This Health Views episode features Brandon Cuevas, executive vice president, national health plan, for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals. With extensive experience across the health care industry, Brandon shares insights from his work at the intersection of strategy, customer relationships, and the evolving market landscape. Tune in to gain perspective on the trends and opportunities shaping the future of health care. 

In this episode, neuroscientist Eti Ben Simon, PhD from The Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley shares how sleep—or the lack of it affects our emotions, relationships, and work life. Drawing on her research, Dr. Ben Simon offers practical insights for anyone looking to improve their sleep and well-being.

In our June Health Views episode, Dr. Deb speaks with Karen Eber, bestselling author of The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories That Inform, Influence, and Inspire. Karen shares how storytelling engages our brains, builds trust, strengthens relationships, and inspires action in our work and daily lives. Don’t miss her insights on how stories can make a real impact. 

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re joined by Dr. Karen R. Stewart, Chief of Behavioral Health for The Southeast Permanente Medical Group. Tune in to hear about her dedication to advancing equitable, high-quality mental health care. Dr. Stewart also discusses the rising stress among parents, offering insights on how employers and care providers can help.

In honor of Black Maternal Health Week, our April guest, Dr. Ericka Gibson, Kaiser Permanente ob-gyn discusses maternal health equity. Explore how disparities and social factors impact care outcomes and discover how culturally responsive care can help ensure all women and their babies achieve their full health potential.

The Health Views with Deb Friesen, MD podcast series continues with Sean Seitzinger, Vice President of Brand and Consumer Marketing at Kaiser Permanente. In this episode, Sean explores brand marketing’s role in health care, the impact of trust, digital health, AI, and how Kaiser Permanente connects with key audiences including the next generation of consumers.

Kick off 2025 with a new Health Views episode featuring Dr. Daniel Yang, Kaiser Permanente’s Vice President of AI and Emerging Technologies. During their conversation, Dr. Yang explores the expanding role of AI in health care, including its current impact, potential advancements, and the importance of its responsible use.

Happy Thanksgiving, Health Views listeners! In this special episode, Dr. Linda Shiue returns to share her favorite fall foods, her exciting new role at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, and a delicious pumpkin hummus recipe for your thanksgiving table. Here’s the link to Dr. Shiue’s pumpkin hummus recipe: https://spiceboxtravels.com/2019/10/20/pumpkin-hummus/

Dr. Pickens believes that the best version of ourselves comes not from the pursuit of happiness, but from the pursuit of healthiness. He invites us to reflect on the question: How can I get better? Listen to this conversation to hear innovative tools to help you grow into a healthier, more fulfilled version of yourself, with a focus on belonging, well-being, and curiosity.

Tune in to this episode of Health Views featuring Margaret E. O’Kane, founder and president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Margaret delves into the fascinating NCQA origin story, her commitment to embedding quality in healthcare, and how NCQA is pioneering new approaches to evaluate virtual care, mental health and advance health equity.

Listen to this Health Views episode with Kaiser Permanente’s SVP of Care Delivery Technology Services, Desiree Gandrup-Dupre. Desiree discusses how technology has evolved throughout her career and how it’s enabled advancements in health care delivery through a focus on value-added benefits for both patients and clinicians.

Theatre is a powerful healthcare educational tool for both adults and children. We’re excited to share an insightful conversation with Betty Hart and Jared Randolph, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre program leads who are focused on improving teacher and staff well-being, workforce health, and youth mental health through their amazing productions. Listen in to learn about Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre program and for helpful mental health best practices that anyone can use. Here is the link for more information https://thrivingschools.kaiserpermanente.org/educational-theatre/.

Our April Health Views guest is Dr. Sarah Leitz. Dr. Leitz is a Kaiser Permanente Internal Medicine Physician in the Northwest who is focused on helping and treating patients with substance use disorders through a patient-centered approach and a harm reduction framework. Listen to this episode to learn how proven behavioral health best practices can be applied both within and outside the patient setting.

We’re excited to welcome Heather R. Younger as our March Health Views guest! Heather is the founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement and consulting firm whose mission is to inspire and train leaders to put their culture and employees first. During this episode, Heather shares her proven and innovative active listening at work model illustrated in five steps. The model provides an easy-to-use framework to help individuals feel more heard, valued, and understood within professional environments. Don’t miss out on Heather’s own podcast, Leadership with Heart to receive additional insights, stories, and best practices.  

As 2023 comes to a close, we’re excited to share a discussion on healthy habits with our Health Views with Deb Friesen, MD host, Dr. Deb Friesen! Listen to this energizing episode for helpful tips and tools directly from Dr. Deb on how to improve behavior and learn small/actionable steps anyone can take to drive change and new habits. Thank you for listening this year and we look forward to releasing new episodes in 2024!  

We’re pleased to have Dr. Janet Choi as our next Health Views guest! Dr. Choi is Progyny’s Chief Medical Officer and has more than 20 years of experience in the fertility reproductive health field as a board-certified specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology. During this discussion, Dr. Deb and Dr. Choi cover several topics including: Dr. Choi’s passion and expert role in bringing babies into the world for decades, her mission to provide an equitable and inclusive family building experience for so many, and what employers can do to support and provide more access to fertility care solutions.

Our October Health Views guest is Narayanan “Nari” Gopala, Kaiser Permanente’s chief digital officer. As chief digital officer, Nari leads cross-functional teams to transform a full range of digital experiences in service to the organization’s 12.7 million members and its clinical workforce. Nari oversees Kaiser Permanente’s member app and website, kp.org, including its digital strategy, user experience, and ongoing enhancements, which have received numerous industry accolades such as Webby Awards’ People’s Voice winner in 2022 and Design Company of the Year by Fast Company in 2022. Listen to this thought-provoking discussion to learn more about the digital transformation of health care and how consumer demand for a digital health experience has evolved since the pandemic.   

We’re pleased to have Dr. Bechara Choucair as our next Health Views guest! As chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente, Dr. Choucair oversees the organization’s efforts to address the social health of its 12.5 million members and work to improve conditions for health and equity for all 68 million people living in the communities it serves. A key priority for Dr. Choucair and focus of this discussion is identifying the connection and relationship between climate change, health, and equity. Dr. Choucair says, “those that are contributing the least are being impacted the most”. Listen to this engaging and important interview to hear Dr. Choucair’s collective call to action for all of us to help communities and systems — resulting in real positive change.  

Our September Health Views guest is Dr. Trashawn Thornton-Davis, a fantastic Kaiser Permanente OB/GYN based in Maryland. In this episode, Dr. Deb and Dr. Thornton-Davis discuss the women’s health journey from menstruation to menopause and everything in between. They also cover what employers can do to better support their workforce in this space and wrap up the episode with the importance of self-care. Kaiser Permanente does not endorse the products discussed in the podcast. Any trade names mentioned are for easy identification only. 

Our 25th Health Views podcast guest is Nelly Ganesan, Executive Director of Health Equity and External Affairs at Morgan Health (a business unit within JPMorgan Chase focused on healthcare innovation for individuals with employer-sponsored insurance)! Nelly is passionate about advancing health equity, establishing meaningful partnerships to improve patient outcomes and driving affordability to ensure each individual has the resources they need to get the right care at the right time. Listen to learn more about Nelly and the great work she’s doing at Morgan Health.