The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast

Massively Better Healthcare
  • 4.9 (176)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

🏆 2026 Webby Award-winning podcast. Join us every Monday for conversations with the biggest names in healthcare. Hosted by health tech veterans Halle Tecco, Michael Esquivel, and Steve Kraus. Learn more and submit your ideas for the show at the Heart of Healthcare website.

  1. 2d ago

    Can Oura Become the Doctor in Your Pocket? | Oura CEO Tom Hale

    We're on summer break and replaying one of our favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on September 22, 2025. A wearable can collect endless data, but it only matters if people trust it enough to change their behavior. In this replay, Oura CEO Tom Hale joins Steve and Michael to explain how the company combines clinical-grade accuracy with a consumer-friendly product. They discuss why the ring’s form factor makes overnight tracking so powerful, how Oura turns physiological signals into useful guidance, and why the company is being pulled faster than expected into traditional healthcare. We cover: Why sleep data can reveal changes in the body before symptoms appearHow Oura designed a health product that supports users without judging or nagging themWhy accuracy is the foundation for trust, predictions, and behavior changeHow Oura navigates the boundary between wellness products and regulated medical devicesThe company’s expansion into Medicare Advantage, women’s health, metabolic health, and clinical care— About our guest: Tom Hale is the Chief Executive Officer at ŌURA and a member of its board. As the CEO he sets the company’s business strategy and vision to make health a daily practice for members all over the world. He has over 30 years of experience across the technology and consumer product industry. Before joining ŌURA, Hale was president of Momentive where he drove B2B strategy and led product growth. During his time there he was instrumental in taking the company public in 2018, leading the team in key acquisitions, and driving the evolution and rebranding of the company into a multiple SAAS business. Previously, he held leadership roles at HomeAway and Linden Lab as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer, respectively, and held executive roles at Macromedia and Adobe. Hale has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and sits on the boards of Cars.com, RocketReach, and NoiseAware. — If you're enjoying the show, we would so appreciate it if you left us a review! — 📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn Instagram YouTube TikTok  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Can Oura Become the Doctor in Your Pocket? | Oura CEO Tom Hale

  2. Aug 3

    📣 Digital Health Download: August 2026

    This month is about the gap between what a system offers and what people actually get from it: drugs that work better with support nobody's paying for, AI that's already answering more medical questions than most doctors ever will, and a labor market where staying healthy can mean staying stuck. Halle and Michael break down the stories reshaping digital health in August. We cover: Why GLP-1 funding is shifting from prescribing platforms into "companion" ecosystemsThe FDA panel vote that opens a legal pathway for six unapproved peptides, and what this could meanOur thoughts on OpenAI's new ChatGPT Health product, now available to every US adultThe Florida pastor's lawsuit against OpenAIWhy nearly one in four US workers are staying in jobs they'd rather leave, just to keep their health insuranceThe healthcare argument buried inside the bill to make daylight saving time permanent Links: Rock Health, H1 2026 digital health funding recapHalle's research piece, Virtual GLP-1 startups: Pill mills or the future of obesity care?RAPS, FDA advisory committee backs six peptides for compounding listTechCrunch, OpenAI makes ChatGPT Health available to all US usersCBS News, ChatGPT's medical advice nearly killed a Florida man, lawsuit claimsGallup, One in four US employees locked in jobs for health insuranceThe Hill, House passes Sunshine Protection Act—  📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    📣 Digital Health Download: August 2026

  3. Jul 27

    Why We Demand Perfect Machines Yet Tolerate Human Carnage | Dr. Jonathan Slotkin

    Every day, roughly 100 Americans die in crashes caused by human drivers. Yet when a self-driving car hesitates at an intersection or makes the news for an unusual mistake, public trust can evaporate. In this special episode, Dr. Jonathan Slotkin reads his latest Noema essay exploring why we demand perfection from machines while accepting human error as inevitable. Drawing on lessons from medicine, psychology, and autonomous vehicles, he argues that the biggest barrier to safer technology is trust. You'll learn: Why humans judge machine mistakes differently than human mistakesWhat healthcare learned about the difference between being safe and feeling safeWhy autonomous vehicles may already be far safer than human driversHow public perception can slow the adoption of life-saving technologyWhat every AI company should learn about transparency and trust — About our guest: Dr. Jonathan Slotkin is Chief Medical Officer for Strategy & Growth at Geisinger, where he drives growth at the intersection of care delivery, insurance, and digital transformation. A practicing neurosurgeon, he previously served as Geisinger's associate chief medical informatics officer. Jon's current research and writing examine safety, trust, and adoption of autonomous systems in public life. His New York Times guest essay on self-driving car safety was entered into the Congressional Record. His writing regularly appears in Harvard Business Review, STAT, and Noema Magazine. He has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications. Previously, as co-founder and chief medical officer of Contigo Health, he partnered with the nation's largest employers to reimagine care for their associates. He co-founded Scrub Capital, a clinician-powered venture capital firm, where he serves as a Partner. He completed neurosurgery residency at The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where he served as chief resident. — This piece was commissioned, edited, and published by Noema Magazine. Noema publishes longform journalism exploring fresh ideas. To read this piece and others, head to noemamag.com. — 📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Why We Demand Perfect Machines Yet Tolerate Human Carnage | Dr. Jonathan Slotkin

  4. Jul 20

    Shareholder Primacy Is Breaking Healthcare | Eric Ries

    Healthcare companies are built to improve patients' lives. So why do so many prioritize shareholders over the people they're meant to serve? This week, Halle sits down with Eric Ries, author of Incorruptible, to unpack the rise of shareholder primacy, what it is, and why he believes it's at the root of many of society’s biggest challenges. They discuss the surprising history of corporate governance, the lessons behind Novo Nordisk's century-long success, and what founders can do today to keep their companies aligned with their mission as they grow. We cover: Why shareholder primacy reshaped corporate America (and where we go from here)How Novo Nordisk's unusual ownership structure may have saved GLP-1 researchThe simple governance change that could preserve your company's mission for decadesHow boards, investors, and acquisitions can slowly pull companies away from their original purposeThe founder mistakes that make mission drift almost inevitable About our guest: Over the last two decades, Eric Ries’s ideas about continuous innovation, long-term thinking, governance, and market reform have reshaped company building and management practices. He is the creator of the Lean Startup method, and the author of two New York Times bestsellers The Lean Startup and Incorruptible; The Leader’s Guide; and The Startup Way.  As a founder, he has put his own ideas into practice with The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE); Answer.AI, an AI R&D lab; Virgil, a legal services startup; and IMVU. On The Eric Ries Show, he talks with world-class technologists, thought leaders, and executives building for the long-term.  Check out his book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great — 🙏 Do you like this podcast? An easy and free way to help keep the show going is to leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. — 📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Shareholder Primacy Is Breaking Healthcare | Eric Ries

  5. Jul 13

    Can AI Build the First New Pharma Giant in Decades? | Formation Bio CEO Ben Liu

    Over the last decade, the number of drug candidates entering development has doubled, yet the number of successful drug approvals remains flat at ~50 per year. This week, we sit down with Formation Bio founder and CEO Ben Liu. His company has raised more than $600 million to build what he hopes will become the first new enduring pharmaceutical company in decades, powered by AI. Ben explains why he believes clinical development, not drug discovery, is becoming the industry's biggest bottleneck, and how AI could fundamentally change the economics of bringing new medicines to patients. We cover: Why there hasn't there been a big pharma company created since the 1980sWhich drug categories Ben believes could become the next GLP-1s and reshape healthcareWhy Formation Bio chose to become a pharmaceutical company instead of selling softwareThe real bottleneck in bringing medicines to patientsBen's roadmap for how AI will transform drug development over the next 10 to 20 years About our guest: Ben Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Formation Bio. He received his DPhil at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, leveraging machine-learning, AI, and big-data to develop diagnostics and therapeutics for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. During his graduate work, he observed the way clinical trials bottlenecked the development of new treatments for patients, compelling him to start Formation Bio. Before Formation Bio, Ben graduated from Yale where he was awarded the college’s highest honor at graduation and received his MPhil with distinction in Computational Biology from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge as a Paul Mellon Fellow. Ben also serves as an Advisor to Harvard Business School’s MS/MBA Program in Biotechnology. —  🙏 Do you like this podcast? An easy and free way to help keep the show going is to leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. —  📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Can AI Build the First New Pharma Giant in Decades? | Formation Bio CEO Ben Liu

  6. Jul 6

    Building A Healthcare Unicorn In Three Years | Assort Health Founders Jeff Liu and Jon Wang

    They built a $1.2 billion healthcare AI company in under three years, but they say the hardest part of healthcare AI isn't the AI. This week, Halle sits down with Assort Health co-founders and co-CEOs Jeffery Liu and Jon Wang, whose company reached a $1.2 billion valuation in under three years. They discuss why building great healthcare AI takes far more than good models, how they scaled from 15 employees to nearly 250 in a year, and what they've learned from more than 190 million patient interactions. They also share why voice AI is harder than it looks, how they're thinking about building durable moats in the age of foundation models, and why helping patients navigate the healthcare system may be one of AI's biggest opportunities. We cover: The AI role suddenly showing up at every healthcare startupThe surprising demographic that gives AI voice agents the highest satisfaction scoresHow healthcare AI is shifting from single-purpose tools to platforms that remember patients across every interactionWhy the biggest moat in healthcare AI may not be the model itselfThe biggest misconception investors have about moats in healthcare AIHow to triple your team without losing the culture that made the company successful—  🙏 Do you like this podcast? An easy and free way to help keep the show going is to leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. —  📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Building A Healthcare Unicorn In Three Years | Assort Health Founders Jeff Liu and Jon Wang

  7. Jun 29

    📣 Digital Health Download: July 2026

    July marks five years of The Heart of Healthcare, and we're grateful for every listener who's tuned in. If you've enjoyed the show, please show your love by leaving us a review! This month, Steve and Halle take stock of an industry where capital is concentrating, incumbents are making big bets, AI is moving from promise to early proof points, and a public health crisis is quietly building in the background. We cover: The digital health funding numbers that just dropped, and what they reveal about where the money is really goingA $12 billion deal that has the RCM world buzzingThe Nature study that has clinical AI companies on edgeA new entrant into medical imaging that nobody saw comingThe public health crisis that sports betting built, and why healthcare isn't talking about it enoughEarly data out of Utah that could change how we think about AI in clinical settings Links: IPO Watch List: https://halletecco.substack.com/p/the-digital-health-ipo-watchlistEnsemble Health / Thoreau deal: https://hitconsultant.net/2026/06/18/thoreau-makes-strategic-investment-in-ensemble-health/Nature Medicine AI study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04431-5Midjourney Medical: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/952011/midjourney-medical-ai-ultrasound-scanDoctronic pilot outcomes: https://commerce.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Doctronic-Outcomes-May-2026.pdf—  📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    📣 Digital Health Download: July 2026

  8. Jun 22

    Healthcare’s Oppenheimer Moment | Listener Q&A

    Back by popular demand, 3x Heart of Healthcare guest Eric Larsen joins Steve to answer listener questions on healthcare's AI revolution. Drawing on the ideas behind his latest essay, Healthcare's Oppenheimer Moment, Eric argues that healthcare may be approaching a once-in-a-generation inflection point, and discusses what leaders need to understand before it's too late. We cover: Whether foundation models will eventually outperform healthcare-specific AI companiesWhy healthcare remains stuck in AI pilot projects while the technology races aheadThe biggest obstacle to clinical AI adoptionWhy liability may be the most important (and least discussed) issue in healthcare AIEric's controversial take on how AI will reshape the healthcare workforce— Links: Eric's essay is available here —  🙏 Do you like this podcast? An easy and free way to help keep the show going is to leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. —  📍 Connect with us: Heart of Healthcare website LinkedIn YouTube  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Healthcare’s Oppenheimer Moment | Listener Q&A
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🏆 2026 Webby Award-winning podcast. Join us every Monday for conversations with the biggest names in healthcare. Hosted by health tech veterans Halle Tecco, Michael Esquivel, and Steve Kraus. Learn more and submit your ideas for the show at the Heart of Healthcare website.

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