Inside Reproductive Health Podcast

Here’s your pre-ASRM deep dive into what's happening with dozens of companies across the fertility field, from networks and EMRs to pharma, supplements, and staffing.
Some of this information came from our fertility business intelligence hub, including our IVF Heroes Universe sponsors, but the speculation is my own.
This is my read on who's pulling ahead, falling behind, and where each segment could be headed.We cover:
Where fertility networks are growing, from Europe, Canada, and the US

Clinic tech, AI, and why some legacy EMRs will go away

Third-party reproduction, egg banks, and cryo safety

What's moving in genetics, PGT, carrier screening, and semen analysis

Fertility meds, Pergoveris, and which pharmacies will be left (Or left behind)

Embryology training, staffing, and professional services

We’ve interviewed a few young REIs recently who’ve told us their colleagues are miserable.
This week’s guest, Dr. Ali Szczupak of IVFMD Miami, is not one of them.
In fact, not only does she love her job, she's built clear boundaries around her work while still having the support and autonomy to build the kind of career she actually wants.
We dive into:
How her relationship with her partners helps create a sustainable work-life balance

The infrastructure that supports her as one of roughly 10 REIs at Inception’s IVF MD in the Miami area

How she’s been able to build her personal brand with real autonomy

Prelude/Inception’s physician liaison system for OB/GYN referrals

How she pitched network level ideas directly to the CEO (And got prototype approval within 24 hours)

How she took the team she inherited and made it her own

Dr. Joseph Chervenak and Dr. Srini Reddy, practicing REIs at Spring Fertility in the Bay Area, discuss the near and long-term future of fertility care and how AI could change the way patients are treated.
We dive into:
What the future holds for fertility patients

Where AI will replace fertility doctors

Whether AI could one day provide better judgement than a human REI

The most impressive AI research in the fertility space

How the right dashboard could help an REI oversee 5-10x more cases

Dr. Rachel Mandelbaum and Dr. Sahar Wertheimer, both REIs at HRC Fertility, try to solve the problems holding the fertility field back.
They agree on a lot, disagree on some and hold very little back.
They dive into:
Why every clinic defines RN, MA, coordinator, and sonographer roles differently

Whether a CRNA or anesthesiologist should handle IVF emergencies

The PGT-P versus PGT-G debate (and who they refer out to)

How clunky EMRs quietly create real patient safety errors

Why insurance prior authorizations are killing time-sensitive IVF cycles

It’s hard enough to run one fertility center, let alone several of them. It’s even harder to change the way they operate.
We dive into this challenge with Dr. Amanda Hurliman, Medical Director of Pinnacle Washington. She shares what it took to implement the Pinnacle Operational Model, first in Oregon and then in Washington, where the process proved even more difficult when the entire surgery center team left.
We dive into:
Why Washington's operational model rollout was harder than Oregon's

Rebuilding a surgery center after the entire team left

How care navigators take cycle coordination off the nurses' plates

Inside Pinnacle's hands-on care navigator training program

Why independent testing matters when patients choose supplements