Exploring the future of healthcare with industry leaders

Welcome to Healthscape, a Kellogg MBA student-run podcast that explores the healthcare ecosystem through intimate conversations with the industry’s biggest leaders.

The students behind the podcast are members of the Healthcare Club and involved in the Healthcare at Kellogg (HCAK) program. Since 2016, HCAK has been driving innovation and growth in healthcare education. With a strong focus on practical experience and dedicated faculty, the program equips students with the skills and knowledge to excel in healthcare. The curriculum has expanded significantly, and courses like the Deep Dive are held in cities across the globe. Collaborations with leading institutions like Oak Street Health and various initiatives, like the Hawryluk Biopharmaceutical Scholars and the new Healthcare Leadership Center, provide opportunities and support for students. 

As the program has grown, so have its initiatives, including the launch of Healthscape. Since its debut in 2021, the podcast has produced 51 episodes led by a team of eight. The podcast serves as a platform to better understand and broadcast the latest ideas in the industry while connecting with its top leaders. Each podcast member creates episodes on topics they are passionate about, driving the entire process from outreach to content planning, editing and publishing. 

Interviewing leaders in healthcare 

On each episode of Healthscape, the podcast team sits down with industry leaders from all corners of the healthcare field. The team is dedicated to analyzing the latest trends, challenges and innovations in healthcare by chatting with the people shaping its future.  From groundbreaking technology and digital advancements to new patient care models, Healthscape brings together thought leaders and experts to provide insights into the healthcare ecosystem.  

Inspiring listeners with impactful interviews, the podcast asks big questions about the future of healthcare and smaller questions about the day-to-day lives of the people working in it. Recently, episodes have featured Ryan Terry from Google Cloud on the transformative impact of Big Tech on healthcare, Liz Burstein of Neura Health on revolutionizing neurological care through virtual clinics, and Zachary Abbott of ZBiotics on the rise of genetically engineered probiotics and their potential to enhance health. 

Take a deeper dive into a recent episode where student Sonia Salunke ’26 Two-Year MBA Program interviewed Ari Saft, vice president of product at Tia, to discuss the company’s innovative approach to healthcare. 

From app to multi-state clinical operation

Ari’s career path may seem unconventional — moving from educational technology to healthcare — but for her, it was a natural transition: “One of the biggest learnings I actually brought to Tia from ed tech is how to think about user-centric design for highly emotional, high-stakes experiences.”

This philosophy of user-centric design took center stage as Tia evolved from its start as an iPhone app for birth control recommendations to a full-service care provider. “The founders looked at each other and said: ‘How are we supposed to help women achieve their health goals from their phone? We have to start a clinic.’”

With a focus on proving that a patient-centered care model for women could deliver better outcomes and a better experience, Tia’s early clinic tested their approach of combining primary care and wellness into a single connected system. Since that first clinic opened, Tia has expanded into multiple states, offering an integrated approach to women’s healthcare that includes primary care, gynecology, mental health, and wellness services like acupuncture and skincare. But scaling this model wasn’t without challenges.

“Healthcare is really localized. What a patient wants, needs and expects in California, Arizona, New York is really different. And so, we had to figure out how to build flexibility into our systems and operations while still maintaining the core principles of Tia’s care,” Ari says. 

The future of women’s healthcare 

 By leveraging technology, Tia aims to make healthcare feel less fragmented and more like a true ongoing partnership between women and their medical teams. One aspect of this is the significance of preventative care.

Tia’s model supports preventive health behaviors by integrating primary care, gynecology, and mental health services, making it easier for patients to engage in regular screenings and wellness offerings. Ari says that this holistic approach not only improves individual health outcomes but also has the potential to reduce overall healthcare costs long term.

Despite all the progress, Ari is quick to acknowledge that there’s still work to be done: “There is so much more we want to do, and we want to thoughtfully get there. As a Tia user myself, I see areas that I want to improve tomorrow. And it’s about figuring out which one to do first, second and third.” 

Listen now

To hear the full conversation with Ari Saft and hear upcoming episodes with Irfan Alam, CEO and founder of Frontrow Health on building digital stores for patients to shop and save and Jared Scharen, COO of Cylinder Health on providing individualized care for gastrointestinal health needs, tune in to the episode below.

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