Radio Advisory

The United States spends nearly twice as much per person on healthcare as other wealthy countries, yet US life expectancy was 79 years in 2024, compared with 83 years across peer nations. But the problem isn't simply that the United States spends more. Every healthcare system makes trade-offs among affordability, access, outcomes, choice, and innovation. The question is whether we're honest about the choices we're making and what we're willing to give up.

For her final episode of Radio Advisory, Rachel (Rae) Woods takes the conversation live to Advisory Board's Chicago Summit with Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of AcademyHealth, pediatrician, and health services researcher. They use international healthcare systems not as blueprints, but as mirrors for the choices facing US healthcare leaders. They explore why higher spending hasn't consistently delivered better access or outcomes, what the United States has implicitly chosen to prioritize, and how leaders can stop promising everything at once and make the trade-offs inside their own organizations more intentional, transparent, and explainable.

We’re here to help:

• Episode | 310: Finding margin in providers' new policy reality
• Webinars | Global trends in healthcare, part 1 and Global trends in healthcare, part 2
• Webinar | After election day: What's next for healthcare policy?
• Report | The health plan leader’s framework for clinical cost management
• Expert Insight | 5 forces driving healthcare's next chapter
• AcademyHealth | AcademyHealth
• Healthcare Triage
• @aaronecarroll.bsky.social — Bluesky

Request a demo of Advisory Board Market Intelligence

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

How are OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google shaping healthcare experiences both within and outside the walls of the traditional delivery and payment system? There are hundreds of AI applications for healthcare. But when we look under the hood, they all come back to a small handful of foundational models.

These models are not only powering your patients’ healthcare experience with direct-to-consumer tools, like chatbots, they’re powering the AI tools you use to interface with your patients or members, and to run your business. That means these companies may have considerable influence over your organization—whether or not they show up explicitly on your vendor registry.

In this episode, host Abby Burns and Advisory Board expert Ty Aderhold explore what this influence looks like in practice, the risks that accompany our collective dependence on a few organizations, and how leaders should think about their own roles in shaping these early innings of AI in healthcare.

We’re here to help:

• Advisory Board research | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases
• Expert Insight | 4 insights to create future-ready AI governance in health systems
• Webinar | AI in clinical care: Challenges and opportunities
• Episode | 314: Where health plans are placing their AI bets

Request a demo of Advisory Board Market Intelligence

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

With a new payment model, CMS may have quietly created the first reimbursement pathway for AI-delivered, value-incentivized behavioral healthcare. Is that a good thing?

In this episode, host Abby Burns and Dr. Tristan Gorrindo delve into how the behavioral healthcare landscape in the U.S. has changed with the pandemic-era explosion of virtual BH platforms, and consider what that change has—and has not—achieved. Then they cast their eyes forward and unpack how the new ACCESS Model out of CMS will be a testing ground for behavioral healthcare transformation: technology-delivered care paid for using outcomes-based payment. Dr. Gorrindo, a pediatric psychiatrist, behavioral health researcher, and Chief Medical Officer of evolvedMD, argues that we should be rooting for the success of the ACCESS Model, while simultaneously anticipating and being ready to act on several avenues of unintended consequences.

The conversation caters to any healthcare leader with a stake in finding a more effective way to pay for clinical care, and in understanding the early innings of AI-enabled care delivery.

In this conversation, Dr. Gorrindo references 9-8-8, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 988 is “a national hotline offering one-on-one support for mental health, suicide, and substance use-related problems for anyone 24/7.” (SAMHSA.gov) The 988 number has been operational since 2022, and has received nearly 19 million calls. In September 2026 alone, 988 received 536k calls, 163k texts, and 102k chats.

We’re here to help:

• Read Tristan’s JAMA Psychiatry piece | A New CMS Payment Model for AI-Delivered Behavioral Health Care | Health Care Economics, Insurance, Payment | JAMA Psychiatry | JAMA Network
• Episode | Ep. 260: What does progress in behavioral healthcare look like? Three leaders weigh in
• Quick Guide | ACCESS: CMMI's tech-enabled chronic care model
• Expert Insight | Your behavioral health and VBC strategies should work together. Here's why.

2026 Strategic Planner survey

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Health system margins have recovered from record lows, but the median margin remains just over 1%, leaving organizations with little room for error. Sustainable margin isn't simply the biggest number an organization can generate. It's the ability to reliably fund operations, reinvest in the future, absorb unexpected shocks, and avoid destabilizing cuts.

In this episode, host Rae Woods speaks with Advisory Board experts Chelsea Needham and Clare Wirth about why leaders need to stop managing revenue cycle, workforce, operations, and growth as separate priorities and start treating them as an interconnected margin system. They explore the ripple effects of common margin initiatives, the opportunity costs behind strategic decisions, and the questions leaders should ask before approving their next financial improvement effort. Listen to learn how health system executives can build margin that is not only stronger today, but more sustainable over the long term.

We’re here to help:

• Expert Insight | 5 assumptions executives make about revenue cycle (and what to do instead)
• Expert Insight | 6 strategies to improve your operating margins and financial resilience
• E-book | 5 Provider Strategies to Help Improve Your Margins | Optum
• Episode | 303: The hard truths behind the fight for commercial volumes
• Episode | [Encore] How data savvy strategic planners will define the next era of health system growth

2026 Strategic Planning Survey

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

For years, healthcare leaders have debated whether the industry faces a true physician shortage or simply a physician capacity problem. But as physicians near retirement, workforce fatigue persists, and organizations struggle to recruit providers fast enough to meet growing demand, that debate is taking on new urgency.

In this episode, hosts Rae Woods and Abby Burns sit down with Advisory Board expert Daniel Kuzmanovich to revisit a prediction they made nearly a decade ago: that healthcare could avoid a physician shortage if organizations redesigned care delivery and deployed care teams differently. Together, they unpack what has changed in the physician workforce since then, why advanced practice providers may be healthcare's greatest untapped source of clinical capacity, and how leaders should balance workforce strategy, care model redesign, and AI investments as they plan for the future of care delivery.

We’re here to help:

• Expert Insight | 5 ways hospitals can build a more flexible physician workforce
• Report | Solving the CV clinician shortage without sacrificing margin
• Research | Provider operations
• Tool | Clinician Supply Profiler

Sponsor link: 2026 Strategic Planning Survey

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

While most health plans have at least begun testing AI tools to improve operational efficiency, a far smaller number have moved beyond pilot stage. The challenge is not merely adopting AI – it is deciding which processes to reimagine and which solutions merit investment; doing the work of embedding solutions in end-to-end workflows; measuring success; and, crucially, establishing the organizational alignment needed to generate value at scale.

In this episode, host Rae Woods sits down with Troy Anderson, Vice President of Payer Solutions at Optum.ai, and Sally Kim, Advisory Board health plan expert. They talk about why payment integrity and member experience are rising to the top of health plans’ priority list for deploying AI, and how regional plans can learn from larger organizations, focus on proven value, and avoid costly mistakes in the early stages of investment and deployment.

We’re here to help:

• Expert Insight | How health plans can tackle rising administrative costs
• Webinar | How health plans are using AI to deliver a better member experience
• Webinar | The AI arms race: How health plans are responding in payment integrity
• Episode | Ep. 313: Inside Sutter Health's playbook for scaling AI
• Episode | Ep. 228: Avoiding ‘pilot purgatory’ in remote patient monitoring
• Research | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases
• Research | Health plan strategy
• Get in touch | Simplifying healthcare with AI | Optum
• Playbook | Your playbook for developing an AI governance strategy
• Ready-to-Use Resource| How to take a problem-first approach to AI

Playlist | Explore Radio Advisory’s Tech & AI playlist for expert insights on innovation and the future of healthcare

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Healthcare organizations may be investing in AI, but many struggle to advance use cases beyond a single specialty, site, or workflow.

At Sutter Health, leaders approached AI not as a series of technology pilots, but as a systemwide operational challenge. They set out to ensure that investments in AI centered on supporting clinicians across the enterprise before, during, and after patient visits. Today, more than 6,000 clinicians use ambient listening technology, generating more than five million clinical notes. Reaching that level of adoption required much more than selecting the right tool.

In this episode, host Rachel (Rae) Woods speaks with Dr. Veena Jones, Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Sutter Health, about what it takes to move beyond siloed experimentation and actually scale AI across an enterprise. They explore how thoughtful governance, meaningful multistakeholder feedback loops, and a “good enough to scale” mindset can turn promising technology into a sustainable capability that supports clinicians and patients.

We’re here to help:

• Case Study | How Sutter Health scaled AI to support clinicians system-wide
• Episode | Ep. 228: Avoiding ‘pilot purgatory’ in remote patient monitoring
• Playbook | Your playbook for developing an AI governance strategy
• Research | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases
• Ready-to-Use Resource | How to take a problem-first approach to AI

Subscribe to The Daily Briefing, a must-read newsletter for thousands of healthcare executives across the nation.

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Health systems across the country started calling Advisory Board with the same question: Why are our volumes down?

In this episode, Abby Burns, Clare Wirth, and Vidal Seegobin walk through what happened after our research team dug into the data to find out whether those concerns were isolated incidents or part of a broader national trend. What they found raises a much bigger question than whether volumes are down today: What if they're not coming back the way we've assumed they would?

Together, they debate the forces reshaping demand, from affordability pressures and coverage losses to site-of-care shifts and changing patient behavior. They also explore what the findings mean for health system growth strategies and why organizations may need to shift their focus from capturing volume to competing on access.

We’re here to help:

• Podcast | 303: The hard truths behind the fight for commercial volumes
• Playlist | Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook
• Expert insight | What’s really behind the drop in hospital volumes?
• Report | Which services are most at risk of leaving the hospital?
• Research | Market trends and growth strategy
• Tools | Get in touch with a representative to learn more about Advisory Board's Market Intelligence tool

Sponsor link: Webinar | Building financial sustainability in specialty pharmacy

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

For years, the story of ambulatory surgery centers was all about moving care out of the hospital. But the most important ASC trend today isn't growth. It's variation.

Organizations are using ambulatory surgery centers to pursue very different goals. Some view ASCs as a way to relieve inpatient capacity. Others are trying to lower costs, protect market share, recruit physicians, expand access, or create room for more complex hospital care. And those strategies can vary dramatically depending on the service line, ownership model, market dynamics, and state policy environment.

In this episode, host Rae Woods talks with Advisory Board researchers Nick Hula, Gaby Marmolejos, and Rachael Peroutky about why no two ASC strategies look exactly alike, and how healthcare leaders can determine the right role for ASCs in their market.

We’re here to help:

• Webinar | How to design an ASC-specific commercial strategy
• Report | Site-of-care shifts 2026: Inside the latest trends and data
• Report | Which services are most at risk of leaving the hospital?
• Quick Guide | Guide to today's top orthopedic trends
• Report | Supplier playbook for developing an ASC commercial strategy
• Episode | 291: If you build it, will they buy it? The new rules for proving value in life sciences

Sponsor link: Webinar | Value-based care demystified

Sponsor link: Report | 4 ways health systems are pursuing lab growth

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Protecting provider margins has never been easy. But today’s combination of policy shifts, reimbursement changes, labor pressures, and evolving care models is forcing health systems to rethink where margin comes from and how to sustain it.

In this episode, Abby Burns sits down with Optum Advisory’s Samantha Wyld and Jess Garber to explore how both sweeping policy changes and smaller regulatory updates are reshaping margin management. Through real-world examples, they unpack three areas of opportunity: pricing strategy, clinical documentation and coding, and capturing economies of scale many organizations have yet to realize. Together, they explain why yesterday’s margin playbook is no longer enough and what it takes to take a more strategic approach to financial performance.

We’re here to help:

• Expert Insight | 5 assumptions executives make about revenue cycle (and what to do instead)a>
• Expert Insight |6 strategies to improve your operating margins and financial resiliencea>
• Ready-to-Use Resource |Mapping AI’s real role in the revenue cyclea>
• E-book |5 Provider Strategies to Help Improve Your Margins | Optuma>
• Podcast |303: The hard truths behind the fight for commercial volumesa>
• Podcast |[Encore] How data savvy strategic planners will define the next era of health system growth
• Get in Touch | Optum Advisory: Healthcare Consulting Services

Sponsor link: Quick Guide | Rethinking iodine contrast use: A stewardship maturity model

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

(This episode originally aired on February 10, 2026. Dr. Omar Lateef has since announced his intention to retire from Rush Health in June 2027.)

As financial pressure mounts and the healthcare safety net continues to strain, academic medical centers are drawing on their culture of innovation to pursue better outcomes — and narrow life expectancy gaps in the communities they serve.

In this episode of Radio Advisory, host Rae Woods sits down with leaders from Rush University Medical Center to explore how health systems can stay focused on results amid tightening margins, political scrutiny, and ongoing uncertainty in grant funding.

Dr. Omar Lateef, President and CEO of Rush, and Dr. David Ansell, Senior Vice President for Community Health Equity, describe how Rush treats gap-reduction as a long-term operating strategy rather than a moral or messaging exercise. They share practical examples of how local partnerships, targeted investments, and day-to-day operational choices can improve outcomes while still making financial sense — and why avoiding battles over language helps keep the focus squarely on results.

We’re here to help:

• How Rush University Medical Center is addressing the root causes of social determinants of health
• 264: Research funding is being slashed. What’s the real industry impact?
• How research funding cuts are impacting healthcare (and how to respond)
• 12 things CEOs need to know in 2026
• Tool: How policy changes will impact your bottom line
• Who gets the chance to be healthy? | Rush
• The Rush Center for Community Well-Being at Sankofa Wellness Village | Rush
• Health disparities in Chicago and the work to solve them with Rush University Medical Center (AMA)
• The Anchor Strategy — A Place-Based Business Approach for Health Equity | New England Journal of Medicine
• Rush Signs on as First Partner for Local Laundry Service | Rush
• David Ansell Books – New: The Death Gap

Sponsor link: Preserving iodine, protecting imaging

https://www.advisory.com/sponsored/preserving-iodine-protecting-imaging

(This episode originally aired on February 3, 2026. Stay tuned towards the end of the conversation for an update on the state of pediatric hospitals midway through 2026.)

Pediatric hospitals are one of the most important segments in the industry to watch right now. Although children’s hospitals make up only 5% of total hospital market share, more than 40% of U.S. children rely on Medicaid, leaving pediatric organizations disproportionately exposed as the Medicaid-related provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act take effect.

The pressures inside pediatric care were mounting even before this moment. After years of outperforming adult hospitals, children’s hospitals have seen margins fall from double digits to just 1% last year. Rising bad debt, higher supply and labor costs, a rapid shift toward lower margin outpatient care, and emerging challenges like declining birth rates and vaccine policy upheaval have created a perfect financial storm. While some of these dynamics are unique to pediatrics, the sector also offers an early warning signal for the rest of healthcare — and an opportunity to translate lessons across both worlds.

In this episode, host Abby Burns and Advisory Board expert Vidal Seegobin break down why pediatric leaders must simultaneously manage immediate-term margin pressure, prepare for a more ambulatory-dominant model, and futureproof their organizations amid shifting demographics. Vidal also shares actionable steps leaders can take now, along with the critical lessons pediatric hospitals offer the wider healthcare ecosystem.

We’re here to help:

• 5 insights on the state of pediatric hospitals today
• 12 things CEOs need to know in 2026
• The State of the Healthcare Industry in 2026
• Read Advisory Board's 2026 research agenda
• 3 trends shaping healthcare in 2026 (and how to respond)
• 278: Dr. Emily Oster on fighting misinformation and rebuilding trust in healthcare
• 277: Patient distrust is costing you. Here’s how to rebuild it.
• Learn how outpatient shifts can impact your organization by using Advisory Board’s Market Scenario Planner tool.

Sponsor link: Q&A: How e-prescribing for vaccines may help close patient care gaps

(This episode originally aired on March 17, 2026.)

As health systems pursue growth beyond traditional avenues, the role of the strategic planner is becoming increasingly complex. High level directional data is no longer enough — achieving meaningful, differentiated growth now requires leveraging granular, sophisticated data to inform investment decisions.

In this episode, host Rachel Woods sits down with Advisory Board experts Sebastian Beckman and Ellie Wiles to explore how health systems can rethink strategic planning for 2026 and beyond. Together, they unpack what it should actually look like to democratize data, why data governance matters just as much as data access, and how service line leaders can partner with planners to make faster, more precise, margin savvy decisions.

We’re here to help:

• Tools | Get in touch with a representative to learn more about Advisory Board's Market Intelligence tool
• Podcast | 289: What are health systems doing in 2026? Results from our survey are in.
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook Playlist
• Case Study | How UT Southwestern closed genomic testing gaps in prostate cancer care

Sponsor link: How UCHealth lowered population-level obesity rates in their region

For years, regional health plans benefited from powerful tailwinds: Medicare Advantage growth, Medicaid expansion, and a prospering ACA marketplace. But many of those growth engines have stalled, just as new pressures emerged: rising utilization, runaway spend, pricing uncertainty and more scrutiny from patients and policy makers. The result is a dramatically different financial reality for health plans. In 2024, only eight of 33 Blues plans reported positive operating margins.

In this episode, host Rae Woods sits down with Jared Landis, Vice President of Advisory Board's Health Plan Research practice, to unpack how regional plans got here and the three-year turnaround strategy regional and Blues plans are now pursuing.

Together, they explore the market forces that upended the payer playbook, the operational and pricing changes plans are making to stabilize performance, and how AI-enabled transformation could reshape the future of the insurance business.

Stay tuned to the end of the episode for an update on the Rural Health Transformation Program, including a key deadline this fall.

We’re here to help:

• Episode | Ep. 257: Paul Markovich on new builds, breakups, and bold healthcare bets
• Episode | 305: “The work isn’t easy, but it’s clear”: How healthcare leaders are responding to the market
• Episode | 302: CMS announced the 2027 MA final rate. What do payers and providers need to know?
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook playlist
• Expert Insight | Can health plans turn their MA business around this year?
• Research | Health plan strategy
• Report | Rural health transformation funds: Where they're really going
• Ready-to-Use Slides | Health Plan Market Explorer
• Webinar | Understanding health plan decision-makers

Sponsor link: Precision in motion: How digital tools support diabetes care providers

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

In this episode, Abby Burns welcomes back Megan Zweig, CEO of Rock Health Advisory, to answer audience questions submitted during Advisory Board's Research Summit in Carlsbad, California.

Together, they explore how health systems are engaging with the explosion in consumer-generated data, the role of medtech and pharma in AI-enabled innovation, and why AI enablement may be able to unlock personalized care for a wider range of patients.

We’re here to help:

• Episode | 304: Boom, bust, or bubble? Rock Health weighs in on digital health funding in 2026
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Tech and AI playlist
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook playlist
• Research | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases
• Research | Truly personalized care is possible. Here's how to make it a reality.

Rock Health

• H1 2026 funding and market overview: Durable roots, shifting routes | Rock Health

Want to see a live recording of Radio Advisory? Register for an Advisory Board summit and get the insights your organization needs to navigate uncertainty and build lasting resilience.

Advisory Board members: Action requested! Help shape Advisory Board’s next research agenda by taking our quick survey — share your priorities and challenges to ensure our research reflects what matters most to healthcare leaders like you.

Nearly 70% of adults ages 65 and over skipped the latest COVID vaccine. Learn how health systems can treat vaccine uncertainty as a routine care gap — not patient resistance — by reading Advisory Board’s expert insight.

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Oncology is simultaneously one of healthcare's greatest success stories and one of its biggest financial challenges. Cancer care continues to benefit from breakthroughs in precision medicine and early detection, even as oncology spending is projected to approach $200 billion by 2029. At the same time, cancer programs are facing rising patient volumes, growing demand for advanced therapies, and mounting pressure to improve access and affordability.

In this episode, hosts Abby Burns and Chloe Bakst welcome oncology expert Gaby Marmolejos to break down the trends shaping cancer care in 2026 and beyond. Together, they explore improvements in community-based access to advanced therapies, the promise of multi-cancer early detection testing, and the reimbursement challenges threatening program sustainability.

We’re here to help:

• Playbook | Cell and gene therapy programs: How to launch, optimize, and deliver CGTs sustainably
• Roundtable referenced | Advisory Board Oncology Roundtable: Trends and tech you can’t ignore
• Webinar | The top 4 trends in oncology today
• Report | Prioritizing equity in cancer treatment: Emerging ideas
• Episode | 270: Service line snapshot: What every health leader needs to know
• Episode | Ep. 209: Predicting what oncology will look like in 2030

Help shape Advisory Board’s next research agenda by taking our quick survey — share your priorities and challenges to ensure our research reflects what matters most to healthcare leaders like you.

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Value-based care is entering its accountability era. Participation in value-based arrangements continues to grow, even as financial pressures weigh down on both providers and payers. But CMMI is setting a clear tone about what it expects from stakeholders moving forward: results.

Host Abby Burns sits down with Advisory Board experts Clare Wirth, Payton Grimes, and Rhea Jain to explore what’s changed — and what hasn’t — in value-based care. From Medicare Advantage turbulence to the push for specialist engagement and greater downside risk, the group breaks down what leaders need to know about how the value-based care landscape is evolving.

We’re here to help:

• Expert Insight | VBC in 2026: What was, what’s now, and what’s next
• Ready-to-Use Resource | Your guide to CMMI’s 25+ innovation models
• Case Study | Astera and Vantris are disrupting oncology with condition-based bundles
• Case Study | HOPCo’s total cost of care approach to VBC in MSK care
• Case Study referenced | How Optum Health defines and upholds value in specialty care
• Episode | Ep. 243: What’s now and what’s next in value-based care
• Playlist | Value-Based Care
• Roundtable | HOME - Advisory Board VBC Roundtable: How to deliver the next era of VBC

Help shape Advisory Board’s next research agenda by taking our quick survey — share your priorities and challenges to ensure our research reflects what matters most to healthcare leaders like you.

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

After years of uncertainty, many healthcare executives say they’ve experienced more change in the past five years than in their entire careers. Policy shifts, evolving patient expectations, and rapid advances in AI are all colliding at once — forcing leaders to rethink how they operate and where they invest.

But here’s the surprising part: the overwhelming sentiment isn’t panic. It’s clarity.

In this episode, host Rachel (Rae) Woods sits down with Advisory Board researchers Morghen Philippi and Marisa Nives to share what they’re hearing from months of research conversations with leaders across the ecosystem. Together, they offer a grounded look at how peers, partners, and competitors are thinking right now — where leaders are aligned, where they’re making different bets, and what they’re prioritizing next.

We’re here to help:

• Episode | Ep. 303: The hard truths behind the fight for commercial volumes
• Episode | Ep. 232: The rise of ICHRAs: Why some employers are turning to the individual market
• Playlist | Strategy and Financial Outlook playlist
• Report | 12 things CEOs need to know in 2026
• Report | Survey insights: The 5 trends redefining health system strategy in 2026
• Tool | Check out Advisory Board’s Market Scenario Planner and other Advisory Board analytics and data tools to inform your strategy for growth, cost control and more.
• Ready-to-Use Slides | Market outlook for individual and small group health insurance
• Webinar | How to embrace a proactive (not reactive) approach to change

Q&A with a clinical pharmacist: Reimagining diabetes care

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Digital health funding is heating up—but where are the dollars going? And what does it mean for health systems’ digital health strategies?

In this live episode, recorded at Advisory Board’s Research Summit, host Abby Burns sits down with Megan Zweig, President and CEO of Rock Health Advisory, for an update on what’s going on in the world of digital health funding. Together, they unpack what investment activity looks like and explore questions around what constitutes an investable thesis in 2026, how health systems are—or could be—engaging in the startup ecosystem, and what it takes to be a good incubation partner.

We’re here to help:

• Episode | 298: Battle of the bots? Separating AI hype from value in revenue cycle
• Episode | 254: Stop searching for the “perfect” AI product and do this instead
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Tech and AI playlist
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook playlist
• Research | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases
• Rock Health
• Want to see a live recording of Radio Advisory? Register for an Advisory Board summit and get the insights your organization needs to navigate uncertainty and build lasting resilience.

The role of pharmacists in cardiometabolic care

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

As health systems anticipate greater downward pressures on margins in the months and years to come, they’re homing their growth strategies accordingly. As we’ve been saying in our research the past couple of years, “sustainability” is now the name of the game. Here’s the conundrum: our research also shows that 90% of systems are betting on the same growth plays as their competition. And more and more, those bets converge on a common goal: win more commercial volumes.

In this episode, host Abby Burns sits down with Advisory Board experts Shay Pratt and Emily Heuser to unpack the three main avenues health systems are exploring to win commercial volumes: ambulatory care, service lines, and direct-to-employer contracting. For each, they explore a “hard truth” and corresponding mindset shift leaders must face as they weigh what it will take to generate margin-accretive growth.

We’re here to help:

• Ambulatory research | Ambulatory care
• Market trends research | Market trends and growth strategy
• Service line research | Service lines and specialty care
• Episode | 290: How data savvy strategic planners will define the next era of health system growth
• Playlist | Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook playlist
• Tool | Check out Advisory Board’s Market Scenario Planner and other Advisory Board analytics and data tools to inform your strategy for growth, cost control and more.

Learn more about Advisory Board’s 2026 summit series.

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.