Your Life is Worth the Work: From Episodic Treatment to Continuous Recovery with Chris Thompson, founder and CEO of Sober Sidekick

Recovery outcomes improve when support is continuous, trust-based, and built around human connection rather than episodic treatment alone. In this episode, Chris Thompson, founder and CEO of Sober Sidekick, shares how his personal experience with addiction inspired him to build a platform focused on reducing isolation and providing real-time support. He explains why relapse, overdose, and crises often occur outside traditional care settings, where support is limited. The platform addresses this gap through peer support, behavioral signals, and care navigation to engage people when it matters most. Chris also critiques traditional treatment incentives and emphasizes the need for a more empathetic, proactive, and trust-based approach to long-term recovery. Tune in and learn how always-on, empathy-driven support can help people sustain recovery and rethink how addiction care is delivered! Resources: Connect with and follow Chris Thomson on LinkedIn. Learn more about Sober Sidekick by Empathy Health Tech on their LinkedIn and explore their website.

Healthcare resilience depends on more than cybersecurity alone; it requires a broader view of risk, readiness, and the ability to act before disruption spreads. In this episode, Ed Gaudet, CEO and founder of Censinet, returns to discuss the growing momentum in healthcare risk, governance, and AI. He explains how the industry has moved from early curiosity about AI to a focus on practical implementation, measurable value, and real outcomes. Ed shares Censinet’s latest work in benchmarking cybersecurity and AI governance maturity, along with its expansion into systemic risk to strengthen organizational resiliency. He also highlights the company’s GRC AI vision, including agentic capabilities designed to move healthcare organizations from passive documentation to more actionable, connected governance. Tune in to learn how healthcare leaders can think more broadly about resiliency, embrace AI with intention, and build systems that are better prepared for disruption.  Resources: Connect with and follow Ed Gaudet on LinkedIn. Follow Censinet on LinkedIn and explore their website! Listen to Risk Never Sleeps Podcast here.

Clinical decision support only works when it fits naturally into the workflow and helps clinicians act without adding more friction. In this episode, Bo Bartholomew, CEO and chairman of EvidenceCare, shares how his experience as a hospital administrator shaped his focus on improving care and clinical operations. He explains how EvidenceCare embeds insights and decision support directly into the electronic health record, replacing manual processes with workflow-friendly automation. Bo discusses how the platform supports clinical, care management, and financial leaders by improving documentation, reducing administrative burden, and enabling better decisions at the point of care. He also emphasizes that real value in AI comes from solving clear problems without disrupting security or clinical workflows. Tune in to learn how smarter clinical decision support can give providers more time, improve operational efficiency, and create meaningful value for hospitals. Resources: Connect with and follow Bo Bartholomew on LinkedIn! Follow EvidenceCare on LinkedIn and explore their website! Email Bo Bartholomew: [email protected]

What if the biggest barrier to better behavioral health outcomes isn’t access to data, but how carefully we protect it? In this episode, Helen Oscislawski, a healthcare data privacy and interoperability attorney, explains that behavioral health and substance use data require stricter privacy protections due to their sensitivity and history of misuse, and are governed by laws such as 42 CFR Part 2. She highlights how modern interoperability and AI create new opportunities to share data more precisely, but also introduce greater legal and ethical risks. Updated regulations now allow more flexible data sharing to improve care coordination, while introducing stronger enforcement and penalties for non-compliance. She emphasizes that success depends on “privacy by design,” strong governance, and a deep understanding of consent frameworks to preserve patient trust. Tune in to learn how smarter consent, stronger privacy frameworks, and better governance can unlock safer, more effective data sharing in behavioral health! Resources: Connect with and follow Helen Oscislawski on LinkedIn. Follow Attorneys Oscislawski LLC on LinkedIn and visit their website. Check out the Legal HIE website.

Better cardiovascular care starts with better visibility, and too often, the right insights arrive too late. In this episode, Marc Zemel, CEO of Retia Medical, shares the personal story that led him from engineering into medtech after losing his father to sudden cardiac arrest. He explains how Retia is rethinking cardiovascular monitoring by moving beyond bedside hardware into software-driven, distributed intelligence that leverages data hospitals already collect. Marc discusses the recent FDA clearance of Argos Infinity, Retia’s cardiovascular intelligence software platform, and how it expands access to advanced hemodynamic insight across operating rooms, ICUs, and tele-ICU environments. He also highlights why traditional monitoring models have been too limited, how earlier detection can reduce costly delays in care, and why hospitals now need technologies that help clinicians do more with fewer resources. Tune in to learn how distributed cardiovascular intelligence could help clinicians detect deterioration earlier, improve outcomes, and reshape how critical care decisions are made! Resources: Connect with and follow Marc Zemel on LinkedIn. Follow Retia Medical on LinkedIn and explore their website! Read more about Argos Infinity and Retia’s recent FDA clearance here.

What if the biggest problem in healthcare tech isn’t the tech at all, but the data behind it? In this episode, Megan Schmidt, President and CEO of Madaket Health, and Nicole Berryman, SVP of Growth and Partnerships at Verisys, expose how healthcare’s provider data problem stems from poor data quality, not a lack of technology. The industry’s pursuit of a single “golden record” is misguided, as provider data is constantly changing and must be continuously monitored and refreshed. A data-first approach, focused on clean, validated, and actively managed data, is essential before applying technology. By partnering across credentialing, monitoring, and enrollment, organizations can create a more accurate, efficient, and proactive data ecosystem. Tune in to hear why chasing the “golden record” may be holding healthcare back, and what a true data-first strategy looks like in practice! Resources: Connect with and follow Megan Schmidt on LinkedIn. Follow Madaket Health on LinkedIn and explore their website! Connect with and follow Nicole Berryman on LinkedIn. Follow Verisys on LinkedIn and explore their website!

Mental health care works better when access is timely, care is coordinated, and patients receive the right support before their needs escalate. In this episode, Lindsay Arnold Sugden, CEO of SOL Mental Health, joins Saul Marquez to discuss what it takes to build a mental health organization centered on access, collaboration, and clinical excellence. Lindsay shares how SOL Mental Health serves as a front door to care through a broad outpatient model that supports adults, children, adolescents, and couples, both in person and virtually. She explains why untreated behavioral health conditions drive major downstream medical costs, why primary care clinicians need stronger behavioral health partners, and why patient education is essential when people do not know what kind of help they need. Lindsay also highlights SOL’s W-2 employment model, weekly supervision structure, and commitment to building a more connected, less fragmented care experience for patients and providers alike. Tune in to learn how thoughtful mental health care delivery can improve patient outcomes, strengthen provider partnerships, and reduce avoidable costs across the healthcare system. Resources: Connect with and follow Lindsay Arnold Sugden on LinkedIn. Follow  SOL Mental Health on LinkedIn and discover their website. Connect with SOL Mental Health on Facebook.

Behavioral addictions like gambling are real behavioral health conditions, not character flaws, and they can hide in plain sight. In this episode, Davina Mena, Tribal Liaison for the Arizona Division of Problem Gambling, explains how behavioral addictions work and why gambling is often misunderstood, including how it can rewire the brain’s reward system much like substance use disorders. She describes how gambling addiction can surface at work through distraction, missed time, stress, and financial pressure, even when individuals appear high-functioning. Davina offers practical guidance for families and individuals, emphasizing empathy, healthy boundaries, honest self-checks, and awareness of local resources. She also urges providers to integrate brief screening questions into routine care and discusses the unique realities for tribal communities, where casinos support economic sovereignty while still posing risks that deserve proactive attention. Tune in to better understand behavioral addictions, reduce stigma, and learn concrete ways families, providers, and communities can respond. Resources: Connect with and follow Davina Mena on LinkedIn. Follow the Arizona Department of Gaming on LinkedIn.  Learn more about the Arizona Department of Gaming’s Problem Gambling Division on their website. Take the Problem Gambling Self-screening Quiz here. If someone you know is struggling with a gambling addiction, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or the national helpline at 1-800-GAMBLER for confidential support.

AI in healthcare only works when it is built for real workflows, real systems, and real change management. In this episode, Ganesh Padmanabhan, Founder and CEO of Autonomize AI, joins Saul Marquez to unpack what it really takes to deploy AI in healthcare operations at scale. Ganesh shares why many point solutions create islands of efficiency instead of fixing end-to-end processes, and why prompting an LLM is the easy part compared to building production-ready AI that integrates into enterprise systems, meets compliance requirements, and earns clinical trust. He also offers a practical playbook for implementation: anticipate the trust gap, design for behavior change, and treat deployment as a true team sport across tech, clinical, ops, and compliance. Tune in to learn how to move beyond AI hype and build operational AI that delivers measurable value in healthcare! Resources: Connect with and follow Ganesh Padmanabhan on LinkedIn. Follow  Autonomize AI on LinkedIn and discover their website. Check out Ganesh’s podcast,  Stories in AI.

In this episode, Saul is joined by Mariya Filipova, CEO at Proclaim, a renowned healthcare executive, investor, and now Course Director at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. The conversation centers on the concept of Care Convergence, a vital shift in healthcare delivery that moves away from traditional, siloed treatment toward a "whole-person" approach.  Mariya explains that the current healthcare system is often hampered by quarterly financial cycles and fragmented clinician training, which fail to account for the interconnected nature of the human body. She emphasizes that true systemic change begins with education, leading her to co-design a first-of-its-kind program at Harvard. This curriculum is specifically built to connect clinicians and innovators with the business, technology, and cross-disciplinary skills necessary to lead the next generation of integrated care delivery. Tune in to discover how bridging the gap between clinical practice and business strategy can dismantle healthcare silos and finally put the whole patient at the center of the system. Resources: Register for the webinar here:  https://bit.ly/4uj014j Apply now to the Convergent Leadership: Bridging Clinical Care, Business, and Technology: https://web.cvent.com/event/746b6bcb-1d12-4082-9c8c-c68c8b9e85fb/register Connect with and follow Mariya Filipova on LinkedIn. Follow Harvard School of Dental Medicine on LinkedIn. Explore the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Website. Follow Proclaim on LinkedIn. Explore the Proclaim Website.