Hope, Power, and Healthcare

Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Insights and news for healthcare's innovators. Hear from change makers in healthcare & health technology about, and maybe even join us for a show!

  1. Sep 25

    Is This the Future of Mental Health Support? Evaluating Five F*cks a Day: STLTH Feedback Ep. 2

    What if understanding what drains us could change how we respond to it? On this episode, the Hope, Power & Healthcare team is back with another session of STLTH Feedback - a live, unscripted deep dive where founders share their innovation and receive real-time input from industry insiders. For our second episode, we were joined by Rashida Boyd, founder of Five F*cks a Day - a digital mental health and wellness tool designed to help people understand what depleted them, what restores them, and the patterns that shape how they respond. Our hosts, Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly, were joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Kira Weidner, to pressure-test Rashida’s vision from multiple angles. The conversation moves from the psychology behind the product, to a much bigger question: What happens when a promising consumer mental health tool starts moving toward the healthcare system? Together, our “nurse sharks” dig into emotional awareness, resilience, provider workflows, clinical risk, privacy, AI, and what it would actually take for a tool like this to fit into the lives of both patients and clinicians. The goal? To ask the harder questions early, surface what still needs to be solved, and help founders build something stronger. What if we took STLTH Feedback beyond the screen? We’re exploring what it could look like to bring this format to a conference and put founders, healthcare leaders, and real-time feedback together in the same room. Stay tuned for official announcements, we might just be bringing the nurse sharks to a stage near you. Connect with us: Follow Hope, Power & Healthcare on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/hope-power-healthcare/?viewAsMember=true Connect with Rashida Boyd:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashidaboyd/?isSelfProfile=false Connect with Dr. Kira Weidner:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiraweidnerpsyd/?isSelfProfile=false#HopePowerandHealthcare Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

  2. Jul 13

    AI Knows More About Your Health Than You Do: Wearables As the Next Healthcare Revolution

    The next generation of healthcare won’t just generate more data, it will help us understand what that data actually represents. In this episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, our hosts - Chris and Melissa, dive into one of the internet’s latest experiments: connecting your WHOOP data to Claude, to analyze your physiological reactions to daily life. What started as a funny story of a man using this to analyze his interactions with coworkers, quickly became a much bigger conversation about the future of healthcare, personal data, AI and what happens when continuous health monitoring meets LLMs. The two touch on how wearable devices are changing the way we are able to understand our own health, and why AI is making personal health data more accessible than ever. If you have an interest in digital health and AI, wearables, or simply how emerging technology is reshaping everyday life, this is an episode for you. Subscribe for more conversations exploring the intersection of hope, technology, leadership, and the future of healthcare. #ArtificialIntelligence #DigitalHealth #WHOOP #ClaudeAI #HopePowerandHealthcare Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

  3. Jun 24

    Innovation vs. Math: What Are Healthcare Buyers Really Looking For?

    After years of hearing healthcare leaders ask, “What’s next?”, the conversation is officially changing. Healthcare innovation is evolving, but not in the way many founders expect. Fresh off AHIP 2026, Chris and Melissa discuss a growing reality across healthcare: buyers are becoming less interested in exciting new features, and more focused on measurable cost savings, operational efficiency, and proven outcomes. Drawing from Melissa’s experience as both a former health plan executive and healthcare consultant, and Chris’s practical perspectives, they explore why so many startups struggle to gain traction, how health plans evaluate new solutions, and what it really takes to build a product that aligns with market demand.If you’re building, selling, or investing in healthcare, this conversation offers a candid look at what decision-makers are prioritizing - and why understanding the problem may be more important than perfecting the solution. Hope, Power & Healthcare explores the people, ideas, and conversations shaping the future of healthcare. Like and Subscribe to follow along. #HealthcareStrategy #DigitalTransformation #HopePowerandHealthcare #ValueBasedCare Hosts: Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

  4. Jun 4

    Forward Deployed Engineers Explained: The Technical Talent Shift Founders Shouldn’t Ignore

    Every founder eventually faces the same question: How do you build faster without building the wrong thing? As organizations race to innovate in an increasingly technology-driven world, the challenge isn’t simply writing the code, it’s understanding the people, workflows, and problems that coding is meant to serve. On this episode of Hope, Power & Healthcare, our hosts Melissa and Chris explore the rise of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE) and why this emerging role is capturing the attention of startups, healthcare organizations, and technology leaders alike. Using their own experience, working directly alongside operational teams, Chris shares what happens when technical talent moves closer to the people using the solutions being built. Together, Chris and Melissa discuss how FDEs help bridge the gap between strategy and execution, accelerate learning, and create products that are more likely to drive meaningful adoption and outcomes. This is a conversation about building with people, not just for them. Because the most successful innovations emerge through collaboration, curiosity, and a deep commitment to solving real problems. Whether you’re a founder navigating your next hire, a healthcare leader driving transformation, or a builder looking to create greater impact, this episode offers practical insights into what it takes to turn ideas into solutions that people actually use. #ForwardDeployedEngineer #HopePowerandHealthcare #HealthcareLeadership Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

  5. Jun 2

    Is This the End of Healthcare Opacity? Transparency Reckoning + The AI Jobs Boom Nobody Saw Coming

    Is healthcare finally being forced to become transparent? And is AI quietly rewriting how we work? In this week’s episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, hosts Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly dive into two massive shifts happening in the healthcare ecosystem right now, and why both could change the system faster than most people realize. With OptumRx moving toward a fee-based PBM model, are we witnessing the “beginning of the end” for opaque pharmacy pricing and rebate-driven healthcare economics? Melissa and Chris unpack what this could mean for patients, payers, and the future cost of care. The conversation pivots to one of the fastest-growing roles in tech: the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE). With reported demand surging, Chris and Melissa explore why businesses are embedding technical talent directly into operations, what this means for healthcare innovation, and why AI literacy may no longer be optional for business leaders. Of course, because it’s Hope, Power and Healthcare, there’s talk of soup, pop culture, and a reminder to spend more time in a real-world community. One question remains. Are we building AI tools, or are AI tools quietly reshaping us? Drop your thoughts below, and help our hosts choose an AI course to take and review together. #HopePowerandHealthcare #HealthcareInnovation #DigitalHealth #ArtificialIntelligence Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

  6. May 4

    Stop Playing Small: The Real Reason You’re Not Getting Ahead

    What can you unlock when you stop gatekeeping yourself, and start showing up? In this week’s episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, hosts Melissa and Chris are back (and fired up) after a whirlwind week of conferences, conversations, and community-building moments that sparked new ideas, and a few healthy debates. From the Women Business Leaders Summit, to sustainability summits and AI forums, our hosts unpack what really happens when you get the right people in the room. When events can be more than networking and mentorship, but also the uncomfortable (but necessary) conversations that truly drive progress. Melissa shares a few insights from speaking on her panel on financial empowerment and the power of women supporting women, while challenging the norms around money, mentorship and “queen-making”. Chris takes us inside a high-intensity AI conference, where opposing views collide on stage, raising critical questions about ethics, regulation, and the future of creativity. If you’ve ever wondered how to grow your network, find your people, or just challenge your own thinking, this episode is for you.Don’t gatekeep yourself. Show up. Join the conversation.#HealthcareInnovation #AIinHealthcare #Community #HopePowerandHealthcareHosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

  7. Apr 15

    Are We Ready for AI Care Plans? Evaluating Darmouth Surgeon's App: STLTH Feedback Ep. 1

    Are we ready for AI-powered care plans? This week, the Hope, Power and Healthcare team introduced our new event format: STLTH Feedback. This was a live, unscripted deep dive where founders shared their innovation and received real-time input from industry insiders. Our first “patient zero” is Dr. Asha Zimmerman, a former transplant surgeon, turned founder of Primary Intelligence. This AI-powered platform is designed to help patients navigate new symptoms, access health information, and walk into doctor visits more informed. Our hosts, Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly, were joined by a special third guest - Dr. Tarun Kapoor, a physician and former digital transformation executive. Together, our “nurse sharks”, created an event where founders bring in real problems, and the goal isn’t to tear them down, but to help them build something better. If you’re building in health tech, working in care delivery, or are just curious about where AI is taking healthcare, this special event episode is for you. Connect with us: Follow Hope, Power & Healthcare on LinkedIn Download the Primary Intelligence App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.voxcura.voxcura&pcampaignid=web_share Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

  8. Apr 14

    The Dangerous Illusion of Trust in Startups & AI

    What does it actually mean to trust someone, especially when the stakes are high? In this episode of Hope, Power & Healthcare, our hosts Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly unpack a concept that sits at the center of every decision we make. Trust. From choosing who to build with, to navigating co-founder dynamics, to evaluating whether AI outputs deserve your confidence, this conversation moves beyond surface-level advice, and into the real, often uncomfortable, work of figuring out who, and what, you can rely on. Melissa reflects on the frameworks she uses to evaluate potential opportunities, leaders, teams, and meaningful work, and why trust has become the deciding factor in where she invests her time and energy. Chris shares how trust is built “in the trenches”, and why small, real-world tests often reveal more than any interview or recommendation ever could. Our hosts bring the conversation to a technology perspective, challenging the idea that AI model outputs should always be taken at face value. From bias in healthcare algorithms, to practical ways to validate LLM responses, this episode makes a compelling case for starting from skepticism, and earning trust through validation. Whether you’re building a company, joining one, or deploying AI into real-world systems, always ask yourself. Can I trust it when it matters the most? Connect with us!Follow our LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hope-power-healthcare/?viewAsMember=true Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

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About

Insights and news for healthcare's innovators. Hear from change makers in healthcare & health technology about, and maybe even join us for a show!

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly
  • Show Website
    Hope, Power, and Healthcare