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Arti Masturzo comes from a family of doctors.

A board-certified physician in internal medicine, Masturzo grew up in a village in India, where her grandfather was a doctor in a small village.

Today, Masturzo is the chief medical officer of CCS, a provider of care programs and home-delivered medical supplies for patients with chronic conditions. She served as a vice president at Humana, and she’s worked as a medical director at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Kentucky and UC Health in Cincinnati.

Masturzo describes herself as a passionate advocate for value-based care. Even with her vast experience, she has gained new insights into healthcare as a patient.

In the spring, Masturzo shared that she is battling breast cancer. In the latest episode of Data Book, a podcast from 

, she talks about her journey and the patient’s perspective of the healthcare industry.

“It's been truly transformational, for someone who bleeds healthcare and really wants value-based care, for someone who wants healthcare to change for the better,” Masturzo says. “And sometimes things happen for a reason. I needed this insight. And this insight has truly changed me as a person, professionally and personally.”

“And I would say, from a healthcare executive standpoint, I would sum it up as: it is really scary to be a patient,” she continues. “The care is extremely siloed. The incentives are not aligned for my best health. The people doing the work are burned out, exhausted. And there is no one reaching across the table from payer and provider, health system, patient, all the other supporting, ancillary things that you need. There's no connection.”

Masturzo says she’s been getting exceptional care from her doctors and nurses, and some of those treating her are friends and former colleagues. But she also shares the problems that could impede patient care and add stress to an already difficult time.

While healthcare apps are making it more convenient to schedule appointments or see test results, Masturzo also said patients shouldn’t learn about a suspicion of cancer on the app, as she did.

“There is an app that gives me data results before my doctor sees them, which is, by the way, very scary, if you're not a doctor,” Masturzo says. “I learned that I had cancer before my doctor did, so if that tells you something. I'm a physician. So I can process this, right? How does someone who doesn't have a medical background, or doesn't have an advocate with them, get through this?”

Masturzo talks about the need to move toward value-based care and away from the fee-for-service model.

“We are all doing one-off care when we do health care,” she says. “It is not a well-orchestrated thing as it should be. And the quarterback, the person who really should be quarterbacking isn't really connected to all the other things that are happening, isn't paid to be connected to all the things that are happening, because it's a fee-for-service world. And this doesn't work.”

Masturzo discusses the need to consider all of the social drivers of a patient’s health, including economic challenges such as food and housing insecurity, to loneliness, which can be a problem for anyone regardless of income.

Her advice for physicians is simple. “Just put yourself in my shoes,” she says.

And she reminds everyone of the importance of regular screenings.

“Don't skip your cancer screenings,” she says. “I was this close to not getting my mammogram this year, because I had a normal one and thought, ‘I'm not at risk.’ So don't skip your cancer screenings.

“And then for those who are patients, I would say: Advocate for yourself.”

In a fascinating discussion, she talks about the fears patients have; the need for better and more empathetic communication; the importance of meeting patients’ emotional needs; having help available when a patient needs it and not just at a support group that meets every few weeks; designing technology and apps with the perspective of patients and doctors; the words patients need to hear and the well-meaning questions that shouldn’t be asked.

Arti Masturzo, the chief medical officer of CCS, talks about her diagnosis of breast cancer and how the healthcare industry needs to do better for patients.

Lessons from a doctor fighting cancer: ‘It’s really scary to be a patient’ | Data Book podcast

James Quarles says he wasn’t necessarily looking for a healthcare role.

After previously serving as CEO of Strava, the social network for athletes, Quarles is now a venture chair at Redesign Health, which has launched 50 healthcare startup companies in less than six years.

In the latest episode of Data Book, a podcast from 

, Quarles talks about what healthcare startup companies should be doing as they try to bring new solutions to market.

“We build healthcare companies,” Quarles says. “That is what we're in the business of doing. And we don't do devices. We don't do molecules. I think everything that's in the middle of enabling clinicians, payer, provider tech-enabled services, that's where those 50 businesses largely lie.”

He says his time as CEO of Strata helped prepare him for his current role. “That was just a very neat place to learn about digital wellness,” he says.

Health tech companies need to design products with equity in mind

In a lively conversation, Quarles talks about the ingredients of successful startups, what founders should be doing, and some common mistakes that should be avoided.

Quarles stresses the importance of having a narrow focus and not attempting to bite off too much in the development of a young company.

“I always say startups die actually of indigestion, not starvation,” he says.

Quarles outlines the continued challenges for funding for digital health startup companies, and the importance of developing solutions that can be scaled. He highlights the need for designing technology that can be integrated into healthcare solutions and designed for very specific uses. Echoing other healthcare business leaders, Quarles says 

some tech solutions aren’t being designed with clinicians in mind

Quarles also sheds light on how Redesign Health decides when a company is worth backing. The company researches proposals and then helps recruit founders to launch health tech companies.

“It's this art honestly, combined with science, and trying to figure out when do we have enough signal to say it's a big market, and we think we can make a difference to it,” Quarles says.

While the concept of disruption is popular in business, Quarles says there’s a need to work with hospitals and payers in overcoming their challenges.

“I think there's great problems to solve with incumbents who just are in the system,” Quarles says. “Big health systems have lots of problems and challenges. The payers have large challenges. And so, for as much as there's this concept of disrupting the system, I think we all like to build with the system.”

The former CEO of Strava is now a venture chair for Redesign Health, which has launched dozens of companies. He talks about the ingredients for success and some all-too-common mistakes. 

James Quarles of Redesign Health talks about starting healthcare companies | Data Book podcast

Adrienne Boissy focuses on empathy and values.

“I’ve got a big fire in my belly for reducing suffering and creating more joy,” she says.

Boissy is the chief medical officer of Qualtrics, a software company that helps organizations learn more about their customers in order to build better experiences. She’s a neurologist who takes care of patients with multiple sclerosis at the Cleveland Clinic, where she worked for years as the chief experience officer.

In the latest Data Book podcast, she talks about the importance of organizations living their values. As she notes, hospitals can cite empathy as a core value, but they must demonstrate that to their patients and workers.

“As healthcare tries to differentiate itself, in today's world, with a lot of different competitors, and a lot of different models of care, you're seeing people double down on experience as a differentiator,” she tells 

She also talks about the importance of demonstrating empathy to patients, which includes ensuring they are able to get appointments with doctors without waiting for months.

Health systems also show empathy by ensuring patients can get the care they need and aren’t foregoing treatment because they can’t afford it or they’re worried about medical debt. 

One in three patients postponed care because of the costs

, according to a recent Qualtrics survey.

In a wide-ranging interview, Boissy discusses the need to treat employees well to improve patient care and the bottom line. She talks about the dangers of toxic leaders, who can siphon the joy out of workers and the impact on patient care. And she talks about the growing desires for consumers to have the same convenience in healthcare as they get from other industries.

If hospitals and health systems want to create a better experience, Boissy says leaders must drive that change.

“I think it starts with the values of the organization,” she says, “and executive leadership being crystal clear about: Who do you want to be?”

The chief medical officer of Qualtrics, Boissy talks about organizations living their values, improving access, and how empathy provides a great return on investment.

Adrienne Boissy of Qualtrics talks about the patient experience | Data Book podcast

Sanjeev Agrawal says hospitals can no longer view efficiency as a luxury item.

Hospitals are going to need to become more efficient and excel at operations in order to stay afloat, said Agrawal, the president and chief operating officer of 

“I believe hospitals are facing in 2023, the 1999 moment that airlines faced, where you've got to become operationally excellent, or you either will get acquired or worse, you might not survive,” he says. “I understand why hospitals are so far behind because they're so under invested in what is the key driver of competitiveness in every other industry.”

In the latest episode of the Data Book podcast, Agrawal talks about the need for hospitals and health systems to turn to technology. LeanTaaS provides software solutions for hospitals to expand their capacity to schedule more surgeries and serve more patients. LeanTaaS works with more than 175 health systems and 625 hospitals, and about 5,000 operating rooms.

“Think about LeanTaaS as a company that helps hospitals optimize the use of constrained capacity.”

, a company that provides automation solutions for health systems. And he discusses why hospitals need to embrace technology, and how they serve more patients and reduce stress on their staff.

In our latest episode, the president of the healthcare technology company talks about the need to embrace technology so hospitals can survive.

Sanjeev Agrawal of LeanTaaS says efficiency is a 'requirement' for hospitals | Data Book podcast

Many patients in the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to have poor health outcomes, or simply avoid treatment, because of fears of bias and discrimination, C.K. Wang says.

He's the chief medical officer of COTA, a tech company that analyzes data to advance cancer care. He talked with 

 about the disparities in care and outcomes in the latest episode of the Data Book podcast. 

Wang talked about the ways that data can be used to achieve health equity, particularly for the  LGBTQ+ community, or the sexual and gender diverse (SGD) population.

He talked about the importance of getting better data to improve outcomes, and the need to build trust. Many in the sexual and gender diverse population “delayed or avoided receiving needed medical care or preventative screenings in the past year, because of disrespect, or discrimination from the doctor, or other health care providers,” Wang says.

SGD patients with cancer often have significantly worse survival rates than other patients. They disproportionately experience certain cancers, such as anal, colorectal, breast, cervical, prostate, and lung cancer, he says.

Wang talked about the importance of building trust with patients from the LGBTQ+ community.

“I have found that when patients trust their clinicians, they will provide them with the accurate and necessary data,” Wang says. “And I always say that the fundamental tenets to building trust are education and transparency.”

“I think that this transparency will help garner trust from the patients that you are doing the right thing for them,” he says, adding that providing their health information “will ultimately lead to their improved experience, and care.”

He also talks about the need for better medical education in treating the SGD community, and the importance of better training in health systems as well.

“Health systems can start by offering training programs to all their staff, you know, on SGD topics,” Wang says.

In addition, health systems and hospitals need to “create a safe place” for SGD patients, he adds.

C.K. Wang of COTA talks about the disparities in outcomes for the sexual and gender diverse population. He talks about the need for more information and improved training for clinicians.

Seeking better data, and better health outcomes, for LGBTQ+ patients | Data Book podcast

Mimi Winsberg says she’s seeing encouraging results in providing mental health services via telehealth.

Winsberg is the chief medical officer and co-founder of Brightside Health, a telehealth company focusing on mental health.

“Our goal is to deliver life-changing mental healthcare to individuals who have everything from mild to severe clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. We are even treating patients who have elevated suicidal risk,” Winsberg says.

Brightside Health is aiming to offer more options to patients as many areas face a shortage of mental health professionals.

“More than half the counties in the United States don't have a single psychiatrist, so we have an access problem,” Winsberg says. “And we have a problem of suicidal patients not being often able to get the appropriate care.”

Where telehealth can help patients and providers avoid in-person care

Some studies have shown telehealth has been successful in 

treating patients with substance use disorder

a high level of accuracy in telehealth diagnoses in psychiatry and other areas

“What we're seeing is that telehealth can actually provide some benefits,” Winsberg says. “Yes, you can't do a physical exam over telehealth. But in behavioral health conditions, that's often not necessary. Most of the time it’s not necessary. What you can do with a telehealth platform is incorporate other features that really can drive great outcomes.”

Winsberg discusses some of the opportunities for telehealth to meet the needs of patients who can’t easily access care.

Telehealth “can take that geography problem out of the equation,” she says.

 offers free, 24/7 support for those in distress. Call or text 988.

DEA allows telehealth flexibilities to continue until at least November

She talks about the opportunities to meet the needs of patients who don't have easy access to mental health services and what must be done to expand telehealth.

Mimi Winsberg of Brightside Health talks about expanding mental health services | Data Book podcast

Artificial intelligence is being touted as having the potential to revolutionize healthcare.

Joe Zabinski says that the future may not be too far away.

“In terms of how close we are to this having widespread adoption, I think we're closer than most people realize, because so much of it goes on behind the scenes,” he says.

Zabinski, the senior director of AI and personalized medicine at OM1, is the guest on the latest episode of the Data Book podcast.

He sees AI as having great promise in helping diagnose conditions and identify patients who are in the greatest need of screenings for certain areas.

“That's a very promising area for AI to help out with diagnosis,” he says.

Zabinski talked about the ways AI can change healthcare, and how artificial intelligence could be used to improve health equity, or potentially worsen disparities if it’s used incorrectly. He also talked about the potential of ChatGPT to change the industry, and could eventually help physicians and researchers. 

He also talked about the need for more health systems to move toward automation to handle some administrative tasks, especially in light of staffing shortages.

Artificial intelligence and its potential to change healthcare

In the latest episode, he talks about how artificial intelligence can change the practice of medicine, its promise and some thorny ethical questions.

Data Book podcast: Joe Zabinski of OM1 talks about AI and ChatGPT

Tom Cotter spends time thinking about things that would keep some people up at night.

Cotter is president and executive director of Healthcare Ready, a nonprofit organization that works with the health sector to ensure sufficient supplies of pharmaceuticals and other needed supplies for disasters. He talks about the organization’s work in the latest Data Book podcast.

Healthcare Ready was founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and coordinates information sharing between the healthcare sector and supply chain entities.

In light of shortages of key drugs such as albuterol and children’s ibuprofen in recent months, Cotter says, “We need to understand where's the data that is useful for decision makers to take action.”

“I think people think there's more visibility and transparency than there actually is in the supply chain, especially in the healthcare sector,” Cotter says.

Cotter says the supply chain “is more of a supply web. And there's a lot of interdependencies.”

“I think what we need to now do, in general, you know, at a high level, is make sure we're institutionalizing the lessons learned from the past couple of years, and not just from COVID-19,” he adds.

In our latest episode, Cotter talks about his nonprofit organization that helps the health sector prepare for emergencies, and the need for more data to manage the supply chain.


Data Book podcast: Tom Cotter of Healthcare Ready on preparing for disaster

In our latest episode of the Data Book podcast, Justin Norden talks about the emergence of ChatGPT and what it means for healthcare.

Norden is a physician who teaches about digital health at Stanford Medicine. He’s also a partner at GSR Ventures, an investment firm focusing on early stage digital health companies. In this conversation, he talks about how AI is going to eventually touch every part of the healthcare journey.

Growing up in a family of physicians, he graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine. He became fascinated with the idea of merging technology and healthcare. He helped start the Stanford Center for Digital Health.

As Norden says, “You can’t spend that long in Silicon Valley without starting a few companies of your own.” He was CEO and co-founder of Trustworthy AI, which was acquired by Waymo, Google’s self-driving vehicle company. He also worked on the healthcare team at Apple. He’s been at GSR Ventures for nearly four years.

ChatGPT could be the fastest-growing consumer technology project ever, Norden says.

When asked about ChatGPT’s implication for healthcare, Norden says, “That is the million, if not billion dollar question.”

Justin teaches about digital health at Stanford Medicine and is a partner at GSR Ventures. He talks about the potential of ChatGPT, the ethical questions, and how AI will transform the industry.

Data Book podcast: Justin Norden talks about ChatGPT and AI in healthcare

In this episode of the Data Book podcast, we talked with Ajay Khanna, the CEO of Tellius.

Tellius, a technology firm, operates an AI-driven decision intelligence platform. Khanna talks about machine learning and artificial intelligence, and its potential to help healthcare organizations gain new insights into their operations in areas ranging from hospital readmissions to supply chain challenges.

Khanna also talks about "decision intelligence," which he describes as bringing the what, why and how together. With AI, and decision intelligence, organizations can gain better insights into trends, such as why patients are choosing a certain medication.

And he talks about the steps needed for healthcare organizations to move forward and embrace new technologies. "It's a culture change," Khanna says. But it's also about gaining greater ease with AI and other new technologies.

Reminder: You can subscribe to Data Book on Apple, Spotify, Google, iHeart Radio and virtually everywhere you get your podcasts.

In the latest episode, Ajay Khanna explains how healthcare organizations can use artificial intelligence to gain new insights into their business. 

Data Book podcast: Ajay Khanna, Tellius CEO, talks about 'decision intelligence'

The tech giant touts the potential to reduce administrative burdens on doctors. 

Oracle says it’s bringing AI to make electronic health records easier to use

CAQH welcomes a new chief executive officer, and other leaders take new roles.

AdventHealth appoints regional chief clinical officer, and more | MED MOVES

The health system and the retailer have seen good results in remote care management. Best Buy has been aiming to make a mark in healthcare. 


Geisinger and the Geek Squad: Expanding home care with Best Buy Health

Researchers completed the first comprehensive analysis on telemedicine in skilled nursing facilities. Many nursing homes aren’t utilizing virtual visits.

Telehealth and nursing homes: 9 takeaways from a key study

Hospitals can benefit from additional revenue and increased capability. Surgeons can perform more cases and nurses can have more consistent schedules. 

The benefits of improved hospital and clinic scheduling workflows | Viewpoint

As hospitals face more ransomware attacks, Steve Cagle says top executives and boards must make cybersecurity a high priority throughout the organization.

Cagle, the CEO of Clearwater, a cybersecurity firm, outlined some steps in a recent interview with 

“I think it starts all the way at the level board. It's important to establish a culture of cybersecurity," Cagle says. "Cybersecurity is everybody's job. And it has to be thought of that way. It has to be something that we're thinking about constantly."

Hospital CEOs must make cybersecurity an organization-wide mission, and he says leaders must tie cybersecurity to patient care.

“For healthcare providers, of course, core to the mission is treating patients and we can't treat patients effectively when the organization is being crippled by a cyber incident, or when we have hundreds of thousands or millions, or any number of records that are being compromised, that are very sensitive in nature,” he says.

Cagle says it’s important for all areas of the hospital to focus on improving defenses against ransomware attacks and developing detailed plans to respond when an attack occurs. Hospitals need to determine which systems must be restored first, and he says health systems need strong business continuity plans and disaster recovery plans.

“That's a very good way of getting business people involved in the conversation,” Cagle says. “And it brings a lot of attention to how important it is that those systems are running.”

Health leaders must recognize that ransomware attacks aren’t just costly and disruptive, Cagle says. 

“We've seen so many ransomware attacks, even some in the last 60 days, at hospitals that have forced those hospitals to shut down their systems, canceled surgeries, ambulances diverted from emergency rooms, test results that are just not available,” he says. “Because, you know, those systems have been unfortunately compromised. So even when we're running manual backups, we're not able to deliver the same level of care that we could if all of our systems are running.”

Read more from Chief Healthcare Executive

The 10 biggest health data breaches in the first half of 2023

He outlines steps hospital leaders should take to ensure that cybersecurity is a top priority throughout the organization.

Clearwater CEO Steve Cagle on building a culture of cybersecurity

There are significant risks when hospitals pay the ransom in a cyberattack, security experts say.

Hundreds of hospitals and health systems have suffered cyberattacks in recent years

, and many have agreed to pay the ransom. Federal authorities and most cybersecurity experts advise organizations against paying ransom demands, arguing that they encourage additional attacks and reward criminal groups.

In our special report, experts tell Chief Healthcare Executive that health systems should avoid paying if possible and focus on improving their defenses.



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