Founder and Friends: Podcasts About Quality’s Future

May 27, 2025 · Brandon Delgado

Health care is constantly changing, and the need for faster, more effective quality improvement has never been more critical.

That’s why we just launched an exciting new limited-series podcast, Quality Talks With Peggy O’Kane.

Hosted by our president and founder, these conversations bring together some of health care’s most innovative thinkers to tackle the pressing issues of quality, progress and persistent barriers to better care.

“Unfinished Business”

As Peggy prepares to retire at the end of 2025, she notes the quality world has a lot of “unfinished business.” Despite significant improvement over the past few decades, fundamental issues like fee-for-service payment, fragmented care delivery and inadequate support for primary hurt quality and increase costs.

“Health care is in a transformative period, and now is the time for a new conversation about quality,” reflects Peggy. “Each ‘Quality Talks’ episode features mavericks and breakthrough thinkers who challenge the status quo and forge new solutions. These discussions aim to advance how we improve—confronting the crisis of rising costs and getting better health outcomes.”

Each episode in the series, which runs May to November, offers a different answer to Peggy’s central question: Why isn’t health care better at getting better?

Through candid conversations with executives, researchers and innovators, Peggy explores how technology, primary care revitalization and systematic strategies can lead to better patient outcomes and greater value.

Meet the Mavericks

The initial lineup of guests joining Peggy offers diverse perspectives on payment reform, Medicare Advantage and the future of primary care:

• Sachin Jain, CEO, SCAN Health Plan: Dr. Jain challenges complacency and tackles topics of access, affordability and tradeoffs in quality measurement, offering fresh perspectives on managed care.
• Rita Redberg, MD, Cardiologist/Professor, UCSF Medical Center: Dr. Redberg champions an evidence-based, “less is more” approach, demonstrating how reducing unnecessary interventions produces less waste and harm.
• Will Shrank, MD, Venture Partner, Andreessen Horowitz: Dr. Shrank advocates for a more cohesive health care system, emphasizing aligned incentives, meaningful patient outcome measurements, prevention and thoughtful implementation of value-based care.
• Susan Dentzer, CEO, America’s Physician Groups: Dentzer presents a compelling vision of accountability, highlighting how savvy physician practices are leveraging emerging payment models to achieve better patient outcomes at lower costs, building on strengths of Medicare Advantage.

Don’t miss these thoughtful, important conversations that challenge the status quo and inspire new solutions for health care quality.

Listen to the “Quality Talks with Peggy O’Kane” podcast series at QualityTalksWithPeggyOKane or wherever you get podcasts.