This Week in Health Tech

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of TWIHT we focus on the ONC's Cures Act Final act which is all about "Empowering Patients with Their Health Record in a Modern Health IT Economy".The ONC Cures Act Final Rule implements interoperability requirements outlined in the Cures Act. Vik and Jimmy jump into the details about how this Act helps Patients. Putting the patient first in health technology enables the health care system to deliver:Transparency into the cost and outcomes of their careCompetitive options in getting medical careModern smartphone apps to provide them convenient access to their recordsAn app economy that provides patients, physicians, hospitals, payers, and employers with innovation and choiceVik mentions about the API access that has already been enabled by EHRs and how it is allowing patients to access their health information on iPhone and Android devices. Vik indicates that this ruling will spur up an App Economy, starting from purchasing a health service by comparing services and pricing provided by healthcare providers. Another example would be the way information would be available to patients instead of the standard patient portal, where understanding the health / medical record is not very easy for most patients. This is going to promote better health and better outcomes since it puts patients first. Jimmy comments that this does sound amazing for patients but could be bad for bad performing clinics and hospitals. Vik said it will definitely increase patient quality because now the data available will show patient outcomes for every provider. Vik and Jimmy also discuss privacy and security concerns. Vik discusses that you still need to follow the security protocols, OAuth2 to access patient information. There is also governance and authorization and it's not just open data. Vik compares it to banking budgeting apps that have to be authorized by the user and also need a valid back-end connection with the bank. The same idea will be used with the FHIR API access in healthcare and privacy and security concerns will be addressed. Jimmy asks if everyone is for this ruling and Vik indicates that not everyone is. Big Tech (Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon), even more EHRs (Cerner, AllScripts, Meditech, etc). are for the ruling. Epic EHR did oppose this ruling based on patient privacy concerns. Vik comments that innovation is also going to benefit clinicians as the app economy will lead to the development of many apps for every service provided by healthcare. Jimmy and Vik also comment on few other examples including sharing medical record between clinicians and hospitals. Website: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.comTwitter: @TWIHT1Tido Inc.: https://www.tidoinc.com/Music Provided by Soundstripe.comLinkedin: Vik PatelLinkedin: Jimmy KimSupport the show (http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.com/)Support the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of This Week in Health Tech, Vik and Jimmy focus on telehealth experience and making changes to provide an optimal user experience for providers and patients. Like it or not, this pandemic has pushed telehealth to the forefront and usage has gone up more than a hundred percent. Vik flips the script on Jimmy and in this episode wants to ask questions to Jimmy, so listeners learn audio, video, and other technical aspects of a video visit from Jimmy. They start out by focusing on audio since that according to Jimmy is the number one important factor of a video visit. Even though it needs to be visual, is because audio adds depth to the visual. You can't really show empathy that well on a video visit but using audio you can clearly hear and show empathy. Especially dealing w/ sensitive health information.Jimmy likes apple AirPods because it allows you to move around freely and the sound quality is the top-notch however battery life of the AirPods is definitely challenging. Vik and Jimmy comment that most times it seems that physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners use mobile phones or tablets for the virtual visit, and it does not seem like there is a dedicated desk for virtual visits. Vik indicates that he uses a wired Samsung Q2U microphone, it was inexpensive, and the sound quality is quite good. Jimmy uses a Blue Yeti microphone which has lots of settings for a single speaker or group of speakers. Microphones were out of stock when everyone started working from home but it does look like more microphones are now available in online stores. Vik indicates that connectivity is also very crucial for a video visit and providers and patients and recommends using home internet connection over phone wireless connection for better quality. If possible to use a wired connection, especially for providers in a hospital or clinic setting, then that should be used for better quality.Jimmy comments about video quality and there are many kinds of video cameras available for desktops. There are even tools available to make the high-quality back camera of a phone into your main video conference camera. There are also surround cameras available for work or home office, so even if you move around and look at different screens, you won't go out of focus on the video call. Jimmy recommends having the video at face level, it should never be below face level. The other aspect of making the telehealth experience seamless is that the visitor experience starts with scheduling the video visit. Patients should be able to easily pick open timeslots, pre-register online, and then receive very clear video visit instructions. This compares to the traditional way when a patient's visit experience is impacted by parking, building elevator, wayfinding, etc. Jimmy also recommends having very good online manners and having a quiet space without distractions for the video visit. It is also a good idea to close apps on your phone or tablet to improve performance and reduce distractions before the telehealth visit. Website: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.comTwitter: @TWIHT1Tido Inc.: https://www.tidoinc.com/Music Provided by Soundstripe.comLinkedin: ViSupport the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailIn the latest episode of This Week in Health Tech we welcome Tony Welch, Senior VP and Chief Human Resources Officer, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.Vik mentions that actually, Tony Welch hired him in his first hospital job, at Hardin Memorial Health in Kentucky. We jump into the COVID-19 situation and how it has affected remote working at Phoebe Putney. Vik explains that Tido's team is used to remote working but it is definitely different for hospital staff. Tony indicated that they had to pretty much write a new manual. Tony explains that Phoebe had a surge of COVID-19 patients at the same time as New York City. PPE was a challenge with a huge population of COVID patients. Phoebe had the foresight and did have six months' worth of PPE stock however because of the surge, they used up 6 months stock within 7 days! Because of the highly infectious disease, they had to dispose of PPE gear after each use. However industrious staff at Phoebe created mask guards so N65 mask can be re-used without having to be disposed of after each use. Phoebe had to repurpose beds for COVID-19 patients. They also created a labor pool that was managed by the Human Resources team. Staff was re-assigned jobs, probably way below their skill level. Jimmy asked if staff morale was affected by this but Tony shared that the staff handled it as well as they could. They took new job duties to help out with the crisis. Facilities in the area actually followed Phoebe's lead. "Emergencies tend to be a morale booster," Tony said and that was true with this situation. Vik asked how was the communication handled with this crisis in keeping staff updated. Tony shared that Phoebe stood up a command center to deal with crisis communication. The Command Center was manned for 17 hours a day to ensure staff was kept updated.CEO and leadership team had decided early on that they were going to be very transparent with staff and with the community. They have a newsletter that communicated about challenges and news. They also started a new video series and the link to the video is shared via email for all staff. There was also the collaboration with hospitals in the region however Phoebe was affected way more than others in the region. Vik indicates that with Tido's partners they are seeing huge uptake on digital transformation to support new digital tools example telehealth, covid testing/check-in tools, etc and if Phoebe has seen a change in the digital strategy. Tony shared that telehealth was in the works for a couple of years but COVID definitely escalated the project implementation and now they are seeing more than 70-80 telehealth visits a week and it works great for chronic health patients example diabetic patients. Lastly, we dig into the social unrest and changes happening or needed in our society. Tony indicated that Phoebe wants to meet the needs of the community and wants to represent the community appropriately in Phoebe staff. They have done a diversity focus group and are standing up a diversity council. They also had to let go of some employees because their ideas of social justice and Phoebe did not align who disparaged people on social media. Tony indicated that they are also looking at their metrics including generational mixes. For example, the biggest number of staff is millennials however they are not represented aSupport the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailWe welcome Laura O'Toole with Santa Rosa Consulting Inc. in this episode of This Week in Health Tech and she presents a very candid and insightful view on the current healthcare crisis and how to be better prepared for the future.We start out with the introduction of Laura and Santa Rosa Consulting, a healthcare-focused company.Vik comments about the new virtual world we live in and Laura reflects on how it has affected the way her staff communicates with clients and how she encourages engagement even internally within the company with online happy hour and other ways.Laura talks about how healthcare had to adjust rapidly in the last 4-5 months and digital transformation taking place in healthcare.We comment about interoperability and taking advantage of cloud infrastructure for rapid implementation of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Mobile Apps.Laura comments about test automation which is an integral part of digital transformation especially with the addition of so many digital tools.We comment about tools that can be used for better communication like Intranet so companies can keep staff updated no matter where employees are located.Website: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.comTwitter: @TWIHT1Tido Inc.: https://www.tidoinc.com/Santa Rosa Consulting Inc.: https://www.santarosaconsulting.com/Music Provided by Soundstripe.comLinkedin: Vik PatelLinkedin: Jimmy KimLinkedIn: Laura O'TooleSupport the show (http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.com/)Support the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of TWIHT, Vik and Jimmy comment on security and privacy in this new normal of COVID-19 crisis. We start by talking about the latest in health tech. Vik talks about digital strategy: telehealth, AI, mobile apps, and how healthcare systems in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis are having to figure out how to update their strategy and make use of innovative tools. Jimmy compares similar situations in the fitness industry. It's all virtual. Vik agrees, that lot of patient care can happen virtually and it continues to grow. But again that is why we wanted to talk about security and privacy concerns with the new virtual and remote services. We start with the tracing apps. Vik provides an example with Norwegian public health who developed a mobile tracing app and was pushed to the public. However, the Norwegian privacy and security agency indicated that the app did not comply with the privacy laws, and the Norwegian tracing app had to be suspended. They were forced to delete all the data collected via the tracing app. Jimmy reminds us that we discussed the confusion around the data governance and policies in the last episode w/ Unmesh in the future of healthcare episode 19 of TWIHT. Vik and Jimmy then talk about working from home and authentication from home. This is where multi-factor authentication can provide added security for access to networks or apps.Security is an even bigger concern because the percentage of employees working from home is way higher than before COVID-19 times. Vik mentions that the biggest way hackers get access to networks is through phishing emails. Especially, nowadays, hackers will use COVID-19 related phishing emails to lure people into clicking links to download or log in or filling out a form. It looks legitimate and when you are not working from home, your guard is down, so it is easier to become a victim to phishing emails. Jimmy mentions a couple of people that did fall victim to these phishing emails and these are educated people who are aware of phishing emails. Jimmy and Vik talk about security tool examples like Microsoft security center with Microsoft 365 and Azure. There are alerts available that are customizable. It monitors the pattern of traffic and app usage and alerts users if the network or app usage is outside of the norm. Vik mentions that they are seeing increased demand of test automation especially with increase in enhanced digital strategy. He mentions examples w/ telehealth, a mobile app for COVID-19 testing, or patient-centric apps for accessing information. Using test automation, it is possible to test and validate applications against hundreds of combinations of devices and browsers. Test Automation also helps the testing and validation of web and mobile applications as they are updated with continuous and regression testing. It is important not just for user experience but also for security and privacy to make sure all healthcare apps are thoroughly tested and validated. Vik comments about disaster recovery but in this new normal, it is also necessary to think about how will organization deal with the loss of key personnel in a department example loss of a key integration engineer or system administrator. This is why documentation and disaster recovery drills are very crucial.Jimmy and Vik then comment about ransomware attacks and how the number of attacks has gone up. A lot of theseSupport the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of TWIHT, Vik and Jimmy talk about readiness post pandemic. They comment about planning and changes healthcare organizations will need to make to incorporate tools and workflows to be better prepared for next pandemic. Vik provides examples of tools being used at Cleveland Clinic and other leading healthcare organizations.They comment about the exponential growth of Telehealth usage since COViD-19 and how it is being implemented.Virtual teams is not just used for patient-doctor communication but also used by clinical care teams for care coordination. Example use of Microsoft Teams in healthcare organizations.Vik comments about how organizations will need to make changes to quickly adapt and implement  new workflows and tools next time we face COViD-19 or any other pandemic.Cloud integration framework deployment using Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS or Google Cloud will become crucial for healthcare organizations as per Vik and Jimmy.Twitter: @TWIHT1TWIHT: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.comTido Inc: https://www.tidoinc.comMusic Provided by Soundstripe.comLinkedin: Vik PatelLinkedin: Jimmy KimLink to Cell Phone tracking mentioned in the podcasthttps://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/phone-data-reveals-who-is-staying-home-during-covid-19-1.4892194Support the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailA very exciting packed episode with Unmesh Srivastava in this episode of TWIHT.Unmesh introduces P3 Health Partners, a health population management group that wants to shift the industry's focus from managing illness to cultivating wellness.Unmesh manages everything digital at P3 in his role as CTO at P3. We start out with understanding the timing of revamping and redoing digital strategy at P3.Unmesh explains the need for this and how Big Tech (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon) is jumping into healthcare. We all agreed that there needs to be disruption in healthcare and it is the right timing, though obviously no one predicted COVID-19 situation. Vik talks about Big Tech, and mentions that the status quo needs to change in healthcare. Vik mentions Big Tech being questioned by Congress in the antitrust hearings. Vik mentions how combining healthcare data with all the other data that Big Tech already collects is definitely taking it to the next level and probably needs to be concerned about privacy. Jimmy questions why Big Tech is so eager to jump into healthcare? Unmesh indicates healthcare is close to 18% of GDP and with high costs of healthcare, it is not the most efficient system and needs to be disrupted. Unmesh provides disruption examples of Amazon and Uber in retail and transportation resp.Vik comments that at the end of the day it is about money and Big Tech sees a huge opportunity. Unmesh explains P3 data fabric and how it all integrates data from different sources (HIE, payers, provider clinics, and more). Unmesh then digs into more details about P3 data strategy and APIs. Build patient and provider experiences based on the normalized data. Vik indicates a very similar strategy at Tido Inc., using Smart Integration, Tido's team is working w/ health partners to normalize data so it can be used for example by artificial intelligence or machine learning tools, care-coordination tools such Teams, and patient-facing mobile apps. Unmesh mentions value of data is realized when you can drive actions from the collected data and provides an example of identifying high-risk patients and better remote monitoring. Vik mentions the example of re-admissions in hospitals and costing a lot for healthcare and so it does make sense to use data to identify patients and also notify physicians using the Secure Notify tool. The group then digs into Big Tech and regulations. There are no policies and regulations or governance that Big Tech can also follow. Jimmy, Unmesh, and Vik then talk about future of healthcare. Did heavy-handedness and compliance in healthcare hold back healthcare innovation? Vik mentions that actually it might be more related to model in healthcare and getting paid for solving the problem after the fact. Value-based model will help innovation and keeping patients healthy. Unmesh discusses about moving away from encounter-based healthcare to value-based healthcare.  Unmesh thinks future of healthcare will be less episodic and more continuous care. The group talks about an exciting future where we are constantly monitored in different ways like wearables or even chip in the body but it will be more active than reactive. Twitter: @TWIHT1TWIHT: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.com Tido Inc: https:/Support the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailWe welcome John Marchica, CEO, Darwin Research. Darwin Research. Darwin Research provides research and subject matter expertise for health systems, #ACOs, Payers, Home Health, #Pharmaceuticals, and more. John introduces Darwin Research and then discusses the current coronavirus numbers in Arizona. John indicates that current #research and surveys are tough because the #COVID-19 situation is very fluid and changes from week to week. Vik agrees that this is why it is very difficult for healthcare executives to plan for current and future times. Group dives into #Telehealth implementations and it will be important to revisit these implementations because a lot of telehealth implementations are band-aid solutions and not #integration solutions. Vik provides insight into how health systems can revisit and provide a seamless experience for patients. Vik encourages health systems to build a digital strategy for future-readiness.John Marchica highlights challenges with #telemedicine especially in rural areas where connectivity and wireless coverage for a clear video visit are not always available.John talks about a process involved in developing a #vaccine including testing timelines. Seems like as per Dr. Fauchi's recent comments, the vaccine might available late 2020, which would break all-time records for producing a vaccine. Vik requests if Jimmy can reach out to Dr. Fauchi and see if he can be a guest on This Week in Health Tech?Vik highlights the process of treating COVID-19 as another service line as seen by Tido's integration and web teams, and how the intake of patients happens starting from #scheduling, #pre-registering, and paying online is being streamlined. Vik then dives a little more into digital strategy and cloud infrastructure and integrating telehealth, #remotemonitoring devices, #AI, and #machinelearning tools. Vik responds to John's question about the digital strategy conversation that we have w/ C-Suite leaders of a health system. At the end of day it is about improving patient outcomes. Website: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.comTwitter: @TWIHT1Tido Inc.: https://www.tidoinc.com/Darwin Research Group Website: https://www.darwinresearch.com/Health Rounds with John Marchica  https://www.darwinresearch.com/category/podcast/Music Provided by Soundstripe.comLinkedin: Vik PatelLinkedin: Jimmy KimLinkedin: John MarchicaSupport the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailVik and Jimmy welcome Alan Shoebridge, Director of Marketing, Salinas Valley Memorial Health System. Jared, founder of Shift.Health introduced Alan to Vik and we give a shout out to Jared at the beginning of the podcast. We start out with the introduction of Alan and the current state in California with the COVID-19 crisis. SVMH has adapted for COVID-19 starting with a new podcast and allows them to provide a story and message to their population. SVMH provides COVID-19 numbers on their website since it seems like the population is really interested in knowing how many are in the hospital/county etc even though there are many sources of these statistics. Alan highlights the process of quickly rolling out telemedicine in a week. Vik is interested in knowing the digital strategy and adaptation of AI/ML tools at SVMH and Alan highlights the tools implemented at SVMH. Alan also highlights the challenge of dealing with a significant percentage of non-English speaking populations in the tools that are deployed.Lastly, the group discusses mobile strategies and shifting strategies for patient engagement. Website: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.comTwitter: @TWIHT1Tido Inc.: https://www.tidoinc.com/Salina Valley Health Care System: https://www.svmh.com/Alan Shoebridge Website: https://www.alanshoebridge.com/Music Provided by Soundstripe.comLinkedin: Vik PatelLinkedin: Jimmy KimLinkedin: Alan ShoebridgeSupport the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn

Send us Fan MailWe welcome Laura O'Toole with Santa Rosa Consulting Inc. in this episode of This Week in Health Tech and she presents a very candid and insightful view on the current healthcare crisis and how to be better prepared for the future. We start out with the introduction of Laura and Santa Rosa Consulting, a healthcare-focused company. Vik comments about the new virtual world we live in and Laura reflects on how it has affected the way her staff communicates with clients and how she encourages engagement even internally within the company with online happy hour and other ways.Laura talks about how healthcare had to adjust rapidly in the last 4-5 months and digital transformation taking place in healthcare. We comment about interoperability and taking advantage of cloud infrastructure for rapid implementation of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Mobile Apps. Laura comments about test automation which is an integral part of digital transformation especially with the addition of so many digital tools. We comment about tools that can be used for better communication like Intranet so companies can keep staff updated no matter where employees are located. Website: http://www.thisweekinhealthtech.comTwitter: @TWIHT1Tido Inc.: https://www.tidoinc.com/Santa Rosa Consulting Inc.: https://www.santarosaconsulting.com/Music Provided by Soundstripe.comLinkedin: Vik PatelLinkedin: Jimmy Kim LinkedIn: Laura O'TooleSupport the showListen to all This Week in Health Tech episodesVik Patel - LinkedInTido Inc. - WebsiteTido Inc. - LinkedIn