Improve Healthcare

Dr. Phil Wagner is founder-CEO of Sparta Science, a physician and a strength coach whose own athletic career as a football and rugby player was cut short by a series of avoidable training injuries. Dr. Wagner’s commitment to data-driven coaching and athlete development began as a strength coach for U.C. Berkeley and UCLA and as a professional rugby coach in New Zealand and Australia. Frustrated by the lack of evidence-based approaches to athletic performance and injury prevention within professional sports, Phil received his medical degree from USC focused on biomechanics. Phil’s passion for protecting athlete health and longevity through injury resilience coupled with his medically-oriented human performance mindset inspired him to found Sparta Science, a movement technology and data science company focused on improving musculoskeletal health. During Phil's time as a college athlete and strength and conditioning coach at UC, Berkeley, he became frustrated with the lack of evidence-based approaches to performance injury. This experience inspired Phil to blend machine learning with practitioner expertise to generate data that helps us better understand the complex human body. Learn More https://spartascience.com/

Dr. Nagdev is Exo’s Senior Director of Clinical Education. Separate from his capacity with Exo, he also serves as the Director of Emergency Ultrasound at Highland Hospital as well as a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In his previous academic position, Dr. Nagdev started the point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) program and fellowship at Brown University. Dr. Nagdev is a highly respected international POCUS researcher and educator. He has been a thought leader throughout his career, publishing more than 90 peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of POCUS including pain management, cardiac arrest and volume resuscitation. His work led to recognition and national awards at both the American College of Emergency Medicine (ACEP) and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). Learn More at Exo

Eugene Nelson is a professor of community and family medicine at The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. He serves as the director of Population Health and Measurement at The Dartmouth Institute and leads a program on new models to advance the coproduction of health care. Nelson is a national leader in health care improvement and the development and application of measures of quality, system performance, health outcomes, value, and patient perceptions. His current work is focused on using patient-centered registries to develop learning health systems capable of coproducing improved health care and innovative science. He leads a Dartmouth team that is conducting national proof of concept demonstration programs for several chronic disease populations including cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and rheumatology. In the early 1990’s, Nelson and his colleagues at Dartmouth began developing clinical microsystem thinking. His work developing the “clinical value compass” and “whole system measures” to assess health care system performance has made him a well-recognized quality and value measurement expert. He is the recipient of The Joint Commission’s Ernest A. Codman award for his work on outcomes measurement in health care. Nelson has been a pioneer in bringing modern quality improvement thinking into the mainstream of health care; he helped launch the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and served as a founding board member. He has authored over 150 publications and is an author of two recent books: Quality by Design: A Clinical Microsystems Approach and Value by Design: Developing Clinical Microsystems to Achieve Organizational Excellence. He received an AB from Dartmouth College, an MPH from Yale University, and a DSc from Harvard University.. Glyn Elwyn, is the director of the Institute’s Patient Engagement program. He has assembled an international interdisciplinary team, The Preference Laboratory, examining the implementation of shared decision making into clinical settings, using innovative tools and measures, such as CollaboRATE, a patient experience measure of shared decision making and Observer OPTION, for use on recorded data. Members of the team have led the development of Option Grids™ patient decision aids, tools designed to support collaboration between clinicians and patients. He holds chair appointments at the Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare, University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Netherlands, the Cochrane Institute for Primary Care and Public Health, Cardiff University, and at University College London. He is the lead editor of Shared decision making: Evidence Based Patient Choice, Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 2016. Learn more about The Dartmouth Institute Coproduction Laboratory

Alex Bahram is the co-founder and CEO of JupiterDX, a health data analytics and engagement platform that helps patients suffering from chronic illnesses manage their care and find effective treatments. Using wearables like apple watch and Fitbit to monitor vital signs and activity levels, JupiterDX's app assists patients with energy and symptom management. JupiterDX is currently focused on helping patients with Long COVID. Prior to co-founding JupiterDX, Alex was the sixth employee at SummerBio, a high throughput COVID testing startup. While there, he helped manage their hardware supply chain and helped the company grow to over 100 employees and the largest COVID tester in California. He is currently on hiatus from his studies at Northwestern University to focus on growing JupiterDX. Learn More at JupiterDX

Eric Alvarez is the CEO and Founder of Grapefruit Health, a company that is creating a brand new workforce to help meet the significant shortage of healthcare workers today. Prior to this adventure, he has held multiple positions within the healthcare industry. Most recently Eric was the COO of a healthcare technology startup called Fibroblast, which was acquired by the EMR giant Cerner Corporation in 2020. In this role, he oversaw product, development, human resources, finance, general company operations, and was active in all major sales cycles. Before joining Fibroblast, Eric was a hospital administrator at the University of Chicago Medicine and Northwestern Medicine. In these roles, he led large clinical and nonclinical teams mostly in specialty services that included the services lines of Cardiovascular surgery, Urology, and Ophthalmology. These roles have provided Eric with a deep understanding of how health systems function as a business and what their systemic challenges are. Eric earned his Masters in Healthcare Administration from Rush University, a top 5 program, and his Bachelors in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University, a top 10 program. Prior to college, he served in the United States Air Force during Iraqi Freedom. Most recently, Eric was named a top 100 Rising LatinX founders, Distinguished Alumni of the Year from Rush, and took a board seat at Southern Illinois University’s College of Health and Human Sciences. Learn more Grapefruit Health

Kenneth Dion, PhD, MSN, MBA, RN, RCSI, FAAN, Sigma President, is a 40-year veteran of the health care industry. He is a nurse entrepreneur, inventor, and scholar. In 1999, Dr. Dion founded Decision Critical, Inc., an information systems company, to meet the education, compliance, and competency development needs of health care organizations. In 2012, Decision Critical was acquired by HealthStream, Inc., where Dr. Dion served as vice president and chief of nursing informatics until 2014. Dr. Dion joined Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 2018 as the Inaugural Dean for Business Innovation and Strategic Relationships. His responsibilities included bringing nursing innovations to market, implementing emerging technologies, and providing strategic guidance to the organization. Dr. Dion earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Central Florida and his MBA, MSN, and PhD in nursing systems at the University of Texas at Austin. Learn more at SigmaNursing

Eric Demers is the CEO of Madaket Health. He believes we can transform healthcare delivery through the power of data and interoperability. With more than 25 years of global healthcare experience, Eric has built and scaled leading technology and service companies, from early stage to Fortune 100. He is highly sought-after for speaking and consulting on international health, having advised global entities and governments on critical issues facing healthcare. A growth-minded leader, Eric has founded three companies and exited two. Eric previously served in strategy-focused executive roles at IBM, Accreon, MEDecision and Orion Health. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Madaket Health accelerates healthcare administration with seamless integrations and a fully connected platform that ensures healthcare organizations run smarter, faster, and more efficiently. With Madaket, providers, payers, and intermediaries uncover provider data analytics and insights, saving more than $500 million in the process. The company’s platform automates 90% of burdensome and error-prone administrative tasks, streamlining provider credentialing, licensing, and verification processes, boosting staff productivity 10-20X while reducing processing times by up to 50%. Learn how Madaket targets billions of dollars in healthcare administrative waste by simplifying provider data management, revenue cycle, and exchange processes at madakethealth.com. Learn more about Madaket Health

Mohamed is the founder and CEO of InovCares Connected Comprehensive Healthcare, LLC.He was inspired to develop InovCares following the tragic loss of both his sister and his aunt to pregnancy hemorrhage & preeclampsia. Previously, Mohamed was the Director of Operations for the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs. During his time at the center, he supported150 minority-led businesses from idea to growth stage and headed the center's nonprofit financial statement preparation, budgeting, billing, and receivables, building operations, and maintenance. Mohamed has served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Goodie Nation - a nonprofit supporting 350 impact-driven founders with connections, access to capital, and customers. He also held positions as Chief Financial Officer for Wellness Healthcare Clinic - a comprehensive behavioral health and addiction medicine clinic supporting underserved patients impacted by opioids. Mohamed is also the host and producer for The Empowered Patient Podcast sponsored by InovCares, where he connects with healthcare providers, payor executives, and other healthcare leaders. He has held several roles as Program Leader for Startup Leadership Program, Manager of FP&A for National Fire Sprinkler Association, Senior Financial Analyst for TSYS, Senior Valuation Analyst for Rea & Association, and Senior Financial Analyst for AirNet Systems, Staff for Ernst & Young. Mohamed holds an MBA in Finance from Mount Vernon Nazarene University, where he served on the Alumni Association council board. He received his BSBA in Economics & Accounting with a minor in Political Science. He served as President of the Accounting Association and founded a nonprofit - Voice of Africa, that connects high school students to college campus mentors. He has been featured by Forbes, Google, Google Play, Android, Axios, Washington Post, Politico, Protocol, Medscape Education, Becker's Healthcare, AfroWellness Magazine, and other news outlets for his work with InovCares. Learn More about InovCares

David Sanchez is the Founder and CEO of Digitalis Medical and Miracle Recovery. On one hand, David is helping healthcare brands build their profits and visibility through digital marketing. Through Miracle Recovery, he works to save lives from addiction. From being a nurse in the ER, to scaling his own addiction treatment center from 0 to 7 figures – David is committed to making a huge impact on communities, while also driving huge results for companies. Learn more about Digitalis Medical Learn more about Miracle Recovery

Dr. Brian Fengler is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of EvidenceCare (recently named as an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Company), a company that provides a clinical decision support system (CDSS) that’s uniquely integrated with the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to optimize clinician workflows. Dr. Fengler authored a treatment protocol for Pulmonary Embolisms when he was a resident at The University of Virginia. Despite being an expert in the field, he encountered a challenge while treating a 36-week pregnant patient suffering from a massive pulmonary embolism. Like 80% of healthcare decisions, he had to make a snap decision based on a quick internet search. Even though he was able to save both the mother and the unborn baby, he realized there was a gap in evidence-based information available to providers when they need it the most. Looking to fill the gap in 2014, Brian founded EvidenceCare with Co-Founder, Jim Jamieson, to create software that would help physicians make better decisions for their patients and hospital. Before EvidenceCare, he was an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at St Thomas Midtown and Rutherford Hospitals, one of the Founding Physicians and Managing Partners of Physicians Urgent Care, and a partner-owner of the Middle Tennessee Emergency Partners physician group. Dr. Fengler is now revolutionizing decision support at the bedside by providing what clinicians need to give better, evidence-based care. Today, our incredible guest speaker will share more about his journey starting a healthcare tech company, EHR innovation, optimizing clinical workflows, and how the healthcare system can and should be improved. Learn more about https://evidence.care/

Mr. Hillen is the founder and CEO of VideaHealth, a Massachusetts of Technology spinout and leading dental-AI company working with leading DSOs, insurers, and other companies in the dental industry. Previously, he conducted research at the intersection of engineering and social science at MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems and Society and at Harvard Business School. He also worked for McKinsey & Company and founded Ninu, a digital healthtech startup. He holds two master’s degrees from MIT in computer science and technology policy and a bachelor’s in management and technology. He completed the first German State exam in medicine, as well. Learn more at VideaHealth

Matt McBride is the CEO and Co-Founder of Mend — an enterprise-grade patient engagement and telehealth platform designed to help healthcare organizations scale their practice and care for more patients. An experienced entrepreneur, he co-founded Mend in 2015 with his three best friends to revolutionize healthcare delivery. From a young age Matt developed an interest in technology, and throughout his career has combined this passion with his expertise in business and leading teams to improve the patient experience. Having seen digitalization transform industries, he recognized the need for healthcare organizations to harness software to increase access to care – transitioning away from a heavy reliance on phones and paper. At Mend, Matt is focused on using the power of telemedicine, A.I. reminders, digital forms and more to make it easier for patients and providers to communicate. With deep experience in healthcare tech companies – including OneOncology and Varian Medical Systems – Matt understands how medical offices work and how providers can leverage technology to reduce administrative burden, spend more quality time with patients and operate more efficiently. Driven by a commitment to excellence, Matt works relentlessly to curate solutions that help healthcare organizations care for more patients. A hands-on chief executive who works closely with customers, his goal is to deliver the best possible products and services to help as many patients as possible. Originally from Michigan, Matt is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he double majored in business administration and management information systems and earned a Master’s in Business Administration. Now based in Orlando, when Matt is not at work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters. Learn more about Mend

Peter Lachman M.D. MPH. M.B.B.Ch., FRCPCH, FCP (SA), FRCPI was Chief Executive Officer of the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from 1st May 2016 to 30th April 2021. He has great experience as a clinician and leader in quality improvement and patient safety. He led the transformation of ISQua to be one of the leading global organisations in quality, safety and person centred care. Dr Lachman was a Health Foundation Quality Improvement Fellow at IHI in 2005-2006 and developed the quality improvement programme at Great Ormond Street Hospital where he was the Deputy Medical Director with the lead for Patient Safety. He was also a Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Free Hospital in London specialising in the challenge of long term conditions for children. Dr Lachman has been the National Clinical Lead for SAFE, a Heath Foundation funded RCPCH programme which aims to improve situation awareness in clinical teams across England. Currently, he is Lead Faculty Quality Improvement at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) in Dublin, where he directs the Leadership and Quality programme to develop clinical leaders in quality improvement. He is co-founder and Chairperson of PIPSQC, the Paediatric International Patient Safety and Quality Community. Get a copy of the Handbook of Patient Safety

Dr. Hinkley was hired by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) in August 2017. She has over 32 years in acute care nursing in the healthcare setting. She has ten years of association management leadership experience, having held executive positions in both individual membership associations and certification boards. The Academy AMSN, under her leadership, earned an association industry award for a suite of COVID-19 resources designed specifically for med-surg nurses and employers and was recognized by the association industry as “one of 100 healthcare associations that will save the world”. Hinkley’s industry experience and education allow her to contribute tangible expertise in board governance, innovation, competency frameworks, education development, and board governance but also deep knowledge of the future of work and learning, and the strategies needed to lead professional membership-based and certification organizations in the 21st century. Terri was elected as the President of the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) in July 2021 and is a Director on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Credentialing Excellence (ICE), the Nurses on Boards Coalition (NOBC), and the Otsuka Patient Assistance Fund. She received her RN from Centennial College, BScN from York University, an Executive MBA from Athabasca University, and an Ed.D. in the Executive Leadership (ELP) Human and Organizational Learning (HOL) Program at the George Washington University. Learn more Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses Listen to Ted Talk by Kathleen Bartholomew

Rob Oliver is passionate about helping medical professionals improve the quality of healthcare they deliver. He has been educating the medical community personally and professionally for almost 30 years as a self-advocate, speaker and podcaster. He hosts the record-setting podcast “Perspectives on Healthcare” and is an award-winning International Keynote speaker. Audiences around the world gain insight into quality healthcare from both the patient and the professional perspective and, most importantly, take away practical action steps for delivering high quality healthcare. Learn more at Rob Oliver Check out the Podcast - Perspectives on Healthcare

Dr. Jonathan Baktari, MD is the CEO at both e7 Health and US Drug Test Centers and the host of Baktari MD. e7 health is a preventative health and wellness company that has been called the “the Uber of preventive medicine” and was named the Best Technology Company in the Healthcare Space in 2019. US Drug Test Centers is a nationwide network of over 20,000 testing centers in the US and is revolutionizing drug and alcohol testing across the nation. Both of these groundbreaking technology companies were born out of a combination of Dr. Baktari’s expertise as a doctor, medical director and educator and his over 20 years of clinical, administrative and entrepreneurial experience. A former triple board-certified physician with specialties in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine, being a healthcare CEO is only the latest chapter in Dr. Baktari’s life mission to help others by making integrative preventative medicine available to everyone. Dr. Baktari has always believed that helping others was the ultimate achievement in life. Now, as a business leader, sought-after speaker and podcast host, he’s excited to share his expertise in preventative health, tech entrepreneurship and other topics that can’t be found anywhere else. Learn more about e7 Health Learn more about US Drug Test Centers Learn more about Dr. Baktari Link to BaktariMD

Kyle Kiser is Chief Executive Officer at Arrive Health, the industry leader in delivering data-driven insights to the point of care. In this role, he focuses on helping providers and care teams improve patient access, affordability, and outcomes while reducing administrative burden. By partnering with health systems, health plans, IT vendors, and pharmacy benefit managers, Arrive Health is driving data transparency and better patient care nationwide. Since 2013, Kyle has helped grow the company from a vision to a reality, and he has been at the forefront of some of the most transformational initiatives in healthcare. In particular, he has focused on projects that lower the cost of care, improve health outcomes, and enable informed decision-making at the point of care. His focus on interoperability has allowed partners to improve provider workflows and millions of patientsʼ lives. Kyle has helped develop incentive strategies for some of the countryʼs most innovative employers and led product launches with the nationʼs largest payers. Prior to Arrive Health, he was a senior leader at Welltok, Catapult Health, and Principal Wellness Company. Learn more at Arrive Health

Guido Baechler is CEO and Director at Mainz Biomed (NASDAQ: MYNZ) a leading developer of market-ready molecular genetic diagnostic solutions for life-threatening conditions. The Company's flagship product is ColoAlert, an accurate, non-invasive, and easy-to-use early detection test for colorectal cancer. Guido has 30 years of global experience leading public & private life sciences companies having held senior executive roles at Singulex and SummerBio, and at Roche, where he led Roche Molecular’s global program management. Learn more @MainzBiomed

For over 20 years Jordan Cram has advised organizations to spend more strategically on improving operations in the built environment. He has successfully created digital transformation visions and delivery teams for leading clients worldwide in healthcare, oil and gas, power and utilities, engineering and construction, public infrastructure, education, and real estate. The organizational benefits realized have been substantial. One New York City hospital has documented over $20 million in realized savings in operating and capital expenditures. Jordan has worked in the Middle East, China, South Korea, Europe, North America, Australia, and India. He is from Colorado and is now based in Miami. Learn more at Enstoa

Dr. George Magrath is CEO and a board-certified Ophthalmologist. He has worked in the clinical research industry for 5 years. George worked previously worked at Hovione, LLC Edison Investment Research Limited Medical University of South Carolina prior to joining Lexitas in August 2020. He received a Bachelor of Science in biological chemistry from Clemson University and his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. He then stayed on at the Medical University of South Carolina to complete an internship in General Surgery and a residency in Ophthalmology. Finally, he completed a fellowship in ocular oncology at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Upon completion of fellowship he returned to the Medical University where he served as the Chief of the University’s Ocular Trauma Service. He has 24 peer reviewed publications and has presented at multiple national and regional conferences. In addition to his medical degree he holds an MBA from The Citadel and a Masters in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University. He worked as an equity analyst at Edison Investments Research prior to transitioning to drug development as the Medical Director at Hovione. At Hovione for the past 5 years, Dr. Magrath managed the clinical development of assets in dermatology, ophthalmology, and inhalation. When he is not working, George enjoys hanging out with his wife and kids. Learn more at Lexitas