The Relay: Episode 10 Now Available

LISTEN NOW: https://youtu.be/y5FtDdeXgtw?si=O0Aie2bve61u9PPQ

in Episode 10 of The Relay, host Val Emmons sits down with Cheri Lattimer, Executive Director of the National Transitions of Care Coalition, (NTOCC) to unpack the newly released NTOCC 2026 State of Transitions of Care Findings, and the urgent healthcare challenges the report reveals.

Link to Report: https://www.ntocc.org/washington-dc-s...

Based on findings from the NTOCC DC Summit, the conversation explores why transitions of care across the healthcare continuum remain fragmented, siloed, and inconsistent — despite decades of industry focus.

Together, Val and Cheri examine persistent breakdowns in communication, discharge planning, interoperability, accountability, reimbursement, and coordination between healthcare settings and why we are still not where we should be when it comes to safe and sucessful transitions of care.

The episode dives into:

--Why patients and families continue to “fall through the cracks”

--The growing push toward value-based care models

--The critical role of pharmacists, case managers, and interdisciplinary care teams

--How poor discharge communication contributes to readmissions and adverse outcomes

--Why transitions of care should function like a relay race — not a handoff tossed blindly downfield

--The future role of AI in discharge summaries, care coordination, and risk prediction

--The importance of balancing technology with human oversight and clinical judgment

Cheri also outlines opportunities for reform, including standardized discharge communication, stronger digital interoperability, expanded care team collaboration, and operationalizing safe transitions across the entire continuum of care.

This episode is a powerful call to action for healthcare leaders, clinicians, policymakers, and care teams to rethink how care is coordinated — and why safer transitions are essential to improving patient outcomes nationwide.