Podcast Summary

DGTL Voices with Ed Marx

Episode Title: Telehealth: Bridging the Gap in Modern Healthcare
Guest: Dr. Aditi Joshi, MD
Release Date: January 1, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Ed Marx welcomes Dr. Aditi Joshi—physician, author, and renowned telehealth leader—to discuss the rapid evolution of telemedicine, breaking through burnout, practical issues in digital health adoption, and how leadership and curiosity drive transformative change in healthcare. The conversation mixes personal journey, practical strategies, and leadership lessons, making this a deeply informative episode for healthcare innovators.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Dr. Joshi’s Background & Early Influences

• Growing up in Chicago and Career Path

  • Dr. Joshi describes her upbringing in suburban Chicago, lauding the city’s vibrancy and cultural richness (02:18).
  • After medical school in Chicago, she moved to the Northeast (Philadelphia, New York), and eventually Paris for both life and work (03:03).

• Music & Mantra

  • Playlist favorite: 1990s grunge (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden) sparked by holiday nostalgia in Chicago (01:21).
  • Life lesson: “This too shall pass away… anything that might be terrible or awful… is going to pass. And even things that are really great, you really want to indulge in them… because nothing lasts forever.” – Dr. Joshi (01:48)

Turning Point: Burnout and Pivot to Telehealth

• Burnout & Its Impact

  • Dr. Joshi shares how her early EM career led to burnout in 2012, changing her self-perception and ultimately prompting a switch to telemedicine (04:02).

• Entry into Telemedicine

  • After seeing a story about Doctor on Demand, she reached out and joined as an early clinician, then became assistant medical director (06:14).
  • Transitioned to Thomas Jefferson’s academic center, expanding telemedicine to multiple specialties (06:14–08:04).

Leadership, Risk, and Reinvention

• Embracing New Roles & Risks
  • Leaving traditional EM practice was emotionally difficult: “There’s a safety in traditional practice… giving that up was really difficult.” (08:27)
  • "Every so often I feel… a loss of identity… but I don’t have regrets." (08:27)

Building Digital Health Adoption—From Consulting to Founding a Company

• Unblocking Tech Adoption

  • Dr. Joshi’s passion: helping clinicians confidently use digital tools already purchased by health systems (09:35).
  • Notes “a lot of great ideas die in pilots and don’t become part of clinical practice” (09:35).

• Real-World Example (AI Triage Tool Adoption)

  • In a southern health system, primary care doctors happily used a new AI triage tool, but specialists resisted. Upon investigation, specialists thought they’d have to be “on call 24/7”; the real expectation was occasional, timely reviews (11:20).
  • “What happens is everybody’s saying… my hospital’s not like that, so we’re not going to have that problem. But the reality is—everybody has this problem… It happens everywhere in some format.” (13:32)

Telehealth Pillars for Success

• Five Pillars for Telemedicine Success (from her book)
  • 1. Patients – Start with their needs and problems (14:07)
  • 2. Clinicians – Onboarding, safety, and leadership engagement
  • 3. Technology – “Technology is really never the problem.”
  • 4. Finances – Sustainable payment and integration
  • 5. Compliance – Legal, regulatory, and governance matters
  • "You do something in an emergency, you don’t necessarily set it up in a way that’s longstanding…" (14:07)

Upcoming Collaborative Book: Voices of Innovation—Europe

• Dr. Joshi and Ed Marx are co-editing a new volume focused on healthcare innovation stories across all of Europe. Submissions are open, with proceeds aimed at charitable causes (15:45–16:29).

Leadership & Career Wisdom

• On Leadership Growth

  • “Be curious, keep asking questions and never make assumptions… when you’re teaching or when you’re asking questions, it forces you to crack on those assumptions.” (17:06)
  • “Delve into what the everyday doctor… and patient is doing… go from start to finish… full immersion.” (17:06)

• On Personal Creativity & Energy

  • Recharging practices: Total rest days or walks around Paris for creative reset (18:23).
  • “People say [take a walk] because it works… it gets you out of your brain for a second.” (18:23)

• Cultural Roots & Language

  • Thankful for rigorous language lessons from parents: “They would make me do this over and over… But it is something I really appreciate… It helps even with French now.” (19:17)

Final Advice

• Take Control of Your Career
  • “Just remember you can live your life in many different ways… try it out. There are very few things in life that are not reversible.” (21:24)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Identity and Reinvention

  • “There is a safety in traditional practice… giving that up was really difficult. Now I will say, I still see patients over telemedicine, but I don’t see patients in the emergency room right now. And yes, every so often I feel… a loss of identity.” – Dr. Joshi (08:27)

• On Pilot Fatigue in Digital Health

  • “We are full of pilots. We have these great ideas, but a lot of them die in pilots and they don’t really become part of the health system or integrated into medical practice.” – Dr. Joshi (09:35)

• On Key Leadership Skill

  • “Be curious, keep asking questions and never make assumptions of what you know.” – Dr. Joshi (17:06)

• Encouragement to Physicians

  • “Just remember you can live your life in many different ways… If you feel that idea or something that you want to change, try it out. There are very few things in life that are not reversible.” – Dr. Joshi (21:24)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Music Preferences: 00:18–01:41
• Life Philosophy (“This too shall pass”): 01:48
• Background—Chicago, Education, Global Moves: 02:18–03:18
• Burnout & Entry into Telemedicine: 04:02–06:14
• Telemedicine Startup & Academic Leadership: 06:14–08:04
• On Leaving Traditional Practice: 08:27
• Current Focus: Digital Tool Adoption: 09:35–11:12
• Case Study: AI Triage Tool Adoption: 11:20–13:32
• Five Pillars for Telehealth Success: 14:07–15:31
• Upcoming Book Project: 15:45–16:29
• Leadership Lessons: 17:06–18:11
• Personal Creativity Recharge: 18:23–19:07
• Cultural Roots and Language: 19:17–20:19
• Final Advice for Physicians & Innovators: 21:24

Takeaway

This episode is a rich resource for anyone navigating healthcare transformation, exploring telehealth, or honing leadership skills in medicine. Dr. Joshi’s journey—from burnout to telemedicine pioneer, and now as a company founder and author—is packed with actionable insights and deep encouragement to embrace curiosity, experiment with new roles, and always anchor change in empathy for both patients and clinicians.