Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesHealthcare

Building Trust Through Education and Data Innovation

Brian Urban, Director of Innovation and Emerging Markets at Finthrive, discusses how the Data Humanity Lab uses donated socioeconomic data to understand the link between social determinants of health and patient outcomes. The initiative partners with academic institutions and policymakers to drive data-informed, affordable healthcare interventions for underserved communities. Urban emphasizes cross-stakeholder collaboration—including grant writers and social workers—as essential to closing societal health gaps.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Healthcare teams put it to work with Executive Thought Leadership.

Promoted content from Highway to Health on MarketScale.

By Brian Urban · · Data AnalyticsHealthcare industryHealthcare InequitiesHighway to Health
Share

Key takeaways

01

Finthrive's Data Humanity Lab donates socioeconomic data (income, education) to study how social determinants drive health disparities.

02

The lab is earning recognition from academic institutions and influencing public policy through data-driven healthcare interventions.

03

Cross-stakeholder collaboration between researchers, grant writers, and social workers is key to bridging healthcare inequities.

Free workspace

Turn your Healthcare expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

The relationship between socioeconomic backgrounds and health outcomes has been proven through years of study. Healthcare providers understand that those from lower socioeconomic brackets often face more health challenges. This is attributed to limited healthcare access, challenging living conditions, and elevated stress. How can data innovation help stakeholders solve these pressing issues?

Brian Urban, the Director of Innovation and Emerging Markets at Finthrive, delved into this intricate topic on today's episode of Highway to Health with host David Kemp. Finthrive "delivers frictionless revenue experiences…to transform revenue management" in the healthcare industry. Central to Finthrive's approach is the Data Humanity Lab. By donating data that covers variables like income and education, Brian's organization is determined to grasp how socioeconomics influences health outcomes. Because of this, Data Humanity Lab is creating partnerships within the healthcare industry.

Find out in today's episode how the Data Humanity Lab is:

  • Earning recognition from academic institutions for exploring patterns linked to social determinants of health.
  • Impacting public policies and data-driven interventions and data innovation.
  • Steering healthcare providers toward tailored, affordable interventions.

Brian wants to bridge the gaps between different stakeholders, like grant writers and social workers, to close social fissures. "To close some of the societal fissures we have, you need to be able to work with the teams that are of a research background or grant writing background to have the rest of their enterprise buy into it," Brian says.

To close some of the societal fissures we have, you need to be able to work with the teams that are of a research background or grant writing background to have the rest of their enterprise buy into it.
— Brian Urban, Director of Innovation and Emerging Markets at Finthrive

Brian Urban is the current Director of Innovation and Emerging Markets at Finthrive. He earned several master's degrees from different American colleges and universities, most notably Brown University and Dartmouth College. Brian has over a decade of experience in the healthcare and public health industry. However, he is most proud of being a father and a companion to his pets.

Highway to Health

Part of this channel

Highway to Health

Healthcare innovation conversations for executives and technology buyers.

Visit the channel

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Healthcare starts with a company putting its clinicians, service-line leaders, and field engineers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Service-line buyers vet vendors quietly, and your clinicians become the proof they find while doing it.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

Brian Urban
Brian UrbanDirector of Innovation & Emerging Markets

Brian Urban has a deep skill set in health promotion and product development for rare disease and senior populations with Large Health Plans and Specialty Pharmacy. Urban has served as a speaker on such topics for the Alzheimer’s Association, Obediah Cole Prostate Cancer Foundation, Cigna Corp and Utica University Institute for the study of integrative healthcare. Urban has received a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology-Health Promotion, Masters of Business Administration in Market Development and is currently completing a Masters in Public Health at Dartmouth College. Urban is currently a research-fellow sponsored by a Robert Wood Johnson Grant supporting Utica University public health research in Upstate New York.

B2B Weekly

The week in Healthcare, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Healthcare: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Healthcare buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Healthcare expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your clinicians, service-line leaders, and field engineers into the articles, video, and social content Healthcare buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Healthcare Insights

QinFlow's new pressure bag device skips scheduled calibration and preventive maintenance

QinFlow's new pressure bag device skips scheduled calibration and preventive maintenance

QinFlow's PressSure is a battery-powered device that holds standard pressure bags at one of three fixed preset pressures during blood or IV fluid infusions.

  • 01So far it’s manufacturer design claims; what matters next is in-service reports from early hospital or EMS adopters.

Oct 1, 2026

BedConnect’s Lindsey Joseph on matching post-acute care to patient needs

BedConnect’s Lindsey Joseph on matching post-acute care to patient needs

On I Don’t Care, BedConnect founder Lindsey Joseph and Kevin Stevenson discuss the limits of broad post-acute referrals. Their proposal is to match clinical needs, payer coverage and available beds before presenting options. CMS guidance and AHRQ discharge resources provide independent context; they do not establish BedConnect’s clinical outcomes.

  • 01BedConnect proposes matching clinical needs, payer coverage and bed availability before presenting post-acute options; this is the company’s approach, not independently validated outcome evidence.
  • 02CMS discharge-planning guidance emphasizes patient goals, treatment preferences and relevant provider quality and resource-use data.
  • 03Readmission comparisons need a defined patient group, time window and source; the interview’s roughly one-quarter/fourteen-day estimate has not been independently verified.

Sep 29, 2026

Rock Health: $7.4B went into digital health in H1 2026, and 20 rounds took 45%

Rock Health: $7.4B went into digital health in H1 2026, and 20 rounds took 45%

Rock Health: U.S. digital health startups raised $7.4 billion across 244 deals in H1 2026, up from $6.4 billion on 245 deals in H1 2025. The rebound is concentrated. Nineteen companies raised 20 $100 million-plus rounds that captured 45% of capital.

  • 01In H1 2026, 19 companies raised 20 mega-deals of $100 million or more, representing 45% of all capital invested, according to Rock Health.
  • 02According to Rock Health, the firm stopped labeling startups as “AI-enabled,” saying the technology is now too widespread for the label to be meaningful.

Sep 24, 2026

Explore More Healthcare Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Healthcare.

Browse Healthcare Hub

About the Experts

Brian Urban
Brian Urban

Director of Innovation and Emerging Markets at Finthrive

Brian Urban is the Director of Innovation and Emerging Markets at Finthrive, where he leads the Data Humanity Lab initiative focused on understanding how socioeconomic factors influence health outcomes. He holds multiple master's degrees, including from Brown University and Dartmouth College, and has over a decade of experience in healthcare and public health. He is also the host of the Highway to Health podcast on MarketScale.

DK
David Kemp

Host

Highway to Health / MarketScale

David Kemp is the host of Highway to Health, a MarketScale show exploring the future of healthcare through conversations with industry innovators and thought leaders.

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Healthcare and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512