Advertise on podcast: Lifers with Christina Farr

In Episode 5 of Rounds, Stephanie Davis and Christina Farr break down the latest healthcare headlines — including Oura's step toward an IPO with its S-1 filing revealing $1.4 billion in revenue, and a former Anthropic researcher's warning to the BBC that AI staff are "genuinely frightened" for humanity's future — before sitting down with Megan Scheffel, Head of Life Science and Healthcare at SVB, Dan Bise, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development at R1, and Jeremy Friese, CEO and Founder of Humata Health. We'll cover: Oura's S-1 filing and what it signals about the company's path to IPO Key takeaways from SVB's Healthcare Investments and Exits report — including why fewer specialized funds (not less capital) are driving the fundraising slowdown, why deal volume hit a multiyear low even as total dollars held steady, and why investors are increasingly rewarding proven commercial viability over pure technology hype The diverging exit landscape between biopharma (a record M&A year driven by looming patent cliffs) and healthtech (strong IPO performance, but few companies actually going public) How blurring lines between Dx/Tools, device, and biopharma are reshaping where capital flows The thesis behind CD&R and TowerBrook's take-private of R1, and the company's shift from tech-enabled services to a true AI-native, technology-first approach to automating the healthcare revenue cycle R1's first two acquisitions, Phare Health and Humata Health, and how Humata's prior authorization platform fills a key gap in R1's strategy to reduce downstream payer denials Dan Bise's investment approach — from setting strategy to evaluating the competitive landscape to aligning investors and the Board — and how it mirrors a thesis-driven, PE-style playbook Jeremy Friese's perspective as Humata's founder on what set R1 apart from other potential acquirers, and what convinced him to sell Hosts and Guests: Christina Farr, CEO, Second Opinion; GP, Scrub Capital Stephanie Davis, Healthcare Industry Analyst Megan Scheffel, Head of Life Science and Healthcare at SVB Dan Bise, EVP, Strategy and Corporate Development at R1 Jeremy Friese, Founder and CEO of Humata Health Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank.

Mary Varghese Presti, Corporate Vice President and COO, Microsoft Health & Life Sciences, started her career as a pediatric nurse. She joins Christina Farr to talk about why she wants nurses to demand technology the way physicians do, and what AI has to prove before it's trusted on the clinical side. They get into why nurses have nobody to delegate to, Microsoft's work with Stanford on an agentic tumor board aimed at treatment decisions in days rather than weeks, and her pick between GLP-1s and AI at one, five and ten years. —Join Christina for upcoming webinars:10/8 - Why Are Hospitals Hiring Chief AI Officers? https://streamyard.com/watch/VjvVZiDN8ZMH 10/13 - Verifying AI in Medicine: Is Healthcare AI Actually Ready for Deployment? https://streamyard.com/watch/GwsSXwdikhMw 10/28 - Type 2 Diabetes & Cardiometabolic Care: Wearables, AI & GLP-1s https://streamyard.com/watch/uAuwCzUEJTCF 11/3 - Is It Finally the Moment for Alternative Plan Design? https://streamyard.com/watch/ereM3aB58XK4 —LINKS: Microsoft Dragon Copilot: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/health-solutions/clinical-workflow/dragon-copilot Healthcare Agent Orchestrator: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-cloud/blog/healthcare/2025/05/19/developing-next-generation-cancer-care-management-with-multi-agent-orchestration/ "Nursing Is the Surefire New Path to American Prosperity.": https://www.asrn.org/journal-nursing/3467-nursing-is-the-surefire-new-path-to-american-prosperity.html Lifers episode with Peter Lee: https://youtu.be/lxWYV1rNqR4  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Mary:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryvarghese/ https://x.com/MaryVPresti  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media  —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead in(00:32) Intro(02:08) AI in healthcare hits scale(03:40) Why nursing is the next frontier(05:24) The LLM lightbulb moment(07:35) From hype to pragmatism(11:28) Nurses fear and job security(15:02) Admin bloat and incentives(18:24) Burnout and nursing documentation(20:55) Agentic workflows at the bedside(25:42) Caregiving and consumer copilots(30:20) Learning to trust AI answers(34:28) Clinical AI trust and regulation(39:35) AI and expanding disease definitions(44:22) How AI could reshape care teams(51:41) One five ten year predictions(52:45) Wrap

Christina Farr sits down with Munjal Shah, Co-founder and CEO, Hippocratic AI, to ask whether clinical AI will shrink healthcare's workforce, and who is on the hook when it makes a mistake. Munjal explains his Copilot, Autopilot, and Infinite Pilot framework, and why the use cases that have worked best are ones healthcare never thought to try, like calling 50,000 people during a New York heat wave. He also walks through a lung cancer screening outreach that he says found three cancers for $1,700 in AI costs. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/4789bb35-2eae-443a-b661-87336b480365-009c2hma —SPONSOR: Granola If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free - just head to https://granola.ai/LIFERS  —Join Christina for upcoming webinars:9/17 - Top Employers Share What Healthcare Startups Need to Know in 2026 - https://www.secondopinion.media/employers-as-healthcare-purchasers-how-startups-can-break-in/ 9/22 - Where are AI Agents Actually Working in Healthcare, and Why? - https://streamyard.com/watch/42HnpJFgxNT4 9/24 - Healthcare AI Has an ROI Problem - https://www.secondopinion.media/ama-with-aaron-miri/ 10/8 - Why Are Hospitals Hiring Chief AI Officers? - https://streamyard.com/watch/VjvVZiDN8ZMH —LINKS: Dr. John Whyte & Zeke Emanuel on Lifers: https://youtu.be/WTnZ6W7qsLQ Hippocratic AI: https://hippocraticai.com/ "Will Autonomous AI Exceed AI-Aided Physicians as the Best Medical Care?" on JAMA: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2852952 Taking doctors out of the AI loop (on Second Opinion): https://www.secondopinion.media/taking-doctors-out-of-the-ai-loop/ Orca paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.02707  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Munjal:https://www.linkedin.com/in/munjalshah747/ https://x.com/munjalshah  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media  —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead in(00:42) Intro(01:51) AI extinction panic weekend(04:47) Healthcare as AI risk target(06:56) Hippocratic safety system(09:20) Avoiding the AI doctor trap(12:34) Sponsor: Granola(13:33) Liability and taking responsibility(16:08) Building redundancy and clinical team(18:30) Will AI shrink healthcare jobs(20:38) Infinite Pilot ROI examples(26:41) Business traction and growth metrics(31:53) Simple pricing per minute(34:36) Fixing AI PR with specifics(40:06) Wrap

SHOW NOTES Miriam Paramore, Founder and CEO of RxUtility, joins Christina Farr for a conversation that moves from caregiving for aging parents to the hidden economics of American healthcare. Miriam, who has spent over 40 years in health tech and finance, argues that AI won't fix rural health's transportation and staffing gaps, that hospitals should redeploy billing staff into home care roles instead of cutting them, and that pharmacist gag laws keep patients from ever learning a drug's real cash price (in one case, $2.18 versus a $10 copay for the same generic). Miriam also pushes to get women talking openly about money, deal flow, and investing, the same way men already do. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: —SPONSOR: Granola If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free - just head to https://granola.ai/LIFERS  —Join Christina for upcoming webinars:9/17 - Top Employers Share What Healthcare Startups Need to Know in 2026 - https://www.secondopinion.media/employers-as-healthcare-purchasers-how-startups-can-break-in/ 9/22 - Where are AI Agents Actually Working in Healthcare, and Why? - https://streamyard.com/watch/42HnpJFgxNT4 9/24 - Healthcare AI Has an ROI Problem - https://www.secondopinion.media/ama-with-aaron-miri/ 10/8 - Why Are Hospitals Hiring Chief AI Officers? - https://streamyard.com/watch/VjvVZiDN8ZMH —LINKS: RxUtility: http://rxutility.com/ WBL, Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry: https://www.wbl.org/  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Miriam:https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriamparamore/ https://x.com/mparamore  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media  —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead in(00:34) Intro(02:25) Sandwich generation caregiving(03:32) Rural health reality check(07:21) Human care vs AI hype(10:38) Redeploying rev cycle labor(17:37) Value based care skepticism(21:08) Sponsor: Granola(21:54) Cutting admin friction(24:41) Incentives and who loses(28:02) Rise of cash healthcare(30:44) Universal basics and deductibles(32:13) Concierge and telehealth wins(33:26) Opting out with DPC(35:01) Health systems missed UX(35:46) Cash care and HIPAA(37:32) Drug pricing blind spots(39:39) Cash prices and savings(40:41) Who to trust navigating(43:48) Consumerism and AI future(46:01) Women talking money(51:15) Investing in friends(57:25) Mentorship and rejection(58:25) Where to find Miriam(59:03) Wrap

Christina Farr sits down with Peter Lee, President of Microsoft Science, and Dr. Christopher Longhurst, the new CEO of Seattle Children's, to take stock of where AI in healthcare actually stands versus where the headlines say it is. They get into why ambient scribes still haven't produced a clean financial win, Chris's prediction that within three to five years a physician assistant augmented by AI may practice at the level of the best general pediatrician, and the three Cs he argues will keep humans in the loop: competence, communication, and character. Peter closes on the risk he worries about most, which is people using AI to hide from accountability on consequential decisions. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/54b78860-bad6-4057-afa8-0d61fe4750c0-009c2hma —SPONSOR: Granola If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free - just head to https://granola.ai/LIFERS  —Join Christina for upcoming webinars:9/17 - Top Employers Share What Healthcare Startups Need to Know in 2026 - https://www.secondopinion.media/employers-as-healthcare-purchasers-how-startups-can-break-in/ 9/22 - Where are AI Agents Actually Working in Healthcare, and Why? - https://streamyard.com/watch/42HnpJFgxNT4 9/24 - Healthcare AI Has an ROI Problem - https://www.secondopinion.media/ama-with-aaron-miri/ —LINKS: Compared with What? Measuring AI against the Health Care We Have: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMp2404691 Why are humans still in the loop with advancing AI capabilities?: https://bmjdigitalhealth.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000057  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Peter:https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterlee4/ https://x.com/peteratmsr  Chris:https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislonghurst/ https://x.com/CALonghurst  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead in(00:28) Intro(01:23) A massive moment(04:01) Red pill ER reality(06:12) Mission control and upskilling(07:13) Tech leaders as CEOs(09:27) Ambient scribes and costs(13:43) Hierarchy versus efficiency(15:23) Full stack healthcare workforce(18:09) Sponsor: Granola(18:55) Rethinking training and roles(21:36) Bending the back office curve(23:12) Admin jobs and AI skills(27:50) Self driving cars benchmarking(30:11) AI exceptionalism and agents(32:59) Autonomy in clinical care(36:25) Humans in the loop(39:27) Accountability and responsibility(41:37) Frontier models beat specialists(46:35) Workflow interoperability and wrap(47:53) Wrap

Nick Reber, Founder and CEO, Garner Health talks with Chrissy about why the most consequential decision in healthcare, which doctor you actually see, is the one patients have the least information about. After four spine surgeries for a problem that turned out to be in his neck, Nick left Bridgewater, spent time on the leadership team at Oscar Health, and started Garner to put physician performance data and financial incentives in front of employees. They get into the 4x variation in complication rates between the best and worst quartile of doctors inside the same brand-name hospital system, why price in healthcare tracks market share rather than quality, and what happened when he brought that data to large academic medical centers while building provider networks at the health plan. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/3487c811-86da-4c10-a79d-27d21625e2c7-009c2hma —SPONSOR: Granola If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free - just head to granola.ai/LIFERS —LINKS: Garner Health: https://garnerhealth.com Garner's Series E: https://garnerhealth.com/blog/ai-will-fix-healthcare-but-it-needs-help ProPublica Surgeon Scorecard: https://projects.propublica.org/surgeons/ Nick Reber, Sequoia founder profile: https://sequoiacap.com/founder/nick-reber/  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickreber/ https://x.com/nickpreber  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media  —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead in(00:33) Intro(00:54) Meet Nick Reber(01:43) Patient origin story(04:32) Bridgewater lessons(07:30) Startup mindset(09:53) Why healthcare wins(15:28) Sponsor: Granola(16:15) What Garner does(20:45) Doctor quality variation(22:21) Cost versus quality(24:40) Why plans cannot share(27:03) Employer system origins(32:24) Fixing incentives(34:46) Should data be public(37:25) Quiet unicorn growth(39:11) Selling through brokers(42:40) Future plan designs(46:41) AI and team structure(51:06) Wrap

In Episode 4 of Rounds: Where Healthcare Meets Wall Street, Christina Farr and Stephanie Davis break down the latest healthcare and AI headlines before sitting down with Sam Toole, Partner at Primary Venture Partners, and Sonia Millsom, CEO of Oxeon.  We'll cover: The latest healthcare and AI market news, including what happened with Situational Awareness, Doctronic’s acquisition of Summer Health, Teladoc’s shifting outlook, and Waystar’s recent stock decline. How EHR giants like Epic, Oracle, and Microsoft will fare in the AI era — and whether VC-backed startups can truly disrupt the incumbents. What Sam Toole sees as the biggest opportunities and areas of conviction for early-stage healthcare investors in an increasingly AI-driven market. Epic’s recent leadership departures and what they could signal about succession planning at one of healthcare’s most influential companies. Sonia Millsom’s take on Epic’s recent leadership departures, what they signal about succession planning, and what healthcare boards should look for when evaluating their next generation of leaders. What effective succession planning looks like, why boards often rely on the wrong kind of pattern recognition when evaluating leaders, and what healthcare companies should prioritize instead. Hosts and Guests: Christina Farr, CEO, Second Opinion; GP, Scrub Capital Stephanie Davis, Healthcare Industry Analyst Sam Toole, Partner at Primary Venture Partners Sonia Millsom, CEO at Oxeon Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank.

This week on Lifers, Christina Farr is joined by Eric Larsen, President of TowerBrook Advisors and President Emeritus of the Advisory Board, argues that the shift of GDP from labor to capital is already underway, and that healthcare, the most labor-intensive sector in the US economy, will not be the laggard everyone assumes. They get into the $2.9 trillion of healthcare spending that goes to labor, why white-collar work turns out to have no union protection at exactly the moment white-collar work is what gets automated, and what he calls the Orwellian conspiracy of silence on job dislocation. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/405c9b0e-a70e-42ec-82b8-b34cc24303d2-008umkv4  —SPONSORS: Granola & Baker Health If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free - just head to granola.ai/LIFERS Baker Health delivers concierge primary care focused on prevention, wellness, and lifestyle optimization. Combining personalized care with integrative services—including nutrition, mental health, weight management, and lifestyle medicine—Baker Health provides Members with a holistic, whole-person approach to long-term health and longevity. Through extended visits, seamless access to doctors, and a curated specialty network, Baker Health ensures Members receive proactive guidance and actionable insights to optimize their well-being. Baker Health serves Members across multiple locations and provides a tech-enabled experience through the proprietary Baker Health app, offering 365-day access to doctors and care teams. Download the Baker Health App: https://linktr.ee/baker_health Learn More: https://www.bakerhealth.com/  —LINKS: Towerbrook: https://www.towerbrook.com/ The Citrini memo: https://www.citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic Dario Amodei, "The Adolescence of Technology": https://darioamodei.com/essay/the-adolescence-of-technology Eric and Dario Amodei: Incumbents and Insurgents in Healthcare: https://www.incumbentsandinsurgents.com/e/dario-amodei/ Dan Wang, Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future: https://danwang.co/breakneck/  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Eric:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-larsen-a4a0461/ Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead In(00:47) Intro(01:08) Meet Eric Larsen(02:52) ChatGPT conversion moment(04:40) Tech perfectionism debate(06:52) Citrini memo fallout(08:23) AI targets knowledge work(13:46) Healthcare dislocation ethics(15:35) Why healthcare is vulnerable(18:11) Sponsor: Granola | Baker Health(20:21) Automating revenue cycle(22:29) Universal high income idea(24:02) Capital vs labor divergence(25:39) CapEx arms race and layoffs(27:32) Overhiring or AI shift(29:38) Regulation and AI power risks(31:28) Growing smarter models(32:10) Regulation paradox in healthcare(34:08) Credentialism meets exponential tech(35:47) Complexity breaks medicine(39:09) Risk tolerance and iterative deployment(42:14) Lawyers and lost apprenticeships(43:12) Advice for 21 year olds(46:05) Four powers of synthetic intelligence(52:11) Human moat and last mile trust(54:31) Post scarcity and inequality risks(58:23) Wrap

This week on Lifers, Christina Farr is joined by Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Dr. John Whyte, CEO of the American Medical Association, who are longtime friends on opposite sides of the biggest question in health AI: should it ever practice medicine without a human in the loop? After Zeke’s commentary with Vinod and Neal Khosla argued AI performs better autonomously, the two agreed to debate. Zeke cites a Stanford RCT where AI managing insulin beat doctors by weeks; John counters that the evidence leans on simulated cases and that medicine is a trust relationship, not task completion. They clash over whether the "art of medicine" defense is disingenuous, who adopts autonomous AI first, the risk of physician de-skilling, and who should tell you you have cancer. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/f04862c0-3ed3-411f-a8dd-85b336356a19-008umkv4 —SPONSORS: Granola & Baker Health If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free - just head to granola.ai/LIFERS  Baker Health delivers concierge primary care focused on prevention, wellness, and lifestyle optimization. Combining personalized care with integrative services—including nutrition, mental health, weight management, and lifestyle medicine—Baker Health provides Members with a holistic, whole-person approach to long-term health and longevity. Through extended visits, seamless access to doctors, and a curated specialty network, Baker Health ensures Members receive proactive guidance and actionable insights to optimize their well-being.Baker Health serves Members across multiple locations and provides a tech-enabled experience through the proprietary Baker Health app, offering 365-day access to doctors and care teams. Download the Baker Health App: https://linktr.ee/baker_health Learn More: https://www.bakerhealth.com/  —LINKS: Zeke’s JAMA commentary with Vinod Khosla and Neal Khosla: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2026.15380 Bob Wachter's book A Giant Leap: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776443/a-giant-leap-by-robert-wachter-md/ Stanford diabetes/insulin RCT: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2812420 Scott Winters v. OpenAI: https://www.inc.com/georgia-fearn/a-pastor-turned-to-chatgpt-instead-of-a-doctor-now-hes-suing-openai/91378175  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Zeke:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeke-emanuel-6ab78a1b0/ https://x.com/ZekeEmanuel  John:https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohnwhyte https://x.com/drjohnwhyte  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media  —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead In(00:46) Intro(02:53) Zeke's paper backstory(04:13) Self driving cars analogy(06:36) John pushback, trust and art(08:41) Claude diagnosis anecdote(12:19) Trials and deployment ideas(13:57) Evidence fight and guardrails(17:41) Empathy, education and autonomy(21:43) Sponsors: Granola | Baker Health(23:53) Human in loop, medication refills(26:35) Augmented AI and cancer second opinions(28:36) Debating the right question(30:09) Licensing and regulation(31:28) Chatbots in mental health(37:03) Patient story and self advocacy(43:29) Liability and ice cream bet(44:46) Doctors and robots by 2030(46:37) When humans hurt AI performance(48:20) Who breaks bad news(53:13) Wrap

Christina Farr sits down with Kimberly Powell, VP of Healthcare at NVIDIA, an 18-year veteran who built the company's healthcare business from a single cold call in 2008. They dig into the physician replacement debate ("the task is not the job"), why AI agents made the last six months a turning point for healthcare, and Kimberly's prediction that within five years the hospital itself becomes a robot. Plus: the OpenAI lawsuit and techno-perfectionism, payer agents versus provider agents, why 90% of drugs fail in the clinic, and whether Kimberly says please to her LLMs. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/01905ea7-a624-4859-8530-80e6e0c46dca-009c2hma —SPONSORS:Granola & Baker Health If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free - just head to granola.ai/LIFERS   Baker Health delivers concierge primary care focused on prevention, wellness, and lifestyle optimization. Combining personalized care with integrative services—including nutrition, mental health, weight management, and lifestyle medicine—Baker Health provides Members with a holistic, whole-person approach to long-term health and longevity. Through extended visits, seamless access to doctors, and a curated specialty network, Baker Health ensures Members receive proactive guidance and actionable insights to optimize their well-being.Baker Health serves Members across multiple locations and provides a tech-enabled experience through the proprietary Baker Health app, offering 365-day access to doctors and care teams. Download the Baker Health App: https://linktr.ee/baker_health Learn More: https://www.bakerhealth.com/—LINKS: NVIDIA: https://www.nvidia.com/ OpenAI lawsuit (CBS News): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chatgpt-dangerous-medical-advice-openai-lawsuit/ Kimberly's Fortune talk: https://fortune.com/2026/06/10/nvidia-drug-pharma-isomorphic-brainstorm-tech-ai-healthcare-biotech-term-sheet/ Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books  —FOLLOW:Kimberly:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpowell/ https://x.com/kpowgerade  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead In(00:44) Intro(01:24) Kimberly joins NVIDIA(05:13) Early healthcare adoption(08:41) Augment not replace(14:35) Inside the future hospital(16:27) Sponsors: Granola | Baker Health(18:38) Why healthcare matters(23:25) Agents unlock workflows(28:53) Clinicians adapting to AI(33:43) Safety and risk reward(40:19) Agents across industry(44:14) Five year predictions(49:53) AI hireable and ROI(54:02) Personal tech habits(55:59) AI etiquette and hacks(58:52) Wrap

Co-hosted by Christina Farr and Stephanie Davis, this episode digs into what's really driving digital health right now — mega deals, market concentration, and what's building durable advantage as AI becomes table stakes. Megan Zweig, CEO and President of Rock Health Advisory, joins to break down Rock Health's H1 2026 funding and market report, and Arvind Kadaba, CFO of Aidoc, sits down to talk about fundraising, market forces, and what sets a clinical AI company apart. We'll cover: The latest health tech news — AI's borrowed money problem, a ChatGPT health lawsuit, wearables' big moment (Garmin's new tracker, Eli Lilly's Oura investment), and a CMS proposal threatening remote monitoring Megan Zweig breaks down Rock Health's H1 2026 report — digital health funding hit $7.4B in H1 2026, driven by a growing wave of mega deals Why mega deals now make up 45% of all capital — just 8% of deals absorbing nearly half the funding Arvind Kadaba on Aidoc's back-to-back $150M raises in under a year — and what his Wall Street background reveals about today's funding environment How Aidoc is staying ahead now that "AI-enabled" no longer means anything as a differentiator Hosts and Guests: Christina Farr, CEO, Second Opinion; GP, Scrub Capital Stephanie Davis, Healthcare Industry Analyst Megan Zweig, President & CEO, Rock Health Advisory Arvind Kadaba, Chief Financial Officer at Aidoc Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:46) Oracle's debt and the AI spending boom (2:32) Will Oracle sell Cerner? (3:35) The ChatGPT lawsuit and AI health guardrails (6:11) Garmin's screen-free tracker and the wearables moment (9:39) CMS proposal on RPM/RTM third-party vendors (11:50) Included acquires Firefly Health (13:48) Megan Zweig joins to break down Rock Health's H1 2026 report (20:15) Mega deal concentration (21:37) Behavioral health funding and market saturation (27:19) Why "AI-enabled" is no longer a differentiator (33:56) Megan's closing thoughts and predictions (35:31) Arvind Kadaba, CFO of Aidoc, joins the show (37:53) How AI is changing investor diligence (43:21) Hiring and team growth with AI (46:05) Growth vs. profitability and the Rule of 40 (51:43) Rich vs. king: framework for founders (53:41) Arvind's best advice for founders raising capital Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank.

Dr. Zeyad Baker, a pediatrician who scaled a 24-hour primary care practice, sold it to Optum, and spent five years as their tri-state market CEO, joins Christina Farr to argue that the scarcest resource in healthcare is not data or technology but the doctor-patient relationship itself. He walks through how Baker Health is built around that claim: clinics with no waiting rooms, a 24/7 synchronous chat staffed by board-certified physicians, physicians required to certify in lifestyle medicine, and a specialist network held to three hard rules including a 72-hour access guarantee. The conversation gets into where AI genuinely helped him, including an atypical Crohn's diagnosis that three clinicians had missed, and where he thinks it will not, and Chrissy shares her own recent autoimmune diagnosis and the role an LLM played in it.—SPONSOR:Baker Health delivers concierge primary care focused on prevention, wellness, and lifestyle optimization. Combining personalized care with integrative services—including nutrition, mental health, weight management, and lifestyle medicine—Baker Health provides Members with a holistic, whole-person approach to long-term health and longevity. Through extended visits, seamless access to doctors, and a curated specialty network, Baker Health ensures Members receive proactive guidance and actionable insights to optimize their well-being.Baker Health serves Members across multiple locations and provides a tech-enabled experience through the proprietary Baker Health app, offering 365-day access to doctors and care teams. Download the Baker Health App: https://linktr.ee/baker_health Learn More: https://www.bakerhealth.com/  The only practice in NY & NJ where you can text your doctor directly and get seen the same-day.Make a Reservation: https://reservations.bakerhealth.com/medical?utm_source=lifers —LINKS: Baker Health: https://www.bakerhealth.com/ Bob Wachter on Lifers: https://youtu.be/p6U1fX1JgVk Midjourney episode on Lifers: https://youtu.be/jigG63wHooE Delaware prior authorization episode on Lifers: https://youtu.be/zNVH9O1X8Es  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books —FOLLOW:Zeyad:https://www.linkedin.com/in/drzbaker https://x.com/DRZ_BAKER  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead In(00:34) Intro(01:36) 24 hour primary care(03:16) Lifetime care vision(04:19) Pediatrics and trust(07:15) Why pediatrics is hard(09:40) Async care and texting(11:59) BakerHealth app workflow(13:48) One Medical lessons(16:02) Three pillars tech holistic hospitality(17:58) Hospitality tricks no waiting room(21:17) Specialist referrals without chaos(26:14) Scaling specialist network(28:04) Wearables data and coaching(30:40) Patients data doctors together(31:17) Myth of worried well(32:21) Patients take the wheel(35:45) AI listening finds diagnosis(38:05) Doctors using AI wisely(41:37) Midjourney scans hype vs harm(44:45) Primary care shortage math(47:01) AI cuts admin burden(50:05) Dashboards value based targeting(53:19) Messaging and payment fixes(56:35) Making primary care cool(59:09) Innovation needs humanity(01:02:57) Wrap

Matthew Rothstein, VP of Engineering at Akido, joins Christina Farr to talk about what changes when a technology company becomes a health system. He built a credit card, sold it to Goldman Sachs, helped launch the Apple Card, and now works on the AI foundation for a bi-coastal network of nearly 100 clinics and a street medicine program in LA and San Francisco. They get into his case for open weights models over commercial frontier models in medical imaging, why he thinks an AI answer is information rather than care, and whether benchmarking AI against a panel of clinical experts is a fair test when most patients never get access to that panel.—SPONSOR:Akido is a technology company re-engineering healthcare around AI. Its AI-native health system frees physicians from the cognitive heavy lifting of medicine and partners on the investigation and discovery, so doctors can focus on judgment and care. This stretches a limited physician supply to reach far more people. Akido operates a national network of more than 1,000 providers across 26 specialties and six markets. Founded in 2015 out of USC's Digital Health Lab, its Series B was led by Oak HC/FT. For more information, visit www.akido.com—LINKS: Aikido: https://www.akido.com/  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books —FOLLOW:Matthew:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marothstein  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead In(00:37) Intro(01:23) From NIH to fintech(03:12) Life inside Goldman(04:38) Fintech vs health tech(07:26) AI aha moment(09:51) How genAI changes teams(12:31) Staying relevant by building(14:27) Rebuilding healthcare systems(17:38) Why care delivery wins(20:34) Designing for clinicians(22:37) Prioritizing impactful AI(23:36) Scaling complex care(24:33) Open models explained(27:28) Data access and privacy(30:01) Synthetic data and twins(32:52) ChatGPT triage reality check(36:42) Doctors plus AI tools(39:28) General vs specialized models(42:35) Reimbursement and value based care(45:14) AI reshapes engineering teams(49:13) Empathy in care delivery(50:46) Akido rebrand and AI native system(51:41) Wrap

Mark Bertolini, CEO of Oscar Health, has run healthcare from every seat: CEO of Aetna, co-CEO of Bridgewater, and now head of the insurer he calls a pirate ship among Spanish galleons. He and Chrissy trace how an 80-year-old wartime workaround became the employer-sponsored system nobody is incentivized to fix, and what replaces it: one risk pool, a portable bucket of your own money, and a plan you keep for life. Along the way: the ICHRA mechanism, the $32 shower chair, the system priced at $468, and the personal story behind his hospice reform at Aetna.—SPONSOR:Oscar Health, Inc. is on a mission to give people greater power over their healthcare by building a more consumer-driven healthcare system. By leveraging technology to place individuals at the center of their healthcare experience, Oscar is transforming the industry into one that is proactive, personal, and transparent. Through its insurance subsidiary, Oscar Insurance, the company provides individual market health plans, innovative digital tools, and support for models such as ICHRA, helping people make more informed decisions with greater choice and coverage tailored to their needs. Dive into our conversation on Oscar's blog: https://www.hioscar.com/blog/future-of-healthcare-conversation-mark-bertolini?utm_source=lifers_youtube-organic&utm_campaign=all_null_christina-farr-mark-bertolini&utm_medium=national_all_null&utm_term=future-of-healthcare-blog —LINKS: Oscar Health: https://www.hioscar.com/ Lucie Health Marketplace: https://www.luciehealth.com/  Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books —FOLLOW:Mark:https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbertolini  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Preview(00:25) Why employer loyalty doesn't exist anymore(02:12) How World War II built the system we have(03:02) Three economic models pushed together(04:47) The $23,000 question at CNBC(06:23) Conflating financing and investment(08:18) The three employer-sponsored insurance markets(09:57) Pooling every American and giving them their own bucket(11:09) The churn problem and lifetime value(14:32) Squaring the morbidity curve(16:48) What ICHRA is and why Oscar is betting on it(18:45) Curated pricing, the Lucie Health marketplace(21:53) What the system refuses to curate(23:23) Rewriting the hospice program(26:22) Dignitas and how we talk about dying(28:25) Why CEOs haven't dropped healthcare yet(31:03) Machiavelli and the tenure problem(32:43) Which employers tip first(34:14) Growing up in Detroit(34:51) Never count anyone else's money(37:22) From the Ford assembly line to accounting(39:05) Why spreadsheets give the illusion of certainty(40:45) Choosing Oscar(43:38) Reasons to believe(46:14) Wrap

Lauren Makler, Co-Founder & CEO of Cofertility, joins Christina Farr to ask why having a baby with medical help now costs as much as a house, and what a fairer system would look like. They get into Lauren's argument that donor "anonymity" has been a lie since the at-home DNA test era, the surge-pricing dynamics of traditional egg donation, and Cofertility's egg-sharing model, where women freeze their eggs for free by donating half to intended parents. The conversation also covers the natalism debate, the eggs-versus-embryos decision, and why Gen Z, 72% of whom already worry about their fertility, will refuse the fax-machine healthcare experience millennials tolerated.—SPONSOR: Baker Health🩺 This episode is brought to you by Baker Health. Evidence-based medicine and real holistic care, under one roof, with labs, results, and 24/7 live doctor chat all in one app.Download the Baker Health App: https://linktr.ee/baker_health Learn More: https://www.bakerhealth.com/  The only practice in NY & NJ where you can text your doctor directly and get same-day reservations.Make a Reservation: https://reservations.bakerhealth.com/medical?utm_source=lifers —Join Christina for an upcoming webinar:• 7/27 - Peptide Therapy: Where Do We Go From Here? - https://streamyard.com/watch/AgaHuDEvjisN—LINKS: Infertility: https://www.cofertility.com/ Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books—FOLLOW:Lauren:https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenmakler https://x.com/laurenmakler  Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr  Second Opinion Media:https://www.instagram.com/second.opinion.media/ https://x.com/second_op_media —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Lead In(00:33) Intro(02:19) Why IVF costs keep rising(03:53) Real price ranges to parenthood(05:47) Birth rates and pronatalism debate(08:45) Elon Musk and ethics(11:15) Cofertility egg sharing model(13:18) Ending anonymous donation(15:57) Sponsor: Baker Health(17:14) Surge pricing and fairness(20:29) Biological clock and Gen Z(25:27) Dating culture, eggs vs embryos(28:58) Future of third party reproduction(32:23) Guardrails and autonomy(34:30) Investing thesis, growing the TAM(38:07) Would you donate, relationship spectrum(42:46) Gen Z will redefine healthcare(44:55) Wrap