We're thrilled to share that our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ido Zamberg, recently joined Frank La Vigne and Andy Leonard on the Data Driven podcast for a fascinating conversation about his unique journey from database engineering to medicine—and how that combination led to the creation of C8 Health.
Thank you to Frank and Andy for the thoughtful questions and for giving us the opportunity to share our story with the Data Driven community!
During the podcast, Dr. Zamberg shared a moment that will resonate with any healthcare provider: needing to find a stroke protocol and discovering it could be anywhere across "around 15 different systems"—from a computer at the end of the department with a post-it note password, to physical binders on walls, to completely separate systems for physicians, nurses, and other specialists.
As we learned, this fragmentation isn't just inefficient—it's dangerous.
One of the most insightful moments in the conversation came when Dr. Zamberg challenged common assumptions about where AI should focus in healthcare:
"The diagnosis wasn't actually the hard part. What do you do after? What's the right medication? When should you give steroids? Should they go to the ICU? Can they go home? These are the hard decisions."
Dr. Zamberg's early experiences in the OR illuminated the importance of timely knowledge in clinical practice, inspiring him to build a prototype of the C8 Health platform. In essence, this prototype combined AI-powered search with a database of institutional protocols and best practices — making them instantly accessible at the point of care.
Dr. Zamberg then shared a powerful story about treating a three-week-old baby in cardiac arrest while working in mountain ambulance service. With no pediatric training and miles from the nearest hospital, his team needed drug dosages immediately:
"We simply went [to the prototype] and we took the pediatric knowledge, saw the drug dosage in a second and were able to treat the baby. And it literally saved his life."
That moment transformed C8 Health from a research project into a mission. As Dr. Zamberg noted: "At that point, it was more of a research project for me. It wasn't with the purpose of doing it in a business. But just the fact of having it in your pocket and knowing that this information is, you can trust it because the head of pediatrics had put it there. It makes a lot of sense regardless of the technology."
What drives us at C8 Health is knowing we're solving problems for the people on the frontlines. During COVID-19, when specialists were redeployed to unfamiliar units, our platform became a lifeline:
"I remember right in COVID, when suddenly I had colleagues from gynecology or pediatrics that were called to the ICU and they had no idea what to do... The fact that they had a platform with all the protocols and everything they needed to do [was pivotal]. So I got lots of 'thank you' letters."
As Dr. Zamberg emphasized: "There's not a lot of platforms or softwares that are built from the ground up to help colleagues."
Knowledge management is half the battle: Scattered information and siloed systems lead to confusion, burnout, and sub-par care. AI takes KM even further by surfacing the right knowledge at the right time
Our platform doesn't just store information—it delivers it intelligently. Instead of searching through multiple systems, clinicians see everything relevant to their specific context: their OR schedule, relevant protocols, quality metrics, team contacts, and more, all based on their role, department, training level, and current assignment.
"Instead of looking for information, I can just go to my platform and see everything I need to know about what I'm doing tomorrow."
Listen to the full Data Driven episode above for more insights on the intersection of healthcare, technology, and the human side of medicine. Thanks again to Frank and Andy for the great conversation!
If you're interested in learning how C8 Health can transform care delivery at your institution, schedule a demo with our team.