Frequent flyers are likely aware of CLEAR, a company that uses biometrics to expedite identity verification at airports. Now, David Bardan is helping bring CLEAR’s transformative identification technology to healthcare.

After a decade of experience in the healthcare and technology sectors, Bardan joined CLEAR in 2022 to head their healthcare initiatives. In this episode, Bardan discusses the opportunities made possible by identity verification. Learn how CLEAR is helping unlock operational efficiencies and seamless experiences for patients and the providers who care for them.

John Schilling, M.D., co-leads TPG Capital’s healthcare investments, where he helps decide on the best opportunities for driving healthcare innovation.

Tune in to our chat about spurring systemic innovation and making life better for patients and the providers who care for them. “We always start with the patient,” Schilling says on the episode, “and we work back from there.”

Listen now to hear about his origins as a doctor of medicine and how it informs his current role in the world of private equity.

Healthcare executive Jen McGonigle has worked at the intersection of healthcare and technology for over 20 years. Her experience has taught her that regardless of what challenges technology can bring, its innovations far outweigh any cons.

In our first episode of the season, we sit down with Jen McGonigle of Optum Rx for a chat about cultivating innovation. We discuss innovation at two levels. One is the level of technology—including Optum Rx’s products and capabilities that help tackle prohibitive drug pricing and treatment delays. The other is a higher-level view across healthcare—such as the prior authorization innovations made possible via cross-industry collaboration. Join us as we look at what spurs innovation in American healthcare and how it can catalyze good for patients and those who care for them.

The American healthcare system is one of the most innovative in the world. But it’s no secret that we also face serious challenges.

Too many patients cut pills in half to make them last, too many can’t access care in the first place, and too many providers are so burned out with paperwork and administrative tasks that they’re leaving practice altogether.

Yes, we know that we’ve got our work cut out for us. We know that for so many of these challenges, there truly is a better way.

Welcome to the fourth season of the award-winning podcast “There’s a Better Way: Smart Talk on Healthcare and Technology.” I’m your host, Melanie Marcus, from Surescripts.

This season we’re diving into the work of systemic innovation in healthcare. Each guest we have on our show is a changemaker, in one way or another, and together they paint the picture of how innovation can happen—and is happening—right now across healthcare.

If you’re up for smart, energizing, story-driven conversations about healthcare and technology, tune in to “There’s a Better Way.” Season 4 premieres on all major podcast apps in May.

Troy Tazbaz has long worked at the intersection of business and technology. And while it may not seem like a typical background for working at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it may be just what is needed to push healthcare technology forward.

On our podcast, Tazbaz recounts his thoughts as he accepted the position of Director of the Digital Health Center of Excellence at the FDA: “Given what was going on with artificial intelligence and all these emerging technologies, I felt that it was a really great time to join and come with a perspective that combines both my technical background and my business acumen.”

Tazbaz recognizes that healthcare technology will need to be more than innovative to improve outcomes and reduce provider workload. It will take public-private partnership and a shift in perspective to take advantage of the possibilities.

In the season finale of our podcast, we take a closer look at the potential of healthcare technology and Troy Tazbaz’s personal journey that led him to where he is today.

Alexandra Drane is a bona fide change agent in healthcare.

Not content with being an entrepreneur, she became a serial entrepreneur, and founded multiple healthcare ventures that have ranged from health IT to support for unpaid (and often unsung) caregivers.

Drane’s unique mix of irreverence and optimism has brought her from one challenge to the next, from healthcare analytics to empowering caregivers, plus a stint at Walmart as a clerk—after she had already started three businesses—to get on-the-ground experience on what “customer service” really means.

In our seventh episode of the season, Drane shares her perspective on caregivers as unsung angels, and how effecting change in healthcare is well within reach when you put your mind to it.

Care teams are evolving to break down silos and prioritize collaboration in patient care. Is healthcare ready?

Dr. Eric Weidmann, a former chief medical officer and primary care physician, stops by our podcast to share his perspective on some of the most pressing questions in healthcare today, including:

• How can an expanded care team help make up for shortages in primary care physicians and gaps in patient access to care?
• How does interoperability and information sharing empower providers to better treat patients?
• What role does transparency play in the evolving healthcare landscape?

With his background in primary care and health technology, Dr. Weidmann believes that we should expand primary care access for every patient—and he helps us draw a roadmap.

In the early days of her career, Susannah Fox fell in love with the democratization of data and the rebalancing of power. Today, that passion has taken the form of helping empower patients with their care.

Fox wrote her observations of the shift toward patient-led care in her new book, Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care.

As she notes in the episode, “Patients have to rebel to see change in healthcare. They are the people who have the most at stake, and yet appear on no organizational chart for any healthcare company.”

Fox also discusses the healthcare technology innovations she helped bring to life as the Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services during the Obama administration.

Get to know Susannah Fox and her perspective on navigating the American healthcare system on the fifth episode of our season.