AI is changing mental health care fast, but Dr. Fred Moss believes the real question is not whether technology can become human. It is whether humans can keep their humanity intact.

In this episode of Straight Outta Health IT, Christopher Kunney speaks with Dr. Fred Moss, psychiatrist, mental health advocate, keynote speaker, podcaster, coach, and founder of the Welcome to Humanity movement. Drawing from more than 40 years in psychiatry and over 40,000 patient encounters, Dr. Moss challenges the way society has come to rely on diagnoses, medications, and technology to define human experience and emotional well-being. He reflects on how modern healthcare systems often prioritize efficiency, labels, and treatment protocols over genuine human connection, listening, and understanding.

Dr. Moss explains why authentic communication remains central to healing, how AI can be useful when used as a tool rather than a replacement for human responsibility, and why clinicians and patients must be careful not to hand over their agency to machines. He also explores the growing role of telehealth, the risks of becoming emotionally disconnected in an increasingly digital world, and why preserving empathy, presence, and personal accountability matters now more than ever.

Tune in to hear a bold conversation on AI, mental health, telehealth, and what it means to preserve the human soul in a rapidly evolving digital age.

Resources

• Connect with Dr. Fred Moss on LinkedIn here and on Facebook here.
• Visit Dr. Moss’ website here.

• 
  

Healthcare doesn’t suffer from a lack of data; it suffers from a lack of connection between it.

In this episode of Straight Out of Health IT, Philip Wickline, cofounder and CTO at Zus Health, talks about how fragmented patient data continues to limit care quality, increase costs, and create unnecessary risk across the healthcare system. He explains how deeply complex, specialized, and distributed healthcare data has become, making integration far more difficult than in other industries. Drawing from personal experience with his father’s long health journey, he highlights the real human consequences when providers lack a complete picture of the patient. He also emphasizes that solving fragmentation is not just technical, it’s foundational to improving outcomes.

Wickline introduces the concept of a patient-centric “common patient record” that aggregates data across systems into a real-time, longitudinal view of each individual. He contrasts this with the traditional provider-centric model, where each organization operates in isolation with incomplete information. By connecting dozens of data networks and enabling shared access based on treatment relationships, this model creates the conditions for more proactive, coordinated care. Ultimately, it shifts healthcare from episodic encounters to continuous, data-informed decision-making.

He also explores the role of AI and policy in accelerating this transformation, while acknowledging their limitations. AI can help normalize and extract insights from complex data, but only after that data is accessible and aggregated in the first place. Emerging frameworks like TEFCA signal progress toward broader interoperability and patient access, though adoption remains uneven and early. Wickline underscores that real change will require not just better technology, but alignment across systems, incentives, and culture.

Tune in to hear how unlocking connected, patient-centered data could redefine how care is delivered, and why the future of healthcare depends on getting this right!

Resources

• Connect with Philip Wickline on LinkedIn here.

• Follow Zus Health on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.

What if the biggest risk to patient care isn’t clinical, but simply the inability to reach someone?

In this episode of Straight Out of Health IT, Damon Covey, General Manager of Unified Communications & Collaboration at GoTo, discusses how fragmented communication systems are failing small- and mid-sized healthcare practices and impacting real patient outcomes. He explains that most practices rely on 5–7 disconnected tools, which create inefficiencies and missed interactions. He highlights how these gaps lead to staff burnout and poor patient experiences. He emphasizes that this is not just an operational issue, but a clinical and safety concern.

He also explores the value of unified communications as a solution to this growing problem. By bringing calls, texts, scheduling, and data into one platform, practices gain visibility and control over patient interactions. This reduces context switching and administrative burden for staff. It also enables faster, more consistent responses for patients.

Finally, he discusses the role of AI in transforming healthcare communication workflows. He shares how AI can automate routine tasks like scheduling and call routing while analyzing sentiment in real time. He stresses that AI works best when embedded into existing workflows rather than as a separate tool. He also warns against adopting too many point solutions, predicting consolidation into trusted platforms.

Tune in to learn how simplifying communication, not adding more tools, can transform patient care and practice performance!

Resources

• Connect with Damon Covey on LinkedIn here.
• Follow GoTo on LinkedIn here and visit their website here.