Ron Books, CEO of Net Health, talks about how he believes that AI is the only thing that can save the human element in healthcare, examples from the wound care and rehab therapy spaces, and how Arizona is becoming a health tech hub. 

All that, plus the Flava of the Week about the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem’s First Wave event. How significant was it to see demos from more than 50 companies that are making good on their pledge to create a fully digital, patient-centered health system, and what’s your part in helping consumers understand and trust what’s possible now? 

ANNOUNCING THE RAP COLLABORATIVE 

Exciting news! We’re launching the Rap Collaborative, a curated group of founders, builders, and operators working together to grow the adoption of consumer-centered health. Through content, community, and co-creation, members help shape what’s next and get their perspective in front of the industry. 

Interested in being part of it? Let’s talk. 

Reach out to jared@ulteradigital.com. 

(#499) 

Ron Books, CEO of Net Health, talks about how he believes that AI is the only thing that can save the human element in healthcare, examples from the wound care and rehab therapy spaces, and how Arizona is becoming a health tech hub.&nbsp;
All that, plus the Flava of the Week about the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem&rsquo;s First Wave event. How significant was it to see demos from more than 50 companies that are making good on their pledge to create a fully digital, patient-centered health system, and what&rsquo;s your part in helping consumers understand and trust what&rsquo;s possible now?&nbsp;
ANNOUNCING THE RAP COLLABORATIVE&nbsp;
Exciting news! We&rsquo;re launching the Rap Collaborative, a curated group of founders, builders, and operators working together to grow the adoption of consumer-centered health. Through content, community, and co-creation, members help shape what&rsquo;s next and get their perspective in front of the industry.&nbsp;
Interested in being part of it? Let&rsquo;s talk.&nbsp;
Reach out to jared@ulteradigital.com.&nbsp;
(#499)&nbsp;

Healthcare Rap is the leading podcast about consumer-centered health. Hosts Jared Johnson and Zain Ismail spotlight the consumer POV in healthcare and highlight innovators bridging the gap between traditional sick care and preventive well care. It ranks in the top 5% of all podcasts globally and is one of the longest-lasting shows in the industry, hitting 500 episodes and 8 years on the air in 2026. 

Healthcare leaders learn the latest ways that healthcare is being designed, marketed, and delivered to consumers. And health consumers learn how these options work and why they might be right for them and their loved ones. 

It's more than a show; it's a mission. 

Topics for 2026: 
Connected fitness 
GLP-1's / weight loss 
Wearables
Longevity and diagnostics 
Food as medicine / nutrition 
Preventive health and wellness 
Digital Front Door 
Nontraditional care models - direct primary care, retail care, health at home, digital health, functional and integrative health 
Digital health and consumer brands making waves and new entrants making a splash 

Topics not covered: 
Clinical leadership 
Cybersecurity 
Health information management 
Interoperability 
Revenue cycle 

<a href="https://healthcarerap.com/"></a>Healthcare Rap is the leading podcast about consumer-centered health. Hosts Jared Johnson and Zain Ismail spotlight the consumer POV in healthcare and highlight innovators bridging the gap between traditional sick care and preventive well care. It ranks in the top 5% of all podcasts globally and is one of the longest-lasting shows in the industry, hitting 500 episodes and 8 years on the air in 2026.&nbsp;
Healthcare leaders learn the latest ways that healthcare is being designed, marketed, and delivered to consumers. And health consumers learn how these options work and why they might be right for them and their loved ones.&nbsp;
It's more than a show; it's a mission.&nbsp;
Topics for 2026:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Connected fitness&nbsp;</li>
<li>GLP-1's / weight loss&nbsp;</li>
<li>Wearables</li>
<li>Longevity and diagnostics&nbsp;</li>
<li>Food as medicine / nutrition&nbsp;</li>
<li>Preventive health and wellness&nbsp;</li>
<li>Digital Front Door&nbsp;</li>
<li>Nontraditional care models - direct primary care, retail care, health at home, digital health, functional and integrative health&nbsp;</li>
<li>Digital health and consumer brands making waves and new entrants making a splash&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Topics not&nbsp;covered:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Clinical leadership&nbsp;</li>
<li>Cybersecurity&nbsp;</li>
<li>Health information management&nbsp;</li>
<li>Interoperability&nbsp;</li>
<li>Revenue cycle&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

The leading podcast about consumer-centered healthcare

Healthcare Rap

Shift Forward Health is the channel for change makers who want to build the Healthcare of Tomorrow. Subscribe to the channel and receive our entire lineup of shows hosted by a diverse collection of forward-thinking experts from around the world. One subscription, all the podcasts you need, all for free!  

Shift Forward Health is the channel for change makers who want to build the Healthcare of Tomorrow. Subscribe to the channel and receive our entire lineup of shows hosted by a diverse collection of forward-thinking experts from around the world. One subscription, all the podcasts you need, all for free!

Shift Forward Health

Shift Forward Health is the channel for change makers in healthcare. We produce thought leadership for early adopters and champions of progress in healthcare, bringing together the perspectives of highly respected leaders in health tech, marketing, finance, and human-centered design. 

Follow Shift Forward Health, and you’ll be subscribed to our entire library of shows, including long-lasting award winners like Healthcare Rap, intriguing perspectives like Healthcare Transformers, and fresh voices including Erica Olenski Johansen, Shiva Mirhosseini, and more. One subscription. All the podcasts you need. All for free. 

Shift Forward Health is the channel for change makers in healthcare. We produce thought leadership for early adopters and champions of progress in healthcare, bringing together the perspectives of highly respected leaders in health tech, marketing, finance, and human-centered design. 
Follow Shift Forward Health, and you’ll be subscribed to our entire library of shows, including long-lasting award winners like <a href="https://shiftforwardhealth.com/show/healthcare-rap/">Healthcare Rap</a>, intriguing perspectives like <a href="https://shiftforwardhealth.com/show/healthcare-transformers/">Healthcare Transformers</a>, and fresh voices including <a href="https://shiftforwardhealth.com/show/trauma-informed-life/">Erica Olenski Johansen</a>, <a href="https://shiftforwardhealth.com/show/paving-the-path/">Shiva Mirhosseini</a>, and more. One subscription. All the podcasts you need. All for free.

Ron Books on Human-First AI & Arizona Becoming a Health Tech Hub (#499)

Frank McGillin returns to share key lessons for digital health founders to partner with academic medical centers, curated from his time leading The Clinic by Cleveland Clinic. 

All that, plus the Flava of the Week about Rock Health’s newly minted research on consumers’ use of AI chatbots. How quickly are health-related AI searches growing, and what actions tend to come next? 

ANNOUNCING THE RAP COLLABORATIVE 

Exciting news! We’re launching the Rap Collaborative, a curated group of founders, builders, and operators working together to grow the adoption of consumer-centered health. Through content, community, and co-creation, members help shape what’s next and get their perspective in front of the industry. 

Interested in being part of it? Let’s talk. 

Reach out to jared@ulteradigital.com. 

(#498) 

Frank McGillin returns to share key lessons for digital health founders to partner with academic medical centers, curated from his time leading The Clinic by Cleveland Clinic.&nbsp;
All that, plus the Flava of the Week about Rock Health&rsquo;s newly minted research on consumers&rsquo; use of AI chatbots. How quickly are health-related AI searches growing, and what actions tend to come next?&nbsp;
ANNOUNCING THE RAP COLLABORATIVE&nbsp;
Exciting news! We&rsquo;re launching the Rap Collaborative, a curated group of founders, builders, and operators working together to grow the adoption of consumer-centered health. Through content, community, and co-creation, members help shape what&rsquo;s next and get their perspective in front of the industry.&nbsp;
Interested in being part of it? Let&rsquo;s talk.&nbsp;
Reach out to jared@ulteradigital.com.&nbsp;
(#498)&nbsp;

How Founders Can Partner With Medical Centers (#498) 

Live from ViVE '26, we wrap up our coverage from Las Vegas with a full lineup of health IT and health tech thought leaders on solving some of healthcare’s legacy data challenges with emerging tech. 

Anurag Mehta, CEO and Co-Founder of Omega Healthcare, cuts through the challenges of having too many tools in revenue cycle and not enough clarity on what actually works.

Shawn Fichter, CEO of Legacy Data Access, describes how to reframe the way that we collect more data than ever … and then make clinicians hunt for it.

Elton Tavenner, Chief Technology Officer at Certilytics, shares how to flip the narrative from How to use AI to how to get better answers from data we can trust.

Vik Sheshadri, CTO at Med Tech Solutions, discusses how access in the workflow is still the real issue. 

John Tonthat, Chief Revenue Officer at Cellhub Enterprises, and Wes Rhodes, Strategist & CTO at Freeman Health System, tell the benefits of Hospitals Without Walls, Isolated Recovery Environments, and Strategic Cost Optimization. 

Dan McDonald, Co-Founder and CEO of 86Borders, shares what actually drives meaningful member engagement, especially for vulnerable populations.

Mikhail Golovnya, Senior Advisor Data Scientist at Minitab, offers a much-needed reality check on where we actually are with AI today. 

And to wrap up the episode, we learn what it take operationally to make AI successful on the ground from Solventum's Hari Bala, Chief Technology Officer, Health Information Systems, and Thea Campbell, Global Business Director, Revenue Cycle - Revenue Integrity.

All interviews are available on the Healthcare Rap and Healthcare Now Radio YouTube channels. 

All that, plus our latest shout out to consultants who are helping to guide conversations and bring clarity. 

USE OUR PLATFORM TO CONNECT WITH HEALTHCARE INNOVATORS 

Healthcare Rap continues to be a top platform for thought leadership on consumer-centered health, and our new partnership with Healthcare Now Radio expands our distribution further than ever. Keep us in mind as you're looking for new, creative ways to tell your story to healthcare leaders. Request our media kit today at jared@ulteradigital.com. 

(#497)  

Live from ViVE '26, we wrap up our coverage from Las Vegas with a full lineup of health IT and health tech thought leaders on solving some of healthcare&rsquo;s legacy data challenges with emerging tech.&nbsp;
Anurag Mehta, CEO and Co-Founder of Omega Healthcare, cuts through the challenges of having too many tools in revenue cycle and not enough clarity on what actually works.
Shawn Fichter, CEO of Legacy Data Access, describes how to reframe the way that we collect more data than ever &hellip; and then make clinicians hunt for it.
Elton Tavenner, Chief Technology Officer at Certilytics, shares how to flip the narrative from How to use AI to how to get better answers from data we can trust.
Vik Sheshadri, CTO at Med Tech Solutions, discusses how access in the workflow is still the real issue.&nbsp;
John Tonthat,&nbsp;Chief Revenue Officer at Cellhub Enterprises, and Wes Rhodes, Strategist &amp; CTO at Freeman Health System, tell the benefits of Hospitals Without Walls, Isolated Recovery Environments, and Strategic Cost Optimization.&nbsp;
Dan McDonald, Co-Founder and CEO of 86Borders, shares what actually drives meaningful member engagement, especially for vulnerable populations.
Mikhail Golovnya,&nbsp;Senior Advisor Data Scientist at Minitab, offers a much-needed reality check on where we actually are with AI today.&nbsp;
And to wrap up the episode, we learn what it take operationally to make AI successful on the ground from Solventum's Hari Bala, Chief Technology Officer, Health Information Systems, and Thea Campbell<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thea-campbell/">,</a> Global Business Director, Revenue Cycle - Revenue Integrity.
All interviews are available on the Healthcare Rap and Healthcare Now Radio YouTube channels.&nbsp;
All that, plus our latest shout out to consultants who are helping to guide conversations and bring clarity.&nbsp;
USE OUR PLATFORM TO CONNECT WITH HEALTHCARE INNOVATORS&nbsp;
Healthcare Rap continues to be a top platform for thought leadership on consumer-centered health, and our new partnership with Healthcare Now Radio expands our distribution further than ever. Keep us in mind as you're looking for new, creative ways to tell your story to healthcare leaders. Request our media kit today at jared@ulteradigital.com.&nbsp;
(#497)&nbsp;&nbsp;

HIMSS '26: Omega, LDA, Certilytics, Med Tech Solutions, Cellhub, 86Borders, Minitab & Solventum (#497)

Reza Amin, CEO of Bastion Health, talks about founding the first nationwide virtual men’s health clinic, access gaps that may surprise you, and the scope of outcomes that can be improved when more men are willing to be part of the health conversation. 

All that, plus the Flava of the Week about the launch of Perplexity Health. How is Perplexity staking its claim to being the most trusted AI engine for health answers, and how can we make an unbiased effort to evaluate new health AI tools from the consumer's point of view? 

USE OUR PLATFORM TO CONNECT WITH INNOVATORS IN CONSUMER HEALTH

Healthcare Rap continues to be a top platform for thought leadership on consumer-centered health, and our new partnership with Healthcare Now Radio expands our distribution further than ever. Keep us in mind as you're looking for new, creative ways to tell your story to healthcare leaders. Reach out to jared@ulteradigital.com. 

(#496) 

Reza Amin, CEO of Bastion Health, talks about founding the first nationwide virtual men&rsquo;s health clinic, access gaps that may surprise you, and the scope of outcomes that can be improved when more men are willing to be part of the health conversation.&nbsp;
All that, plus the Flava of the Week about the launch of Perplexity Health. How is Perplexity staking its claim to being the most trusted AI engine for health answers, and how can we make an unbiased effort to evaluate new health AI tools from the consumer's point of view?&nbsp;
USE OUR PLATFORM TO CONNECT WITH INNOVATORS IN CONSUMER HEALTH
Healthcare Rap continues to be a top platform for thought leadership on consumer-centered health, and our new partnership with Healthcare Now Radio expands our distribution further than ever. Keep us in mind as you're looking for new, creative ways to tell your story to healthcare leaders. Reach out to jared@ulteradigital.com.&nbsp;
(#496)&nbsp;

Ron Books on Human-First AI & Arizona Becoming a Health Tech Hub (#499)

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