The Front Door Newsletter

Hosted by Sohum Shah, CEO of Architect Health

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Technology
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Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs.

Apr 15

Simplifying Healthcare: UHC's Hub Strategy for Vendors and Members

For the first episode of Season 3 of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CEO, Sohum Shah interviews health plan leader, Karen Nelson, on how the largest payer in the country manages digital health and thinks about integrated care. As Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Employer & Individual, Karen is pivotal in advancing innovation and vendor relationships within the commercial market. She champions groundbreaking initiatives, including the UHC Store and UHC Hub, that help create more choice and flexibility in health and wellness offerings for consumers and employers. Karen builds value-based relationships and partnerships that not only improve consumer satisfaction but also deliver highly personalized offerings and solutions for employers and millions of Americans who have employer-sponsored health benefits. Prior to this role, Karen led the telehealth evolution at UnitedHealthcare, significantly enhancing the company's digital health partnerships. She also held leadership positions at Optum, where she developed programs to help consumers with complex health conditions, including end-stage renal disease. Karen earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Karen is also a certified executive coach through the International Coaching Federation. She is deeply committed to developing leaders and giving back through volunteer work with multiple non-profit organizations. Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. Architect Health is building the infrastructure layer that rewires how healthcare innovation is adopted. As an AI-powered solution for vendor management, contract lifecycle management, and performance monitoring, Architect Health's agents automate procurement processes, evaluate risk, and capture real digital health vendor ROI. Healthcare organizations can now onboard new digital health solutions in weeks instead of years, cutting admin waste and accelerating care delivery at scale.
04/08/2025

Breaking Barriers: How Industry Collaboration is Transforming Healthcare

For the second episode of Season 2 of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠⁠ Co-founder & CEO, Sohum Shah interviews health care transformation advocate and social impact leader, Shruti Kothari, on industry-wide collaboration, the importance of data-sharing, and the evolution of digital health. Shruti leads Industry Initiatives for Blue Shield of California, where she is focused on scaling and sustaining health care transformation through industry alignment and policy movement. She supports improved experiences for patients, families, and providers. Shruti has worked as a health educator, community mobilizer, quality improvement leader, early-stage startup operator, a conduit between large systems and the innovation ecosystem. In this capacity she has worked for the American Cancer Society, Stanford, Kaiser Permanente, and Blue Shield of California. Shruti is also the Founder of Women of Community, an organization committed to increasing representation of Women of Color in health care leadership. And the Co-Founder of Crown Society, a company who’s mission is to support the young caregiver community. Shruti is on the board for the Family Caregiver Alliance, is a board advisor for the Asian Pacific Fund, and is an Advisor for the End Well Foundation, ScaleHealth, and Reverence. In 2022, Business Insider named Shruti as one of their top 30 under 40 leaders in health care, and in 2024 Rock Health named Shruti as a top 50 in Digital Health. Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health’s AI-powered vendor management system simplifies vendor evaluation, accelerates payer procurement, and ensures measurable ROI for payers. Architect Health is supercharging payer purchasing and eliminating the telehealth bottleneck, relieving point-solution fatigue. Architect's Digital Health Quality Index has vetted and scored thousands of telehealth solutions on efficacy, company reliability, and health equity. Co-founders Sohum Shah and Sidd Hariharan have deep expertise working with health plans and have built care management programs and aligned technology for Humana and BlueCross BlueShield. Architect Health is backed by Drive Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Cherrystone Angel Group, Plug and Play Ventures, Service Provider Capital, and strategic advisors.
02/07/2025

From Deals to Disruption: The Financial Forces Reshaping Healthcare in 2025

To kickoff Season 2 of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠ Co-founder & CEO, Sohum Shah interviews healthcare M&A expert, Ian Wijaya, on M&A trends, digital health and value creation in 2025. Ian Wijaya is Co-Head of North America Healthcare at Lazard, and also leads Lazard’s North America Healthcare Services practice, which he cofounded. Ian’s practice focus on M&A, strategic advisory and recapitalization advisory for managed care insurance payers, providers across the continuum of care (e.g., acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, post-acute care, etc.), PBMs, distributors, payor and provider services companies, Healthcare IT, digital health companies and PE firms invested in these areas. Ian has advised on more than $250 billion of corporate finance transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, financial restructurings and reorganizations, joint ventures, and defense against shareholder activists. Ian has advised on several of the largest and most transformative M&A transactions in healthcare, including three of the largest in recent history. Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health’s telehealth vendor management operating system simplifies vendor evaluation, accelerates payer procurement, and ensures measurable ROI for payers. Architect Health is supercharging payer purchasing and eliminating the telehealth bottleneck, relieving point-solution fatigue. Architect's Digital Health Quality Index has vetted and scored thousands of telehealth solutions on efficacy, company reliability, and health equity. Co-founders Sohum Shah and Sidd Hariharan have deep expertise working with health plans and have built care management programs and aligned technology for Humana and BlueCross BlueShield. Architect Health is backed by Drive Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Cherrystone Angel Group, Plug and Play Ventures, Service Provider Capital, and strategic advisors.
11/22/2024

Toxic Positivity in Healthcare: Dr. Sachin Jain's Call to Stop Normalizing the Abnormal

On our twelfth episode of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠ Co-founder & CEO, Sohum Shah interviews health plan executive and healthcare thought leader, Dr. Sachin Jain, on toxic positivity in healthcare, the reality of digital health post-pandemic, and SCAN's historic lawsuit against the CMS. Dr. Sachin Jain is CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan, where he is charged with leading the organization’s growth, diversification, and emerging efforts to reduce healthcare disparities. SCAN’s revenues top $4.8B and the organization serves more than 300,000 members. From 2015-2020, Dr. Jain was President and CEO of CareMore Health and Aspire Health, innovative care delivery systems with more than $1.6B in revenues, which serve 200,000 Medicare and Medicaid patients in 32 states. Dr. Jain graduated with BA, MD, and MDA from Harvard University, is a contributor for Forbes and healthcare thought leader on LinkedIn and serves on the boards of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Advantage Healthcare Services, and The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a digital health aggregator, navigator, and vendor manager that makes it easy for health plans and their members to access virtual-first care solutions. Architect optimizes health plan RFP processes in a consolidated and comprehensive platform, reducing admin burden and costs. This helps health plans realize digital health cost savings opportunities - up to a 7x ROI. Architect's Digital Health Quality Index has vetted and scored thousands of telehealth solutions on efficacy, company reliability, and health equity. Co-founders Sohum Shah and Sidd Hariharan have deep expertise working with health plans and have built care management programs and aligned technology for Humana and BlueCross BlueShield. Architect Health is backed by Drive Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Cherrystone Angel Group, Plug and Play Ventures, Service Provider Capital, and strategic advisors.
11/01/2024

The Payer's Compass: Insider Strategies for Digital Health Partnerships

On our eleventh episode of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠Architect Health⁠ Co-founder & CEO, Sohum Shah interviews Oliver Wyman alum and former Chief Strategy Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Sukanya Soderland on digital health partnerships, opportunities for innovation, and strategic insights on payer trends. Sukanya Soderland is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the largest private health plan in Massachusetts and one of the largest independent, not-for-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in the country. Blue Cross’ mission is to show up for everyone like they’re the only one. The company guides members to the exceptional healthcare they deserve, affordably, equitably, and seamlessly, and is consistently rated among the nation’s best health plans for member service. Sukanya, in partnership with the company’s management team, was responsible for developing strategies that will drive Blue Cross’ overall direction and achieve the company’s business goals. She also led data analytics, business performance and process improvement, and innovation. Sukanya joined Blue Cross in 2018. Previously, she was with Oliver Wyman, where she served as a senior partner in their health and life sciences practice, co-founded the Oliver Wyman Health Innovation Center, and was the lead health care partner in Oliver Wyman’s digital, technology, operations and analytics practice. Sukanya is a frequent speaker in national forums on health care transformation. She serves on the board of the Trustees of Reservations and the board of museum advisors for the Museum of Science. Sukanya holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a digital health aggregator, navigator, and vendor manager that makes it easy for health plans and their members to access virtual-first care solutions. Architect optimizes health plan RFP processes in a consolidated and comprehensive platform, reducing admin burden and costs. This helps health plans realize digital health cost savings opportunities - up to a 7x ROI. Architect's Digital Health Quality Index has vetted and scored thousands of telehealth solutions on efficacy, company reliability, and health equity. Co-founders Sohum Shah and Sidd Hariharan have deep expertise working with health plans and have built care management programs and aligned technology for Humana and BlueCross BlueShield. Architect Health is backed by Drive Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Cherrystone Angel Group, Plug and Play Ventures, Service Provider Capital, and strategic advisors.
10/18/2024

Revolutionizing CMS Programs: The Role of Digital Health in Medicare and Medicaid

On our tenth episode of ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠, Architect Health Co-founder & CEO, Sohum Shah interviews Jonathan (Jon) Blum, Principal Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In this dual role, Jon oversees CMS’s program policy planning and implementation and day-to-day operations of the entire agency. CMS’s programs provide health coverage to more than 150 million individuals, spending more than $1.7 trillion in annual benefits with an annual operating budget of more than $7 billion. This is Jon’s second time serving in a senior leadership position at CMS. He previously served as the Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center of Medicare from 2009 – 2014, leading the agency’s Medicare payment and delivery reform strategies and the policy and program management of the Medicare program. Jon has more than 25 years of public- and private-sector experience working in health care policy and administration. In addition to his positions at CMS, he has worked as a strategy and management consultant, an Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, professional staff at the Senate Finance Committee, and a program analyst at the Office of Budget and Management. Prior to joining CMS, Jon served on several nonprofit boards with missions to improve access and equity to health care and health coverage, including Mary's Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center; the Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County; and the Medicare Rights Center. Jon earned a Master of Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a digital health aggregator, navigator, and vendor manager that makes it easy for health plans and their members to access virtual-first care solutions. Architect optimizes health plan RFP processes in a consolidated and comprehensive platform, reducing admin burden and costs. This helps health plans realize digital health cost savings opportunities - up to a 7x ROI. Architect's Digital Health Quality Index has vetted and scored thousands of telehealth solutions on efficacy, company reliability, and health equity. Co-founders Sohum Shah and Sidd Hariharan have deep expertise working with health plans and have built care management programs and aligned technology for Humana and BlueCross BlueShield. Architect Health is backed by Drive Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Cherrystone Angel Group, Plug and Play Ventures, Service Provider Capital, and strategic advisors.
10/04/2024

Healthcare Innovation Panel: How the Midwest is Becoming Healthcare's Next Hub

On our ninth episode of ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ and first-ever in-person podcast panel, Architect Health Co-founder & CEO, Sohum Shah hosts an exclusive interview on healthcare innovation with five incredible healthcare leaders in Chicago. Rushil Desai is the CEO of Aetna Better Health of Illinois and manages over 370,000 Medicaid members. Ryan Fukushima is the COO of Tempus Labs, a leader in AI-enabled diagnostics for precision medicine, which recently went public. Maureen Sullivan is the former Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and now advises healthcare companies and venture capital firms. Anil Saldanha is Rush University Medical Center’s Chief Innovation Officer and drives innovation in public health, community health, and technology. Brian Whorely is the Founder & CEO of Paytient and is transforming how Americans access and afford healthcare. Audience Questions: How do you see healthcare data getting pooled? In the future we'll need a bigger collection of that data. Who is collecting the data, who is going to pay for it and how is it going to be paid for? How do you keep the humanity in healthcare and provide the best compassionate care to our patient population? Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a digital health aggregator, navigator, and vendor manager that makes it easy for health plans and their members to access virtual-first care solutions. Architect optimizes health plan RFP processes in a consolidated and comprehensive platform, reducing admin burden and costs. This helps health plans realize digital health cost savings opportunities - up to a 7x ROI. Architect's Digital Health Quality Index has vetted and scored thousands of telehealth solutions on efficacy, company reliability, and health equity. Co-founders Sohum Shah and Sidd Hariharan have deep expertise working with health plans and have built care management programs and aligned technology for Humana and BlueCross BlueShield. Architect Health is backed by Drive Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Cherrystone Angel Group, Plug and Play Ventures, Service Provider Capital, and strategic advisors.
08/29/2024

How the Largest Medicaid Payer Leverages Digital Health to Bridge the Health Equity Divide

On our eighth episode of ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Front Door Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠, Architect Health Co-founder & CEO, Sohum Shah interviews physician and health plan executive, Alice Hm Chen, MD, MPH. Dr. Chen serves as Chief Health Officer for Centene Corporation and is responsible for Centene's strategies, policies and programs in support of improving population health for Centene's members. Prior to joining Centene, Dr. Chen was Chief Medical Officer at Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, where she was responsible for healthcare strategy focused on quality, equity and delivery system transformation. She previously served as Deputy Secretary for Policy and Planning and Chief of Clinical Affairs for the California Health and Human Services Agency, where she led signature health policy initiatives on affordability and access and played a leadership role in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Chen was also a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, based at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where she served as its Chief Integration Officer and founding director of the eConsult program. Dr. Chen received a Bachelor of Science in environmental biology from Yale University and has a Doctor of Medicine from the Stanford University School of Medicine. She also has a Master of Public Health in health care management and policy from Harvard School of Public Health. Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Architect Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a digital health aggregator, navigator, and vendor manager that makes it easy for health plans and their members to access virtual-first care solutions. Architect optimizes health plan RFP processes in a consolidated and comprehensive platform, reducing admin burden and costs. This helps health plans realize digital health cost savings opportunities - up to a 7x ROI. Architect's Digital Health Quality Index has vetted and scored thousands of telehealth solutions on efficacy, company reliability, and health equity. Co-founders Sohum Shah and Sidd Hariharan have deep expertise working with health plans and have built care management programs and aligned technology for Humana and BlueCross BlueShield. Architect Health is backed by Drive Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), Cherrystone Angel Group, Plug and Play Ventures, Service Provider Capital, and strategic advisors.

Architect Health's The Front Door Newsletter interviews healthcare executives, founders, and experts on healthcare innovation, digital health, and preventative care. The goal is to identify pain points in these spaces and paint visions on how to address them, inspiring decision makers at traditional healthcare orgs.

Creator

Hosted by Sohum Shah, CEO of Architect Health
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

15
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Hosted by Sohum Shah, CEO of Architect Health
Show Website

The Front Door Newsletter