explore one of healthcare's most important leadership questions: How should organizations prepare for a future where AI is participating in care as part of its workforce? As AI capabilities evolve from productivity tools to increasingly autonomous systems, healthcare leaders face new, consequential decisions about workforce design, governance, accountability, and value creation. Together, Russ and Sandy discuss how organizations can move beyond AI experimentation to build AI-enabled enterprises that strengthen human decision-making, create operational capacity, and improve care delivery. Key Takeaways: Why healthcare's AI conversation is evolving from automation and productivity tools to autonomous agents capable of coordinating and executing work. How leaders can think about workforce augmentation, human oversight, and the evolving relationship between people and AI. What it means to reinvest AI-generated capacity into patient care, access, quality, and organizational growth. Which metrics matter most when evaluating the business and clinical value of AI investments. How organizations can prepare for agentic AI at scale through thoughtful governance, workforce planning, security, identity management, and technology architecture.

  8. Sep 9

    Building Purpose-Driven Organizations: Leadership, Culture, and the Unparalleled Promise of AI in Healthcare

    Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME, sits down with Andy Smith, Managing Partner and Founder of Impact Advisors, for a candid conversation about leadership, culture, and what it takes to build organizations that thrive in periods of accelerated change. Andy shares perspectives on cultivating high-performing teams, sustaining culture at scale, and leading through complexity without losing sight of the people at the center of healthcare. Together, they examine the profound promise of AI, what is means to fully embrace innovation, how to balance opportunity with accountability, and how industry leaders are revolutionizing care in a way that is both meaningful and sustainable. Key Takeaways: How healthcare organizations are responding to economic pressures, workforce challenges, and evolving industry demands while continuing to move forward. What healthcare leaders should consider as they evaluate AI opportunities, including the balance between innovation, trust, ethics, and operational realities. How purpose-driven leadership and organizational culture create a foundation for long-term success, resilience, and innovation. Strategies for building high-performing teams that remain connected, accountable, and mission-focused during periods of rapid growth and change.

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4.9
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9 Ratings

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Russ Branzell, President & CEO of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), interviews leaders in Digital Health from around the world. These thought leaders share their knowledge, challenges, best practices, and ideas for helping to transform health and care on a global level.

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