Episodit
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In this discussion, strategist, and applied health futurist Zayna Khayat explores the evolution of healthcare, particularly the shift towards home-based care and patient empowerment. Key themes include:
Language in Healthcare: Khayat stresses the need for a language shift to change mindsets in healthcare, highlighting that words shape reality. She proposes retiring overused terms like “innovation,” “patient-centered,” and “telemedicine,” advocating instead for more precise language that reflects modern, patient-empowering approaches.
Technology in Care Delivery: Khayat is excited about how AI and virtual reality (VR) are transforming healthcare. She sees AI as instrumental in reducing clinician workload by handling repetitive cognitive tasks, while VR is proving beneficial in medical training and therapies like pain and anxiety management.
Shift to Home and Virtual Care: Drawing on her experience in home-based chemotherapy, Khayat discusses the challenges of moving healthcare out of hospitals, from reimbursement to infrastructure limitations. She emphasizes that many patients would prefer home care if given the choice, but practical barriers like resource availability and payment models persist.
Diverse Aging Models: Khayat challenges the idea of care homes as a one-size-fits-all solution, advocating for diverse models tailored to individual preferences and cultural values. She highlights that community-based models, like those in Denmark and Japan, provide alternatives to institutional care, supporting aging in place.
Value-Based Care and Accountability: Khayat encourages healthcare organizations to focus on results rather than processes. She advocates for outcome-based payment models, where organizations are compensated for results, pushing them to prioritize patient outcomes. This approach, she argues, would foster a value-driven healthcare system.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/ -
Grace Cordovano is an expert healthcare navigating solutionist and award winning, board-certified patient advocate, and Grace Vinton is an account director at Amendola, Patient Advocate, and the host of Like a Girl Media's Podcast "HITea With Grace”.
In this discussion, recorded at Digital Health and AI Summit in Boston, they discussed AI use cases for improved patient experience in healthcare, how patients already use AI, and more.
Read the summary of the event in our newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/p/ai-digital-health-pharma
Key points:
AI can significantly reduce the administrative burden on patients, especially those managing chronic conditions, caregiving responsibilities, or complex medical records.
Patients are using tools like ChatGPT to prepare for medical appointments by generating lists of questions and organizing medical records.
AI can assist with translating complex medical information into more understandable language.
Patient advocates emphasized the importance of involving patients in the design and implementation of AI in healthcare, ensuring tools cater to different types of patients (e.g., those with terminal illnesses, multiple comorbidities, etc.).
It is critical for healthcare companies to involve diverse patient voices throughout the development of AI tools and offer fair compensation to prevent bias.
The healthcare industry needs to improve digital literacy among patients, ensuring they understand how to use AI tools effectively and responsibly.
Resources like the Patients Included Charter and organizations like the Light Collective and Savvy Coop were highlighted as valuable for patient education and advocacy.
Advice for Patients on Using AI:
1. Start with Questions
2. Refine Prompts
3. Check for Errors
4. Be mindful of security and data privacy
https://www.facesofdigitalhealth.com/ -
Puuttuva jakso?
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In this episode Gary Monk, independent consultant with over 25 years in the pharma and healthcare sectors where he worked in roles from R&D to business IT and strategic marketing, talks about the current state of digital therapeutics, remote patient monitoring, the potential of AI in healthcare, and the challenges with data integration. He also shares his personal insights on the use of wearables and their impact on health anxiety.
Key Discussion Points:
Digital Therapeutics and Integration Challenges
Fragmentation in the Space: Many digital therapeutics are siloed, with individual apps that do not integrate well with each other or broader healthcare systems.
Potential for Holistic Solutions: apps and digital therapeutics need to be more connected, for example, integrating with wearables or offering treatments.
Uncertain Future: While optimistic in the long term, Gary is cautious about short-term setbacks, noting that companies in this space may struggle without proper evidence and reimbursement models in place.
Remote Patient Monitoring and Virtual Care
Excitement Around Remote Monitoring: there are benefits of remote monitoring, especially for elderly and chronically ill patients, allowing them to stay home longer and safer.
Expanding Beyond Monitoring: Discussion expands on using technology not just for monitoring but also for providing interventions, such as reminders, voice support, and even predictive capabilities like fall prevention.
Wearables and Real-World Data
The Importance of Continuous Data: long-term, imperfect data may be more valuable than short-term, highly accurate clinical data in certain cases, such as tracking motor function.
Personal Experience with Wearables: Despite his enthusiasm for digital health, Gary admits he no longer uses wearables due to anxiety caused by over-monitoring and lack of actionable insights.
AI in Healthcare
Cautious Optimism: While excited about AI’s potential, AI needs to be integrated thoughtfully into healthcare workflows. He points out that many current AI solutions are useful but not yet integrated into clinical practice.
Ethical Questions Around AI: The conversation touches on whether AI should be used to predict diseases, especially if no treatment is available. This is particularly relevant in areas like Alzheimer’s research.
Integration as a Key Barrier
The Real Challenge: Both speakers agree that integration is one of the biggest hurdles in digital health today. As various apps and AI tools proliferate, getting them to work within existing systems, like clinical workflows, remains difficult.
Example from Clinical Trials
Even in areas like remote clinical trials, which are technically feasible, organizations are struggling to keep up due to complex internal processes and outdated systems.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
https://fodh.substack.com/p/ai-digital-health-pharma -
If social media and smartphones are the root cause of the new mental health epidemic in younger generations, how successful can digital interventions be in addressing mental health issues?
In this discussion, recorded at Digital Health and AI Innovation Summit in Boston in October, Katherine Wolfe-Lyga, Mental health professional and former college administrator, Vice President at BetterMynd, discussed:
Digital Mental Health Interventions: Digital health solutions, especially telehealth, have improved access to mental health care, particularly for students in rural areas and those reluctant to seek help in person. The stigma around seeking mental health care is still significant but decreasing.
Equity and Access: Colleges have become more inclusive, admitting students from underprivileged backgrounds who often face challenges that current campus support systems are not fully equipped to address. Digital interventions are helping bridge these gaps.
Impact of Smartphones and Social Media: The pervasive use of smartphones and social media contributes to social isolation and mental health challenges, with many students relying on these platforms for comfort rather than fostering real interpersonal connections. Schools banning or limiting phone use have seen positive effects on student engagement and communication.
Digital Interventions as Both Cause and Cure: While smartphones and social media contribute to mental health issues, digital interventions like teletherapy can offer solutions. The challenge is ensuring that digital tools are used minimally and efficiently to support mental health, without exacerbating the problems of overuse.
Brain Development: There is evidence suggesting that the development of the prefrontal cortex in young people is delayed, potentially due to changes in societal behavior and technology use, affecting their decision-making abilities and impulse control.
Mental Health Interventions and Technology: Technology can help alleviate loneliness and improve community connections, but it must be used responsibly. Ethical concerns exist around the efficacy of some digital mental health tools, as not all apps claiming to support well-being are truly effective.
Positive Trends: Successful interventions include digital platforms that provide access to diverse therapists, helping students connect with professionals who share similar identities or expertise. This encourages more students to seek help and supports the reduction of mental health issues like loneliness.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/ -
In this episode of Faces of Digital Health, Michael, an experienced innovator with over 80 patents and a professor in multiple countries, joins to discuss the future of digital health. The conversation dives deep into the concepts of innovation, patent strategies, and the challenges in digital health funding. Michael shares his insights on current investment trends, the future of healthcare, and the potential of technologies like AI and digital tools to redefine medicine.
Website: https://www.facesofdigitalhealth.com/
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Key Points:
The Role of Patents in Innovation:
Michael holds 80 patents, but only a few have translated into successful innovations. Patents serve as a starting point for innovation, not necessarily as a direct path to commercialization.
Challenges in Patent Development:
The difficulty in checking if something has already been patented due to the 18-month confidentiality period. Patenting as a strategy to establish a foundation for future projects and startups.
Current State of Digital Health Funding:
2024 has seen significant investment, especially in the U.S. market, but COVID-19 still skews comparisons.
Michael believes digital health should go beyond improving administrative workflows and focus on new forms of medicine, such as combining AI, sensors, and IoT.
Investment Challenges and New Approaches:
There is no current business model for preventive healthcare, but it’s essential for long-term health impact. Michael advocates for shifting from analog to digital processes and creating personalized, predictive healthcare.
5P Future of Health Investment Fund:
Michael has started an investment fund called "5P Future of Health," focusing on long-term impact rather than immediate profits.
Emphasis on personalized, participative healthcare, and developing tools that address health issues before they become critical.
Vision for the Future of Healthcare:
Transition healthcare from hospitals to home-based systems, using affordable and accessible diagnostic tools. The need for democratizing healthcare and creating business models that are inclusive, not just profit-driven. -
Better is a healthcare IT provider of a healthcare data platform, low-code tools that help healthcare organisations to rapidly build applications that suit their specific need and hospital medication management software, working across 20 markets.
In this episode, based on 30+ years of experience, Tomaz Gornik, CEO of Better explained:
- what is a data platform in healthcare,
- what motivates vendors to NOT lock customers in their systems
- EHDS implementation from the healthcare IT perspective,
- the power of legislation and tender processes in shaping the future of digital health,
- how do digital health vendors get the first customer in healthcare,
- How do companies survive the long sales cycles - 3 or more years in public systems, and how is this impacting their business models,
- the role of design in health,
- and more.
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
https://www.facesofdigitalhealth.com/ -
There are over 200 hospital trusts in the UK, encompassing more than 1,200 hospitals. With those numbers and a population of 67 million, the United Kingdom represents quite a large market. However, selling to the NHS is anything but easy.
Mindy Simon is Co-Director at the NHS Innovation Accelerator. She is responsible for the program's execution and provides guidance to innovators and startups that already have customers. In this episode, Mindy talked about the importance of gaining visibility within the NHS, which she says is the biggest struggle for startups. We also discussed tender processes that contribute to innovation procurement and the challenges related to the requirements in tenders. For example, startups need to be mindful of their carbon emissions—how much space software uses in the cloud or how equipment is disposed of, if you're a provider of hardware.
Apply for the accelerator by 14 October 2024: https://nhsaccelerator.com/apply/apply-nia-2025-intake/
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Website: https://www.facesofdigitalhealth.com/ -
Daniel Kraft is a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor and entrepreneur focused on accelerating much improved future of health and biomedicine at the convergence of accelerating technologies and human innovation. He is the founder of NextMed Health & Digital.Health, Chairs the XPRIZE Health Alliance, and is a sought after speaker on the future of medicine, with 6 TED & TEDMED Talks.
Join NextMed Health in December 2024 in San Diego: https://www.nextmed.health/
In this discussion, Daniel talks about:
- Basic Health Practices: The importance of sleep, diverse food, exercise, and social connections as foundational health practices, alongside high-tech tools.
- Longevity vs. Healthspan: The discussion shifts from living longer (longevity) to improving the quality of life in later years (healthspan), through proactive health measures.
- Behavior Change is Key: Digital health innovations, while advanced, still face challenges in encouraging sustained behavior change, which is crucial for better health outcomes.
- Generative Health and Personalization: The concept of "Generative Health" is introduced, where AI-based health coaches personalize advice based on individual preferences, genetics, and lifestyle.
- AI in Healthcare: AI's most immediate impact will likely be in administrative areas, reducing burnout by automating tasks and helping clinicians focus on more critical decisions.
- Hospital-to-Home Care: The shift from hospital care to home care (or "homespital") is a major trend, driven by advances in remote monitoring, telehealth, and AI-based triage systems.
- Barriers to Digital Health: Regulatory, cultural, and business model barriers continue to impede the full integration of digital health solutions, despite technological advancements.
- Future of Healthcare Delivery: As healthcare moves towards more home-based care, the infrastructure and training for clinicians must evolve to support this shift effectively.
- AI and Ethical Considerations: There is a need to balance the use of AI in healthcare with maintaining human cognitive abilities, ensuring clinicians remain skilled in diagnosis without over-reliance on technology
facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/ -
This episode features Dr. Chelsea Sumner discussing NVIDIA's significant role in healthcare, particularly in its work with AI startups. Key areas of focus include NVIDIA’s contributions to medical imaging, genomics, and drug discovery, and its innovative tools like Clara and NIMs. The conversation highlights how NVIDIA collaborates with startups, its global footprint, and insights into AI’s transformative potential in healthcare.
Key Points:
NVIDIA’s Role in Healthcare:
GPUs in Healthcare: NVIDIA's graphics processing units (GPUs) power AI and are pivotal in medical imaging, genomics, and drug discovery.
Clara Platform: A suite of healthcare-focused AI tools supporting genomics (Parabricks), medical imaging (Moni), robotics (Isaac), and drug discovery (BioNemo).
Collaboration with Startups:
Inception Program: NVIDIA supports over 3,000 healthcare startups globally, offering them tools, resources, and access to venture capital (VCA).
Diverse Startup Sizes: Startups range from small two-person teams to large-scale companies with 800+ employees.
Examples of Partnerships:
Mendel AI: Improved deployment efficiency by 75% using NVIDIA’s Inference Microservices (NIMs).
Hippocratic AI: Developing empathetic AI avatars for patient interactions.
Abridge: AI-powered clinical conversations that can generate clinical notes, saving clinicians time.
What Are NIMs?
NIMs (NVIDIA Inference Microservices): These microservices streamline AI model deployment, enabling faster and easier integration of AI models into applications.
Key Healthcare Innovations:
Genome Sequencing: NVIDIA set a world record for genome sequencing in under 6 hours, highlighting advancements in personalized medicine.
GI Genius with Medtronic: AI-assisted colonoscopy tool leveraging NVIDIA’s technology to detect polyps, aiding in colorectal cancer prevention.
J&J MedTech Collaboration: Connecting digital ecosystems for surgery to provide real-time insights to medical professionals.
Global Healthcare Impact:
NVIDIA operates in healthcare ecosystems worldwide, collaborating with startups and partners in North and Latin America, Europe, China, and APAC regions.
Their technologies are integrated with global academic medical centers, research institutions, and conferences like RSNA and Health U.S.
Future of AI in Healthcare:
Digital Biology, Surgery, and Health: Key areas where generative AI will impact healthcare, from diagnostics to personalized treatment.
Model Transparency (Model Cards): NVIDIA’s trustworthy AI initiatives include model cards, which offer transparency into AI models' development and data, aiding in mitigating bias.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/ -
This episode gives an in-depth insight into healthcare digitalization in Portugal. Cátia Sousa Pinto, Head of Global Digital Health and International Affairs at SPMS - shared services of ministry of health of Portugal talked about healthcare digitalization in Portugal, European Health Data Space (EHDS), patient data and more.
Key Points Summary
Portugal's Digital Health System Design: To accelerate digital health development, Portugal created a national eHealth agency (SPMS) over a decade ago.
SPMS Role: SPMS plays a dual role, not only regulating but also developing and maintaining ICT solutions for Portugal's healthcare system. This centralization helps prevent fragmentation and ensures interoperability.
European Health Data Space (EHDS): EHDS is the EU's regulatory framework for cross-border health data sharing, building on initiatives like MyHealth@EU. The goal is to allow seamless healthcare across Europe, where any EU citizen can access healthcare in other countries as if they were at home.
My Health at EU: A foundational initiative that enables cross-border exchange of health data like patient summaries and e-prescriptions between EU countries.
Patient Data: Catia emphasized the importance of patients controlling their health data and being able to share it across healthcare providers. This includes e-prescriptions, laboratory results, and, eventually, medical images.
Portugal's National Electronic Health Record: A key project for the country is the creation of a unified electronic health record system, allowing citizens to access all of their health data, both public and private, from a single source.
Use of EU Funding: Portugal has allocated €300 million from the EU's recovery funds for digital health transformation, focusing on infrastructure, citizen-centric services, and reducing the burden on healthcare professionals.
Challenges and Future Outlook: The integration of digital health into national governance and improving interoperability between systems remain ongoing challenges. Katia stressed the importance of moving towards real-time, structured health data to improve future healthcare outcomes.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Show notes:
[00:02:00] - Overview of Digital Health in Portugal
[00:06:00] - National-Level Initiatives and Successes
[00:10:00] - European Health Data Space (EHDS) and My Health at EU
[00:16:00] - Cross-Border Care and Digital Infrastructure
[00:20:00] - The Role of SPMS in Portugal’s Digital Health Journey
[00:30:00] - Challenges and Workforce Management in Digital Health
[00:34:00] - Benefits of Centralization in Small Countries
[00:38:00] - Electronic Health Records and Expanding Digital Services, Secondary use of data [00:42:00] - Portugal’s National Electronic Health Record
[00:46:00] - Future Vision for Health Data Integration -
In this episode Anne Forsyth, Director of Clinical Applications and Support at Women’s College Hospital in Canada, discusses the challenges and opportunities in optimizing healthcare IT systems, particularly in data management and digital literacy. She shares her experiences transitioning from a policy role to a hospital setting and emphasizes the importance of data governance, workflow design, and continuous improvement in digital health projects.
Key Takeaways:
Community and Collaboration: Canada’s digital health community is a significant asset in advancing healthcare IT.
AI and Data Standards: The adoption of AI in healthcare is promising but requires robust data governance and standards.
Importance of Fundamentals: Good governance, workflow optimization, and training are crucial in creating sustainable healthcare IT systems.
Digital Health Literacy: Clinicians need focused training on using digital tools correctly rather than deep technical knowledge.
Cybersecurity Preparedness: Hospitals must prioritize business continuity planning to prepare for potential cyber attacks.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Show notes:
[00:04:00] Optimism in Canadian Digital Health
[00:06:00] The Role of AI and Data Standards
[00:08:00] Transition from Policy to Practice
[00:10:00] The Fundamentals of IT in Healthcare
[00:16:00] Tackling Unstructured Data
[00:22:00] Continuous Improvement in Healthcare IT
[00:26:00] Digital Health Literacy for Clinicians
[00:34:00] Cybersecurity and Business Continuity
[00:38:00] Closing Remarks and Advice
The importance of strong relationships with vendors and clinicians in solving technical challenges in healthcare IT.
Final thoughts on the continuous nature of digital health optimization and the need for sustainable, well-communicated strategies. -
In healthcare, consultants are present more often than we might realise: they work with healthcare providers to improve clinical efficiency, manage costs, implement new technologies, or streamline administrative processes. They can help with regulatory compliance, help insurance companies design new poducts, governments hire them to help with policy development, program evaluation, and implementation of new regulations.
In this episode we take a look under the hood of consultancy work, where governments make biggest mistakes and how consultants approach problem-solving.
Mehdi Khaled is Internal Medicine Doctor and Fortune 50 Health Tech Executive, with over 25 years of international experience. He has helped shaping many large-scale, transformative digital health projects across four continents and within 40 health systems. As a Managing Partner at Seha, he specializes in developing and executing cutting-edge health and digital health strategies, with a strong emphasis on the meaningful use of data to drive health system improvements.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Topics covered:
00:04 - The Role of Consultants in Healthcare
00:06 - Challenges of Accountability
00:08 - Core Principles for Healthcare
00:10 - Singapore’s Healthcare Success
00:12 - Implementing Technology in Healthcare
00:14 - The Balance Between Technology and Clinical Needs
00:16 - The Importance of Clinical Engagement
00:18 - Managing Technology in Healthcare
Exploration of the concept of "management debt," where poor decision-making leads to the accumulation of ineffective technologies.
00:20 - Cultural Differences in Healthcare
00:22 - Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Digital Health
00:24 - Case Studies and Real-World Examples
00:26 - The Need for Long-Term Vision
00:28 - Lessons from Singapore and Catalonia
00:30 - Technology-Driven Change in Healthcare
00:32 - Overcoming Barriers to Innovation
00:34 - The Future of Digital Health
00:36 - Building Local Capacity
00:38 - Avoiding Dependency on Consultants
00:40 - Final Thoughts on Healthcare Consulting -
Catalonia published a new digitalization strategy in 2017. It set a new path of the healthcare IT infrastructure, based on open-platform approach, focusing on data persistence with the use of openEHR data specification.
In this discussion, you will hear from Jordi Piera Jiménez, Director of the Digital Health Strategy Office at the Catalan Health Service and Director at openEHR International, representing organisational members.
He discussed specifics of the Spanish healthcare market, how far Catalonia came since 2017, how is Catalonia building, using and updating a multi-morbidity scoring system for patients which enables easier clinical decision making, cybersecurity attacks and ultimate improvement in information security measures, and more.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/ -
Artur Olesch is Berlin-based journalist specializing in digital health, the founder of aboutDigitalHealth.com, and the editor-in-chief of ICT&Health International. In this discussion, he shares his thoughts on the European legislation of healthtech, his thoughts on most intriguing books in tech and AI, and more.
His 3 book picks:
Ray Kurzweil - Singularity is nearer
Ethan Mollick - Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner - Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
Show notes:
03:00 About Ray Kurzweil - Singularity is nearer
10:00 Ethical use of healthcare data - how sharing is connected to democratic values
14:00 Data analytics and data use examples and inspiration
17:00 DiGA in the field: do doctors know it
18:45 Approach to behavioral health improvement and the role of digital
20:00 Book 2: Ethan Mollick - Intelligence
22:58 Predicting disease - yes or no?
26:00 Best insights from conference, top topic: ambient intelligence systems
35:00 Hopes and fears about the future of healthcare digitalization
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/ -
John Halamka is the President of the Mayo Clinic Platform and a leading expert in digital health and AI. He has traveled to 21 countries, helping to scale digital health solutions and address regulatory and ethical challenges in the reuse of healthcare data.
Addressed topics in this discussion:
1. Differences in regulatory frameworks and cultural expectations across countries.
2. Comparison of the U.S. and European approaches to AI and data exchange.
3. Risks associated with generative AI and the need for a credibility scores.
4. Observations from various countries on AI adoption. Importance of local tuning for algorithm validation.
5. Data Standards and Future Trends.
6. Advice for Governments and Healthcare Institutions: Encouraging a proactive approach to AI adoption -Starting with low-risk projects and building trust and reliability.
Website: www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH9qYpFW-W8 -
You may not have heard about Prenuvo, but you probably know Kim Kardashian. Or perhaps you know about Prenuvo because of Kim Kardashian.
Prenuvo offers whole-body MRI scans for $2500. About 3-4% of people get something discovered, 10% have detected changes that require follow-ups.
Opinions about the usefulness of these scans are diverse, with some hesitation on the clinical side.
At HLTH Europe, the CEO Andrew Lacy explained:
🤔 How Prenuvo uses influencer marketing to attract new customers,
🤔 whole-body MRI scans in light of other preventive whole-body scans and the emerging field of liquid biopsies,
🤔 affordability/ scans as a status symbol,
🤔 the future of prevention,
... and more.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: fodh.substack.com -
If you ever want to go to a healthcare innovation conference that doesn’t shy away from potentially controversive topics, HLTH is your place to go. In June 2024, the conference, which attracts 12,000 people in the US, came to Europe. At the center of the exhibition hall stood the Heart Stage focused on topics related to women’s health. Around it were the exhibitor booth and other stages, each designed with a different theme, each like a theatre setup that made speakers feel like stars. Why do people love going to HLTH? Because it’s focused on the experience of the attendees in “a little extra” way. The ticket includes meals, music, there were massage and hair salon in the middle of the exhibition floor, lots of evening networking events, from more formal but still unusual ones, such as the Phillips reception in a museum, to the closing evening with a concert by The Libertines. When the experience is good, and festival-live, it attracts people. When people come, you very quicky attract VIPs of the industry, who many hope to meet and do business with. Win win. In this episode, you will hear impressions and insights from speakers and attendees of the event. You will hear about: partnerships and investment in Europe, women’s health, the German market, what companies don’t understand about patient engagement, and AI.
Speakers:
John Halamka, President of Mayo Clinic Platform,
Sara Schmachtenberg, Digital Health Venture Expert / Head of Data and Analytics, Europe & USA at Galen Growth,
Simon Phillip Rost, the Chief Marketing Officer at GE Healthcare,
Jen Horonjeff, PhD, Founder and CEO of Savvy Cooperative, and Ronnie Sharpe, co-founder and COO at Savvy Cooperative,
Christophe Jauquet, Author & Professional Keynote Speaker on how business & technology shape a healthier, happier, more sustainable future.
Dorothée Marie-Louise Doepfer, Deputy Head of Digital Labs / Program Management Digital Health Accelerator & Community Building & Co-organizer Berlin Institute of Health at Charité.
www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: fodh.substack.com -
Debates around equity and equality, especially concerning men and women and female representation, can become heated and divisive quickly.
For a long time, female bodies have been perceived merely as male bodies with different reproductive organs. However, the differences go beyond that: 80% of people with autoimmune conditions are women, 66% of Alzheimer's disease patients are women, and symptoms of cardiovascular diseases present differently in women and men, among other disparities. These health issues significantly impact women's productivity.
In today's episode, you will hear a recording from the Healthcare Business Women Ljubljana meetup focused on women's health.
Joy Rios, founder of HIT Like a Girl Media joined the discussion on women's health and how the unique aspects of women's health are impacting digital health companies and businesses. While less than a quarter of CEOs in digital health companies are women, in femtech companies, 76% of founders, co-founders, and CEOs are women.
Website: www.facesofdigitalhealth.com
Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Show notes:
[00:02:00] Guest Speaker: Joy Rios
[00:03:00] Current State of Women's Health
Common associations with women's health: menstrual health apps (Clue), pelvic floor training (Elvie), sexual health (Rosy).
Innovations in women’s health: apps for sexual assault victims, and addressing menopause and ovarian health.
[00:04:00] Research and Development
Only 4% of R&D budgets historically went into women's health topics.
Inclusion of women in clinical trials has improved, but gaps remain in medical device trials.
[00:05:00] Challenges and Biases
[00:06:00] Policy and Investment
White House initiative and Melinda French Gates’ $2 billion investment in removing barriers for women.
[00:16:00] Impact of Abortion Rights on Women's Health
Roe v. Wade overturned, affecting access to abortion and impacting startups in the field.
Differences in state laws create challenges in providing consistent healthcare.
[00:22:00] Inspiring Developments
Policy changes in Mexico leading to increased female representation in politics.
Mexico’s progressive stance on women in leadership positions.
[00:26:00] Advice for Women in Healthcare Business
Identify unique opportunities and unmet needs in healthcare.
Understand regulations and compliance.
Build a supportive community and collaborate. -
Rome was buzzing with digital health at the end of May as the HIMSS Europe conference took place at La Nuova Congress Center. Delegates from 80 countries and representatives of health ministries of 20 countries marked the event with discussions about the implementation of EHDS, the EU AI Act, and more.
In this episode, a few participants share their impressions from the discussions at the conference and the current state of healthcare digitalization in Europe.
You will hear from:
Jordi Piera-Jiménez. Director of the Digital Health Strategy Office, Catalan Health Service, who shared his view and experience on data management and data standards,
Rachel Dunscombe , CEO of openEHR foundation and former the UK AI council member leading on AI in digital health and care, who presented the discussions on AI,
Svava María Atladóttir, Executive Director of Development, Landspítali National University Hospital Iceland, about what it takes to build a new hospital which is what she needs to do by 2030,
Nana Odom, Director of Clinical Engineering at the Cleveland Clinic in London, who shared her advice for clinical engineers,
Diana van Stijn, Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of Lapsi Health and resident of Pediatrics at UMC Amsterdam, who talked about the doctor’s perspective on the use of tech and upskilling,
Luke Evason, Consultant and Monica Kleiijn Evason, Leadership Coach and Book Author, who both talked about the patient perspective on gaps in healthcare, particulary at the transfer of children going from pediatric to adult care.
Data quality is key for quality AI, another big topic globally, with regulation outlined in Europe with the EU AI Act. Where are discussions in healthcare? The EU AI Act is here, and discussions now resolve around implementation and technical questions.
The potential of data is huge… if the data is of good quality. This doesn’t only refer to clinical notes doctors input in electronic health records, but also how other data from devices, laboratories and more flows into EHR. Oftentimes, hospitals still battle with lack of interoperability and manual transcriptions between systems or from devices for vital signs, infusions pumps, etc. to clinical systems. This creates opportunities for errors. Hospitals that have all the systems connected, need to be mindful of other challenges. Cybersecurity went well beyond teaching employees to spot phishing email. Now, third party devices can pose a cybersecurity risk, creating a whole new set of challenges and requirements.
Care delivery is there for patients. Various topics were addressed at HIMSS about patients - from digital health literacy, concerns and hopes around the European health data space, there was an interoperability showcase on the showfloor which demonstrated the benefits of the European Patient Summary when patients travel abroad, of the impact of cross-border health that gives clinicians in regions outside patient’s residence valuable information about their health state. Many things are still missing though. One of them being improved patient journey, especially at the transit from pediatric to adult care.
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According to WHO, the global cost associated with medication errors is 42 billion US dollars. Errors can happen at the point of prescribing, transcribing from one system to the other, or administration, when the wrong patient is given either the wrong drug or the wrong dose. Medication administration errors can be prevented with the introduction of closed-loop medication management, where all points of medication handling are connected and done electronically; even medication administration is done with the help of barcode scanning of the patient barcode and medication barcode. Three European specialists from the Netherlands, UK, and Belgium recently started a European project, Asclepius, which advocated for the introduction of closed-loop medication management systems in the hospitals. They connected with colleagues from UK, France, Iceland, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden to strive for alignment on the European level. So in today’s discussion, you will hear from Patrick van Oirschot, Patrick Koch and Francine de Stoppelaar talk about the need for improved medication safety.
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Newsletter: https://fodh.substack.com/
Show notes:
Main Discussion:
[00:01:00] Medication administration errors can be prevented with the introduction of closed-loop medication management, where all points of medication handling are connected electronically.
Guest Introductions:
[00:04:00] Patrick van Oswalt ("Pat"), a veteran in hospital pharmacy with a focus on digitalization and closed-loop medication management strategies.
[00:05:00] Francine de Stoppelaer, a clinical pharmacist with a 25-year career in healthcare leadership, notably involved in building and operating the Cleveland Clinic London.
[00:06:00] Patrick, with a background in medical imaging and pharmacy automation, emphasizes the need for digital transformation in hospital pharmacies.
Challenges and Solutions:
[00:08:00] Discussion on medication safety across Europe, highlighting the significant number of medication errors and associated costs. Specific examples include 19,000 deaths per year in Germany due to medication errors.
[00:10:00] Explanation of closed-loop medication management and barcode scanning at the bedside to ensure the right medication reaches the right patient.
[00:14:00] Different approaches to medication management in various countries, focusing on the importance of digital and automated processes.
Implementation Strategies:
[00:16:00] Discussion on where hospitals should start when considering digital transformation for medication safety, highlighting the importance of electronic prescribing and bedside scanning.
[00:18:00] The experience of implementing a fully digital hospital at Cleveland Clinic London, including workforce planning and gaining buy-in from healthcare professionals.
Project Overview:
[00:20:00] Introduction to the Asclepius project and its goals to harmonize medication management workflows across Europe.
[00:22:00] Highlighting the need for standardization in medication databases and the varying approaches to medication management across different countries.
Impact and Future Directions:
[00:24:00] The potential impact of digital and automated medication management on patient safety, efficiency, and sustainability.
[00:26:00] Encouraging adoption of best practices and the importance of measuring and monetizing the benefits of closed-loop systems.
[00:28:00] Challenges in convincing decision-makers and ensuring effective implementation amidst existing workloads. - Näytä enemmän
