Equity in Theory

April is National Minority Health Month. Health disparities run so deep in this country, that your zip code is a better predictor of your health than your genetic code. Research has shown that the conditions we face as we live, learn, and work— or what researchers call the social determinants of health— have a lot to do with our health.

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Your Health Data Is for Sale

Like it or not, data brokers have probably monetized your health data. But how do they get it in the first place? And what measures can you take to safeguard your health data? In this enlightening episode, I talk to data privacy expert Lucia Savage to find out.

Lucia was formerly Chief Privacy Officer at the US Department of Health and Human Services, and is currently Chief Privacy and Regulatory Officer at Omada Health.

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The Diet and Weight Loss Industry Isn’t Helping People Lose Weight - Can Telehealth Change That?

More than 40% of Americans qualify as obese, a number that continues to rise. And despite being a multi-billion dollar business — the weight loss industry just isn’t helping people lose weight. Perhaps that’s why new GLP-1 medications, like Wegovy, are getting so much attention.

To learn if Wegovy can be a true game changer, I spoke to Sarah Jones Simmer, CEO of Found, the largest medically-supported weight care clinic in the country which has raised over $130M in venture funding.

Join us as we delve into the history of the weight loss industry, and discuss how telehealth (and responsible prescribing) along with new medications, may just be an inflection point.

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Eliminating Maternal Health Inequities

Dr. Laurie Zephyrin, Heart of Healthcare Grant Challenge judge and SVP for Advancing Health Equity at the Commonwealth Fund, interviews Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha from Tuft’s Center for Black Maternal Health & Reproductive Justice. The mission of the CBMHRJ is to foster academic and community-engaged research in support of the center’s goals to conduct maternal health research with a focus on Black maternal health and eliminating inequities.

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Reflecting on a Decade+ of Digital Health

In this episode, I talk to two of my favorite long-time colleagues in digital health: Chrissy Farr and Malay Gandhi.

Chrissy started her career in this space as a digital health reporter for VentureBeat, FastCompany, and CNBC before becoming a venture capitalist at OMERS ventures.

Malay started his career in management consulting before joining me at Rock Health where he served as Managing Director and CEO before going onto be an EIR at Greylock Partners, an executive at Eviction Health, and now Head of Strategy & Corporate Development at Benching.

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The Intersection of Climate Change and Human Health

This episode was recorded with My Climate Journey to explore the intersection of climate change and human health. Dr. Darragh O'Carroll is a science communicator and emergency physician specializing in emergency, disaster, climate, and COVID-19 medicine. He's making a documentary series called "Infected planet" to illustrate how climate change is affecting global and public health, and highlight the solutions.

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The Crooked Truth About D2C Dentistry Startups

The number of online companies offering mail-order invisible aligners is booming. But this orthodontist says some are ruining people's teeth and harming their overall health. In this episode, I talk to orthodontist and entrepreneur Dr. Ingrid Murra about the state of venture-backed dentistry. Dr. Murra is the Founder & CEO of Two Front, a digital health startup bringing next-generation orthodontics to the market.

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Sounding the Alarm on Forever Chemicals

It’s in our water, our food, and so many other products we use on a daily basis, from non-stick pans to popcorn bags. Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals”, has been linked to a variety of health conditions including cancer, infertility, birth defects, developmental delays, asthma, allergies, cardiovascular disease, obesity and more. In this episode, we talk to one of the world’s leading environmental health scientists and advocates Arlene Blum, who is the founder and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute.

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Is This the Pandemic Era?

In this episode, I sit down with epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera to discuss Monkeypox, Polio, COVID, and why pandemics are becoming more common.

Jessica serves as the Science Communication Lead for The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, a Research Fellow at Boston Children's Hospital Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator, an Infection Preventionist at Netflix, and a Senior Advisor to the Pandemic Prevention Institute at the Rockefeller Foundation. This episode was recorded at the Rock Health Virtual Summit.

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Dr. Jennifer Lincoln Isn’t Afraid to Talk About Abortion

Dr. Jennifer Lincoln is using social media to educate and bust the (many) myths surrounding reproductive health and abortion. Dr. Lincoln is a board-certified OBGYN who is passionate about helping people understand their bodies and feel empowered to advocate for themselves. She is the author of Let's Talk About Down There: An OBGYN Answers All Your Burning Questions Without Making You Feel Embarrassed for Asking.

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