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February 5, 2026
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On this episode of The Digital Patient, Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO of ɫֱ, and colleague, Alan Sardana, chat with Dr. Shoma Desai, Executive Director, Digital Innovation at Cedars-Sinai, about "Scaling AI-powered Virtual Urgent Care, Why Virtualists Can Get More Face Time with Patients, Understanding Customer Acquisition Costs to Sustain Innovation, and more..." Click the play button to listen or read the show notes below.
Audio:
Guest(s):
- Dr. Shoma Desai, Executive Director, Digital Innovation at Cedars-Sinai
- Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO at ɫֱ
Episode 185 - Show Notes:
[00:00:07] Episode preview
[00:03:55] Choosing emergency medicine for the constant challenges and community impact
[00:08:13] Falling into digital innovation through an intense EHR implementation experience at USC
[00:10:48] Structuring digital innovation at Cedars-Sinai as a startup within a health system
[00:14:45] Creating a cross-functional digital innovation team and building ownership across roles
[00:19:02] Launching CS Connect, an AI-powered virtual urgent care service integrated into Cedars-Sinai
[00:22:43] Building clinician trust in AI by maintaining clinician control and transparency
[00:27:11] How Virtual practice affords clinicians more face time with patients
[00:32:02] Balancing internal development versus external partnerships in digital health innovation
[00:35:51] Strategically avoiding distraction from "shiny objects" by focusing on existing problems
[00:38:46] Understanding customer acquisition cost (CAC) in healthcare to ensure sustainable innovation
Fast 5 Lightning Round:
- What is your favorite book or book you’ve gifted the most?
Cookbooks! - If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?
Ability to speak any language fluently. - Would you rather have Super strength, super speed, or the ability to read people’s minds?
Super speed with unlimited energy. - What is something in healthcare you believe that others might find insane?
Continued reliance on basic communication tools like fax machines and whiteboards. - What is the last movie or TV show you saw?
Department Q on Netflix
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