Podnosis

While there has been a lot of hype about AI radically transforming healthcare, adoption has been slower and more measured than previously predicted. Instead of replacing doctors, clinicians are using AI as a tool to improve everything from their diagnoses to billing practices. Last year, healthcare AI startups raised $12.4 billion. That’s nearly double the previous year. But there are some concerns like with privacy around using patients' data. Fierce’s Senior Editor Heather Landi talks with Dr. John Halamka, who leads Mayo Clinic’s digital health and AI projects to find out about what is standing in the way of more widespread use and what organizations should be doing to protect patients’ data. 

Also on the podcast, we'll discuss social factors that in fact play a significant role in a person’s overall health, like poverty, racism, unequal access to healthcare or lack of education. Healthcare industry insiders are aware of this challenge. So, with that backdrop, payers have invested significantly in bringing on the expertise necessary to tackle these social needs both at scale and across a variety of communities. At UnitedHealthcare, that work is led by Dr. Alex Billioux. He chats with Fierce Healthcare's senior editor Paige Minemeyer to discuss how payers can address social needs to really make a difference in these challenges. 

To learn more about topics in this episode: 

• Executive Spotlight—John Halamka on his move to Mayo Clinic and what excites him about the future of health IT
• One year of COVID: John Halamka reflects on how the pandemic spurred collaboration—and a lot of goat grooming
• Mayo Clinic's Halamka: Telehealth boom slowing, but don't expect it to go back to pre-COVID rates
• Meet the executive leading UnitedHealthcare's social determinants strategy
• Why UnitedHealthcare wants to expand diagnostic codes to the social determinants of health 
• CMS approves first measures to track social determinants at federal level
• Fierce Health Payer Forum

Podnosis is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Heather Landi and Paige Minemyer. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to long-standing health inequities. Data show that Hispanic and Black people are about twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as their white counterparts . This is because of structural inequalities, racial bias or inequitable access to healthcare. Oftentimes, healthcare resources are inadequate in Black neighborhoods because of a history of redlining and other discriminatory practices. As the healthcare industry continues to adjust to a new, post-COVID-19 normal, there has been significant momentum behind addressing health equity challenges. With this backdrop, Humana, one of the country’s largest insurers, hired its first chief health equity officer in 2021: J. Nwando Olayiwola, M.D. Fierce Healthcare senior editor Paige Minemyer talks with Olayiwola about health equity and whether there is a risk the momentum around this issue could slow.  

Also on the podcast, we'll discuss Medicare and the future of telehealth flexibilities. Congress is returning from its monthlong August recess and has a big to-do list. To run down some of the biggest issues facing physicians in Congress for the rest of the year, reporter Robert King talked with Anders Gilberg, the senior vice president of government affairs for the Medical Group Management Association.

To learn more about topics in this episode: 

• Congress is back. Here are 4 things to watch out for, from postponing pay cuts to mental health reform
• Hospitals to Congress: Clock ticking to renew key rural hospital pay programs
• House bill aims to get rid of 2023 Medicare cuts to physicians
• Providers press CMS to pull back 4.5% doc pay cut, call for tweaks to ACO reforms
• ViVE 2022: How UnitedHealth, Humana are thinking about 'techquity'
• Fierce Healthcare's 2021 Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare
• Humana study highlights prevalence of social needs in MA before COVID
• Chutes & Ladders—Humana names first chief health equity officer; Providence promotes execs in integration strategy
• AHIP 2022: How payers could lead the charge in addressing health equity

Podnosis is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Heather Landi and Paige Minemyer. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gun violence is a topic of heated conversation across the country, and the healthcare industry is no exception. A report from the Government Accountability Office documented that each year there are about 30,000 inpatient hospital stays and 50,000 emergency department visits—all because of firearms. In June, the shooting at a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ended with five dead and a renewed focus on firearm safety in healthcare settings. And, numerous studies show that during the pandemic, there was an increase in verbal and physical violence against healthcare providers. Fierce Healthcare's Dave Muoio chats with Nigel Girgrah, M.D., the chief wellness officer at Ochsner Health, to talk about how that emotional toll impacts care in hospitals and what organizations should be doing to support their workforce’s mental health.

Also on the podcast is venture capitalist Deena Shakir talking to Fierce's Anastassia Gliadkovskaya through how investors are approaching the current market and what healthcare companies can be doing to attract their attention. All eyes are on the economy, today as the U.S. enters a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like other parts of the world, the country is teetering on the edge of a recession. Interest rates are up in an attempt to curb inflation. Stocks have plummeted, M&A transactions have slowed, and venture capital funding is also to be more restrained. 

To learn more about topics in this episode: 

• 5 dead after shooting at Tulsa's Saint Francis Hospital: 'This campus is sacred ground for our community'
• Surgeon general issues landmark report with new solutions to combat crippling worker burnout issue
• Lawmakers introduce bill criminalizing violence, threats against hospital employees
• Trauma surgeons detail the horror of mass shootings in the wake of Uvalde and call for reforms
• National Nurses United survey shows spikes in workplace violence, staffing issues remain
• Here's why some VC investors say an economic downturn can be good for digital health
• Market downturn dampens digital health funding, M&A in 2022. These sectors raked in the most cash
• Global digital health funding falls 36% with fewer megarounds, IPOs
• Digital health funding boom slows in Q1. Was 2021 the high watermark for investment?
• Healthcare M&A slowed in Q1, but investment in IT, telehealth is expected to remain hot

Podnosis is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Heather Landi and Paige Minemyer. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past 10 years, investments in femtech have skyrocketed. Femtech includes products and apps, like the popular period tracker apps and even diagnostic tools. But two months ago, the Supreme court overturned Roe V. Wade, and this decision could negatively impact important research. We'll chat with Bethany Corbin, a Femtech lawyer, to find out how this decision could impact the future of the sector. If people stop using femtech apps, there is a possibility that population health data will be less comprehensive, and consequently, healthcare will suffer. 

Dr. Cameron Matthews also joins the podcast. She entered Cityblock Health, a startup focused on providing care for lower income patients, in January of this year. Matthews comes from a background of helping underserved populations. Now she focuses on larger health policy issues. We talk to her on the issues that impact underserved patient populations, like social determinants of health or access to care and financing. 

To learn more about topics in this episode: 

• HHS issues guidance on patient privacy in wake of SCOTUS abortion ruling 
• Post Dobbs fallout tracker—VA to provide abortions, counseling regardless of state restrictions 
• Digital abortion providers, doctors brace for complex legal landscape after SCOTUS ruling
• Fertility support startups banked $345M in 2021. Here's why the business of family planning is booming
• From CVS to Google, here are 20 healthcare executives to watch 
• How a new wave of technology startups is tackling social determinants of health challenges
• Cityblock Health raises another megaround of cash, boosting valuation to $5.7B
• Fierce JPM Week: Cityblock's Ajayi on how to build from COVID's spotlight on health disparities

Podnosis is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Heather Landi and Paige Minenyer. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.