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touch point podcast

touch point podcast

Written by: touch point media
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 touch point is a podcast dedicated to discussions on digital marketing and online patient engagement strategies for hospitals, health systems, and physicians' practices. In each episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer dive deep into a variety of topics on the digital tools, solutions, strategies, and processes that are impacting the healthcare industry today.touch point media © 2023. All rights reserved. Economics Hygiene & Healthy Living Marketing Marketing & Sales Politics & Government
Episodes
  • TP471 - Developing a “Route-First” Access Strategy

    TP471 - Developing a “Route-First” Access Strategy
    Jan 21 2026
    Access is still one of healthcare’s most talked-about problems. But a year after our last access-focused episode, the conversation has shifted in quieter and more consequential ways. In this episode, Chris Boyer and Reed Smith revisit access not as a single front door problem, but as a routing challenge shaped by workforce constraints, digital behavior, reimbursement realities, and patient expectations that continue to evolve. Rather than rehashing familiar headlines about staffing shortages or online scheduling, they introduce a route-first access strategy. One that prioritizes guiding patients to the right care, at the right time, through the right channel. Sometimes that means digital. Sometimes it does not. The conversation covers what has actually changed over the past year, where health systems are making progress, and where access friction has simply moved instead of disappearing. Chris and Reed also explore how consumer expectations are colliding with clinical capacity, why access success increasingly depends on orchestration rather than availability, and what leaders should stop measuring if they want real improvement. This is a practical, forward-looking discussion for healthcare leaders who want to move beyond access theater and design experiences that work in the real world. Mentions From the Show: Fierce Healthcare 2026 outlook on hybrid care Gartner Strategic Predictions for 2026 Zocdoc 2024 What Patients Want report Reed Smith on LinkedIn Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Chris Boyer on BlueSky Reed Smith on BlueSky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • TP470 – When AI Becomes the First Stop for Care

    TP470 – When AI Becomes the First Stop for Care
    Jan 14 2026
    For years, healthcare has talked about patients as informed consumers. Now, many of them are showing up informed before they ever touch a health system. In this episode of Touch Point, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith unpack what’s behind OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT Health and why it signals a meaningful shift in how people seek, process, and act on health information. The conversation starts with a look at new research from OpenAI that shows how millions of people are already using ChatGPT for healthcare related questions. Not hypotheticals. Real behavior. Real scale. From understanding lab results to navigating insurance, AI has quietly become a first stop in the health journey. From there, Chris and Reed break down what ChatGPT Health actually does, what it does not do, and why that distinction matters for health systems, marketers, and experience leaders. They explore how AI is filling gaps created by short appointments, fragmented records, and limited access, and what that means for trust, preparation, and patient expectations moving forward. They then feature an interview with Brandon Scott, Chief Innovation and Growth Officer of TenAdams, that grounds the discussion in reality, examining where AI genuinely helps patients, where it creates new tensions, and why slow moving, walled garden thinking is increasingly out of step with how people now manage their health. This is not an episode about replacing clinicians. It is about understanding a new layer of the patient experience that already exists and deciding how healthcare organizations respond to it. If your digital strategy still assumes the website is the first interaction, or that education starts after the visit, this episode will challenge that assumption. Mentions From the Show: OpenAI — AI as a Healthcare Ally (Jan 2026) OpenAI — Introducing ChatGPT Health ChatGPT Health launches to serve “hundreds of millions” seeking health and wellness guidance each week Anthropic joins OpenAI's push into health care with new Claude tools Brandon Scott on LinkedIn TenAdams.com Reed Smith on LinkedIn Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Chris Boyer on BlueSky Reed Smith on BlueSky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • TP469 – 2026 Is the Tipping Point (Healthcare, Digital, and the New Consumer)

    TP469 – 2026 Is the Tipping Point (Healthcare, Digital, and the New Consumer)
    Jan 7 2026
    As healthcare heads into 2026, the signals are getting harder to ignore. Financial pressure is mounting. Consumer expectations are accelerating. And digital strategies that once felt optional are now core infrastructure. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith kick off the new year with a trend-focused conversation unpacking what is actually changing across healthcare, digital strategy, and consumer behavior and what that means for health systems of all shapes and sizes. The discussion spans three critical areas. First, how hospitals, health systems, and academic medical centers are navigating margin pressure, workforce challenges, and increasing scrutiny while being asked to do more with less. Second, how digital and marketing strategies are evolving from campaign-driven efforts into intelligence and experience infrastructure powered by data, AI, and governance. And third, how patient expectations are shifting as consumers bring behaviors learned from retail, banking, and technology into healthcare. Rather than predictions for prediction’s sake, this episode focuses on real signals already shaping 2026 and the strategic implications leaders need to understand now. From hybrid care and digital access to AI-enabled personalization and experience design, this conversation is about where healthcare is heading and how prepared organizations truly are. Whether you work in marketing, digital experience, strategy, or executive leadership, this episode offers a grounded look at what is changing, what is breaking, and where health systems need to adapt next. Mentions From the Show: Chartis: From reactive to proactive: Health systems look to AI and digital to flip the healthcare delivery paradigm within 5 years Fierce Healthcare: 2026 Outlook: Hybrid care companies poised for growth driven by economic, policy tailwinds Gartner: AI’s Influence Runs Deeper Than You Think — 2026 Gartner Strategic Predictions Explain Why Paul Keckley website HealthGrades: Special Report: Seven Hospital Marketing Trends You Should Know in 2026 KLAS: AI being used more often at point of care, KLAS research shows Salesforce: The Ninth Edition State of Marketing Report Telus Digital: Six healthcare trends reshaping digital care in 2025 with expert insights on AI, ops, mobile and more The Economist: The truth about affordability Reed Smith on LinkedIn Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Chris Boyer on BlueSky Reed Smith on BlueSky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
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