Key Topics Discussed:

Introduction to Health Strategy:

• Definition and components of health strategy.
• The role of technology and policy in achieving health-related outcomes.

Health Equity Strategy:

• Importance of considering social identities in healthcare.
• Efforts by organizations like CMS, NCQA, and the Joint Commission to measure and address health disparities.
• The necessity of stratifying data by race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Patient Education and Advocacy:

• Strategies to educate and involve patients in their own care.
• The role of organizations like Healthwise (now part of WebMD Ignite) in patient education.

The Role of AI in Healthcare:

• Success stories and challenges, including Johns Hopkins' sepsis prediction model and IBM Watson's issues with cancer treatment recommendations.
• Ethical considerations and the need for patient and consumer advocate involvement in AI development.

Integrating Social Determinants of Health:

• The impact of social determinants on health outcomes.
• The role of healthcare organizations in addressing social needs like housing, transportation, and food insecurity.

Future Directions and Ethical AI:

• The importance of including diverse perspectives in AI development.
• Potential solutions to bridge the technology gap in social care services.

Key Quotes:

• Dave Foster: "Organizations can't just submit their average scores for quality measures; they have to start looking at the data, stratifying it by social identity characteristics."
• Angelo Kastroulis: "Being able to put AI in its proper place is critically important. We need to understand and mitigate its potential biases."

Resources Mentioned:

• Healthwise (now part of WebMD Ignite)
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
• Johns Hopkins Sepsis Prediction Model
• IBM Watson in Healthcare

Action Items for Listeners:

• Subscribe: Follow Counting Sand on your favorite podcast platform.
• Follow: Connect with Angelo Kastroulis on Twitter @AngeloKastr and LinkedIn at AngeloK1.
• Connect: Reach out to Dave Foster on LinkedIn at DaveFoster.

Final Thoughts:

The episode emphasizes the critical role of technology and patient advocacy in advancing health equity. By incorporating diverse perspectives and ethical considerations into AI development, the healthcare system can better address disparities and improve outcomes for all patients.

Host: Angelo Kastroulis

Executive Producer: Náture Kastroulis

Producer: Albert Perrotta

Communications Strategist: Albert Perrotta

Video/Audio Engineer: Ryan Thompson

Music: All Things Grow by Oliver Worth