Feb 20, 2026
Welcome to Health-e Law, Sheppard’s podcast exploring the fascinating health tech topics and trends of the day. In this episode, partner and host Michael Orlando welcomes Eric Newsom, partner and Transactions lead of Sheppard’s national Healthcare industry team, to discuss key takeaways from the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and explore what growing AI adoption, shifting reimbursement models and evolving macroeconomics mean for M&A and strategic partnerships.
What we discuss in this episode:
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How the conference addressed the growing focus on AI-powered healthcare platforms.
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The key factors driving adoption of AI technologies across the healthcare industry.
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How providers and payers are adjusting their M&A and joint‑venture strategies amid shifting reimbursement models and evolving macroeconomic pressures.
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The top three priorities for healthcare leaders when advancing AI adoption and structuring strategic partnerships.
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Topics not covered at the conference that Eric would have liked to learn more about.
About Eric Newsom
Eric Newsom is a partner in the Corporate practice group in Sheppard’s San Francisco office and serves as Transactions Lead of the firm’s national Healthcare industry team.
Eric’s nationwide practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, strategic joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, private equity and venture capital transactions, and corporate governance and compliance matters. Eric has represented buyers, sellers, investors, and intermediaries in numerous business combinations, buyouts, and investment transactions, with particular emphasis on the healthcare industry.
In his healthcare and health technology practice, Eric advises on mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, comprehensive corporate reorganizations, multi-channel joint ventures, and private equity investment and disposition transactions. His experience spans for-profit, nonprofit, and government-owned hospital and provider systems; academic medical centers; health plans; physician groups; ambulatory and specialty service providers; and startup and growth-stage companies in the healthcare information technology sector.
About Michael Orlando
Michael Orlando is a partner in Sheppard’s San Diego (Del Mar) office. He is team leader of the firm’s Technology Transactions team, a member of the Life Sciences, Healthcare and Artificial Intelligence teams, and co-leader of the firm’s Digital Health & Innovation team. Michael has more than 20 years of experience advising health technology companies, insurers, healthcare systems and providers, academic medical centers and research institutions, medical device manufacturers, and pharmaceutical and wellness companies on intellectual property and business transactions in key strategic areas, including EHR systems procurement and integration, telehealth, mobile health applications, clinical decision support technologies, artificial intelligence, data use, wearable devices, remote patient monitoring, and other medical devices, research and collaborations, patent licenses, software licenses, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, revenue cycle management, and other outsourcing transactions.
Michael founded a software-as-a-service company before entering private practice and completed an in-house secondment at a publicly traded biotechnology company, an experience that informs his practical and business-focused approach to client engagements.
Contact Info
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