Chronic kidney disease care is moving beyond risk scores. In this episode of Strategy of Health, Cole Lyons speaks with Joseph Vattamattam and Stephanie Toth-Manikowski, MD, MHS, FASN of Healthmap Solutions about next best action, CKD population health, AI/ML-enabled care workflows, care gap prioritization, and value-based kidney care.The conversation covers how Healthmap Solutions helps identify which interventions matter most for complex kidney patients, how clinicians and analytics teams work together, and how better prioritization can improve outcomes while reducing avoidable hospital and emergency department utilization.Guests: Joseph Vattamattam and Stephanie Toth-Manikowski, MD, MHS, FASNHosted by Cole Lyons for the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy.Timestamps00:00 Introduction: kidney care, CKD, and the challenge after risk identification01:21 Why “next best action” matters in chronic kidney disease care04:57 How clinical teams and AI/ML teams work together06:13 A real-world CKD patient example08:16 Recommendation systems, alert fatigue, and physician trust12:20 Turning care gaps into high-impact clinical action15:52 AI, prediction, and personalization in kidney care20:30 Improving outcomes for CKD stage 3 and stage 4 patients23:10 The financial case for better kidney care coordination25:37 Risk-based contracting and aligned incentives28:27 What health plans and providers should ask vendors30:11 Closing thoughts

Did you know that the medical transportation system has become a massive, unseen liability for healthcare payers? On this episode of The Strategy of Health (TSoH) podcast, host Cole Lyons sits down with Ken Van Cara, CEO of Alacura, and Steve Fox, Chief Growth Officer, to uncover the hidden costs of air and ground medical transports.Healthcare leaders are currently facing severe transportation inefficiencies, where an excessive reliance on air transport for short-distance inter-hospital transfers is driving significant and unexpected costs. Ken and Steve break down the economic drivers of this overutilization, the unintended consequences of the No Surprises Act, and the explosion of Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) claims.Learn how Alacura is combatting these issues by implementing 24/7 clinical triage to match patients to the most appropriate transport modes, lowering costs while improving patient outcomes.🕒 Chapters & Timestamps00:00:00 - Introductions and the current challenges in medical transportation 00:08:48 - Why medical transport is an "iceberg" of hidden liability for payers 00:13:17 - The economic drivers of overutilization and unnecessary air ambulance flights 00:15:32 - Alacura's solution: 24/7 clinical triage and logistical oversight 00:27:02 - The No Surprises Act and the explosion of Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) claims 00:34:14 - Keeping a "human in the loop": The ethical application of AI in healthcare 00:41:11 - Using data and predictive intelligence to identify vulnerable members 00:59:30 - How hospital hub-and-spoke models impact transport logistics 01:01:33 - Air ambulance market consolidation and the top 3 dominating companies 01:02:21 - The hidden role of private equity in driving transport costs

Healthmap Solutions' CEO Eric Reimer and Chief Growth Officer Tom Gaffney return to The Strategy of Health for a 2025 year-in-review. They discuss how the company delivered record savings rates amid industry headwinds, the integration of the Carium, and why chronic care management is finally getting the scrutiny it deserves. The conversation covers their expanding comorbidity strategy, plans to grow spend under management by 30-40% in 2026, and how AI is making their clinical teams more effective without replacing them.