Inside ViVE 2026 with Rich Scarfo (HLTH/ViVE) and Russ Branzell (CHIME) - Part 1
Release Date: 01/24/2026
From Mint to Medicine: How Aaron Patzer Is Fixing Patient Communication (RePost)
Bright Spots in Healthcare
What happens when the founder of Mint.com takes on one of healthcare’s most broken experiences—patient communication? In this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare, Eric Glazer sits down with Aaron Patzer, Founder and CEO of Vital, to explore how simplicity, clarity, and human-centered design can drive real impact in healthcare. Drawing from his journey building Mint, Aaron shares why most healthcare technology misses the mark, how better communication improves outcomes and ROI, and what leaders must do to design experiences people actually use. The conversation goes deep on: Why...
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Express Scripts SVP Harold Carter on GLP-1s & the Future of Pharmacy Benefits (Repost)
Bright Spots in Healthcare
GLP-1 therapies are transforming pharmacy benefits, and Express Scripts is leading the way. Harold Carter, PharmD, SVP of Trade Relations, joins host Eric Glazer to discuss how one of the nation’s largest PBMs is navigating this disruptive moment in healthcare. Harold shares how Express Scripts is: Capping costs of GLP-1 therapies to expand patient access while keeping plan spending predictable. Redesigning funding models to strike a balance between affordability, predictability, and outcomes. Leveraging digital tools and AI to reduce friction in the member experience and support...
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Kaiser Permanente | Dr. Hector de Leon on Scaling What Works in Healthcare
Bright Spots in Healthcare
Recorded live at the AHIP 2026 Conference, Eric Glazer sits down with Dr. Hector de Leon, Board Chair of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Foundation and practicing pediatrician, for a conversation about one of healthcare's biggest challenges: Not discovering what works, but scaling what already does. For more than 80 years, Kaiser Permanente has built its care model around prevention, physician trust, integrated care, and long-term health outcomes. In this conversation, Dr. de Leon shares practical examples of how those principles come to life, and why Kaiser is increasingly partnering with...
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Why Digital Health Pilots Fail: UC Davis Health’s Dr. Reshma Gupta
Bright Spots in Healthcare
A lot of digital health pilots do not fail because the idea is bad. They fail because the care model, workflow, staffing, and financial design were never fully built. This episode features a presentation from the ROI-Centered Care Summit, produced by Bright Spots Ventures in partnership with TytoCare and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). In this episode, Reshma Gupta, MD, Chief of Population Health and Accountable Care at UC Davis Health, shares why so many AI and digital health pilots stall, and what it takes to redesign them into models that are operationally viable,...
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Inside MultiCare’s Oncology Access Playbook with CMO Dr. Yarrow McConnell
Bright Spots in Healthcare
In oncology, performance is not just about getting patients in the door. It is about getting them to the right specialist, at the right time, with less friction across every handoff. This episode features a presentation from the ROI-Centered Care Summit, a half-day virtual summit produced by Bright Spots Ventures in partnership with TytoCare and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). In this episode, Yarrow McConnell, MD, FACS, Chief Medical Officer at MultiCare Cancer Institute, shares how MultiCare redesigned oncology pathways to improve access, strengthen coordination, and deliver...
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Inside Ascension IL’s ED Throughput Playbook: 4-Minute Door-to-Doc and Better Flow
Bright Spots in Healthcare
Emergency department performance is often shaped long before a patient is admitted, or discharged. This episode features a presentation from the recently held ROI-Centered Care Summit, a half-day virtual summit produced by Bright Spots Ventures in partnership with TytoCare and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). In this episode, Robert Sumter, PhD, FACHE, EVP / Market Chief Operating Officer at Ascension Illinois, shares how his team redesigned the emergency department front door to improve patient flow, reduce waiting, and strengthen both operational and financial performance. ...
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Northwell Health CEO John D'Angelo, MD | The Next Operating System for Healthcare
Bright Spots in Healthcare
The healthcare system we've built is remarkably good at treating disease. The question is whether it's designed to create health. In this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare, Eric Glazer sits down with Dr. John D'Angelo, President and CEO of Northwell Health, one of the largest health systems in the country, for a candid conversation about what healthcare leaders may be underestimating about the decade ahead. Rather than focusing on individual trends, Dr. D'Angelo challenges some of healthcare's biggest assumptions, from the way we think about affordability, to the way we deliver care, to...
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Inside Northwell Health’s ED Follow-Up Playbook: Reducing Returns and Improving Throughput
Bright Spots in Healthcare
What happens after a patient leaves the emergency department is often where performance is won, or lost. This episode features a presentation from the recently held ROI-Centered Care Summit, a half-day virtual summit produced by Bright Spots Ventures in partnership with TytoCare and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). In this episode, Albert Villarin, MD, MBA, FACEP, VP & Chief Medical Information Officer at Northwell Health, shares how his team redesigned the ED follow-up model to reduce avoidable returns, improve patient experience, and shorten length of stay, by rethinking...
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Why Health Plan Innovation Fails, And What Actually Scales | Healthworx
Bright Spots in Healthcare
Why do so many healthcare innovation efforts stall after pilots? In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer sits down with leaders from Healthworx, the investment and innovation arm of CareFirst, for a candid discussion on what actually allows innovation to scale inside complex healthcare organizations. As health plans invest heavily in AI, digital transformation, startup partnerships, and new care models, many still struggle to operationalize innovation in meaningful ways. This conversation explores why innovation often breaks down between idea and...
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The Moment of Influence: How Leading Medicare Advantage Plans Turn Insight Into Action
Bright Spots in Healthcare
In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together Medicare Advantage and operational leaders to explore a growing challenge facing health plans: why identifying risk is no longer enough to improve outcomes. As organizations invest heavily in HRAs, predictive analytics, and member insight platforms, many still struggle to convert those insights into timely, coordinated action. This discussion focuses on where execution is breaking down between identification and intervention, and what leading plans are doing differently to reduce friction, align teams, and engage...
info_outlineViVE was created to break the mold of healthcare conferences — fewer distractions, more meaningful conversations, and content leaders can act on.
In this first episode of a special two-part series, Eric Glazer sits down with Rich Scarfo, President of HLTH/ViVE, and Russ Branzell, President & CEO of CHIME, to unpack the origin of ViVE, the CHIME + HLTH partnership, and what senior leaders can expect in 2026.
Together, they explore why executives needed a new kind of platform, what problems they’re trying to solve when they come to ViVE, and how topics like cybersecurity, cost pressure, operational performance, and real-world AI will show up in this year’s programming. They also get into how ViVE approaches content design, moving beyond big ideas to practical context and decision-support leaders can use when they get home.
If you’re a healthcare decision-maker evaluating which events matter in 2026, or how to make sense of a fast-changing landscape, this conversation offers clarity straight from the architects of ViVE.
Stay tuned for Part Two, where the conversation shifts to how leaders and solution partners get real outcomes from ViVE — from navigating the environment to turning connections into next steps.
Resources:
Take a look at what’s in store at ViVE 2026, taking place Feb. 22-25 in Los Angeles - https://hlth.com/events/vive
Attend ViVE using discount code V26BSV for $250 off the General Attendee ticket - https://hlth.com/events/vive/register
About Rich Scrafo and Russ Branzell:
- Rich Scarfo - https://hyve.group/about/meet-our-leaders
- Russ Branzell - https://www.linkedin.com/in/russ-branzell-2888aa108
Partner with Bright Spots Ventures:
If you are interested in speaking with the Bright Spots Ventures team to brainstorm how we can help you grow your business via content and relationships, email hkrish@brightspotsventures.com
About Bright Spots Ventures:
Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare—proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.
Visit our website: www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.
Follow Bright Spots in Healthcare: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shared-purpose-connect