The Beat

• How Beth McCombs and BD Are Using Connected Intelligence to Transform Patient Care

  About Beth McCombs:Elizabeth “Beth” McCombs is the executive vice president and chief technology officer of BD, where she leads the company’s global research and development organization. She oversees the full spectrum of innovation—from early-stage concept development to product launch—and ensures the continued advancement of BD’s existing portfolio. As a member of the BD Executive Leadership Team, she plays a central role in shaping the company’s long-term technology and growth strategy. Beth joined BD in 2019 as Senior Vice President of R&D for the BD Medical segment, co-leading portfolio strategy and major growth initiatives. Before joining BD, she spent over two decades at Johnson & Johnson, including serving as Vice President of R&D for Ethicon, the company’s surgical devices franchise. She holds both a B.S. and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.Things You’ll Learn:BD approaches innovation by deeply studying clinical workflows and ensuring new technologies solve meaningful, scalable problems. Real-world evidence and clinical validation are built into the process from the start.Connected medication management solutions can eliminate waste, prevent errors, and free up clinical resources. Tracking drugs from the central pharmacy to the bedside improves safety and system-level efficiency.Vascular access improvements achieved through product design and standardized training dramatically reduced cost, blood exposure, and catheter failure rates. This proves that outcomes hinge on combining the right device with the right practices.AI and machine-learning capabilities, such as predicting hypotension during cardiac surgery, aim to reduce complications, costs, and length of stay. These tools evolve by partnering with health systems to measure real-world impact.BD Incada represents a shift to cloud-based, interoperable, AI-enabled infrastructure that unifies data across entire health systems. This foundation accelerates the future of personalized care and integrated device ecosystems.Resources:Connect with and follow Beth McCombs on LinkedIn.Follow BD on LinkedIn  and visit their website.

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• How Priya Abani and AliveCor Are Bringing AI-Driven, Continuous Heart Care to Everyone

  About Priya Abani:Priya Abani is the CEO, president, and a board member at AliveCor, where she leads the company’s mission to advance patient-centric remote cardiac care using cutting-edge AI and machine learning. With over 20 years of experience driving innovation across global technology organizations, she has built and scaled high-performing teams, launched industry-shaping products, and forged strategic partnerships that accelerate growth. Her leadership has earned recognition across the health tech landscape, including being named one of The Healthcare Technology Report’s Top 50 Healthcare Technology CEOs of 2022. Priya also serves on the Board of Directors for Jacobs and the Board of Trustees for TIAA, extending her influence across various sectors and shaping the future of technology, healthcare, and infrastructure.Things You’ll Learn:AI-powered cardiac monitoring is enabling earlier detection of subtle abnormalities that patients and clinicians often miss, improving the likelihood of timely intervention. These tools empower patients to monitor their own health without waiting for episodic visits.Affordability is crucial for expanding access, enabling individuals in underserved regions to utilize medical-grade ECG technology at home. This reduces unnecessary hospital visits and helps bridge geographical care gaps.Portable devices and continuous monitoring shift cardiac care from reactive to proactive. Real-time data sharing creates a tighter feedback loop between patients and clinicians.New clinician-facing tools offer advanced diagnostics in a pocket-sized form, enabling high-quality cardiac assessments to be performed anywhere. This supports healthcare workers who lack access to full clinical equipment.AI models trained on massive ECG datasets are evolving from simple detection tools into comprehensive health companions for the whole person. They synthesize patterns, prompt actions, and help guide personalized preventive care.Resources:Connect with and follow Priya Abani on LinkedIn.Follow AliveCor on LinkedIn and visit their website. Learn more about Kardia 12L here.

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• How Web Golinkin and Babson Diagnostics Are Reinventing Blood Testing - One Finger at a Time

  About Web Golinkin:Web Golinkin is a seasoned healthcare executive, entrepreneur, and author with more than 35 years of leadership experience, including six CEO roles and three companies he co-founded. Over the last two decades, he has focused on expanding access to affordable, basic healthcare, establishing himself as a pioneer in both retail-based clinics and urgent care. His insights into the evolution of consumer-focused healthcare have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Today Show, Fox Business, and numerous industry conferences. Web is also the author of Here Be Dragons, published by Forbes Books in 2024. His career spans leadership positions across healthcare delivery, population health management, medical communications, and consumer health media, including his current role as president of Babson Diagnostics and previous leadership at FastMed Urgent Care, Health Dialog, RediClinic, America’s Health Network, and American Medical Communications. A graduate of Harvard University, Web continues to shape the future of healthcare through innovation, accessibility, and patient-centered design.Things You’ll Learn:Better Way can deliver 67 clinically equivalent tests from a fingertip blood sample, covering more than 80% of common primary care needs. This allows patients to avoid the traditional needle-based blood draw.Nearly a decade of validation, including thousands of study participants and hundreds of thousands of tests, demonstrates the scientific rigor behind the technology. This long research runway enabled FDA clearance and strong clinical confidence.About one-third of patients avoid blood testing due to needle phobia or inconvenience, contributing to major gaps in preventive care. A more straightforward, painless collection method directly addresses this barrier.Health systems can increase patient adherence and reduce reliance on phlebotomists by cross-training staff to use the system within 2.5 hours. This unlocks staffing flexibility and operational efficiency.Better Way focuses on reducing friction across the entire testing journey, including simplified, graphic-rich patient result reports. This empowers patients to understand their health without having to decipher complex medical language.Resources:Connect with and follow Web Golinkin on LinkedIn.Follow Babson Diagnostics on LinkedIn  and visit their website.

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• AI @ HLTH: AI-Powered Healthcare: From Hype to Measurable Impact

  In this episode, host Sandy Vance sits down with someone who has been shaping the future of digital health long before AI became the headline Mike Serbinis, Founder and CEO of League.League was built on a simple but ambitious idea: if companies like Netflix can instantly understand what we need next, why can’t healthcare do the same? Now, more than a decade into transforming the way people access and experience care, Mike joins Sandy to talk about how his team is helping organizations deliver truly personalized healthcare at scale.Together, they explore Mike’s path into the world of AI, the early sparks that led to League’s creation, and the lessons learned from 11 years of reimagining patient and member journeys. They delve into how League works alongside existing EHRs and health systems, not replacing anything, but weaving intelligence and interoperability through the cracks that slow down care.It’s a thoughtful, future-forward discussion with one of the industry’s most seasoned innovators—and a must-listen for anyone curious about where healthcare AI is truly headed.In this episode, they talk about:Mike’s journey into AI and the origin story of LeagueHow League integrates with EHRs and other core health technologiesLessons from 11 years in healthcare—and why speed and scale matter more than everIf Netflix can recommend your next show, why can’t healthcare do the sameReducing AI hallucinations and improving reliability for healthcare organizationsHow League delivers coverage, oversight, service, and increased productivityWhat different countries can teach us about healthcare modelsWhy we’re entering “pilot season” for AI in healthcareA Little About Mike:Mike Serbinis is widely recognized as an innovative leader and serial entrepreneur who has built transformative technology platforms across many industries. Serbinis founded and helped build Kobo, Critical Path, DocSpace, and now League. Founded in 2014, League is a platform technology company powering next-generation healthcare consumer experiences (CX). Payers, providers and consumer health partners build on the League platform to accelerate their digital transformation and deliver high-engagement, personalized healthcare experiences. Millions of people use and love solutions powered by League to access, navigate and pay for care.Serbinis is also Chair of the Board of Directors for the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the world’s leading center for scientific research in foundational theoretical physics. He is a founding board member of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, an institution co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton.

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• Seth Cohen on Why Financial Care Is the Next Frontier in Patient Experience

  About Seth Cohen:Seth Cohen is a seasoned business leader with a long record of driving growth across healthcare, technology, and finance. As president of Cedar, he leads strategy and execution for a fast-scaling health tech company, building on over a decade of leadership in the industry. He also serves on the boards of Firefly Health and previously served on the board of Castlight Health, reflecting his deep credibility in the healthcare ecosystem. Before joining Cedar, Seth co-founded OODA Health and served as its CEO, introducing innovative payment solutions to the market. His earlier career includes senior commercial roles at Castlight, where he helped large employers adopt modern health benefits, as well as consulting work at McKinsey, focused on healthcare reform and consumerism. Seth began his career in investment banking, private equity, and international development, providing him with a broad strategic and financial foundation. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA from Stanford University.Things You’ll Learn:Patient out-of-pocket costs have been rising faster than the overall medical trend for two decades, pushing most Americans into high-deductible plans they cannot realistically afford.A relatively small percentage of uninsured patients, roughly 5–12% depending on the state, accounts for approximately 35% of the dollars owed to providers. The episode challenges providers to rethink the concept of “healing” by asking whether repairing someone’s heart while ruining their credit can truly be considered care.Cedar Cover is positioned as a proactive digital coverage safety net that identifies patients in need and connects them to Medicaid, ACA plans, financial assistance, and pharmacy copay programs. Looking ahead, the guest expects affordability pressures to intensify and plans to expand into areas such as workers' compensation and Social Security benefits. The goal is to ensure that patients are not forced to choose between groceries and medical bills by making financial support an integral part of the core care experience.Resources:Connect with and follow Seth Cohen on LinkedIn.Follow Cedar on LinkedIn and discover their website.Learn more about Cedar Cover here.Email Seth directly here.

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