by Igor Meltser, Vice President – Technology Solutions & Services
Reflecting on the Reuters Digital Health 2024 Conference, the event provided a comprehensive look into the future of healthcare, emphasizing digital transformation, patient engagement, and the integration of advanced technologies. This event was a convergence of over 300 digital healthcare leaders, 50 expert speakers, and numerous stakeholders from sectors such as healthcare systems, pharma, health tech, and policy-making. Below are the key learnings and takeaways from the conference for those who were unable to make it. Feel free to reach out for any questions about the conference, topics, or to discuss these points.
Embracing Digital Health Innovation: Innovation as a Practice and Product
Innovation in healthcare is not just about creating new products; it’s about integrating innovative practices into everyday operations. Laura Wilt, Chief Digital Officer at Sutter Health, highlighted the importance of choosing partners based on trust and authenticity. The Trust Triangle Model—comprising Authenticity, Empathy, and Logic—was emphasized as a framework for building successful partnerships. Key to this approach is ensuring that solutions are scalable and solve real problems comprehensively.
As an example, Sutter Health is integrating Generative AI to assist providers with patient message responses resulted in a 20% reduction in response time, demonstrating the potential of GenAI to enhance operational efficiency.
Leveraging Generative AI for Clinical Support: Trustworthy AI Solutions
Generative AI solutions such as Dyna AI, discussed by Sarah McKinley MD and Diane Hanson of Dynamic Health, is transforming how clinicians access and utilize information. By using a walled garden of evidence-based content, the GenAI solution ensures the reliability and relevance of information provided to healthcare professionals, thereby supporting clinical decision-making and improving patient outcomes.
Such AI tools are designed to search within curated libraries, providing clinicians with accurate data on diseases, treatments, and patient handouts, which can be shared further in various formats. The curated library of content is proprietary and secure, is validated for accuracy and applicability by clinical SMEs, and can be curated and trusted by clinicians and staff similarly to any approved internal knowledge base. The technology and framework applied by Dynamic Health is not proprietary and is available to anyone looking to adopt the same best-practices structure and approach.
Enhancing Patient Engagement
Reed Smith of Ardent Health moderated an insightful panel of speakers from leading healthcare institutions and payer organizations where the applicability of the RICE framework—Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort—was shared as a strategic tool to prioritize healthcare initiatives. This framework helps in identifying projects that can significantly improve patient engagement and outcomes. Adaptive leadership is crucial for addressing healthcare challenges, and the focus should be on identifying problems before developing solutions.
RICE framework as it applies to HealthTech:
- Reach: Targeting a broad patient and caregiver audience for the new idea.
- Impact: Enhancing patient health, outcomes, and engagement levels of the broad audience.
- Confidence: Measure the idea’s success to ensure the reliability of the initiative.
- Effort: Assessing the resources required for implementation within the healthcare operating ecosystem.
Data Integration and Clinical Decision-Making: Intelligent Data Use
Jessica Hauflaire from the Digital Therapeutics Alliance moderated another panel which touched on the importance of integrating clinical data into EMRs to support value-based care. AI technologies can assist in creating a holistic view of the patient, aiding in better clinical decision-making. However, these technologies must be seamlessly integrated into clinical workflows to be effective.
Building vs. Buying Technology Solutions: Strategic Decision-making
Katie Adams of MedCity News moderated an engaging forum of hospital technology leaders who explored the considerations for building versus buying technology solutions. Healthcare providers must evaluate their unique needs and work closely with technology partners to develop customized solutions. The value of partnerships lies not just in cost savings but in the expertise and insights that partners such as Sphere Partners bring.
Investing in AI Applications in Healthcare
To round out the sessions, Jesse Ehrenfeld MD, President of the American Medical Association, lead a discussion with Craig Richardville, Chief Digital & Information Officer from Intermountain Health, Leah Miller, Chief Clinical Application & Data Officer from CommonSpirit Health, and Michael J. Alkire, President & CEO, Premier Inc. The group highlighted the growing acceptance and use of AI in healthcare. There is a noticeable shift from skepticism to adoption, driven by positive outcomes and the push from tech-savvy physicians and residents. Effective governance is crucial to manage the integration and use of AI technologies.
Jesse noted that establishing AI governance frameworks to ensure responsible and effective use of AI in healthcare settings is ongoing. This is also an area where Sphere Partners excels and works closely with our clients to ensure safe and ethical frameworks and governance is applied.
Additional Insights from the Conference
Data Interoperability and Integration: The conference underscored the critical need for data interoperability to streamline clinical workflows and improve patient care. Collaborative efforts are essential to connect disparate data sources and create a cohesive healthcare ecosystem.
Patient-Centric Care: Delivering patient-centric care was a recurring theme. Digital health tools that enhance patient experience and engagement are paramount. Solutions like remote monitoring devices and intuitive patient portals were highlighted as key enablers of personalized care.
Financial and Operational Efficiency: Optimizing technology to enhance care experiences while remaining financially viable is crucial. The integration of AI tools, self-service options, and personalized Remote Patient Monitoring solutions were discussed as ways to achieve this balance.
Sphere’s Role and Future Collaboration
The learnings and takeaways from the Reuters Digital Health 2024 Conference are invaluable for healthcare technology executives aiming to drive digital transformation within their organizations. By focusing on trust, scalable solutions, AI integration, patient engagement, data interoperability, and strategic technology adoption, healthcare providers can significantly improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency.
Sphere Partners, with its deep expertise in technology solutions, is well-positioned to support healthcare organizations and HealthTech companies in navigating these challenges and accelerate the achievement of success. For more insights and information on how Sphere can help your organization leverage digital health innovations, reach out to any of our expert consultants for a friendly chat. We are eager to hear from you.
