Welcome to Health-e Law, Sheppard’s podcast exploring the fascinating health tech topics and trends of the day. In this episode, partner and host Sara Shanti is joined by Shoshanah Brown, Chief Population Health Officer at Popai Health, a health AI platform that turns everyday patient conversations into deep patient context for care teams. They discuss how Popai supports the non-clinical care management workforce by reducing administrative burden, why the company focuses on safety-net organizations and underserved populations, how AI can augment rather than replace the humans delivering care, and the role of trust, governance and responsible innovation in healthcare AI.
What we discuss in this episode:
- How Popai’s health AI platform supports the non-clinical care management workforce
- Why reducing administrative burden matters for care managers and community health workers
- How AI-generated documentation can help meet compliance requirements and the importance of keeping a human in the loop
- Why Popai built its platform around three pillars: capture, coach and reach
- How scalable quality assurance moves beyond sampling a small share of patient calls
- Why conversation data can reveal patterns in medication adherence and missed appointments
- The importance of centering the patient’s voice and building deep patient context across the care ecosystem
- Why Popai focuses on safety-net organizations and Medicaid-eligible populations
- Why AI should augment the care management workforce rather than replace it
- The role of governance and guardrails as technology outpaces regulation
- Why trust and transparency drive adoption of AI tools among patients and providers
About Shoshanah Brown
Shoshanah Brown is Chief Population Health Officer at Popai Health, which turns everyday patient conversations into deep patient context for care teams. When people share what matters most, Popai helps care teams act on it: reaching people sooner, understanding them better, spending more time on care and less on documentation.
Shoshanah began her career as a community health worker in the Peace Corps in rural Burkina Faso, West Africa, and spent the first part of her career in global health before bringing those lessons home to under-resourced communities in New York City and across the U.S. She founded and led AIRnyc for 13 years, scaling a community health worker organization born out of a community-based research project at Harlem Hospital into a Bronx-headquartered social enterprise whose CHWs meet New Yorkers where they live, addressing health and social needs across the city. She was a co-founder at Nest Health and held several roles at Cityblock Health before moving to Popai.
Shoshanah holds an M.S. in Population Health from the Harvard School of Public Health and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School—a combination that reflects her work at the intersection of public health and entrepreneurship. A recognized voice on the community health workforce, her expertise spans CHW workforce development, social care and the social determinants of health, safety-net operations, Medicaid 1115 waiver programs and community-based care management at scale.
About Sara Shanti
A partner in the Corporate practice group in Sheppard’s Chicago office, and co-lead of the firm’s Digital Health team, Sara Shanti’s practice sits at the forefront of healthcare technology by providing practical counsel on novel innovation and complex data privacy matters. Using her medical research background and HHS experience, Sara advises providers, payors, start-ups, technology companies, and their investors and stakeholders on digital healthcare and regulatory compliance matters, including artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), gamification, implantable and wearable devices, and telehealth.
At the cutting edge of advising on “data as an asset” programming, Sara’s practice also supports investment in innovation and access to care initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions involving crucial, high-stakes and sensitive data, medical and wellness devices, and web-based applications and care.
Resources
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This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.