Driving Value and Innovation in Health Plan Operations with Gretchen Wagner

In this episode, Gretchen Wagner, Associate Vice President - Risk Management, Humana, discusses how health plans are navigating cost pressures, workforce challenges, and rapid change by strengthening value-based partnerships and operational efficiency. She highlights the critical role of data interoperability, digital innovation, and analytics in improving member experience and long-term sustainability.

In this episode, Qualenta Kivett, Executive Vice President and Chief People and Talent Officer at Tampa General Hospital, joins the podcast to discuss removing barriers for clinicians and staff through tools like ambient listening. She also shares how the organization is expanding research efforts and strengthening partnerships to support workforce development and long-term growth.

In this episode, Dr. William Scharf, Executive Clinical Director of Quality and Safety at AdventHealth, shares how patient safety science, leadership behaviors, and system-wide training initiatives are shaping a high-reliability culture. He highlights the importance of psychological safety, frontline engagement, and cross-functional collaboration to drive continuous improvement.

What if medication access wasn’t fragmented? In this episode, we introduce Interra Health, formed by the merger of DoseSpot and Arrive Health, with a mission to unify the end-to-end medication journey—from medical and pharmacy benefits through prescription fulfillment.We explore how a new era of medication access is taking shape—driven by regulatory change, advancing interoperability, and real-time data at the point of care. By aligning policy, provider workflows, and patient-centered transparency, healthcare can begin to close the persistent gaps between prescribing and medication in hand—and ultimately improve outcomes across the journey.This episode is sponsored by Interra Health.

In this episode, Marion Spears Karr, FACHE, Managing Partner and Founder of In-FLOW Executives, shares how embedded executive search, authentic gratitude, and flow theory can transform growing healthcare organizations. He discusses building leadership cultures rooted in intentional communication, aligning talent with strengths, and helping emerging leaders thrive by focusing on the skills that put them in flow.

In this episode, Frankie Hamilton, Vice President of Nursing Operations at Maimonides Medical Center, shares how he is strengthening night shift engagement, launching safety huddles, and preparing the organization for Magnet designation. He also discusses strategies to improve throughput, elevate quality metrics, and support frontline staff amid rising emergency department demand and growing uninsured populations.

In this episode, Josh Lumbley, MD, Chief Quality Officer and Senior Vice President of Physician Operations at NorthStar Anesthesia, discusses the critical factors health system leaders should evaluate before transitioning anesthesia partners. He shares practical guidance on transition planning, staffing strategy, transparency, and how strong clinical partnerships ensure operating room stability and long term success.This episode is sponsored by NorthStar Anesthesia.

In this episode, Joseph Pazona, MD, Urologist and CEO of VirtuCare, discusses the growing physician shortage in rural America and how innovative care models can expand specialty access. He shares how VirtuCare partners with hospitals to build outpatient urology programs while helping physicians practice at the top of their license and reconnect with the purpose of patient care.

In this episode, James Murray, Managing Director of the BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence and Innovation, shares how health systems are shifting from digital experimentation to disciplined execution. He explores governance, data driven decision making, and high ROI use cases in automation and AI that reduce clinician burden, modernize legacy systems, and translate technology investments into measurable value.

In this episode, Robin Roberts, Director of Health IT Regulatory Affairs, PointClickCare & Novella Thompson, Hospital Administrator, Population Health, UVA Health, explore how health systems are transforming care coordination from hospital to post-acute settings through interoperability, real-time data, and AI. They share practical challenges, including discharge handoffs and medication accuracy, and highlight how predictive tools and stronger partnerships are improving outcomes across the continuum of care.This episode is sponsored by PointClickCare.