Donna Thompson, chief executive officer of Access Community Health Network in Chicago.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on the unique role of community health centers in integrating clinical excellence with education, training, and research. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Donna Thompson, RN, CEO of Access Community Health Network in Chicago, the country’s largest health center and developer of the first NIH funded research center devoted exclusively to studying health disparities.

Lynne Thomas Gordon, CEO of AHIMA

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Lynne Thomas Gordon, CEO of the American Health Information Management Association which is the premier association of health information management professionals worldwide. AHIMA is actively engaged in assisting hospitals and medical practices to prepare for the transition to ICD 10 medical coding.

Dr. George Thibault, President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation on the Future of Health Professional Education

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. George Thibault, President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the only foundation dedicated solely to the advancement of health professionals education. Dr. Thibault discusses their efforts to shift modern medical education towards a more team-based model of care and a more advanced role for nursing professionals in primary care.

Biology's New Frontier: The Human Cell Atlas Seeks To Create "Google Maps" for All Cells in the Body

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Aviv Regev of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Dr. Sarah Teichmann of the Wellcome Sanger Institute at Cambridge, Co-Chairs of the Human Cell Atlas project which is seeking to create a "Google Maps" for the body's 37 trillion cells. It's a global collaboration of multiple scientific disciplines, tasked with creating a comprehensive and open-source cell map, to yield a deeper understanding of the foundational elements of human health and disease.

Tina Tchen, White House Director of the Council on Women and Girls and the Office of Public Engagement.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on health care for women and families. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Tina Tchen, executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls and White House director of the Office of Public Engagement, about health reform and the broader issues of economic and social equality for women and girls.

Dr. Paul Tang, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on steering the country into a new era of health information technology. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Paul Tang, chief innovation and technology officer for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, about how patients from kids to centenarians are going online to play a greater role in their health care.

Continued Quest for Equity in Health: Thoughts from Morehouse School of Medicine Founder and former HHS Secretary Dr. Louis Sullivan

This week on Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Louis Wade Sullivan, Founding Dean and President Emeritus of the Morehouse School of Medicine, and former HHS Secretary under the first Bush Administration. Dr. Sullivan discusses his efforts to build diversity in the health professions through his organization, the Sullivan Alliance, and his contributions to building equity in health systems around the country and the world.

Why Are Only 5% Of Doctors African American? Dr. Louis Sullivan Tells Us

Dr. Louis Sullivan’s leadership and advocacy for equity in the health professions have taken him from the classroom to the seats of power in Washington. He reflects on his own journey and the challenges that still exist in training people of color to become doctors and for other medical roles.

Dr. Sullivan believes, “It’s a combination of a lack of adequate preparation, lack of financial resources, and also a lack of role models.” He shares his inspiring story from the then-segregated South and the influences that helped him.

Dr. Sullivan served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the co-author of the new book “We’ll Fight it Out Here: A History of the Ongoing Struggle for Health Equity.”

We’re honored to have him join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to discuss these topics, the gaps COVID has exposed, and the current political battles over equity.

Dr. Indu Subayia, Co-Chairman of Health 2.0

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Indu-Subayia, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Health 2.0, which promotes and showcases emerging health tech innovations through a worldwide series of conferences, prize challenges and code-a-thons. Dr. Subayia discusses their upcoming annual conference and looks at the emergence of digital health companies poised to transform the health care experience for patients and providers.

CRISPR, DNA and Genomics: Dr. Samuel Sternberg Examines This Game-Changing Technology

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Samuel H. Sternberg, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University and renowned expert on CRISPER-Cas9 gene editing technology. Dr. Sternberg co-authored "A Crack in Creation" with CRISPR co-creator Jennifer Doudna, and talks about the limitless potential of this genetic engineering tool to transform how we treat and prevent disease in the future.

Dr. Glenn Steele, President and CEO of Geisinger Health System

This week, Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Glenn Steele, President and CEO of Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, a physician-led, integrated health system serving 2.8 million patients across 44 counties. Dr. Steele discusses Geisinger's integrated health services organization lauded for its innovative care delivery models and cost containment strategies that have yielded better outcomes and high-value care.

Paul Starr, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University.

This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Starr about his new book, Remedy and Reaction: The Peculiar American Struggle over Health Care Reform. Dr. Starr takes us through the complexities of the debate over health care in America, the history of health reform in America, and how the Affordable Care Act both fulfills and falls short of earlier reform efforts.

Dr. Steven J. Stack, President of the American Medical Association

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Steven J. Stack, President of the American Medical Association the largest professional organization representing the nation's physicians and medical students. Dr. Stack addresses the medical profession's ongoing transformation with health IT and meaningful use, ICD-10 adoption and the need to redesign medical training to meet 21st century challenges in the health profession.

Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, Infectious Disease specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Srinivasan discusses the CDC's latest protocols for medical professionals dealing with Ebola, and the greater threat of the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospital settings.

Topher Spiro, Managing Director, Health Policy, Center for American Progress

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Topher Spiro, Managing Director of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress. Mr. Spiro speaks about his work as a member of the US Senate team that drafted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and he talks about the various aspects of the health care law that are improving access to care for more Americans, while serving to contain costs.

Peter Speyer, Chief Data and Technology Officer at IHME

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Peter Speyer, Chief Data and Technology Officer at the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation at the University of Washington. Mr. Speyer discusses their ground-breaking ongoing global health report, Global Burden of Disease, which utilizes big data analytics to provide an accurate measure of diseases leading to morbidity and mortality in 200 countries around the world.

Ken Sperling, National Exchange Strategy Leader, Aon/Hewitt

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Ken Sperling, National Exchange Strategy Leader at Aon/Hewitt. Mr. Sperling discusses the growing trend towards health insurance exchanges in the corporate benefits world, and the impact the Affordable Care Act is having on corporate health care costs and employee benefits.

From Ebola Survivor to COVID Warrior: Dr. Craig Spencer on the Pandemic’s Lingering Threat

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Craig Spencer, Director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Population and Family Health at the Columbia University Medical Center. A an emergency medicine and epidemiology expert on the board of Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Spencer talks about what he learned battling Ebola in West Africa, surviving the deadly illness himself, and how COVID-19 is revealing huge gaps in health equity and public health readiness that need to be repaired.

Steve Spear, MIT Sloane School of Management

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Steven Spear, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the Sloane School of Management at MIT and international expert on applying LEAN systems created by Toyota to improve production output and quality. Dr. Spear addresses the potential LEAN systems have for improving cost containment in health care, while improving outcomes.

Dr. Frederick Southwick, Harvard Fellow and Author of “Critically Ill: A 5-Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery”

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Frederick Southwick, Manager of New Quality and Safety Projects for the University of Florida and Shands Health Systems, Harvard Fellow, and author of “Critically Ill: A 5-Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery”. Dr. Southwick outlines his program for increasing efficiency and improving safety in health care. His program is based on improved protocols and teamwork adopted from successful principles used in manufacturing and team sports.