Connected Care Infrastructure to Patient-First Pharmacy Networks - BD & FDB Vela

More of Nathan C's conversations with 2 healthcare leaders solving what happens when medical devices talk to each other, and what happens when patients have real choice.

Bilal Muhsin, EVP Connected Care at BD, is building infrastructure that moves healthcare beyond disconnected devices. With expertise from his first company where he scaled embedded device providers into solution platforms, Muhsin now oversees pharmacy automation, infusion dispensing, and patient monitoring—all communicating within a unified ecosystem.

BD's new Incada platform does what healthcare infrastructure hasn't done yet: connects products so clinicians see the whole patient picture, not fragmented alarms. His philosophy centers on trust and safety, using physiological models to guide AI rather than black-box algorithms, validating everything before patient contact, and learning offline before reintroducing improvements.

Lathe Bigler, head of FDB Vela, the E-prescribing Network at First DataBank,, tackles the last-mile problem: once doctors prescribe, patients need to actually get their medications. For 15 years, Bigler has been a patient advocate focused on transparency and choice. Vela connects EHR systems to pharmacies through a neutral network, giving patients real agency—they don't just tell doctors "send it to the pharmacy by my house"; they can see pricing, check drug availability, compare options, and choose where to pick up their prescription.

FDB's database has protected patient safety for years through drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction screening, but Vela extends that mission to the entire patient journey.

Highlights from Bilal Muhsin at BD:

• Leads BD's Connected Care segment spanning pharmacy automation, drug dispensing, infusion, and patient monitoring—now unified through new Incada platform
• Philosophy: AI guides within physiological models, not black-box algorithms; validate before patient contact; learn offline, reintroduce improvements only after full validation
• Origin: NICU nurse showed him a premature baby monitored by BD sensor, saying "What you do saves these babies' lives"—redirected his entire career toward outcomes-focused healthcare infrastructure

Highlights from Lathe Bigler at FDB Vela:

• Runs First DataBank's e-prescribing network (Vela) connecting EHRs to pharmacies, enabling patient transparency and choice around pricing, drug availability, and pharmacy location
• Patient advocate for 15 years; focused on transparency, choice, and consumer agency in healthcare; using AI to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and anomalies in prescription patterns
• Spicy take: 720+ healthcare data breaches in 2024; advocating for redundant networks as patient safety infrastructure so one breach doesn't shut down the entire prescription system

The result: healthcare infrastructure that works because it listens to data, validates everything, keeps humans in control, and gives patients real agency in their own care.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Tech Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.