The American Colleges of Nursing projects a shortage of 230,000 nurses by 2031, a figure that spells trouble for the country’s aging, increasingly sick population. Sean Burke, president of healthcare for Ascend Learning, joins Justin to examine the challenges facing the nursing pipeline—including workforce attrition, lack of professional preparedness, and constraints to educational capacity and access—and explore how providers, academia, and the government can contribute to a much-needed solution.

Justin and Sean discuss why it’s worth expanding the nursing pipeline to include more opportunities for allied health professionals, students from diverse backgrounds, and career switchers. They also raise questions about nursing’s emerging trends: Are travel nurses a double-edged sword for financially strained providers? Can simulations and generative AI help nursing schools do more with less faculty? And are coaches and academic partnerships the key to getting students ready for a career that’s more demanding than ever?

In the last five years, retail care has grown 200%, giving patients a more accessible and affordable pathway to preventive primary care outside of the traditional practice model. Is specialty care the next frontier for retail medicine? Network Eye CEO Jeremy Kirsch and Executive Chairman Steven Wisch join Justin to discuss how their company is using AI to bring ophthalmology into the retail setting, make diagnosis faster and less expensive, and blaze trails for other specialties in the retail care space.

Justin, Jeremy, and Steven examine how retail care and AI can get higher-risk patients into the care continuum earlier and keep them out of the emergency room. They also explore the mutual benefits of partnerships between medical specialists and retailers, the role of retail care under the transition toward value-based care, and why the retail model ultimately elevates—not replaces—private practices.

Why is it easier for a gastrointestinal (GI) specialist to order an endoscopy than schedule a simple consultation with a patient? Dr. Sameer Berry, CMO and co-founder of Oshi Health, joins Justin and new podcast contributor Catherine Wright to examine the current approach to GI care that Dr. Berry calls “flawed to its core.” Dr. Berry shines a light on gastroenterology’s perverse incentives, misinformation, and stigma while sharing the benefits of a virtual-first, multidisciplinary care model that could – and should – deliver more cost savings, better patient outcomes, and even potentially reform the healthcare system itself.

Justin, Catherine, and Dr. Berry also discuss how payors, providers, and patients can improve GI care delivery through value-based reimbursement, higher-touch care plans, and greater self-advocacy. They ask: What can claims tell us—and not tell us—about the state of GI care? Are insurance companies responsible for ineffective care models? And can Oshi Health’s virtual-first success to-date be replicated by other specialties?