Healthcare Weekly: At the Forefront of Healthcare Innovation

Getting Venture Capital in Healthcare: Everything You Need to Know

Today’s podcast guest is Richard Lim. Richard is co-founder and Managing Director of GSR Ventures. His company is a global investment firm with $3 billion under management and consists of independently managed funds in China, Singapore, and the US.

GSR Ventures invests in early stage technology companies across the globe helping transformative companies change the healthcare ecosystem with their innovations.

Richard joins us today to discuss AI adoption in the medical field, the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare and the stages of securing funding for entrepreneurs.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

• The difficulty of convincing medical professionals to adopt technology

• How COVID-19 has led to an increase in telemedicine adoption

• The potential impacts of Artificial Intelligence on healthcare

• Combining traditional tech and AI in the healthcare industry

• The types of healthcare companies likely to be funded during the pandemic

• The important role AI systems play in Radiology (also covered here, here and here)

• The difference between the US and China when it comes to adopting AI solutions

• Using AI systems in pharmaceuticals to drive new treatments

• When to seek funding as an entrepreneur

• The extent to which AI could automate physician workload

Today’s guest is Eric Peck, co-founder and CEO of Swoop Aero. Swoop Aero is an Australian-based medical supply logistics company that utilizes drones to deliver critical medical supplies to doctors and patients in need across the world. In addition to Australia, they also operate in Malawi and Mozambique to deliver high value, in-demand medical supplies cutting down delivery time and costs associated with moving medical supplies from point A to point B.

With Swoop Aero, Eric hopes to increase the accessibility of medical supplies in communities across the globe while improving efficiency and speed of deliveries.

Eric joins us today to discuss his air force background, the inspiration behind Swoop Aero, along with common questions and challenges they face.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

• Swoop Aero’s end-user technology vs. operations technology

• Future scalability and ease of implementation

• Proactively battling hacking and security concerns

• How Swoop Aero compares to other emerging drone deliver services

• The impact of COVID-19 on delivery dockets

• The future of combining autonomous and traditional logistics channels

• Swoop Aero’s client base

• Overcoming the challenges of operating in perceived high-risk countries

• Environmental and operational risk factors

• Long term differentiators between Swoop Aero and competitors

Today’s guest is Ahmer Inam. Ahmer serves as Chief AI Officer at Pactera EDGE and has a background working with industry leaders in his field of AI and predictive analytics. Ahmer has worked previously for the International Institute of Analytics, Cambria Health Solutions and NIKE.

As an excellent AI generalist, Ahmer joins us today to discuss various use cases on how artificial intelligence can improve the delivery of care in the healthcare industry. He also includes some thoughts on how AI can help with logistics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

• What artificial intelligence is

• How AI can apply to the healthcare industry

• Automation and the importance of data sharing

• Unsupervised learning models

• Supervised learning models

• Reinforced learning models

• Solving logistics and supply chain issues during a pandemic with AI

• Data bias: What causes it and how to prevent it

• How fear of new technology prevents mass adoption

• The human element of AI

• Taking calculated risks with AI adoption

In this episode we welcome Greg Malpass, CEO of Traction on Demand. His company has launched a free, open-source mobile application for healthcare providers that are fighting the COVID-19 outbreak. The app is called Traction Thrive and helps to manage healthcare equipment during the pandemic.

Traction Thrive is a new initiative which came about as a reaction to the ongoing epidemic, so Greg takes us through his thought process on why this app was prioritized and built over any other ideas. He explains the user experience and typical workflows for healthcare workers and how different resources can be assigned based on a supply and demand algorithm via this new and innovative software.

Traction Thrive is available only in Canada right now, but Greg explains that his company is working hard to make it available in the United States and other countries. In addition to this timely app, Greg also talks about other useful tools created by Traction on Demand. Codrin and Greg later share their thoughts on how healthcare might be changed forever because of COVID-19.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

• How Traction on Demand decided to built and launch Traction Thrive

• The experience that a hospital worker has when using the app.

• The growth trajectory that Traction Thrive has already experienced.

• How data is leveraged in healthcare to make better decisions.

• Other service offerings / products built by Traction on Demand.

• Why we need progressive solutions now more than ever in healthcare and beyond.

• How companies are forced to innovate during COVID-19

Learn more about the company by visiting: www.tractionondemand.com

Michael Morgan is Healthcare Weekly’s podcast guest of the day. He is the CEO of Updox, a health tech collaboration platform that offers appointment reminders, secure texting and messaging, e-faxing, live video interoffice chatting, and a recently announced telehealth platform that can be used by doctors and physicians all over the country.

Updox allows health professionals to communicate more efficiently with both practicing colleagues and patients.

The company offers integrated solutions where health care providers can use one collaborative platform instead of multiple, disjointed communication channels.

Recently, Updox partnered with ShareCare (check our podcast episode with ShareCare’s CEO here) since they share a common vision. Updox can help health organizations save time and money and even increase their profits.

Topics Covered on today’s podcast:

• The all-in-one platform offered by Updox

• Their new partnership with ShareCare

• How Updox’s telemedicine solution is different from other alternatives available on the market today

• How COVID-19 restrictions are encouraging businesses to adopt remote monitoring solutions

• The benefits gained by medical practitioners when they use Updox

• The biggest trends emerging from dealing with COVID-19 among healthcare professionals

America’s original response to the coronavirus was a total disaster. In January and February, no one thought twice of this epidemic - at least, no one in a position to actually do something meaningful about it. With so much fake news floating around, from both sides of the aisle, it’s really difficult to figure out what’s real and what’s speculation.

Today’s guest is Dr. Rishi Desai, Chief Medical Officer of Osmosis.

Dr. Desai joins us today to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, how the response to the disease has impacted the scale of the outbreak and answers questions regarding testing, the CDC and what to expect moving forward. He shares his extremely valuable insights to help us understand what has gone wrong in terms of America’s approach to the novel coronavirus.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

• What could have been done differently in response to COVID-19

• The reason for testing delays and shortages in the United States

• The response of the CDC

• Progression of the treatment protocols

• The strains placed on the healthcare system due to poor planning

• The validity and safety of anti-viral treatments in the context of COVID-19

• Reasons for the continued case increases

• Why the United States has struggled more than other countries

• Possible projections for the course of the disease

• How pre-existing conditions have had an impact on case numbers

More info:

About the guest:

Dr. Desai has a background in public health, has worked as a pediatric epidemiologist, and has also served as an epidemic intelligence service officer for the CDC. He has investigated emerging pandemics in America (and the entire world) and was also part of the Division of Viral Diseases within the CDC.

About the company he works for:

Osmosis is a learning platform for clinicians, medical students and caregivers alike. Osmosis believes learning should be simple, enjoyable and efficient and offers many different tools to help you achieve your learning goals such as video, mobile platforms and high-yield notes.

Today’s guest on Healthcare Weekly is Jeff Arnold. He founded WebMD in 1998 and is now the CEO of Sharecare, a digital health company.

Sharecare provides personalized content to help people manage their health, adjust their behavior, and improve their overall health.

When Jeff started WebMD, only 26% of Americans had internet access. Since then, the number has increased to 90%, thus making content consumption much more accessible and opening up so many healthcare opportunities. Jeff explains how artificial intelligence can and will play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare services in the United states, as it can be used to organize patient data, go through lists of information, learn from phone conversations, and so on. However, its role is only supportive to doctors and will never be able to replace them.

Topics covered:

• Establishing trust in content

• Distinguishing between fake and real news in the age of Covid-19

• The impact of COVID-19 on how we perceive content and data, plus Sharecare’s Real Age Test

• The fear of COVID-19 case numbers increasing again when restrictions are lifted and the solutions deployed by Sharecare to help mitigate a new wave of infections.

• How employers can get insights from health data and act on it to keep work environments safe and secure

• The future of the integrated consumer path between informational content and clinical decision making

• Predictions of the future of healthcare, Artificial Intelligence, and the myth of giving up on doctors

On today’s episode, our guest is Dave Chase, Cofounder and Creator of Health Rosetta. His company provides a blueprint to benefit brokers and managers on how to spend less on employee health benefits while still providing better outcomes for these employees.

In theory, self-insured employers should be saving a portion of their normal expenses on health care, but their carriers are preventing that from happening via price gouging and surprise bills. Health Rosetta started working as a non-profit by teaching ways to spend less on health care and through professional accreditations. They have also set up a public benefit court to be able to achieve further heights. A lot of us don’t know the full dynamics of our health care payments, but Dave explains that once we start learning, we’ll be able to save more by getting rid of all the useless liabilities.

Topics covered:

• The way health benefits work in the U.S. from the top of the pyramid to the bottom

• The power of insurance companies and pharmacies on the largest health benefit managements

• Increasing health care costs on employers and employees due to the opaque ways adopted by insurance plans

• Self-insured employers

• The ways through which Health Rosetta can tackle the highlighted issues and benefit employers

• The differences that make Dave’s approach better than the current establishment

• The role of doctors in the current crisis

• Savings and reductions which Health Rosetta would contribute

• Using a technology platform to help benefit managers configure their health care plans

Today’s guest is Terrance Ryan, CEO of HealthChampion, a digital health analytics company focused on returning us to a people-driven healthcare ecosystem. HealthChampion is focused on digitizing and analyzing healthcare, empowering consumers to have greater control over their health data and decisions.

HealthChampion works like a digital health passport. They currently offer their app for free, with a goal of rolling out a premium edition in the future. Many individuals have multiple health-related apps on their phones, as well as other health-related devices such as smart watches, fitness trackers, and even scales. These apps and devices are part of their daily lives. HealthChampion allows the consumer to consolidate information from all these areas, as well as electronic healthcare records. Over 400 apps and devices are compatible with HealthChampion, with more being added daily. Using the app, consumers will not only be able to consolidate and learn from their data, but share it in any way they need. This could include sharing health information with a spouse or doctor. HealthChampion is HIPA compliant, and it is up to the consumer to choose what information they want to share and with whom.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

• How HealthChampion works in an end consumer point of view

• Authentication protocols

• How your data is shared with doctors and hospitals

• How integration works within the app

• Future goals for content uploading

• How HealthChampion is planning to help with COVID-19

• Pathways of COVID-19 symptom tracker

• What can be seen on your HealthChampion profile

• Benefits of freely flowing information

• Device compatibility with HealthChampion

• Consumer benefits from being able to access your health information online in one place

• The biggest challenges faced by HealthChampion right now

Today’s guest is Dr. Lucienne Ide. She is the founder of Rimidi, a digital healthcare company that provides cloud-based software and clinical analytics for chronic disease management. Rimidi is now offering a new application to help support clinics during the new COVID-19 outbreak. The app works to screen patients for symptoms or risk factors before they come into the healthcare system. With this enhanced pre-screening, clinics can identify at-risk patients earlier in the process and take the necessary precautions to properly deal with the situation.

Rimidi is working closely with the CDC to ensure the accuracy of questions at a time when information on the virus is changing daily. Survey questions are no longer just for those who have travelled internationally, but for everyone experiencing symptoms as there have now been cases of community spread. The app now works off information regarding symptoms, exposure risk, and travel to identify those who may be at risk.

Rimidi is working to keep their COVID-19 survey as short and simple as possible. Individuals with an appointment will get a text reminding them of their appointment and a link to complete the survey. The survey is web-based to ensure it will function on all devices. If the individual is considered to be at risk, they will be given a number to contact on the next actions they should take.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

Where Rimidi is being rolled out

Identifying and dealing with patients who may have COVID-19

Things that have changed in screening as we learn more about the virus

How the app works to identify at-risk individuals

The user experience with Rimidi

Survey questions that Rimidi uses to identify COVID-19