Lifers with Christina Farr

This week on Lifers, Christina Farr interviews Dr. Oliver Kharraz, the CEO of Zocdoc. They discuss the complexities of navigating the healthcare industry and the "culture shock" of modernizing medical scheduling. They explore Zocdoc’s evolution from a startup to a major platform, highlighting strategic shifts in their business model and the challenge of balancing growth with regulatory demands. They also discuss the future, examining how Voice AI and LLMs are poised to transform the "front office" and improve patient access to care. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/a4284c84-160f-4a64-8761-dfd8d8680064-008umkv4 —SPONSOR: GranolaGranola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://granola.ai/lifers with code: LIFERSInterested in sponsoring the show? [email protected]—LINKS: Zocdoc: https://www.zocdoc.com/ The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis - Citrini Research: https://www.citriniresearch.com/p/2028gicChrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books—FOLLOW:Oliver: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kharraz/ https://x.com/oliver_kharraz Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Preview(00:57) Intro(03:08) Healthcare culture shock(05:32) Zocdoc origin story(06:04) Hidden inventory insight(07:13) Early tech reality check(07:33) The Post-it note problem(09:03) New York first strategy(10:51) Why healthcare is harder(12:32) Startup mindset and IPO(15:22) Sponsor: Granola(16:01) Business model overhaul(19:06) Backlash and whale dinners(22:04) Regulatory green light(23:27) Lessons on transparency(25:09) Fair share friction(26:21) Transition pays off(27:43) Growth versus profit(29:18) Shopify for access(30:47) Voice AI front desk(34:27) Competing with startups(37:02) LLMs need transactions(42:16) Reserve capacity reality(44:41) Autonomous care limits(46:24) Optimism on AI jobs(50:22) Wrap

This week on Lifers, Christina Farr is joined by Farzad Mostashari, CEO of Aledade and former National Coordinator for Health IT, alongside co-host Mike Desjadon, CEO of Anomaly Health. Farzad traces his journey from CDC to spearheading the nationwide rollout of electronic health records. They discuss why value-based care is the only viable path forward, how AI is finally making it possible to deliver population health insights at scale, and what the current administration is getting right (and wrong) on payment reform. Dive into the Granola notes from this episode: https://notes.granola.ai/t/5a6d9ee2-8592-4471-adec-2d66797d86fd-008umkv4—SPONSOR: GranolaGranola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://granola.ai/lifers with code: LIFERS

Interested in sponsoring the show? [email protected]—LINKS:  Syndromic surveillance piece: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/04/syndromic-surveillance-useful-to-track-pandemics-like-covid-19.html On the ACCESS MODEL: https://secondopinion.media/p/cms-unveils-major-new-outcomes-based-model-for-tech-enabled-care-what-digital-health-leaders-need-to 

Aledade: https://aledade.com/ Anomaly: https://www.findanomaly.com/ 

Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books —FOLLOW:Farzad:https://www.linkedin.com/in/farzad-mostashari-933210 Mike:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-desjadon-4a0a21a/ https://x.com/Mike_Desjadon Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(03:01) Disease hunter origins(04:50) Saving lives at scale(06:54) EHRs and incentives(09:22) Advice for AI builders(10:46) Payment reform bright spots(14:26) Sponsor: Granola(15:20) Deflation and CPT shakeup(17:47) Paying for outcomes(20:26) Aledade and ACCESS model(24:23) AI needs value models(25:58) Electronic health records copilot breakthrough(28:15) Rural care opportunity(30:26) Accountability drives adoption(32:58) Concierge care tradeoffs(34:43) Scaling primary care capacity(35:53) Doctors as entrepreneurs(38:13) Mission and policy moves(41:02) Rapid fire predictions(43:51) Bipartisan VBC

In this special episode of Lifers, Christina Farr sits down with Dr. Jonathan Slotkin (neurosurgeon, CMO, and co-founder of Scrub Capital) for a timely conversation on peptides and what the latest HHS announcements mean for patients and the longevity industry. Jon breaks down his own protocol, makes the case that the longevity conversation has too often left women out, and closes with a watch-out for investors: the potential descheduling of testosterone.

—SPONSOR: Granola

Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://granola.ai/lifers with code: LIFERS

Interested in sponsoring the show? [email protected]

—LINKS: Scrub Capital: https://scrubcapital.com/ Ashley Winter on Twitter: https://x.com/AshleyGWinter Peptide Reclassification: https://peptide-db.com/guides/fda-peptide-reclassification-2026 Testosterone/TRT expansion: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-step-forward-testosterone-therapy-men 

Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books 

—FOLLOW:Jon:https://www.linkedin.com/in/slotkinjr https://x.com/slotkinjr 

Christina Farr:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr 

—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(01:08) What are peptides(02:25) Safety and FDA nuance(04:53) Clinician survey tribes(07:15) Jon’s personal protocol(10:03) Women and hormone gaps(14:08) Sponsor: Granola(14:47) Why peptides are everywhere(17:11) Finding the right provider(20:47) Follow John and final nugget(21:49) Testosterone descheduling watch(22:31) Wrap

Christina Farr sits down with Sunita Mohanty, CEO and Co-founder of Ultralight, an AI-native operating system powering over 75 functional and longevity medicine clinics across the U.S. Sunita breaks down the regulatory whiplash driving a peptide black market, why the evidence base still hasn't caught up with patient demand, and why individual response varies so dramatically.

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Join Christina for an upcoming webinar:

•⁠ ⁠5/19 - What will AI do for employer healthcare and benefits with Garner Health - https://streamyard.com/watch/sQfWpwRzMqWE

•⁠ ⁠⁠6/3 - Privacy, AI & the future of HIPAA with the former founding director of ONC - https://streamyard.com/watch/bzW4sh8WAPyS

•⁠ ⁠⁠6/23 - Not everyone can access the top 1% of physicians. Will AI change that? - https://streamyard.com/watch/qY9td6fhiXK3

—SPONSOR: Granola

Granola AI, The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings: https://granola.ai/liferswith code: LIFERS

Interested in sponsoring the show? [email protected]

—LINKS: Ultralight: https://www.ultralighthealth.com/ 

Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books 

 —FOLLOW:Sunita: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunita-mohanty/ https://x.com/sunitasmohanty 

Christina Farr:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr 

—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Welcome to Lifers(00:22) Peptides everywhere(01:00) Meet Sunita Mohanty(01:58) Astrology to stacks(02:54) Gray areas and risks(05:16) Clinicians and compounding(06:36) Sponsor break Granola(07:15) Doctors self experimenting(08:35) Why peptides skew male(10:11) Prevention and policy(11:35) Wrap up and next steps

In this episode of Lifers, Christina Farr sits down with Dr. Chris Gallagher (founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Access TeleCare) and Dr. Blake Porter (Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Access TeleCare) to explore the state and future of virtual subspecialty care. The conversation centers on a second wave of telehealth growth, moving beyond the pandemic-era boom into harder-to-reach territory like high-risk pregnancy care, rural ICUs, and other subspecialties where trained clinicians are hard to find and can't simply be manufactured at scale.

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Join Christina for an upcoming webinar:

•⁠ ⁠5/19 - What will AI do for employer healthcare and benefits with Garner Health - ⁠⁠https://streamyard.com/watch/sQfWpwRzMqWE⁠⁠

•⁠ ⁠⁠6/3 - Privacy, AI & the future of HIPAA with the former founding director of ONC - ⁠⁠https://streamyard.com/watch/bzW4sh8WAPyS⁠⁠

•⁠ ⁠⁠6/23 - Not everyone can access the top 1% of physicians. Will AI change that? - ⁠⁠https://streamyard.com/watch/qY9td6fhiXK3⁠—Thanks to our sponsor Access TeleCare, the largest provider of acute specialty telemedicine, serving hospitals and health systems across the U.S.—LINKS: Access TeleCare: https://accesstelecare.com/ 

Second Opinion’s interview with Chris Clomp: https://secondopinion.media/p/the-big-interview-we-sit-down-with-rfk-jr-s-no-2-chris-klomp Charted: Where Inflation Has Hit the Hardest (2000–2025): https://www.visualcapitalist.com/chart-inflation-hit-the-hardest-by-category-2000-2025/ 

Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/ Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books 

—FOLLOW:Chris:https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisgallaghermd/ 

Blake: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-porter-62b51367 

Chrissy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/ https://x.com/chrissyfarr 

—TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview(01:02) Intro(03:18) Telehealth growth and market reset(06:08) Virtual specialty care in women's health(08:41) Solving the subspecialist shortage(12:01) What virtual care really means(14:51) Care at home and remote monitoring(17:55) Rural Health Fund and Medicaid cuts(21:39) Reducing hospital transfers with telemedicine(23:49) Change management in healthcare(25:08) Trusting clinical change(26:32) Doctors in business roles(27:36) No margin no mission(31:02) Defining quality and sustainability(32:55) Making healthcare deflationary(38:39) Rural innovation ground zero(42:10) Picking the right vendors(44:25) Founding a virtual ICU(48:15) Selling into health systems(50:50) Wrap