< + > CIO Podcast – Episode 115: Healthcare Communication Solutions with John Gaede

For the 115th episode of the CIO podcast hosted by Healthcare IT Today, we are joined by John Gaede, CIO at San Juan Regional Medical Center, to talk about healthcare communication solutions! We kick this episode off by discussing the big challenges Gaede faces as a rural health CIO. Next, Gaede shares why he chose to go with the PerfectServe solution over the EHR functionality for his organization. Then, we dive deep into the scope of Gaede’s project with PerfectServe as he shares his main goals for it as a clinical project vs as an IT project. Gaede has mentioned that this is the most important project he’s undertaken and is the major focus of his transformation efforts, so we dive into why this is so important. Next, we talk about the other projects Gaede is working on/recently completed that he’s excited about. We then switch over to the technologies/solutions/vendors/etc. Gaede has not implemented, but is keeping an eye on. Lastly, we conclude this episode with Gaede sharing advice to anyone aspiring to be a CIO like him.

Here’s a look at the questions and topics we discuss in this episode:

• What are some of the big challenges you face as a rural health CIO?
• Talk about why you recently chose to go with the PerfectServe solution at your organization rather than using the EHR functionality.
• Describe the scope of the project with PerfectServe and your main goals for it as a clinical project vs an IT project.
• You mentioned that this is the “most important project you’re undertaking” and is a major focus of your transformation efforts. Why is this so important?
• What other projects are you working on or recently completed that you’re excited about?
• What technology, solution, vendor, etc., have you not implemented, but you’re watching?
• What advice would you give someone who aspires to be a CIO like you?

Now, without further ado, we’re excited to share with you the next episode of the CIO Podcast by Healthcare IT Today.

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< + > Rialtic and Exponential AI Announce Strategic Merger to Transform Healthcare Payment Accuracy and Decision Intelligence

Rialtic, a cloud-based enterprise platform for healthcare payment accuracy, and Exponential AI, a leader in real-time healthcare AI decision intelligence, today announced a definitive agreement to merge the two organizations, bringing together two of the industry’s most consequential innovators in agentic learning and claims intelligence. This strategic move creates a unified platform designed to meet the evolving needs of healthcare payers and providers by combining deep payment accuracy expertise with advanced agentic technology. Moreover, it arrives at a pivotal moment, in which payers and providers are working to make healthcare meaningfully more affordable for American families and employers.

This merger is the deliberate execution of a shared strategic vision between two companies whose roadmaps have long pointed toward the same horizon. The newly combined organization is aimed at addressing a market that increasingly demands intelligent agentic solutions that are faster to implement, ROI-positive, and easy to blend into existing workflows. The combined entity will offer a comprehensive product suite that covers critical moments in the claim lifecycle: prepay editing before a claim is paid and real-time decision intelligence during and around claims processing, including clinical and quality processes for payer and provider markets.

In the newly combined organization, Paul Roma will serve as Chief Executive Officer, effective upon close of the merger. Roma will be responsible for leading the company’s unified strategy and day-to-day operations as Rialtic moves forward as a single, integrated entity. Doug Williams, who previously served as CEO, will assume the role of Executive Chairman of the Board, providing strategic oversight and guidance to the organization.

“As we evaluated our go-forward strategy, Exponential AI emerged as the ideal partner to complement our world-class editing system,” said Doug Williams, Executive Chairman at Rialtic. “While Rialtic provides the rules-based precision to prevent improper spend, Exponential’s AI technology allows our customers to go live quickly with specific workflows, significantly accelerating their time-to-value.”

Together, Rialtic and Exponential AI will offer one of the industry’s most comprehensive suites of products for the claim lifecycle:

• Comprehensive Payment Lifecycle Coverage: One solution spanning claims, clinical, and quality workflows
• Context Aware Intelligence: Integrating Rialtic’s prepay accuracy platform paired with Exponential’s AI agents to deliver the rules, nuances, and subject-matter expertise needed to make accurate decisions for prior authorization, pend resolution, and audits
• Enhanced Scale: Built on a decision intelligence platform active with multiple high-value clients to accelerate profitability and growth, designed to stack, scale, and continuously drive operational and financial performance
• Expanded Market Reach: Increased ability to pursue both payer and provider segments with a more fulsome solution

By uniting these capabilities under one platform, the combined entity removes the friction, waste, and administrative drag that have long inflated the cost of care.

“Doug and I believe that, together, our two organizations will create the technology our clients need to meet their goals,” said Paul Roma, CEO at Rialtic. “By embedding our AI decision agents directly into live workflows to resolve exceptions and guide human review in real-time, we are providing the speed and efficiency the market now requires.”

Following the close, the combined company will prioritize delivering immediate value to its clients by accelerating innovation, enhancing product capabilities, and ensuring seamless continuity of service.

About Rialtic

Founded in 2020, based out of Atlanta, Rialtic is building a next-generation healthcare platform, starting with Payment Accuracy, helping payers to contain healthcare costs and regain control of their claims accuracy process. Rialtic is a team of industry experts working alongside seasoned product and technology professionals. For more information, please visit rialtic.io.

About Exponential AI

Exponential AI is a leading Healthcare Decision Intelligence platform company that enables healthcare organizations to make transparent, predictable, and explainable machine decisions in real-time—driving zero-latency operations at scale.

Its real-time, scalable platform, Enso, includes a reusable ecosystem of prebuilt Decision Agents and healthcare products. These can be rapidly integrated into existing workflows—including legacy systems—to deliver immediate business value and improve operational outcomes.

Deployed across leading U.S. health plans and systems, Exponential AI’s solutions generate measurable impact across core healthcare functions, including claims processing, utilization management, contract management, revenue cycle management, payment integrity, and audit.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Exponential AI also operates a dedicated R&D center in Hyderabad, India.

Originally announced May 11th, 2026