From Mint to Medicine: How Aaron Patzer Is Fixing Patient Communication

What happens when the founder of Mint.com takes on one of healthcare's most broken experiences—patient communication? In this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare, Eric Glazer sits down with Aaron Patzer, Founder and CEO of Vital, to explore how simplicity, clarity, and human-centered design can drive real impact in healthcare. Drawing from his journey building Mint, Aaron shares why most healthcare technology misses the mark, how better communication improves outcomes and ROI, and what leaders must do to design experiences people actually use. The conversation goes deep on: Why simplifying complexity—not adding more tech—is the real innovation How better patient communication drives measurable ROI for hospitals What healthcare leaders can learn from consumer tech about trust, adoption, and engagement The leadership principles Aaron relies on when innovating inside highly regulated, slow-moving systems If you're a healthcare leader navigating digital transformation, AI investment decisions, or experience strategy, this episode offers clear thinking, hard-earned lessons, and proof that when you make it easier for people to understand what's happening, everything works better.   References: Book Reference - The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman About Aaron: Aaron Patzer is a renowned entrepreneur, engineer, and innovator best known as the founder of Mint.com, the personal finance platform that revolutionized money management for millions of users. After launching Mint in 2007, Patzer led it to rapid success, growing the user base to over 25 million and overseeing its acquisition by Intuit in 2009. A passionate advocate for user-centered design and simplicity in complex systems, Patzer built Mint.com by combining his technical acumen with a deep understanding of user experience and behavioral finance. He holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and a Master's from Princeton University. Following Mint, Patzer continued to push boundaries in tech and health innovation. He co-founded Vital, a healthcare startup focused on improving hospital emergency room, urgent care, and inpatient experiences using AI and design thinking. Ranked by KLAS as #1 in patient experience, Vital achieves concrete results: 30–50% fewer LWOBS/AMA, 10–15% higher NPS, stronger HCAHPS scores, reduced ED bounce- back, and 10% lower 30-day readmissions. Designed to integrate seamlessly with existing EHR systems, Vital provides a user-friendly interface that engages patients, resulting in 60%+ adoption rates, 5-10x higher than the competition. View our product overview. Partner with Bright Spots Ventures: If you are interested in speaking with the Bright Spots Ventures team to brainstorm how we can help you grow your business via content and relationships, email [email protected]   About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare—proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Visit our website:  www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Follow Bright Spots in Healthcare: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shared-purpose-connect/

Recorded live at HLTH, this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare features Dr. Carolyn Jasik, Associate Chief Clinical Officer at Verily, an Alphabet company focused on precision health innovation at scale. Carolyn shares how Verily has evolved through multiple "moonshot" phases, from devices and research to its current focus on precision health, combining AI, data science, and clinical expertise to deliver the right intervention to the right person at the right time. Drawing from her background as a pediatrician, behavioral scientist, and former digital health executive, Carolyn explains why healthcare transformation must move beyond the clinic and into people's daily lives, meeting them in moments that actually matter. In this conversation, you'll hear about: What precision health really means beyond the buzzword, and why timing and context are everything How Verily Me enables consumers to interact with their health records, ask questions, and identify gaps in care The role of AI coaches and human clinicians working together, not in competition Why Verily is taking a direct-to-consumer-first approach to crack the engagement problem in healthcare How licensed nurses, HIPAA-protected AI, and real-time support can transform patient experience Carolyn's long-term vision for AI agents like Violet to meaningfully extend care teams and reduce clinician burden This episode offers a thoughtful, human-centered look at how AI can help people feel seen, supported, and cared for while laying the foundation for scalable, enterprise-grade precision health. If you're building, buying, or deploying digital health solutions, this conversation provides a grounded blueprint for what consumer trust, engagement, and impact really require. Bio: https://hlth.com/speakers/2024/carolyn-bradner-jasik References: Verily Me - https://www.verilyme.com/ Partner with Bright Spots Ventures: If you are interested in speaking with the Bright Spots Ventures team to brainstorm how we can help you grow your business via content and relationships, email [email protected] About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare—proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Visit our website:  www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Follow Bright Spots in Healthcare: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shared-purpose-connect/

In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together senior Medicaid health plan leaders to explore how organizations are rethinking communication strategies in response to redetermination and upcoming work requirements. The conversation dives into how plans are combining cultural competency, behavioral insights, and data-driven personalization to strengthen member connections, improve retention, and support equity-focused outcomes.  Real-world examples and best practices provide actionable guidance for health plans navigating these sweeping policy changes. Our guests include: Molly Whittle, Vice President, Medicaid Fiscal Strategy, WellSense Health Plan Terrie Hottle, Director of Product Implementation and Deployment, CareSource Abner Mason, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, GroundGame.Health Together, they explore: How Medicaid health plans are adapting communication priorities in response to redetermination and evolving work requirements. Innovative strategies to reach and retain hard-to-contact populations through culturally responsive and personalized engagement. How to transform compliance-driven outreach into trust-based, member-focused communication that supports long-term retention and health outcomes. Practical examples of leveraging behavioral insights, life coaching, and personalized messaging to improve engagement, close care gaps, and support members' social and health needs. Panelist Bios: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/events/medicaids-communication-wake-up-call-how-redetermination-and-work-requirements-are-forcing-a-new-member-engagement-playbook/ Download the Episode Guide: Get key takeaways and expert highlights to help you apply lessons from the episode. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Episode_Guide_121125.docx.pdf Download the Key Insights Summary: Find key insights from the discussion: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Key-Takeaways-Medicaids-Communication-Wake-Up-Call.docx.pdf  Resources:  HMA's new report on the CareSource JobConnect Program: https://www.healthmanagement.com/insights/briefs-reports/the-impact-of-the-caresource-jobconnect-program-a-benefit-cost-and-return-on-investment-roi-analysisthe-impact-of-the-caresource-jobconnect-program/   Report: How Medicaid Payers can Prepare for New Work Requirements Coming in Early 2027   The Reconciliation Act of 2025, signed on July 4th, introduces new Medicaid work requirements. Beginning in January 2027, states will be required to verify at both application and renewal that members of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion group meet these requirements. A few highlights that stood out: The disruption will be significant: The CBO projects 10 million people could become uninsured by 2034 due to work requirements. Most losses aren't intentional: In Arkansas, 18,000 individuals lost coverage in seven months—largely because the reporting system was too complex to navigate. Waiting is the biggest risk: The report states plainly: "Payers need to act now… the biggest issue is waiting too long to engage." Five practical steps to start today: From identifying high-risk members early and communicating before the state does, to automating exemption processes and enabling consent-based data sharing. To request your copy, email show producer, Vekonda Luangaphay at [email protected] Thank You to Our Episode Partner, GroundGame Health: GroundGame is a human impact company that helps Medicaid members stay covered and get care by removing the real-world barriers that stand in their way. They do this through human connection. Community-based engagement. Meeting members where they are and creating a culturally tailored experience at the level of the individual. Their Right Touch model blends personalized outreach with deep relationships across community organizations to close quality gaps, surface hidden needs, and actually solve them.  Learn more at https://www.groundgame.health/   Schedule a Meeting with Abner Mason, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer at GroundGame.Health. To explore how GroundGame.Health can help your organization reduce churn, build trust, and keep Medicaid members connected to care through human-to-human, community-based engagement, reach out to show producer, Vekonda Luangaphay, [email protected] to schedule a meeting with Abner Mason, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, GroundGame.Health. About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation.   We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.  

In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together Medicare Advantage leaders who are rethinking how digital first and whole person strategies can meet rising Stars expectations. The conversation explores how plans are simplifying engagement, strengthening provider alignment, and integrating specialty and virtual care models to improve quality, experience, and overall performance in the new ratings era. Our guests include: Lisa Franklin, Director of Medicare Business, Product, and Marketing, Strategic Growth and Government Programs, Carefirst Christine McKinney, Vice President Customer Experience and Digital Transformation Blue Shield of California Mary O'Connor, MD, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder, Vori Health Together, they explore: How CareFirst reduced member friction by consolidating 175 touchpoints a year into a coordinated digital first experience built around scrolling content cards, real time click behavior, and simplified onboarding. How Vori Health is integrating whole person MSK care with payers through value based arrangements that support coaching, nutrition, behavioral health screening, and earlier risk identification. How Blue Shield of California built a continuous CAHPS simulation program to uncover pain points and used those insights to create the Care Navigation Desk for real time access help. How digital tools like online scheduling, integrated member health records, and proactive pharmacy cost transparency are reducing friction and helping seniors navigate the ecosystem more independently. How plans are using AI and preference based engagement to support new Medicare members, improve medication adherence, and scale outreach during market disruptions. Panelist Bios: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/events/falling-stars-rising-standards-how-digital-first-whole-person-care-is-fueling-success-in-the-new-ratings-era/ Download the Episode Guide: Get key takeaways and expert highlights to help you apply lessons from the episode. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Episode_Guide_120425_Vori-Falling-Stars-Rising-Standards.docx.pdf Key Insights Summary: Find key insights from the discussion, guest takeaways, and detailed moderator notes captured by Eric during the conversation. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Key-Takeaways-Erics-Notes-Falling-Stars-Rising-Standards.docx.pdf Resources:  Report: How Physician Led MSK Care Supports Stars Improvement and Whole Person Outcomes This companion report highlights how Vori Health's physician-led, virtual first musculoskeletal care model helps Medicare Advantage plans strengthen performance in the new ratings environment. It includes data and real member stories showing how hybrid specialty access, early gap closure, and whole person support improve outcomes, reduce unnecessary MSK spend, and enhance member experience. Inside you will find insights on Improving access through forty eight hour specialty appointments Reducing opioid use and unnecessary surgeries Supporting preventive screenings and chronic condition management Elevating member satisfaction across measures tied to the 2026 Stars program To request your copy, email [email protected]. Buyer's Guide: The Comprehensive Guide to MSK Care for Health Plans This companion report gives health plans a clear framework for improving MSK strategy, highlighting how fragmented, high cost pathways drive unnecessary imaging, procedures, and surgeries without resolving pain. It outlines four MSK care models and the key elements of a high value program such as physician led care, holistic support, non opioid management, strong engagement, and real claims based ROI. It also shows how solutions like Vori Health bring these components together through coordinated, hybrid access and measurable improvements in outcomes and cost. Inside you will find insights on Improving MSK access and coordination across care models Designing physician led, whole person programs that address root causes of pain Reducing unnecessary imaging, procedures, and surgeries Driving stronger engagement, better outcomes, and meaningful cost savings To request your copy, email [email protected]. Thank You to Our Episode Partner, Vori Health: Vori Health is a physician-led musculoskeletal care practice that delivers fast, evidence-based hybrid care for back, neck, and joint pain. Their whole person approach improves outcomes, reduces unnecessary MSK costs, and supports stronger Medicare Advantage Star Ratings. Learn more at vorihealth.com. Schedule a Meeting with a Dr. Mary O'Connor of Vori Health: To explore how Vori Health can help your organization strengthen whole person MSK care and support better Stars performance, reach out to [email protected] to schedule a meeting with Dr. Mary O'Connor, CMO and Co-founder, Vori Health. About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation.   We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.  

Recorded live at HLTH, this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare takes you inside Health2047, the venture studio founded by the American Medical Association to tackle some of healthcare's gnarliest problems. Host Eric Glazer sits down with Warren Templeton, Managing Director at Health2047, to explore how the AMA is backing founders at the earliest stages to reshape physician workflows, chronic disease management, and data liquidity. Warren shares how Health2047 partners with science- and clinician-led startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, wrapping founders with commercial strategy, clinical and billing expertise, and an evergreen capital model that matches healthcare's longer time horizons. He also unpacks why humility and conviction are the two non-negotiable traits he looks for in founders. You'll hear real-world examples from Health2047's portfolio, including: Zing Health – a Medicare Advantage plan built for underserved communities, rooted in social determinants of health and community-based design Phenomics Health – an obesity phenotyping company born from a "failed" diabetes prevention bet, now helping match patients to the right GLP-1s, procedures, and care pathways ScholarRx – a global medical education platform partnering with the WHO to enable high-quality "tertiary care in the wild" for clinicians around the world Warren and Eric also dig into: Why traditional 5–7 year VC timelines often clash with healthcare reality How to balance breakthrough science with practical workflow integration and commercial viability The impact KPIs Health2047 tracks beyond IRR, including lives and care teams impacted If you're a founder, investor, or healthcare leader trying to build something that actually works in the real world—not just on a pitch deck—this conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to design, fund, and scale the next generation of healthcare companies. Bio: https://health2047.com/leadership/warrentempleton/ References: Health2047's portfolio companies mentioned in the episode: Zing Health - https://www.myzinghealth.com/ Phenomics Health - https://www.phenomicshealth.com/ ScholarRx - https://scholarrx.com/ Partner with Bright Spots Ventures: If you are interested in speaking with the Bright Spots Ventures team to brainstorm how we can help you grow your business via content and relationships, email [email protected] About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare—proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Visit our website:  www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Follow Bright Spots in Healthcare: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shared-purpose-connect/

Guests:  Louis DeStefano, Chief Growth Officer, Oscar Health Jon Van Der Veer, DO, Founder & CEO, Hy-Vee Health In this special HLTH interview, Bright Spots in Healthcare host Eric Glazer speaks with two leaders shaping one of the most innovative payer–provider–retail collaborations in the country: Louis DeStefano, Chief Growth Officer, Oscar Health Jon Van Der Veer, DO, Founder & CEO, Hy-Vee Health Together, Oscar Health and Hy-Vee Health are building a new kind of health plan, one that blends local access, convenient care, primary care-first design, and tech-enabled member experience. Think of it as a hybrid model: part direct primary care, part advanced digital platform, part community-rooted retail ecosystem. This conversation dives into how the two organizations are integrating brick-and-mortar clinics, urgent care, pharmacy, SDOH-friendly retail access, and Oscar's tech stack, including "Oswell," Oscar's AI-powered clinical support tool, to deliver a personalized and coordinated experience. Topics We Cover: Why healthcare must be local, convenient, and relationship-driven How the partnership blends a supermarket chain, primary care clinics, and a tech-enabled health plan into one member experience How ICHRA is opening new doors for employer-driven personalization The role of AI and tools like Oswell in interpreting labs, improving communication, and augmenting care What a modern, scalable direct primary care model could look like The 10-year vision for this collaboration and where it expands next This episode offers a first look into a payer–retail–provider model that could reshape consumer expectations, and redefine how employer-sponsored and individual coverage works in the coming decade. References and Mentions: Learn more about the partnership between Oscar Health and Hy-Vee Health - https://www.hioscar.com/hy-vee-health Meet Oswell, Oscar Health's new health AI agent - https://www.hioscar.com/oswell  Dr. Garrison Bliss, widely recognized as the "Godfather of Direct Primary Care" -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrisonblissmd/ Bios: Louis DeStefano: https://hlth.com/events/usa/speakers/2025/louis-destefano Dr. Jon Van Der Veer: https://hlth.com/events/usa/speakers/2025/jon-van-der-veer Partner with Bright Spots Ventures: If you are interested in speaking with the Bright Spots Ventures team to brainstorm how we can help you grow your business via content and relationships, email [email protected] About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare—proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Visit our website:  www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Follow Bright Spots in Healthcare: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shared-purpose-connect/

In this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare, recorded live at the HLTH 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Eric Glazer sits down with Scott Arnold from Tampa General Hospital, one of the nation's leading academic health systems, to explore their ambitious digital transformation journey. The conversation dives deep into how TGH built a unified digital foundation across a large, geographically dispersed system, enabling them to scale AI solutions that deliver measurable impact on operations, patient care, and the clinician experience. Scott shares his blueprint for modernizing a major health system, moving AI from pilot project to enterprise-wide tool, and provides practical lessons for health system and health plan leaders seeking to reduce burnout, improve satisfaction, and bring innovation to scale. The conversation dives into: Why a single digital operating system, standardizing the EHR, analytics, and phone systems, is the non-negotiable foundation for scalable AI and consistent patient experience The function of TGH Ventures, the dedicated venture arm used to fund and rapidly implement market-vetted digital health solutions The strategy for prioritizing AI deployment by focusing on human-centric problems, such as clinician burnout and nursing staff turnover How TGH partnered with Palantir to create an AI-enabled Care Coordination Operating System (CCOS) that uses real-time data to optimize patient flow and predict risk The critical need for operational governance to prevent AI from being layered on fragmented infrastructure, which often leads to "faster chaos" Building a culture that is grounded in trust, speed, and experimentation to ensure the organization can keep pace with rapid technological evolution This discussion offers a pragmatic, replicable blueprint for any health system ready to modernize with intention and urgency, demonstrating how digital transformation can be grounded in practicality, not just hype. References: Charlie Munger's famous quote "Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on Earth" Learning from outside healthcare: Scott's view on "taking a page out of Apple" and applying consumer-grade principles to hospital system design Scott Arnold's Bio: https://www.tgh.org/about-tgh/tampa-general-hospital-leadership/scott-arnold Partner with Bright Spots Ventures: If you are interested in speaking with the Bright Spots Ventures team to brainstorm how we can help you grow your business via content and relationships, email [email protected] About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare—proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Visit our website:  www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com. Follow Bright Spots in Healthcare: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shared-purpose-connect/

In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together health system leaders transforming how care continues beyond the hospital stay—using digital coordination, subspecialization, and AI-enabled virtual care to reduce readmissions and improve patient experience. Our guests include: Matthew Sakumoto, MD, Medical Director, Connected Care Clinic, and Regional Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Sutter Health Sean O'Grady, President of Acute and Ambulatory Operations, Endeavor Health Sarah Schenck, MD, Executive Director, Center for Virtual Health, ChristianaCare Tina Nelson, Strategic Partnership Manager, TytoCare Together, they explore: How Sutter Health virtualized Transition-of-Care Management visits to improve post-discharge follow-up, eliminate transportation barriers, and connect hospitalists directly with patients at home. How Endeavor Health is scaling a subspecialized hospital model—combining orthopedics, spine, and cardiovascular centers of excellence with Epic-driven coordination to deliver big-system outcomes in community settings. How ChristianaCare's Center for Virtual Health delivers "high-frequency, low-intensity" primary care—83% asynchronously—supported by Patient Digital Ambassadors who create human-centered, always-on engagement. How TytoCare and Sanford Health are expanding specialty access across rural communities with FDA-cleared diagnostic technology that brings high-quality remote exams to local clinics. How digital tools and aligned incentives are building a new care ecosystem—one that integrates human connection, data, and technology to keep patients home, healthy, and connected. Panelist Bios: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/events/from-hospital-to-home-scaling-remote-specialty-care-to-close-gaps-and-reduce-readmissions/ Download the Episode Guide: Get key takeaways and expert highlights to help you apply lessons from the episode. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/EpisodeGuideFromHospitaltoHome.pdf  Key Insights Summary: Find key insights from the discussion, guest takeaways, and detailed moderator notes captured by Eric during the conversation. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Key-Insights-Summary-and-Erics-Notes-From-Hospital-to-Home_-Scaling-Remote-Specialty-Care-to-Close-Gaps-and-Reduce-Readmissions.docx.pdf  Resources:  Case Studies: Scaling remote exams to improve access, reduce costs, and enhance the patient experience These companion resources explore how digital care coordination, subspecialization, and virtual specialty models are reshaping transitions of care. It includes data and stories from Baptist Health and Sanford Health on how to reduce readmissions, enhance clinician satisfaction, and expand access. To request your copy, email [email protected]. Podcast Recommendation: Check out Access Amplified, brought to you by TytoCare and hosted by Joanna Braunold - a podcast about how digital health is helping increase access to care and equity, one innovation at a time. We'll shine a light on what's actually working to make care more accessible and  inclusive. If you're a healthcare leader, an innovator, a policy shaper, or anyone passionate about health equity, this podcast is for you. New episodes drop every two weeks. Follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.tytocare.com/resources/access-amplified/ Thank You to Our Episode Partner, TytoCare. TytoCare enables health systems and plans to deliver high-quality remote exams anytime, anywhere. Their FDA-cleared devices and AI-powered diagnostic platform support virtual specialty care, school-based programs, and home health models—reducing unnecessary ED visits and improving patient experience. To learn more, visit tytocare.com. Schedule a Meeting with a Senior Leader at TytoCare: To explore how TytoCare can help your organization expand virtual specialty access and improve care coordination, reach out to [email protected]  to schedule a meeting. About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation.   We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.  

In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer sits down with three leaders reshaping one of healthcare's most overlooked — yet mission-critical — functions: provider credentialing. Credentialing is the quiet infrastructure of trust in healthcare. When it's done right, patients get timely access to high-quality care, providers get paid faster, and health plans stay compliant. When it fails, backlogs grow, compliance risk skyrockets, provider satisfaction plummets, and member access suffers. Joining Eric for this discussion: Sandra Clarke, Former CFO & COO, Blue Shield of California Brett Dooies, Head of Product, Verifiable Janan Dave, VP of Operations, Verifiable Together, they explore how AI and automation are transforming credentialing from a slow, manual compliance task into a strategic capability that improves efficiency, trust, and network readiness. In this episode, you'll learn: Why credentialing sits at the intersection of compliance, provider experience, and member access How legacy processes, staffing limits, and messy data create hidden risk, and why backlogs can grow like quicksand Practical ways health plans are applying AI to reduce verification time, speed onboarding, and triage high-risk cases Why the most successful plans treat credentialing as infrastructure, not paperwork Key metrics to track when modernizing credentialing, including turnaround time, backlog clearance, audit readiness, and provider experience What to automate first,  and why humans still play a critical oversight role Bright Spots include: 97% automated verification in seconds across millions of records monthly New staffing and automation models that increase speed without compromising compliance Real-world examples where AI prevented risk exposure and accelerated network growth Leadership lessons in adopting AI responsibly and avoiding the "lift-and-shift" trap   This conversation offers payer leaders a real-world playbook to modernize credentialing and strengthen the foundation of your healthcare organization. Panelist Bios: Sandra Clarke is a healthcare executive and board advisor with over 25 years of experience leading finance, operations, and large-scale transformation across payer, provider, and life sciences organizations. As former CFO and COO of Blue Shield of California, she oversaw $25B in annual revenue and spearheaded initiatives delivering $700M in annualized savings while reimagining the company's pharmacy care model. Clarke has also held senior leadership roles at Daiichi Sankyo and Philips Healthcare and serves on multiple healthcare boards. She holds degrees from MIT, Bentley University, and Seton Hall University School of Law. Janan Dave is the VP of Operations at Verifiable, a start-up offering software and services solutions for healthcare organizations to ease the challenges surrounding provider network management. Janan has a background in public health and health policy, and has spent the last decade helping scale operations at various healthcare startups. She is passionate about building smart solutions to reduce waste in the healthcare system, and promote better care especially for the aging population, family caregivers, and women. Janan studied public health at the University of Pennsylvania, and lives in Brooklyn, NY. Brett Dooies is the Head of Product at Verifiable, where he leads the development of AI-powered solutions to simplify healthcare credentialing and monitoring. With a decade of experience building enterprise software, he specializes in applying advanced AI and analytics to enhance the customer experience and deliver transformative solutions. Drawing on his background in modernizing banking software, Brett is dedicated to creating products that drive operational excellence, uphold regulatory compliance, and improve data accuracy for Verifiable's partners, helping them scale with confidence in a complex ecosystem. Resources: MIT Sloan "Internet of AI Agents: State of AI in Business 2025" report finds that although over 80 % of organizations have piloted generative AI tools, only around 5 % have achieved meaningful business transformation—a gap dubbed the "GenAI Divide". It highlights that the primary barrier isn't model technology or regulation, but rather the failure of AI systems to integrate deeply into workflows, learn from feedback, and scale beyond the pilot stage. https://mlq.ai/media/quarterly_decks/v0.1_State_of_AI_in_Business_2025_Report.pdf Thank you to our Episode Partner, Verifiable: Verifiable is a credentialing and network monitoring platform built to help healthcare organizations optimize operations with error-free, fast verifications and to stay compliant with ease. Backed by their in-house NCQA certified credentialing team that bring a combined 60+ years of experience, Verifiable's innovation supports managing trusted networks at scale through 97% verification automation in seconds with millions processing each month. Verifiable works with leading healthcare organizations such as Humana Dental, Zelis, Talkspace, Headway, Empower Pharmacy, and many others.   Learn more about them at https://verifiable.com/ Want to go deeper or schedule a briefing with Verifiable? Email [email protected] and we'll coordinate time with the Verifiable team to discuss how their approach can help your plan reduce costs, accelerate onboarding, and strengthen network integrity. About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation.   We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.  

In this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare, we explore how human-centered design can uncover breakthrough solutions already hiding in plain sight. Dr. Kristian Olson, Vice President of Design Impact at Mass General Brigham and leader of the Springboard Studio, shares how slowing down to understand problems leads to faster, more effective innovation. The conversation dives into: The four pillars of effective healthcare innovation: design research, prototyping, supported implementation, and impact measurement How "stupidest ideas" exercises and question storming unlock creative solutions in frontline staff meetings Real results from Salem Hospital's mobility speedometer (300% increase in patient movement, reduced length of stay) The COVID testing booth prototype that saved $1 million per year while reducing gown usage by 97% Developing low-cost neonatal resuscitation devices in Uganda and India that improved ventilation skills Why frontline staff must be co-creators, not just implementers, of healthcare solutions This discussion offers practical frameworks for health plans, hospitals, and healthcare leaders looking to harness their teams' ingenuity and drive measurable improvement. Guest Bio: https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/17235/kris-olson Resources & References MGB Springboard Studio: www.mgbspringboardstudio.org Augmented Infant Resuscitator: ebinnovations.net Positive Deviance approach to solving malnutrition in Vietnam (referenced as inspiration) Partner with Bright Spots Ventures: If you are interested in speaking with the Bright Spots Ventures team to brainstorm how we can help you grow your business via content and relationships, email [email protected] About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare—proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.