Why 88% of Hospitals Can’t Offer Clinical Trials | Heather Grey | E200

Every medical breakthrough begins with a clinical trial. Yet for millions of patients, participating in one has never really been an option. Only 12% of U.S. hospitals are currently equipped to run clinical trials, leaving most patients dependent on where they live, where they receive care, and whether they can travel to one of the relatively few centers offering research. Heather Grey believes we’ve been asking the wrong question. Instead of asking how we get more patients to clinical trials, what if we brought clinical trials to the patients? In Episode 200 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, Michael Stamatinos sits down with Heather Grey, CEO and co-founder of Elixir Trials, to explore her effort to rethink how clinical research reaches patients, physicians, community hospitals, and underserved health systems. Heather has spent more than 15 years working across clinical trials, pharmaceutical partnerships, and healthcare. The idea behind Elixir Trials came into focus during a dinner with the leadership team of a safety net hospital struggling just to make nursing payroll. The hospital wanted to participate in clinical research. The patients were there. The physicians were there. What they didn’t have was the money, people, technology, regulatory infrastructure, and operational support required to build a clinical trial program. Heather saw a problem worth solving. Elixir Trials is building a model designed to turn community hospitals into research-ready sites without forcing each organization to recreate the infrastructure of a major academic medical center. The conversation goes well beyond clinical trials. Heather shares the unlikely path that took her from kindergarten teacher and single mother to pharmaceutical sales, clinical research executive, and eventually founder and CEO. She talks about the grandmother who taught her that nobody else gets to decide what she is capable of, why building LEGO helps her think through difficult problems, and why she never set out to become an entrepreneur. Michael and Heather also unpack two of the biggest bottlenecks in clinical research today: patient enrollment and patient adherence. When participating in a trial means repeatedly traveling hours away from home, leaving the physician you trust, and adding appointments while already dealing with a serious illness, access becomes more than a logistical problem. It becomes a human one. In this episode: 00:00 – Welcome to Episode 200 of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show 04:24 – Why Heather builds LEGO when she gets stuck 07:05 – What Heather was like as a kid 08:01 – The grandmother who shaped how Heather sees possibility 11:17 – From kindergarten teacher and single mom to healthcare 14:52 – The problem Heather could no longer ignore 15:07 – Why only 12% of U.S. hospitals can offer clinical trials 17:13 – The dinner that became the origin story of Elixir Trials 20:59 – Using philanthropy to expand clinical trial access 22:45 – Leaving a successful career to build something new 24:13 – Where the traditional clinical trial model breaks down 26:46 – Building Elixir Trials like a LEGO set 27:42 – The two biggest bottlenecks in clinical research 29:21 – Why bringing trials closer to patients matters 31:26 – Technology vs. trust: which is harder to build? 34:12 – How becoming CEO changed Heather’s view of leadership 36:37 – Where AI can actually improve clinical research 40:05 – A message for community hospitals considering research 41:26 – Where to follow Heather and Elixir Trials 42:09 – Lightning round Learn more about Elixir Trials: elixirtrials.com 📣 LIKE, COMMENT & SUBSCRIBE About the Show The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation. The AHI Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light. 🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn:   / michaelstamo   🎧 Subscribe for more episodes that move beyond theory and into the heart of what’s really possible in healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn:   / 7056196