In this episode of Lifers, Christina Farr sits down with Heather Fernandez, CEO of Solv and former Trulia executive, to dig into the question that has stumped healthcare for decades: why don't patients know what their doctor visit will cost? They discuss how Solv evolved from a marketplace for urgent care appointments into an AI-first operating system for on-demand healthcare,built on over 100 million real patient visits, and why AI is finally cracking the price transparency problem after more than a decade of trying. They also explore what it really means to "skip the landline" and rebuild workflows from scratch, how Solv's voice agent Maya is handling millions of after-hours calls no front desk team could staff, and more.

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Thanks to Solv who facilitated this conversation. Solv is the AI-first operating system for on-demand healthcare, helping providers automate everything from patient access to insurance verification and payments.

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LINKS:
Solv: https://www.solvhealth.com/

Chrissy Farr on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LiferswithChristinaFarr
Chrissy Farr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfarr/
Subscribe to the Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/
Chrissy’s Book: The Storyteller's Advantage: https://www.chrissyfarr.com/books

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FOLLOW:
Heather:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherfernandez
https://x.com/heathermirj

Chrissy:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/
https://x.com/chrissyfarr
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Lead In
(00:58) Intro
(02:24) Leveraging walking meetings to foster authentic collaboration
(04:47) Heather's career from Capitol Hill to venture-backed PR
(07:29) Deciding to join a room of misfits at Trulia
(09:27) Managing family milestones alongside major tech exits
(11:33) From real estate to a complex healthcare market
(16:05) Projecting an Uber-like paradigm shift for medical pricing
(19:23) Bottoms-up data ingestion to solve localized plan complexity
(22:15) Transitioning Solv from consumer marketplace to AI-first OS
(23:47) Mapping structural forces driving a sudden consumer health pull
(25:21) Deploying automated voice agents to eliminate front-desk administrative drag
(27:13) Forcing organizational transformation amidst high-profile tech layoffs
(33:31) Applying a "skip the landline" mantra to legacy workflows
(37:27) Navigating the three operational phases of AI adaptation
(39:43) Reshaping the healthcare front door through tech investments
(42:58) Challenging industry insiders who dismiss medical cost urgency
(43:48) Calling for passionate tech outsiders to disrupt entrenched structures
(45:37) Wrap