Shows / Viral Healthcare
Viral Healthcare
What makes an idea spread in healthcare and what actually lasts?
Viral Healthcare is a short-form podcast hosted by Bruce Spurlock, CEO of Convergence Health, exploring the ideas, policies, innovations, and narratives that go viral across healthcare, separating what’s noise from what truly changes care.
In episodes under 20 minutes, Bruce breaks down:
Why certain healthcare ideas, trends, and stories go viral
Whether those ideas actually improve quality, safety, and outcomes
How leaders can…
Episodes
Viral HealthcareEp 36: Reflection - The Healthcare Cost Crisis Nobody Is Talking About
In this five-minute reflection on Viral Healthcare, Dr. Bruce Spurlock steps away from the usual discussion of healthcare innovation to examine one of the most…
Viral HealthcareEp 36: Most Dangerous Words in Healthcare: Everyone Else Is Doing It
In this episode of Viral Healthcare, Dr. Bruce Spurlock explores how social proof, competitive pressure, and the fear of falling behind influence healthcare…
Viral HealthcareEp. 35 Reflection: Why Healthcare Leaders Can't Walk Away
You've invested millions of dollars in a healthcare initiative. You're not even halfway through, and the warning signs are becoming impossible to ignore. Do…
Viral HealthcareEp. 35: What Healthcare Leaders Should Really Fear
What should healthcare leaders really be afraid of this Halloween? It's probably not another regulatory change, a disappointing quarterly report, or the latest…
Viral HealthcareEp. 34 Reflection: When Healthcare AI Is Ready, but We Aren't
Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, but are healthcare organizations prepared to use it effectively? In this *Viral Healthcare* reflection, Dr. Bruce…
Viral HealthcareEp. 34: IBM Watson's $62 Million Lesson for Healthcare AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare, but how can leaders distinguish promising technology from an innovation that's actually ready to implement?…
Viral HealthcareEp. 33 Reflection: When Consensus Becomes an Excuse Not to Decide
Seventeen committees. One field. One form. When Bruce Spurlock, M.D., learned that 17 committees had approved a single change to a form, the organization…
Viral HealthcareEp. 33: The Hidden Cost of Making Everyone Agree
How many committees should it take to change one field on one healthcare form? In Bruce Spurlock's experience, the answer was 17. Healthcare organizations…
Viral HealthcareEp. 32 Reflection: When Data Becomes a Crutch
Can good data actually lead healthcare leaders to make bad decisions? In this five-minute reflection on Episode 32 of Viral Healthcare, Dr. Bruce Spurlock…
Viral HealthcareEp. 32: When Good Data Leads to Bad Decisions
“Let the data drive the decision” sounds objective. But data doesn’t make decisions. People do. In Episode 32 of Viral Healthcare, Bruce Spurlock, M.D…
Viral HealthcareEp. 31 Reflection: What Do You Do When Your Champion Leaves?
You found the right champion. They built enthusiasm, influenced their peers, and helped your new initiative gain traction. Then they leave. What happens next?…
Viral HealthcareEp. 31: The Champion Problem: What Happens When Your Best Advocate Leaves?
What happens to a successful healthcare initiative when the person driving it suddenly leaves? Champions can be essential to implementation. A respected…
Viral HealthcareEp. 30 Reflection: Why Healthcare Change Evaporates Before It Reaches the Frontline
Rain can begin falling from a cloud and evaporate before it ever reaches the ground. Meteorologists call it virga. In healthcare organizations, something…
Viral HealthcareEp. 30: The Middle Manager Problem Nobody Talks About
A healthcare CEO can approve a new initiative. Frontline clinicians might even agree that it’s a good idea. And six months later, it can still be completely…
Viral HealthcareEp. 29: Haven Healthcare Part 4 — What Actually Failed?
On January 4, 2021, Haven Healthcare announced it was shutting down. After less than three years, the ambitious venture created by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway…
Viral HealthcareEp. 28 Reflection: When Is a Setback Actually a Warning?
Productivity may decline. Resistance can grow. Unexpected problems emerge. Sometimes performance even gets worse before it gets better. But when does normal…
Viral HealthcareEp. 28: Haven Healthcare Part 3: When Does a Setback Become a Warning?
Then the warning lights started appearing. A senior executive departed. Employee turnover followed. A promising pilot struggled with engagement. Amazon began…
Viral HealthcareEp. 27 Reflection: Where Do You Start When Everything Needs Fixing?
Where would you start? In this reflection on Part 2 of the Haven Healthcare series, Dr. Bruce Spurlock looks at the choices Haven made once it moved from…
Viral HealthcareEp. 27: Haven Healthcare Part 2: Who Loses If Haven Wins?
What happens if Haven Healthcare actually succeeds? Employees get healthier. Prescription drug spending falls. Primary care becomes easier to access…
Viral HealthcareEp. 26 Reflection: If You Had the Resources to Fix Healthcare, Where Would You Start?
Imagine being given more resources than you could reasonably expect, a long-term time horizon, access to more than a million employees, and a mandate to…
Viral HealthcareEp. 26: Haven Healthcare Part 1: How Could This Possibly Fail?
On January 4, 2021, one of the most closely watched experiments in American healthcare came to an end. Haven Healthcare, created by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway…
Viral HealthcareEp. 25 Reflection: Improving Health Means Looking Beyond Healthcare
If you're committed to improving health outcomes, how far beyond the traditional healthcare system should you be willing to look? In this Episode 25…
Viral HealthcareEp. 25: From Healthcare Data to Community Action with Rich Rasmussen
Hospitals collect enormous amounts of data. But how much of that data actually helps improve the health of the communities they serve? In Episode 25 of Viral…
Viral HealthcareEp. 24 Reflection: What Can You Safely Change?
When a healthcare innovation has already produced strong results somewhere else, do you need to implement it exactly the same way? Not necessarily. In this…
Viral HealthcareEp. 24: Fidelity vs. Adaptation: What Can You Change Without Losing What Works?
A healthcare innovation works somewhere else. The evidence is strong, your organization decides to implement it, and then the questions begin. Can we simplify…
Viral HealthcareEp 23 Reflection: What Does Wisdom Look Like in Healthcare Leadership?
Healthcare leaders have access to more data and information than ever, but having more knowledge does not necessarily make an organization wiser. In this Viral…
Viral HealthcareEp. 23: Learning Isn't Collecting Information. It's Changing Your Mind
Healthcare has never had more information. We have research, dashboards, conferences, podcasts, webinars, certifications, and endless data. Yet better…
Viral HealthcareEp 22 Reflection: Do We Need to Redesign the System?
Why do so many improvement efforts stall, even when everyone agrees on the evidence? In this week's 5-minute Reflection, Bruce Spurlock explores why education…
Viral HealthcareEp. 22: When Healthcare Gets It Right
Healthcare often has a reputation for changing slowly. Many evidence-based practices take years—or even decades—to become routine care. But every once in a…
Viral HealthcareEp. 21 Reflection: Is It Hype or Reality?
A few days after discussing what the NFT boom can teach healthcare leaders, Bruce Spurlock reflects on one of the most powerful forces shaping organizational…
Viral HealthcareEp. 21: What NFTs Can Teach Healthcare About Chasing Trends
In this episode of Viral Healthcare, Bruce Spurlock explores the rise and fall of NFTs to reveal a powerful leadership lesson about how organizations adopt…
Viral HealthcareEp 20 Reflection: Are You Selling the Solution… or Explaining the Problem?
After this week's episode on communicating innovation, it's worth pausing to consider a simple question: When you're leading change, are people buying into…
Viral HealthcareEp 20: Leading Innovation: How Great Healthcare Leaders Communicate Change
Every healthcare innovation begins with a conversation. The way leaders communicate new ideas can determine whether an initiative gains momentum—or quietly…
Viral HealthcareEp 19 Reflection: Transformational or Just Trending? A 5-Minute Healthcare Leadership Reflection
This week's conversation explored why some healthcare innovations fundamentally changed medicine while others generated enormous excitement but ultimately…
Viral HealthcareEp 19: Transformational vs. Incremental: Which Healthcare Innovations Actually Changed Medicine?
Every year, healthcare is introduced to new technologies, treatments, and ideas that promise to revolutionize medicine. Some truly change the way we deliver…
Viral HealthcareEp 18 Reflection: Curiosity or Distraction?
After this week's conversation with Helen Macfie, PharmD., one idea continues to stand out: curiosity is essential for innovation, but curiosity without…
Viral HealthcareEp 18: Curiosity, Execution, and the "Shiny Toy" Problem: A Conversation with Helen Macfie, PharmD
Healthcare organizations are constantly presented with new technologies, products, and ideas that promise to transform care. But how do leaders decide which…
Viral HealthcareEp. 17 Reflection: What Does Success Actually Look Like?
A few days after discussing the ABCDEF Bundle, Bruce Spurlock reflects on a larger leadership question that emerged from the conversation: what do we actually…
Viral HealthcareEp 17: The ABCDEF Bundle and the Problem with Success
Bruce Spurlock explores why the ABCDEF Bundle became one of healthcare's most successful improvement initiatives—and what it teaches us about how organizations…
Viral HealthcareEp 16: What Separates Durable Change from Innovation Theater? A Conversation with Maulik S. Joshi
Healthcare leaders are often told to move faster, innovate more, and stay ahead of change. But how do you know when you're creating meaningful transformation…
Viral HealthcareEp 15 Reflection: The Value of Thinking About Failure
A few days after discussing the pre-mortem framework, Bruce Spurlock reflects on one of its most important lessons: organizations often spend far more time…
Viral HealthcareEp. 15: The Pre-Mortem: How Smart Leaders Plan for Failure
Most organizations spend far more time discussing why a project will succeed than why it might fail. In this episode, Bruce Spurlock takes a deep dive into the…
Viral HealthcareEp 14: How Personality Shapes Leadership, Innovation, and Change with Dr. Lee Scheinbart
Why do some leaders embrace change while others resist it? Why do some people focus on the big picture while others need every detail before making a decision?…
Viral HealthcareEp 13. Reflection: Why Good Healthcare Ideas Still Fail
A few days after the main episode, Bruce Spurlock reflects on one of the most important lessons behind the UP Campaign: healthcare organizations often…
Viral HealthcareEp 13: The Healthcare Initiative Everyone Loved, And Why It Still Failed
Why do so many healthcare initiatives sound successful long before they actually improve outcomes? In this episode, Bruce Spurlock explores the story of the UP…
Viral HealthcareEp 12. Reflection: Healthcare Doesn’t Need More Consensus
A few days after the main episode, Bruce Spurlock reflects on one of the central ideas behind healthcare leadership and organizational decision-making…
Viral HealthcareEp 12: Who Should Really Make Decisions in Healthcare?
How should healthcare organizations make important decisions? Should decisions come from strong individual leaders, small expert groups, or broad…
Viral HealthcareEp. 11 Reflection: Are You Making Decisions or Performing Them?
When you make decisions as a healthcare leader, are you responding to the situation or to how you want to be perceived? In this five-minute reflection, we…
Viral HealthcareEp 11: How Leadership Pressure Impacts Decision-Making in Healthcare (Innovation, Risk & Strategy)
In healthcare leadership, traits like decisiveness, innovation, and confidence are often rewarded. Leaders are expected to move quickly, simplify complexity…
Viral HealthcareEp 10: How Your Decision-Making Style Impacts Healthcare Leadership (Bias, Risk & Innovation)
Why do two experienced healthcare leaders look at the same situation and come to completely different conclusions? In this episode of Viral Healthcare, we…
Viral HealthcareEp. 9 Reflection: Are You Making Better Decisions in Healthcare?
After exploring the WRAP method for better decision-making, this short reflection invites healthcare leaders to pause and evaluate how they are making…
Viral HealthcareEp 9: How Healthcare Leaders Make Better Decisions (The WRAP Method Explained)
Healthcare leaders make high-stakes decisions every day, yet most have never been formally trained in how to make better decisions. In this episode of Viral…
Viral HealthcareEp. 8 Reflection: Are You Setting Your Healthcare Initiatives Up to Fail?
After exploring how healthcare leaders can anticipate failure before it happens, this short reflection invites you to step back and think more critically about…
Viral HealthcareEp 8: How Healthcare Leaders Can Anticipate Failure Before It Happens (Pre-Mortem, Strategy & Implementation)
Every healthcare leader has experienced it. A new initiative looks promising, leadership is aligned, and the organization is ready to move forward. But even…
Viral HealthcareEp. 7 Reflection: Are We Solving the Right Problem in Healthcare?
In this short reflection following Episode 7 of Viral Healthcare, Bruce Spurlock revisits a key idea: not every solution from other industries applies to…
Viral HealthcareEp 7. What Healthcare Can (and Can’t) Learn from Other Industries
Healthcare is often told to learn from other industries. Look at aviation. Look at tech. Look at retail. Adopt what works elsewhere and apply it to healthcare…
Viral HealthcareEp. 6 Reflection: Are You Solving the Right Problem in Healthcare?
In healthcare, leaders are constantly solving problems, but how often do we stop to ask if we’re solving the right one? In this five-minute reflection, we…
Viral HealthcareEp. 6: Why Healthcare Keeps Solving the Wrong Problems
Healthcare leaders spend most of their time solving problems. It is what drives progress and what gives the work meaning. But what happens when the problem…
Viral HealthcareEp. 5 Reflection: How to Spot Healthcare Hype Before It Fails
In this short reflection following Episode 5 of Viral Healthcare, Bruce Spurlock revisits one of the most important challenges facing healthcare leaders today…
Viral HealthcareEp 5: Separating the Hype from Reality in Healthcare (Part 1): How to Spot Trends That Won’t Last
Healthcare leaders are surrounded by new ideas. Every week brings new research, new technologies, new products, and new solutions promising to improve…