Dr. Sarah Matt—surgeon, healthcare strategist, and bestselling author of The Borderless Healthcare Revolution—joins Eunicia Peret for a powerhouse conversation on where healthcare innovation is falling short. Sarah shares why technology alone won’t improve patient outcomes, how broken reimbursement systems are stalling progress, and what investors, founders, and practitioners can do to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world impact. They also unpack how physicians avoid both finances and leadership—and why changing this can unlock better business and clinical outcomes for everyone involved.

Key Takeaways:

Success in healthcare requires more than tech: Without addressing access, trust, and reimbursement, innovation dies

Patient-centered design is often just a buzzword: Startups must understand the real end users—not just what looks good on a pitch deck

There are five pillars of access: Geographic, financial, digital, cultural, and trust/knowledge all impact patient outcomes

Doctors often avoid finances altogether: This avoidance leads to missed wealth, both professionally and personally

Healthcare KPIs need a reboot: Traditional metrics don’t account for system-wide ROI or impact

Great care doesn’t always make financial sense: But the hidden financial benefits often come from down-funnel procedures and imaging

Reimbursement can kill innovation: No matter how good the tech is, if it’s not reimbursed, it won’t scale

Burnout is bleeding the system: Provider quality of life is tied directly to patient outcomes and retention

Stakeholder politics matter: Many innovations fail because leaders don’t map influence or navigate internal dynamics

Redefining value is a must: You have to create your own metrics and message them clearly if you want adoption

Timeline Summary:

[00:00:00] Sarah’s journey from surgeon to tech executive and author

[00:02:00] Why she left surgery to make a bigger impact

[00:03:00] The five pillars of access to care explained

[00:04:00] The real reasons amazing health tech products fail

[00:05:00] Trust, adoption, and the resistance to AI

[00:07:00] The physician financial literacy gap

[00:08:00] Selling ROI, not innovation, to health systems

[00:10:00] Misleading KPIs and how hospitals misunderstand profit centers

[00:12:00] How Sarah reframed her relationship with money

[00:14:00] Helping patients reduce financial barriers to care

[00:16:00] Burnout, retention, and emotional intelligence as new currencies

[00:17:00] Global case study: robotic surgery and the reimbursement dilemma

[00:20:00] Why reimbursement strategy is non-negotiable

[00:22:00] Innovation graveyards and superficial patient-centricity

[00:24:00] How founders overlook localization and market realities

[00:25:00] Sarah’s biggest failure: ignoring internal politics

[00:27:00] Final advice: reimagine your KPIs and own your value messaging

Links & Resources:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmattmd/