Claim OwnershipUnHack with Drex DeFord
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© 2025 This Week Health
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Cyber-safety is patient-safety. On “UnHack,” Drex DeFord, veteran healthcare CIO and infused strategist, breaks down the biggest cybersecurity and risk challenges facing healthcare today. Drex and expert guests explore what happened, why it matters, and how to build real-world resilience. The show's a mostly plain-English, mostly non-technical discussion that dives into the people, process, and technology making healthcare more secure; and it's NOT just for cyber-professionals; it’s for everyone in a healthcare organization, because modern cybersecurity is a team-sport.
257 Episodes
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January 6, 2026: Healthcare is transforming through connection, and 2026 promises to take that mission further than ever before. This Week Health is expanding its reach with 63 events across 30 cities, bringing healthcare leaders together for deeper conversations and meaningful relationships. From coast-to-coast dinners connecting local leaders to new training programs educating both sides of the healthcare IT ecosystem, the focus remains on building bench strength across the industry. With 176 HCSP members already engaged and a new fellowship program launching to advance IT professional careers, the entire talent pipeline is being transformed. Discover how community, education, and personal connections are shaping healthcare's future in 2026.Key Points:00:13 Exciting Plans for 202601:51 Women's CIO Summit and Talent Pipeline04:04 Community Building and Networking09:12 Fundraising and Charity EventsX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
January 5, 2026: ServiceNow's $7 billion acquisition of Armis signals a major shift in healthcare IT consolidation strategy. Jason Rose, CEO of Clearsense dives into what this deal means for health systems juggling overlapping security tools and bloated app portfolios. The conversation shifts to bold predictions for 2026, including a massive wave of multi-billion dollar health system mergers and the rural hospital crisis. Jason reveals how Trinity Health eliminated $100 million in operational costs through strategic app archiving, while the panel explores why AI implementation will finally move beyond hype into real-world deployment. Key Points:01:39 ServiceNow Acquisition of Armis07:26 Application Consolidation in Healthcare17:10 Predictions for 202630:39 Closing Remarks and Subscription InformationX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
February 21, 2025: Kate Gamble and Sarah Richardson explore the influence of healthcare's top billionaires on industry innovation and digital transformation. They discuss the balance between profit-driven advancement and patient care, implications for CIOs, and the role of wealth concentration in healthcare technology investments. Subscribe: This Week Health Twitter: This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
Drex covers the alleged breach of OmniGPT affecting 30,000+ users with 34M+ exposed messages. Then, sophisticated deepfake scam using Italian defense minister's voice targeting business leaders. Lastly, a growing partnership between financial cybercriminals and state-sponsored hackers from Russia, China, and Iran.Remember, Stay a Little Paranoid Subscribe: This Week Health Twitter: This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
January 26, 2026: Fresh from J.P. Morgan 2026, the This Week Health team joins Zahid Rathore, Senior Partner at Chartis, to dissect healthcare's new reality. With Epic and Microsoft topping CFO spend lists and unpredictability replacing planning cycles, one thing is clear: vendors must prove bankable ROI immediately or lose the deal. The conversation explores how healthcare leaders are protecting the core while navigating AI agents, third-party risks, and the compression of innovation timelines from three-year returns to prove-it-tomorrow expectations.Key Points:02:44 Hotel Experience and Healthcare Lessons04:13 JP Morgan Conference Highlights16:35 Operational Challenges in Healthcare22:11 Security Concerns and Future Outlook
January 19, 2026: Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson unpack OpenAI's two major healthcare announcements that could fundamentally reshape how patients interact with their health data—and how health systems govern AI. ChatGPT Health promises to finally deliver on the personal health record dream, letting patients aggregate everything from Apple Health to medical records in one secure place. Meanwhile, ChatGPT for Healthcare gives CIOs the governed sandbox they've been desperate for. Hear why patient data monetization, clinical trial recruitment, and the shift from provider liability to patient empowerment could make this time actually different.Golf Tournament Registration: https://carahevents.carahsoft.com/Event/Details/686801-ThisWeekHealthKey Points:05:00 ChatGPT Health Announcement17:40 Personalized GPT and Analytics in Healthcare22:05 Wearable Health Tech and Personal Health Records25:35 Community Events and LinkedIn Series
January 12, 2026: Epic is defending three simultaneous lawsuits while CIOs grapple with vendors imposing staggering price increases—some as high as 600%. Bill, Sarah, and Drex tackle the uncomfortable truth about AI leadership: it's time to figure it out or risk getting left behind. They explore why AI with context is transformative while AI without it looks foolish, discuss whether board members know how to hire AI-savvy CIOs, and predict a major shift in how healthcare organizations approach their EHR relationships. Could we see a return to building custom solutions powered by modern AI?Key Points:02:44 Predictions for 202614:18 Staffing and Workforce Implications21:10 Epic's Legal TroublesX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
December 29, 2025: As 2025 draws to a close, Drex, Sarah, and Bill gather to reflect on a year of struggles and triumphs. From unprecedented CIO turnover among top talent to the stark reality of workforce exhaustion, this candid conversation reveals why even quality leaders are finding themselves displaced. They explore how fear has stifled innovation, why AI advanced faster than expected with synthetic media, and how organizational culture emerged as the true differentiator in digital transformation success. They also share personal highlights from their year of summits and dinners, proving that even in challenging times, community and purpose remain paramount.Key Points:00:50 Reflecting on 2025: Surprises and Challenges06:25 What We Got Right in 202513:22 Personal Reflections and Key Takeaways18:55 Looking Ahead: Future Plans and Initiatives22:47 Conclusion and Community EngagementX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
December 23, 2025: The AI revolution swept through healthcare in 2025, but did it deliver on its promises? Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson pull back the curtain on what really happened in AI this year—from North Korean deep fakes infiltrating hospital workforces to the sobering reality of billion-dollar AI investments with ROI timelines stretching to 2030. They reveal why ambient listening became the breakout use case, which organizations are actually making progress, and the critical mistake most health systems are making with endless pilots. If you're wondering whether your organization is behind on AI or just getting started right, this honest end-of-year reflection delivers the answers healthcare leaders need heading into 2026.Key Points:02:38 2025 Reflections and Predictions11:21 Deep Fakes and Digital Trafficking in Healthcare17:50 Balancing Tech Debt and Innovation in Healthcare19:22 Enhancing Physician Efficiency and Satisfaction25:09 Future AI Trends X: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
September 23, 2025: Sahan Fernando, CISO at Rady Children's Health San Diego, reveals the split-second decisions that keep pediatric healthcare running while under attack. Navigating the stark reality that children's hospitals face the same sophisticated threats as major health systems but with a fraction of the resources, Sahan unpacks how forcing threat actors into high-visibility channels might be the key to catching them faster. Can Health ISAC bridge the massive gap between well-funded health systems and struggling critical access hospitals when developing cybersecurity standards that actually work?
Key Points:
09:10 Challenges and Innovations in Pediatrics
17:24 Data Retention and Security
21:43 Managing Systemic Risks in Healthcare IT
29:26 Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Past and Present
35:45 Ransomware Attack: Decision-Making and Response
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Drex covers three critical cybersecurity developments: Scattered Spider's shift to targeting insurance companies including Erie Insurance, Philadelphia Insurance, and Aflac using advanced social engineering tactics; escalating Iran-related cyber threats to US critical infrastructure amid Middle East tensions; and a massive dark web leak exposing 1.6 billion login credentials. Don't miss these actionable security recommendations including reviewing password reset processes, implementing strong authentication measures, and preparing for potential nation-state attacks on healthcare infrastructure.Remember, Stay a Little Paranoid X: This Week Health LinkedIn: This Week Health Donate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
December 19, 2025: CMS has unveiled its new ACCESS Model—an ambitious 10-year initiative aimed at expanding digital, tech-enabled care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. In this discussion, Laura O’Toole, CEO of SureTest, joins Bill and Sarah to unpack how outcome-based reimbursement could finally accelerate innovation in remote monitoring and chronic disease management. They explore what this shift means for CIOs, including the need for stronger data interoperability, integrated analytics, and secure pipelines to support continuous digital care. The conversation also highlights risks, from digital literacy gaps to patient privacy concerns as de-identified data gains value across the industry. From wearables and home health devices to the challenge of building a true digital front door, this episode examines how ACCESS could reshape care-in-place models—and why commercial payers may soon follow Medicare’s lead.X: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
December 15, 2025: What if healthcare's biggest breakthroughs require throwing out the playbook? Joined by Daniel Schubert, CEO and Co-Founder of Revuud, this episode explores how AI is fundamentally reshaping healthcare IT strategy, from deploying countless virtual PhD-level agents across operations to rethinking patient access and workflow automation. Healthcare leaders discuss the challenge of prioritizing AI initiatives amid competing demands, the importance of creating organizational margin for creative problem-solving, and why divergent thinking beats linear logic in digital transformation. The conversation tackles talent deployment, the dangers of "we've always done it this way" mentality, and a critical question every CIO must answer: how resilient are your systems when AI becomes mission-critical infrastructure?Key Points:01:40 AI in Healthcare: A LinkedIn Post Discussion04:18 Challenges and Opportunities with AI08:38 Future of AI in Healthcare10:55 Organizational Impact and Talent Management20:05 Resilience and Final ThoughtsX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
December 12, 2025: When cloud platforms like AWS and Azure experience outages, hospitals across the country feel the impact. But are healthcare organizations truly prepared for these disruptions? Charles Knight, Founder of EHC Consulting, explores the critical gaps in healthcare's cloud resilience strategies. From understanding single points of failure to running actual failover tests, this conversation reveals why documentation and operational readiness matter just as much as technical redundancy.Key Points:04:09 Challenges in Disaster Recovery and Documentation16:14 Phishing and Cybersecurity Concerns21:30 Thanksgiving Food FavoritesX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
December 8, 2025: Healthcare systems are drowning in administrative calls while patients struggle with fragmented portals and coordination nightmares. Will Akers, Chief Strategy Officer from Switchboard, MD, joins Bill Russell, Sarah Richardson, and Drex DeFord to unpack a stunning reality: 25-40% of health system calls are simple scheduling requests that could be automated today. Drawing from his experience having children in both Hong Kong and the US healthcare systems, Will reveals stark efficiency gaps costing patients time and money. The conversation explores why seniors spend three weeks yearly on healthcare logistics, how multiple portals create care coordination chaos, and practical automation strategies that could transform contact centers while improving patient access for vulnerable populations.Key Points:02:06 Healthcare Experiences Abroad vs. US09:55 Technology in Healthcare Communication16:44 Patient-Centric Healthcare Solutions22:52 Thanksgiving Traditions X: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
December 1, 2025: As AI tools rapidly transform healthcare IT workflows, leaders face an unexpected challenge: what happens when your team becomes dramatically more productive? Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson explore the productivity paradox hitting healthcare organizations—when AI enables staff to accomplish in hours what once took weeks, do you need fewer people or different approaches? From closing open positions to managing "cozy" employees who've mastered automation, they debate real strategies for navigating this shift. Whether you're a process-driven leader or innovation-focused builder, this discussion reveals how AI is forcing healthcare IT to rethink staffing, workflow waste, and organizational culture before it's too late.Key Points:02:56 AI in the Workplace: Efficiency and Challenges17:15 Leadership Styles and AI Integration20:33 Approaching the AI Wave26:23 Balancing Leadership Styles32:11 End-of-Year Reflections and PredictionsX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
November 24, 2025: Healthcare organizations are drowning in applications they can't even inventory, especially after mergers and acquisitions. But the real shock comes when they try to access archived data years later. Dave Dyell, Managing Partner at Innovative Consulting Group, reveals why cloud storage fees are forcing health systems to rethink their entire archiving strategy, particularly for medical imaging. With AI initiatives on the horizon, the way you archive data today determines whether you can afford to use it tomorrow. Learn why strategic planning for data archiving isn't optional anymore—it's the difference between controlling costs and watching them spiral out of control.Key Points:03:12 Archiving and Data Management09:30 On-Prem vs Cloud Storage18:33 Future Strategies and ConclusionX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
November 21, 2025: What if your organization could reclaim millions of dollars just by rethinking processes you already have in place? Bill Willis, CTO of IDMWORKS, discusses the hidden costs plaguing healthcare IT, from runaway cloud storage bills to the shocking economics of password resets. Discover why identity management isn't just a security issue but a massive financial opportunity, how HR-IT integration is transforming onboarding from a week-long wait to day-one productivity, and why the cybersecurity crisis isn't really about technology at all. With real-world examples showing $2.5M to $5M in annual savings, this episode delivers the business case healthcare leaders need to drive change in 2026.Key Points:01:06 Boston City Tour Highlights02:36 Discussion on AI and Cloud Costs10:05 Cybersecurity and Identity Management19:12 Operational Efficiency and Cost SavingsX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
November 17, 2025: How does a 25-bed critical access hospital successfully stop a cyberattack when larger health systems fall victim? George Pappas, CEO of Intraprise Health, unpacks the Colorado hospital that shows how security culture beats expensive technology. The conversation reveals why vendor transparency remains elusive despite high-profile breaches, explores the harsh reality of hospitals that know their vulnerabilities but lack resources to fix them, and tackles AI governance challenges that traditional testing methods can't address. From Oracle-Cerner incidents to the frozen HIPAA NPRM, this episode delivers hard truths about healthcare security's funding gaps and the practical strategies that actually work for margin-pressed organizations.Key Points:01:45 Vendor Contracts and Legal Challenges06:21 Challenges with Cloud Security11:26 Critical Access Hospitals and Cyber Preparedness17:47 AI in Healthcare: Opportunities and RisksX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
November 10, 2025: When AWS experienced a major outage affecting over 500 companies, healthcare IT leaders were reminded that cloud architecture isn't just a technical decision; it's a strategic imperative. Vik Patel, COO from Tido dives into the cascading failures that exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare's cloud dependencies. From Epic instances running on AWS to the emerging challenges of AI data lakes, this conversation reveals why simplicity in architecture might be healthcare IT's most undervalued strategy. Discover how de-identifying data reduces risk, why multi-cloud strategies matter, and whether healthcare organizations have the skills needed to architect their cloud future safely.Key Points:01:00 AWS Outage Breakdown13:00 Data Management in the Cloud24:21 Simplicity in IT Design30:01 Conclusion and FarewellX: This Week HealthLinkedIn: This Week HealthDonate: Alex’s Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer
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