The South China Morning Post is Hong Kong's largest daily newspaper. This article appeared in the April 9th edition where I discuss how AI is already reshaping healthcare and look ahead to envision how it will improve health on a global scale.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn to talk about my new book, Health Care Nation - The Future is Calling and It's Better Than You Think . From defining why the American Health System is going in the wrong direction, to discussing the power of a citizen-driven movement, this review gets at the heart of why I wrote this book. Go here f or our discussion. Go here to bookmark this highly-rated blog reporting on transformation issues and opportunities in health and medicine. T.

Egberto Willies is a podcast host and commentator who always tries to tease out the "real story" happening behind the scenes of news today. I had the opportunity to sit with Egberto and talk about why America spends more on health care than any other country, and yet, we as citizens are the least healthy in the developed world and most likely to die early. I covered some of the key issues found in my new book, Health Care Nation. Go here to listen to our wide-ranging conversation on health care and our ability to reimagine a better use of our talented health professionals and resources.

Remember the movie, Jerry Maguire? (Show me the money!). I had dinner last week with Leigh Steinberg…the real Jerry Maguire who was personified in the movie by Tom Cruise. Leigh is a legend in the sports world. Leigh has been one of the greatest advocates in calling attention to the devastating effects of concussions and brain injuries in sports. From the NFL to pee wee sports, Leigh is the guy who drove visibility and protections for athletes everywhere. I had the privilege of being on stage at HIMSS25 with Leigh to talk about his great work and what's ahead for the treatment and prevention of concussions and brain injuries, neuroplasticity, and the future of brain health. T.

Special thanks to my publisher, Taylor and Francis, for organizing a "soft launch" event in Las Vegas last week for my new book Health Care Nation - The Future is Calling and It's Better Than You Think. While the official launch happens on March 28th with all major booksellers, we had advance copies available for sale. It was great fun to do my first book signings. Already getting good feedback from early readers. A big thank you to early buyers and readers. For more information on the new book, go to www.healthcarenation.us

Two weeks ago President Donald Trump made waves in the global health community by issuing an Executive Order to pull America out of the World Health Organization (WHO). Founded in 1948, WHO is an agency of the United Nations whose charter is to plan and coordinate the international response to health emergencies as well as help countries monitor, prepare, and recover from disease threats. While not without controversy, WHO is the most recognized global forum for predicting and planning for events affecting the health of humans across the planet. Media coverage of the US withdrawal has focused on political rancor (Trump believes WHO mishandled the pandemic) and funding (While the US is one of 194 participating countries, it funds almost 20% of the agency’s $6.8 billion budget). [i] As the new Administration gives up America’s seat at the table for global health planning, it's important to shine a light on very real issues impacting the health and well-being of Americans. They are worth public scrutiny and debate starting with this statement: America is a First-World Nation Battling its Own Third-World Health Crises America’s health care system is the most expensive in the world. It’s staffed with some of the world’s best health and medical talent. Despite this, we are at the bottom of the list in overall health compared to all developed nations. This includes access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes. [ii] Americans are among the least healthy people in the rich world and among the most likely to die early. The richest men in America live longer than the average man in any country. The poorest have life expectancies comparable to men in Sudan and Pakistan . [i] If you are a citizen of Mississippi, you probably won’t live as long as someone from Bangladesh . [ii] [ iii] [iv] Maternal mortality rates for American women are worse than in most third-world countries. Even more unexplainable is that Black women are three times more likely to die of childbirth than White women. This gap is worse today than it was when we began keeping records in the early 1900’s. [i] America is a global leader in avoidable amputations. This is mainly due to the improper management of diabetes, which impacts 38.4 million Americans. [ii] 30 million Americans die prematurely each year from preventable diseases. Twenty-seven percent of US health-care spending goes to managing health conditions that are preventable. [iii] As the World Health Organization focuses on increasing its investments in global Public Health, it’s important to note that America’s investment in similar Public Health services is declining. Winston Churchill once said, “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.” And so, as we discuss and debate America’s role in creating a healthier world through organizations like WHO, let us actively debate and decide what priorities we will invest in to improve the health of the 330 million people who call America home. [i] Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Healthier Mothers and Babies, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Healthier Mothers and Babies (cdc.gov) [ii] NICHOLAS KRISTOF, How Do We Fix the Scandal That Is American Health Care? New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/opinion/health-care-life-expectancy-poverty.html?smid=em-share [iii] Sandro Galea, Nason Maani, The Cost of Preventable Disease in the US, The Lancet, October, 2020, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30204-8/fulltext [i] Raj Chetty, Michael Stepner, Sarah Abraham, Shelby Lin, Benjamin Scuderi, Nicholas Turner, Augustin Bergeron, and David Cutler, Income and Life Expectancy in the United States: Executive Summary, The Health Inequality Project, April 2016, https://www.healthinequality.org/documents/paper/healthineq_summary.pdf [ii] NICHOLAS KRISTOF, How Do We Fix the Scandal That Is American Health Care? New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/opinion/health-care-life-expectancy-poverty.html?smid=em-share [iii] Life Expectancy at Birth by State, National Center for Health Statistics, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/life_expectancy/life_expectancy.htm (cdc.gov) [iv] Life Expectancy at Birth – Bangladesh, World Bank Group https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=BD [i] https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/what-is-the-world-health-organization-and-why-does-trump-want-to-leave-it/ar-AA1xFf0l?ocid=BingNewsSerp [ii] Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System, Commonwealth Fund, September, 2023, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024

Excited to be heading to Australia this week as part of a five-city talk tour organized by UBS Australia. They’ve assembled a great lineup of speakers who will be exploring the evolving global landscape in business and health tech. I'm keynoting on what's next for AI. The cities and dates for the tour include: Brisbane: February 12 Adelaide: February 13 Melbourne: February 17 Sydney: February 18 Perth: February 20 Along the way I'll also be catching up with some of my favorite AI and digital health experts who are doing great things "Down Under." Oh yeah… It’s summertime in Australia. Not so much in Seattle. T.

I’ve been pondering how many journalists and podcasters I’ve ticked off when answering this question: Where will AI be in a year? My answer has always been simple and honest: No one knows. This week the Chinese start-up DeepSeek is the latest shift in AI’s tectonic plates. Seemingly out of nowhere, it became the top-rated AI app in the United States. Deepseek’s new, open-source AI model rivals the abilities of OpenAI's most recent model—with far less investment and using reduced-capacity chips. Training costs for ChatGPT-4 were over $100 million. Deepseek’s investment was supposedly $6 million. Deepseek’s model improves energy efficiency making AI more accessible to more people and industries and could be welcomed news when it comes to AI’s environmental impact. There’s a lot to be learned about Deepseek’s capabilities. For now, it certainly ups the ante in the AI “space race” for global tech titans and governments. I can hear the hype machines starting to churn as I write this. Here’s a solid piece from Scientific American that outlines what is known. And so: Where will AI be in a year? No one knows. T.

I am pleased to announce that I have a new book coming in April: Health Care Nation - The Future is Calling and It's Better Than You Think. Whether a patient, health consumer, physician, nurse, health executive, or elected official, somewhere deep in our brains is this simple truth: the American health system isn’t working, and it will only get worse if we don’t do something about it. Despite spending more money per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world, the U.S. struggles to match other nations in life expectancy, health outcomes and general well-being. Meanwhile, the system spends more on unnecessary, ineffective, and wasteful services than what we collectively invest in K-12 education in America. All the while, our health status is declining. For the first time, kids born today may not live as long as their older siblings. Health Care Nation shines a light on the deep interconnectedness between the health of people and the health of a nation. It’s about the opportunity and responsibility each of us has to reimagine and reengineer a system that focuses on keeping all citizens healthy and caring for them when they are not. Health Care Nation takes readers on a journey to understand the fundamental issues driving the system in the wrong direction. It focuses on helping each reader find or sharpen their voice in what should change based on their views, values and experiences. Health Care Nation awakens readers to the possibilities that exist today that are right in front of us if only we choose to see them. It creates an understanding of the forces at work in healthcare today that are driving us in the wrong direction, instilling readers with a sense of activism that mobilizes them to take action. The ultimate goal of this book is to help everyone find and use their voice to drive positive change. Health Care Nation is designed to help readers understand the role they can play and actions they can take to determine the health and economic well-being for generations to come. My publisher is doing an early book launch at the HIMSS conference in Las Vegas March 3-6. Would love to see you if attending. Look for me at the HIMSS bookstore near the exhibit hall. I'll be signing advance copies. Health Care Nation is also available for preorder on Amazon. For more information about the book go to www.healthcarenation.us . T.