Moving Health Forward with Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH

A new podcast about advancing health at population scale

Phamily
September 10, 2026

What does it really take to improve health, not just for one patient, but for entire communities?

Few leaders have seen this question from as many angles as Phamily’s Chief Medical Officer Umair A. Shah MD, MPH.

Dr. Shah knows a thing or two about caring for entire populations. He began his career caring for patients as a physician, first in primary care and then in the emergency department setting.

As the former Secretary of Health for Washington State, he oversaw a $3 billion agency with a staff of 3,000 serving 8 million people. Before that, he was the Executive Director and Local Health Authority for Harris County Public Health in Texas, leading one of the nation’s largest and most diverse public health systems serving 5 million people.

Dr. Shah has led the way through crisis (COVID-19. Zika, Ebola, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and chemical incidents) and calm (chronic disease burden, digital innovation, and clinical collaboration). Along the way, he has worked at all levels of government.

Today, as Chief Medical Officer at Phamily, his focus has shifted again: working with healthcare organizations and clinicians to build more proactive, technology-enabled ways to care for patients between visits.

This three-decade journey is the foundation for Moving Health Forward.

The new podcast series brings Dr. Shah together with leaders from the private and public sectors for deep conversations about how they move health forward for whole populations.

Diverse perspectives but a shared goal: better health for all

Moving Health Forward explores complex health issues in candid conversations with leaders across the spectrum: rural and urban, public and private, liberal and conservative. Dr. Shah talks with leaders driving important clinical initiatives, and those transforming regional economies.

Some of the podcast’s early guests include:

Phil Huang, MD, MPH. As the Director and Health Authority of the Dallas County (TX) Health and Human Services, where Dr. Huang leads one of the nation’s largest urban county health departments. He shares his experience driving tobacco control and chronic disease programs. health departments.
Robert J. Trenschel, D.O., MPH. Dr. Trenschel is the President & CEO of Onvida Health in Yuma, Arizona. He tells Dr. Shah what it takes to transform care in a rural border community at the helm of a health system under constant financial pressure.
George T. Roberts, Jr., MHA, FACHE. As the Chief Executive Officer of the Northeast Texas Public Health District since November 2006, Mr. Roberts delivers services reaching 21 counties across rural East Texas. He and Dr. Shah talk about his transition from hospital administration to public health, and what it means to serve rural communities.
Suzet McKinney,DrPH, MPH. Nationally renowned, Dr. McKinney has worked in practically every healthcare sector before her recent move to the Chicago Loop Alliance. As President and CEO, she works to build programs that attract people and investments to one of the largest business districts in the world. She and Dr. Shah explore the ties between health and socioeconomic opportunity.
Nariman Heshmati, MD, MBA, FACOG. At Lee Health, physician leader Dr. Heshmati is the Chief Clinical Officer for the Lee Physician Group and Ambulatory Services, where he works to advance provider and patient experience and outcomes. He talks with Dr. Shah about how to orchestrate better care at scale.

Across different backgrounds, communities, and challenges, each guest offers a unique lens on what it takes to move health forward.

Conversations about leadership with the people behind the progress

The podcast is not only about programs, policies or outcomes. It is about leadership and the people trying to make change happen.

In every episode, you’ll hear how these leaders are moving health forward within their own communities. You will also learn about their journeys as physicians, healthcare executives, and community leaders.

How do leaders make consequential decisions when the information is incomplete? How do they bring people together when perspectives differ? What drove them to the success they enjoy today? And what have years of working in complicated systems taught them that cannot be found in a textbook?

Those questions reflect Dr. Shah’s own leadership journey and work to advance care across whole populations, and they are an invitation to join us as we move health forward.

Listen Thursday, September 10

Moving Health Forward premieres Thursday, September 10, with Phil Huang, MD, MPH, Director and Health Authority of Dallas County Health and Human Services, on what tobacco control taught him about chronic disease and why he protects his data infrastructure first when funding contracts.

New episodes drop every two weeks.

Follow Moving Health Forward, and share with colleagues who have a big vision for better health across the country.