🎙️ This post shares highlights from our Healthcare Ops Wave podcast, where Third Way Health CEO Frederik Mueller sat down with Inna Plumb, Chief Operating Officer of Auxira Health

Listen to the full episode here

Inna Plumb didn’t plan to work in healthcare. But after building at Blue Apron, launching startups at Redesign Health, and co-founding MedArrive, she’s now CEO of Auxira Health, a virtual care delivery company extending the capacity of overburdened cardiology practices.

From patient home visits to boardroom decisions, her career has centered on one theme: building trust at every level of operations. Here’s how she approaches it.

1. Prove the model in person, even when you’re virtual

Auxira may be a virtual-first company, but Inna insists on one unconventional step: flying new APPs across the country to train onsite with their paired cardiologists.

That upfront investment pays off in clinical alignment, tighter workflows, and faster trust between teams.

“We’ve seen so many dividends from in-person training. Even though it looks inefficient on paper, it works.”

That included returning key functions to the clinic level. Utilization management and medical records scanning, for example, were previously centralized. Now they’re back in the offices, creating faster handoffs and tighter communication between staff and providers.

2. Build native, not parallel, systems

Auxira integrates directly into its clients’ EHRs, operating like an embedded extension of the clinic. This keeps care teams aligned, patients supported, and physicians free to focus on high-acuity visits.

“One of the best compliments we’ve received from a partner was: ‘It feels like us.’ That’s the bar.”

Whether it’s documentation, inbox triage, or low-acuity follow-ups, the Auxira model expands care capacity without fragmenting the patient experience.

3. Design hybrid teams around trust, not trends

In a remote-first world, Inna still believes in offices—when they’re useful. Her team leases space in Maryland to foster day-to-day collaboration between nurses, MAs, and operational leaders. APPs work remotely after training, but the rest of the team is co-located.

“I told the board: I have a hypothesis that hybrid will be more effective. And I’ll measure it.”

Trust is built with intentional structure.

4. Make outsourcing feel like hiring

Auxira requires physicians to sign off on the APPs they’ll work with. That mutual selection turns “your vendor” into “our teammate.”

“It slows things down, but it creates enormous buy-in.”

This model, which Third Way Health also uses, creates psychological ownership from the client side and holds everyone to a higher bar.

5. Focus on provider well-being

Inna’s guiding principle? Help providers reclaim their time.

From inbox management to panel size expansion, Auxira’s north star is provider satisfaction. If doctors can leave the clinic earlier, get home to their kids, and avoid late-night charting, the company is doing its job.

“Just because we’re doing better than the COVID low doesn’t mean we’re doing well. There’s more work to do.”

Final Thoughts

Inna’s approach is a reminder that high-performing operational systems are built on trust, alignment, and care.

At Third Way Health, we see this daily. We believe great operations are built at the intersection of empathy and execution.

Listen to the full episode of Healthcare Ops Wave