The 229 Podcast

January 29, 2026: Reid Stephan, VP and CIO of St. Luke's Health System, sits down with Sangeet Paul Choudary, author of “Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy”, to challenge the way leaders look at how AI will affect their workflow. Sangeet reveals how AI doesn't just augment workers—it restructures entire organizational systems and redistributes power. From AI scribes to the lessons of Walmart's barcode revolution, this conversation exposes why task-level optimization misses the point entirely. Healthcare leaders ready to think beyond automation will find a roadmap for reimagining workflows, identities, and competitive landscapes in an AI-native world.
Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealth
Key Points:
06:46 AI in Healthcare: The AI Scribe Example
10:23 Learning from Other Industries
18:15 Coordination Without Consensus
24:01 Mindset Shifts for Healthcare Leaders

X: This Week Health
LinkedIn: This Week Health
Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

January 26, 2026: Fresh from J.P. Morgan 2026, the This Week Health team joins Zahid Rathore, Senior Partner at Chartis, to dissect healthcare's new reality. With Epic and Microsoft topping CFO spend lists and unpredictability replacing planning cycles, one thing is clear: vendors must prove bankable ROI immediately or lose the deal. The conversation explores how healthcare leaders are protecting the core while navigating AI agents, third-party risks, and the compression of innovation timelines from three-year returns to prove-it-tomorrow expectations.
Key Points:
02:44 Hotel Experience and Healthcare Lessons
04:13 JP Morgan Conference Highlights
16:35 Operational Challenges in Healthcare
22:11 Security Concerns and Future Outlook

January 22, 2026: Aneesh Chopra, Chief Strategy Officer at Arcadia and former first U.S. Chief Technology Officer, joins Bill Russell to discuss the transformative health tech ecosystem. Aneesh reveals how major EHR vendors, tech giants like OpenAI and Google, and health systems have committed to democratizing patient data access by March 2026. The conversation explores how AI-powered health information fiduciaries will revolutionize healthcare delivery, the implications of the one big beautiful bill for Medicaid work requirements, and why this moment represents healthcare's shift from supply-side regulation to demand-driven innovation that could finally deliver higher quality care at lower costs.

Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealth

Key Points:
04:14 Regulatory Innovations and Trust Models
14:46 Consumer Health Information and AI Fiduciaries
23:07 Healthcare System Strategies and Future Directions
38:04 Closing Remarks and Future Engagement

X: This Week Health
LinkedIn: This Week Health
Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

January 21, 2026: Abhishek Begerhotta, CEO of 314e Corporation, shares battle-tested insights from over 25 years in healthcare IT, including his pivotal role in Kaiser Permanente's landmark Epic implementation. From surviving IBM's clinical system cancellation to building a product-focused company specializing in EHR migrations, Abhishek reveals the hidden complexities of moving massive healthcare datasets and why the wave of Oracle Cerner migrations isn't slowing down. He discusses innovative AI-powered solutions for document management and just-in-time training that are transforming how health systems approach data conversion and staff enablement.
Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealth
Key Points:
03:32 Challenges in EHR Data Migration
12:03 Innovations in Just-in-Time Training
15:57 Intelligent Document Management
18:37 Final Thoughts and Advice for CIOs

X: This Week Health
LinkedIn: This Week Health
Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

January 19, 2026: Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson unpack OpenAI's two major healthcare announcements that could fundamentally reshape how patients interact with their health data—and how health systems govern AI. ChatGPT Health promises to finally deliver on the personal health record dream, letting patients aggregate everything from Apple Health to medical records in one secure place. Meanwhile, ChatGPT for Healthcare gives CIOs the governed sandbox they've been desperate for. Hear why patient data monetization, clinical trial recruitment, and the shift from provider liability to patient empowerment could make this time actually different.
Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealth
Key Points:
05:00 ChatGPT Health Announcement
17:40 Personalized GPT and Analytics in Healthcare
22:05 Wearable Health Tech and Personal Health Records
25:35 Community Events and LinkedIn Series