Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Episode Summary:
Dr. Randi Goldman on Expanding Fertility Preservation and Oncofertility Care at Northwell Health
Date: February 22, 2026

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, host Laura Dearda speaks with Dr. Randi Goldman, Associate Professor at Hofstra Northwell and Program Director of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship at Northwell Health. Dr. Goldman discusses the expansion and formalization of fertility preservation and oncofertility pathways within the largest health system in New York State. The conversation delves into the impacts, future priorities, ongoing challenges, and the value of multidisciplinary collaboration to support patients facing infertility due to cancer and other medical conditions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Dr. Randi Goldman's Role and Background

[01:25 – 01:50]

• Dr. Goldman specializes in reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI).
• Program Director for the REI Fellowship at Northwell Health.
• Leads system initiatives in fertility preservation, oncofertility, and patient experience.

Major Initiative: System-Wide Fertility Preservation & Oncofertility Pathways

[01:59 – 04:28]

• Led expansion and formalization of fertility preservation and oncofertility pathways at Northwell.
• Oncofertility involves providing fertility services to cancer patients and survivors.
  • Key procedure: Ovarian tissue cryopreservation (freezing ovarian tissue for future use).
  • Especially relevant for young girls lacking time for egg freezing before cancer treatment.
  • "Egg freezing is the gold standard for patients who are able to do it. Ovarian tissue freezing can also be used for patients who don't have the opportunity to wait about two weeks before cancer treatment." [03:06 – 03:27]
• Focused on:
  • Early identification of patients suitable for preservation.
  • Developing clear, user-friendly referral pathways.
  • Multidisciplinary coordination (oncology, pediatrics, social work, navigation).
• Outcomes:
  • Increased patient referrals.
  • Reduced time to fertility counseling.
  • More patients accessed fertility preservation, expanding options for those at risk.

Looking Forward: Priorities and Headwinds for 2026

[04:56 – 07:18]

• Priority: Scaling and embedding fertility preservation in routine care pathways for sustainability.
• Emphasizing navigation models to ensure no patient is missed.
• Generating and using outcome data at scale—Northwell’s unique capability due to size.
  • "Being in such a large institution, we really are...in a unique opportunity to provide a lot of that outcome data." [05:43 – 05:50]
• Workforce constraints and implementing innovation without siloing.
• Expanding access beyond oncology:
  • Endometriosis fertility program (up to 50% risk of infertility).
  • Patients with sickle cell or thalassemia who may face infertility after gene therapy or transplants.
  • "These are all kind of similar ideas that can benefit from pathways like this that utilize existing resources just in a more kind of efficient and thoughtful way." [06:38 – 07:10]

Fostering Innovation and Cross-Team Engagement

[07:56 – 09:20]

• Ongoing education of teams to ensure buy-in and dedication to innovation.
• Involvement of stakeholders generates enthusiasm and purpose.
• Innovation is about creating new workflows that become routine through repetition and learning.
  • "When you're building things that are new and you're involving other stakeholders, it also helps to provide purpose. Right. You know, we went into medicine so that we could help people. And what better way to help people than find innovative solutions to their health problems?" [08:49 – 09:14]

Biggest Challenge: Prioritizing Ideas

[09:31 – 10:42]

• Dr. Goldman’s natural inclination is to say yes to every promising idea.
• The hardest anticipated task is learning to say no—focusing on scalable projects with the largest impact due to finite resources and time.
  • "The hardest part is going to be saying no to good ideas. In order to focus on ideas that could be executed well and at a large scale in a large health system like Northwell, you have to have some discipline around prioritization." [09:33 – 09:55]

Opportunity Areas for Organizational Growth

[11:32 – 12:50]

• Greatest potential at the intersection of specialty care, navigation, and data.
• Strong emphasis on evidence-based, longitudinal, and coordinated models.
• Health systems that integrate clinical excellence, patient experience, and rigorous outcome tracking will stand out.
  • "Health systems that are able to sort of integrate clinical excellence along with patient experience and very strong positive outcomes and being able to track those outcomes are going to be able to differentiate themselves quickly in an otherwise very competitive market." [12:09 – 12:34]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the impact of coordinated oncofertility pathways:
  "We had increase in referrals, shorter time to fertility counseling, easier access to the treatment."
  — Dr. Randi Goldman [03:55 – 04:08]

• On integrating innovation:
  "The idea is that you're innovating and you're creating new pathways, you're creating new workflows to get patients into treatment. And then hopefully that ultimately becomes the status quo and it becomes part of the routine care, which obviously takes repetition and takes learning."
  — Dr. Randi Goldman [08:14 – 08:29]

• On prioritization and sustainability:
  "There could be a lot of good ideas, but figuring out which ones are going to be the most tangible and are going to have the biggest impact is always a challenge, especially for people who are sort of programmed to try to always say yes to things."
  — Dr. Randi Goldman [09:57 – 10:16]

• On the future of health system differentiation:
  "Health systems that are able to sort of integrate clinical excellence along with patient experience and very strong positive outcomes and being able to track those outcomes are going to be able to differentiate themselves quickly in an otherwise very competitive market."
  — Dr. Randi Goldman [12:09 – 12:34]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Background & Introduction...........................[01:25 – 01:50]
• Fertility Preservation Initiatives...................[01:59 – 04:28]
• Future Priorities & Challenges.......................[04:56 – 07:18]
• Fostering Innovation..........................................[07:56 – 09:20]
• Prioritization Challenges................................[09:31 – 10:42]
• Growth Opportunities...................................[11:32 – 12:50]

Summary

Dr. Randi Goldman’s innovative work at Northwell Health showcases the transformative potential of organized, data-driven, and multidisciplinary approaches to fertility preservation and oncofertility—extending benefits to patients with cancer, endometriosis, sickle cell, and more. The main challenges ahead involve scaling these models, producing meaningful outcome data, and wisely prioritizing ideas to maximize patient impact. Integrating these coordinated models into routine care and organizational culture sets a blueprint for differentiation and growth within the competitive healthcare landscape.