Technology and healthcare collide in this episode as Andy and Brandi welcome their first-ever two-guest lineup: Kevin DeWald, Executive Director of South Dakota Health Link, and Secretary Melissa Magstadt. Together, they unpack how South Dakota built one of the most connected rural health information networks in the country, and how new federal funding is helping close longstanding technology gaps in rural and frontier healthcare.

Kevin DeWald has worked for South Dakota's state public health agency for 23 years and has led state, regional, and national health IT and health information exchange efforts for 18 years. He currently serves as Executive Director of South Dakota Health Link, a multi-state network connecting 69 hospitals and more than 450 primary care clinics across South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota.

Secretary Melissa Magstadt has been involved in South Dakota healthcare for over three decades. She is an advanced practice registered nurse and co-owner of Quick Care South Dakota, and previously served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014. She holds a master's in science from South Dakota State University with a focus on family nurse practitioning, an MBA from Mount Marty University, and completed her fellowship at the University of Arizona's Center for Integrated Medicine.

0:00 - Welcome & meeting our first two-guest lineup
1:42 - Meet Kevin DeWald & Secretary Melissa Magstadt
5:13 - Tell me something good
6:10 - The box of papers that sparked South Dakota Health Link
9:59 - What South Dakota Health Link actually does
18:26 - How new federal funding for rural healthcare works
30:19 - Inside South Dakota's technology & data initiative
33:42 - AI already at work in South Dakota healthcare
37:54 - A million clinical alerts and counting

🗨️ Mentioned in this episode:

→ EMR — electronic medical record
→ HIE — health information exchange, a system that lets healthcare providers securely share patient data
→ South Dakota Health Link — the multi-state health information network Kevin leads, https://sdhealthlink.org/
→ https://doh.sd.gov — South Dakota Department of Health's rural health funding information page

Connect with Melissa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-magstadt-8749b59 | melissa@sd.gov | https://doh.sd.gov/contacts/staff-directory/

Connect with Kevin: https://sdhealthlink.org/team_mf/kevin-dewald/ | https://doh.sd.gov/contacts/staff-directory/

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