Illness Identity, Empowerment & Grey Space: The Language of Healing in Healthcare
Release Date: 08/13/2025
Breaking Barriers: Reimagining Data and Workflows in Value Based Care
The Exam Room
In this episode of The Exam Room, Dr. Rhiannon Winsor sits down with Shaun Romero, co-CEO of Medwest LLC, to explore how frontline innovation and simplified workflows are helping providers thrive in value-based care models. Shaun shares his personal journey, sparked by his wife's experience as a primary care physician, and explains how Medwest is transforming clinical data into actionable insight. Together, they discuss the challenges FQHCs face with data fragmentation, EHR complexity, and reimbursement models, and how automation and ownership of data can bridge the gap between provider...
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Illness Identity, Empowerment & Grey Space: The Language of Healing in Healthcare
The Exam Room
In this episode with Claudia Cometa, she and Dr. Rhiannon Winsor explore the emotional and psychological side of healthcare communication, focusing on illness identity, grey space, and how language can either empower or disempower. Claudia shares how to reframe chronic illness, promote patient resilience, and build trust using trauma-informed communication strategies. Ideal for clinicians, health center teams, and anyone working in value-based primary care, this conversation is a guide to healing beyond prescriptions. Connect with Claudia on LinkedIn: Linked to Avanti Health Consultants: Buy...
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Revolutionizing Patient Experience: What Healthcare Can Learn from Hospitality
The Exam Room
This episode of The Exam Room focuses on improving the patient experience through simple but powerful changes rooted in customer service and trust-building. Claudia Cometa shares how “unreasonable hospitality” can be a model for transforming care delivery—from warm welcomes to culturally competent staff to designing trauma-informed waiting rooms. We also explore how these changes directly support equity, access, and value-based care delivery. Connect with Claudia on LinkedIn: Avanti Claudia Cometa - Buy her book, "Patient, Empower Thyself":
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The Broken Healthcare System: What Patients Wish Doctors Knew
The Exam Room
In this episode, we go inside the broken healthcare system with Claudia Cometa, founder of Avanti Health Consultants. Claudia shares her journey from clinical pharmacist to full-time patient advocate, highlighting what clinicians often don’t realize about patient trauma, medical gaslighting, and communication breakdowns. We discuss how empathy, trust, and shared decision-making can bridge the gap and improve outcomes across value-based and primary care models. Connect with Claudia on LinkedIn: Avanti Claudia Cometa - Buy her book, "Patient, Empower Thyself":
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Mastering Breast Cancer Screening: Lessons from Sunset Health
The Exam Room
Dr. Rhiannon Winsor in this impactful episode as she speaks with Altaf Ibrahim, Director of Quality at Sunset Health, about their remarkable success with breast cancer screenings. Learn how Sunset Health has overcome barriers like patient education, resource limitations, and cultural hesitancy to achieve outstanding performance metrics. Altaf shares actionable strategies, emphasizing empathy, community bonds, and personalized patient engagement. If you're looking for effective ways to boost preventive health outcomes, this episode provides invaluable insights and practical tips.
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Altaf Ibrahim’s Journey and the Power of Prevention
The Exam Room
In this inspiring episode of "The Exam Room," join Dr. Rhiannon Winsor as she talks with Altaf Ibrahim, Director of Quality at Sunset Health in Yuma, Arizona. Altaf shares his remarkable journey from a plastic surgeon in Pakistan to a passionate advocate for preventive healthcare in the United States. Discover how his personal and professional experiences shaped his dedication to chronic disease management and preventive care, and hear powerful insights into overcoming healthcare disparities. This episode emphasizes the essential role of empathy, trust, and cultural understanding in achieving...
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CAHPS Episode 06: CAHPS Scores and Shared Savings: Why Patient Perception Pays
The Exam Room
Do CAHPS scores actually affect your bottom line? In a word: yes. In this final episode of The Exam Room’s CAHPS series, Dr. Rhiannon Winsor sits down with Kimberly Gonzalez and Sam Reinhard to connect the dots between patient perception, shared savings, and value-based care. They explore: How CAHPS scores contribute to MSSP and other incentive programs Why low-scoring domains often predict high-cost utilization What health center leaders risk by ignoring patient experience Simple, high-impact actions that improve both scores and care quality Packed with practical insights and...
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Medicaid on the Line: What Arizona’s Health Centers Need to Know Now
The Exam Room
In this urgent special episode of The Exam Room, Dr. Rhiannon Winsor and Producer Benj Braman sit down with Jessica Yanow, President and CEO of the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, to talk about the very real and imminent threats to Medicaid in Arizona. With proposed legislation under review, health centers are bracing for a spike in uninsured patients, reduced funding, and operational strain. Jessica shares how health centers are responding through scenario planning, innovation, and collaboration, and why trust, adaptability, and communication are more critical than ever....
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CAHPS Episode 05: Want Better CAHPS Scores? Start Before the Exam Room.
The Exam Room
Want to improve your CAHPS scores without burning out your care team? It starts before the patient walks into the exam room. In this episode of The Exam Room, Dr. Rhiannon Winsor sits down with Kimberly Gonzalez and Sam Reinhard to discuss proactive strategies that boost CAHPS performance — particularly in high-impact areas like communication, lab result expectations, after-hours care, and trust-building. You’ll learn how to: Set patient expectations before frustration sets in Use visual cues, digital signage, and follow-up calls for better engagement Empower staff to see...
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CAHPS Episode 04: CAHPS vs. Press Ganey: Is Your Patient Survey Strategy Built on Sand?
The Exam Room
In this episode of The Exam Room, Dr. Rhiannon Winsor, Kimberly Gonzalez, and Sam Reinhard explore the differences between the CAHPS survey and Press Ganey — and how both can be valuable tools when used thoughtfully. From benchmarking insights to real-time feedback to the realities of mail-based survey returns (yes, people still respond!), this conversation dives deep into the value — and limitations — of using surveys as a foundation for improvement. You’ll learn: Key differences between CAHPS and Press Ganey Why survey customization can be a double-edged sword How health centers...
info_outlineIn this episode with Claudia Cometa, she and Dr. Rhiannon Winsor explore the emotional and psychological side of healthcare communication, focusing on illness identity, grey space, and how language can either empower or disempower. Claudia shares how to reframe chronic illness, promote patient resilience, and build trust using trauma-informed communication strategies. Ideal for clinicians, health center teams, and anyone working in value-based primary care, this conversation is a guide to healing beyond prescriptions.
Connect with Claudia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-cometa-pharmd/
Linked to Avanti Health Consultants: https://www.consultavanti.com/
Buy her book, "Patient, Empower Thyself": https://www.amazon.com/Patient-Empower-Thyself-Claudia-Cometa/dp/1954676891/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8DTPOXIDKY5W&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.c6i9pJgO5xDqiF95Bmk5va0ElHRVYlMlsyS95bx1wXmIWWp1WcpGjOfvG6pP8K-D1w5pSLTJ1bY5Peil941ftNCtoB6oD_Bg6K-GRhzBWrI.EU8riR0S-uvFLnM4HPuf_yheVLlUl-VhYHNUbi9iqPc&dib_tag=se&keywords=patient+empower+thyself&qid=1753309900&sprefix=patient+empowe%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-1