Bridging Research & Practice: The Medical Model You Can Use

Guest: William Smoyer, MD

Healthcare is approaching a breaking point: costs are rising faster than inflation, outcomes remain inconsistent, and the current model is no longer sustainable.

In this episode, Dr. William Smoyer, Vice President for Clinical and Translational Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, shares a breakthrough approach called “Learn from Every Patient.” Instead of separating research from care, this model integrates them, turning every patient interaction into a source of insight that improves future treatment.

The results are compelling: in a pilot program, this approach reduced hospital visits and cut total healthcare costs by 25%, while improving patient outcomes.

This conversation explores:

• Why traditional clinical trials only capture 1–3% of patients…and what happens when that becomes 100%
• How data from everyday care can drive faster, more effective evidence-based medicine
• The leadership challenge of implementing disruptive change in high-stakes environments
• Why physician resistance is rational, and how to align it with transformation, and
• What it will take to scale this model across health systems nationally, if not globally.

For leaders inside and outside healthcare, this episode offers a powerful lens on how to redesign complex systems, use data more intelligently, and lead change when the stakes are high.

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

- High-Performance Medicine: Healthcare’s Lessons for Your Elite Teams with Brian Ferguson

- Pets, Purpose, & Power: The Animal Science of Leadership with Rustin Moore

- From Data to Dialogue: Why Leaders Need More than Numbers with Rens van Loon

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

RESOURCES:  

Bill invites physicians and others in the healthcare industry to learn more about the Learn from Every Patient program by emailing him at William.Smoyer@NationwideChildrens.org.

Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 

Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.

Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 

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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf

Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko

Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan

Booking Producer: Jenna Reik

Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.

Sponsorship Manager: Kristine Gross

CONNECT WITH US: 

YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 

IWebsite: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 

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About Our Guest:  

William Smoyer, MD, is a member of the Section of Nephrology and Hypertension at Nationwide Children's Hospital, vice president and director for the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at the Abigail Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Robert Kidder chair in Clinical and Translational Research, and a professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Prior to joining Nationwide Children’s Hospital, he served as both the Pediatric Nephrology Division Director and Fellowship Program Director at the University of Michigan, which also included extensive mentoring of both fellows and junior faculty members regarding career and research program development.