ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What happens when healthcare comes to the patient instead of forcing the patient to travel for care? In this episode, Chinasa U. Imo speaks with Karthik Ganesh, Chief Executive Officer of OnMed, about redesigning rural healthcare through affordable, practical technology that brings clinical services closer to where people live, work, and gather.
The conversation examines how the OnMed CareStation combines real time access to licensed clinicians with integrated diagnostic tools and a connected care model. It also explores how this approach can help address provider shortages, long travel distances, delayed care, and limited access to primary healthcare in rural and underserved communities.
Listeners will hear a grounded discussion about building healthcare technology that is useful, scalable, financially sustainable, and designed around the realities of communities that have historically had fewer options for care.
ABOUT THE GUEST
Karthik Ganesh is the Chief Executive Officer of OnMed. He is a healthcare executive whose work spans health plans, pharmacy services, health technology, third party administration, provider sponsored services, and value based care. At OnMed, he leads the expansion of the CareStation model, which helps organizations deliver quality healthcare in rural, remote, and other care challenged settings.
IN THIS CONVERSATION
• Why traditional healthcare delivery models leave many rural communities without timely care
• How the OnMed CareStation connects patients with licensed clinicians and diagnostic tools
• What affordable healthcare innovation looks like in practice
• How health technology can respond to workforce shortages and healthcare deserts
• Why partnerships matter when bringing care closer to communities
• What it takes to build a scalable clinic without walls
- (00:00) – Opening: Bringing Healthcare Closer to Rural Communities
- (03:13) – Meet Karthik Ganesh, CEO of OnMed
- (06:05) – How the OnMed CareStation Works
- (10:00) – Portable Care and the Rural Health Post Model
- (14:01) – Why Cost and Access Problems Persist
- (17:11) – Rural Hospitals and Physician Shortages
- (19:00) – Using Rural Health Transformation Funds Differently
- (24:00) – Making Primary Care the Hub of Rural Health
- (27:03) – Lessons from Global Health Financing
- (30:00) – The Future Role of Rural Hospitals
- (33:00) – Affordability, Transportation, and Patient Barriers
- (35:09) – A Patient Story: Access That Changed a Life
- (39:16) – Who Pays for Rural Healthcare Innovation?
- (41:05) – Public Private Partnerships for Sustainable Care
- (45:03) – What Policymakers Should Do Now
- (50:01) – Final Reflections and Closing
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
Learn more about OnMed: https://www.onmed.com/
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READ THE TRANSCRIPT
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ABOUT WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™
What About Rural Health?™ podcast explores how healthcare is accessed, financed, governed, and delivered in rural and underserved communities. Hosted by Chinasa U. Imo, a global health policy strategist, researcher, and rural health advocate, the podcast brings together researchers, policymakers, health professionals, community leaders, innovators, and people working within health systems to examine the decisions and structures shaping rural healthcare around the world.
Visit: https://whataboutruralhealth.com/
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