Digital Health Today

For this special Coffee Talk I invited two leaders from one of our sponsors to share some of their insights and expertise on one of the most important areas of healthcare right now, Biomedical Informatics. Organizing, analyzing, and utilizing vast amounts of information for translational research to connect discovery with clinical care is one of the biggest challenges facing the current generation of data scientists, which is particularly being highlighted during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Chicago Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics is an amazing program that goes deep in informatics methodology. It also teaches things like effective communication skills and how to manage complex Biomedical Informatics projects, as well as entrepreneurial and innovation skills across the various courses. With me in our virtual studio is Dr. Sam Volchenboum and Dr. Cheng-Kai Kao to tell us more about the ways they’re training and preparing the leaders we need for the healthcare of today and tomorr

At some stage, hopefully soon, the COVID-19 crisis is going to be behind us. Regardless of what was done right or what mistakes are made, eventually, we’ll need to focus on the work we need to do in our 'new normal'. In this episode we consider two key questions. 1) Based on the information that's available today, what decisions can we make today to make a positive impact?  2) Based on where we know we need to go, what can we do now to drive better decisions and prepare for the next challenge or obstacle?  With me in our virtual studio is Dr. Zayna Khayat. Zayna is the Future Strategist with SE Health. SE Health was formerly known as St. Elizabeth Healthcare, which is a health and social impact enterprise based outside Toronto. SE Health has a major focus on creating a better future for aging adults in their homes and in their communities. Zayna is faculty at singularity University's exponential medicine stream, adjunct faculty in the health sector strategy stream at Rotman School of Management at the Univers

Joining me in our virtual studio is David Van Sickle, co-founder and CEO of Propeller Health. Propeller is a leading digital health company dedicated to the management of chronic respiratory disease. David founded Propeller Health in 2010 but he initially started his work in 2006 while at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.   David was one of the very early pioneers who spotted the ability to apply technology to medications to capture data that gives insights into both personal and population health. He and the team at propeller health worked tirelessly over the years to develop the technology, business models, regulatory approvals and evidence to drive adoption of their product.   Now, 14 years on, and this early digital health company is seeing a groundswell of interest as their products are used by some of the people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19. I wanted to know how their strong foundation and company mission supported their growth and evolution, and how, with their successful track record, the

There's a shortage of #PPE at the frontlines of care, and a nurse-led effort to address it. ->> Click here to support #PPE for nurses at the front line > GoFundMe Page

Our guest: Shawna Butler, RN, MBA Shawna is a nurse economist and tech enthusiast. She is a leading advocate for the role of nurses in driving the development and use of technology across the healthcare sector. She works with companies of all sizes, from startups to global corporations, and she’s coined the term ‘EntrepreNURSE’. Shawna works with the pioneers who are integrating robotics, 3D printing, drones, AI, mixed reality, voice recognition, digital humans, big data and sensors into our health solutions and lifestyles. Her clinical experience includes emergency, cardiac, and critical care in both large university and small community hospitals, as well as international medical flight transport, and workplace health promotion services. She’s lived and worked around the world, and if you’re heading to Austin for SXSW, you’ll be able to meet her there. Shawna gives us some tips on how to make the most of a visit to that event. One of the newest roles Shawna has on her resume is that of podcaster! That’s righ

Our guest: Dr. David Fajgenbaum is the co-founder & Executive Director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and a Research Assistant Professor of Medicine at UPenn. After being diagnosed with Castleman disease as a 3rd year medical student and narrowly escaping death several times, David was told that there were no treatments available that could help him. David realized his only hope was to create a new model for advancing the fight again rare and deadly illnesses. With 25-30 million people with rare diseases in the US alone, there is a tremendous need for new approaches for repurposing and developing suitable treatments that can help them. David shares his experience in the lab and in life as he continues his fight to change the way we develop drugs and do research. Episode Download: Information About Fighting Rare Disease Links and Resources: Connect with David Fajgenbaum: Web | LinkedIn | Twitter David's Blog about Innovation for Rare Diseases David's talk at Exponential Medicine Nov 2019

Our guest: Dr. Jennifer Schneider, President of Livongo After speaking with Glen Tullman, Founder and Executive Chairman of Livongo, in an earlier episode, I was so interested in the work that Livongo is doing that I asked for a chance to speak with Dr. Jennifer Schneider when we were both in Las Vegas for the HLTH conference.  Jenny is an amazing individual. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes over 30 years ago and has a deep understanding the real-world impact of the condition. She's been a key part of leadership teams for two companies that have gone public in recent years. The most recent one, Livongo went public in July 2019 and was the most successful IPO of a digital health company in history. She’s also an athlete, the author of a book entitled Decoding Health Signals, and the proud parent to 3 wonderful children. She writes in her book that her goal at Livongo is to create a system of health and healthcare that they will inherit and be proud of - and no doubt benefit from. Tune in as Jennifer shar

Our guest: In this episode, we speak with Robert Cohen, VP of Global R&D, Chief Technology Officer at Stryker Joint Replacement. Stryker is one of the world's leading medical technology companies, and is leading the development of new ways to transform and enhance the technology available in musculoskeletal care.   Robert shared some insights on the work Stryker is doing to improve surgical practice as well as capture more and better data about patient outcomes. We dive into the latest information about surgical robots, wearable sensors, and data, and explore the advances that may develop over the next 10 years.   Links and Resources: Robert Cohen on LinkedIn   Stryker on LinkedIn Stryker Orthopaedics on the Web Stryker Mako Technology Stryker Joint Replacement Smart Equipment Mgmt (Stryker) HoloLens in Germany (Virtual Surgery Intelligence) Microsoft Health  Website • Twitter  Link to Episode 96 with Molly McCarthy The Venue: This conversation was recorded at DOCSF in January 2020, the weeke

Our guest: In this episode, we hear from Molly K. McCarthy MBA, BSN, RN-BC. Molly is the National Director, US Provider Industry and Chief Nursing Officer for Microsoft. Molly shares her path that led her from from nursing to technology leadership. Molly discusses the use of the HoloLens, education and the 3 key business areas at Microsoft Health, which are: 1) Helping clients migrate to the cloud 2) Helping to empower frontline clinicians 3) Thinking about AI as it applies to further development of precision medicine. Links and Resources: Molly McCarthy on LinkedIn  Twitter Smart Equipment Mgmt (Stryker) HoloLens in Germany (Virtual Surgery Intelligence) Microsoft Health   Website  Twitter  The Venue: This conversation was recorded at DOCSF in January 2020, the weekend before #JPM Week in San Francisco. Now in its fourth year, the Digital Orthopedics Conference, San Francisco, is organized by Prof Stefano Bini and Shawna Butler. This year, the sessions featured leaders from Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Am

The DOCSF meeting is a great way to get geared up before #JPM Week in San Francisco. Now in its fourth year, the Digital Orthopedics Conference, San Francisco, is organized by Prof Stefano Bini and Shawna Butler. This year, the sessions featured leaders from Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Amazon and many other amazing organizations, and I interviewed some of the speakers following their sessions on the stage. This special series of episodes features some of the interviews recorded at this annual event. To hear all the sessions on the DOCSF podcast, be sure to subscribe to the DOCSF Podcast here. Our guest: In this episode, I spoke to Dr. Daniel Kraft. Daniel is a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and innovator. With over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research and healthcare innovation, Kraft has chaired the Medicine for Singularity University since its inception in 2008. He is also founder and chair of Exponential Medicine (next being held Novembe

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Berlin Germany for the Bayer G4A Signing Day event. This was their official launch of the 11 inspiring companies that are the most recent additions to the G4A family. While I was there, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with their keynote speaker for the evening. From the stage, he shared the story behind the success of his company, the impact it's having in real and powerful ways, and the focus on the company following their IPO in July of this year. That speaker was none other than Glen Tullman, the Executive Chairman and Founder of Livongo Health. Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few years, you’ve heard about Livongo and the work they’re doing as a consumer-first, digital health company that’s committed to empowering people with chronic conditions to live better and healthier lives. Glen and I spoke about his mission to finding a cure for diabetes and other chronic conditions, and to keeping people healthy until these cures are found

In this episode we dive into mental health. More specifically, the treatment of major depressive disorder, also known as clinical depression. It is an area of tremendous need and one can be very well served through the solutions and approaches that are being developed and being made available to users around the world. So, how big of a problem is severe depression? More than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression, and at it’s worse, it can lead to suicide. Fewer than half of those suffering from depression are able to receive treatment due to limited resources, a lack of trained Health care providers, and of course, the social stigma that is still sadly associated with mental disorders. There’s a host of treatment options for depression but the effectiveness of the treatments depend on the type of depression and its severity and, of course, each individual’s adherence and response. Some of the options include Psychotherapy, Psychoeducation and Support Groups, Medications, and Brain Stimulation

“Don't fall in love with the solution, fall in love with the problem”…..Really? In this episode we look at needs-based innovation, and to get a better understanding I spoke with Marta Zanchi, PhD. Marta spent 13 years at Stanford University, first as a doctoral student then as a faculty member and founding director of digital health at the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. Her experience spans from designing software and hardware devices to walking the full process of health technology innovation. Marta has advised companies, spent time as a medical device fellow at the FDA, invested in companies through her role as an Equity Partner at Palo Alto-based DCVC, and she recently relocated to Barcelona where she’s the founder and managing partner of health-tech microVC fund Nina Capital. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Marta for a few years, and when I took a fresh look at her LinkedIn profile, there was something written that I just think really puts Marta into context as a person. Under “Philosophy and Goals

Our guest is Francesca Wuttke, PhD, the Chief Digital Officer of Almirall. Almirall is an international pharmaceutical company founded in 1943 and based in Barcelona – which is where Francesca is based. Francesca is responsible for developing and executing an end-to-end company-wide digital transformation. In her role, she is responsible for finding use cases to apply digital solutions and services across the business and bring efficiencies that save time, lower costs and open up new business channels for Almirall. Francesca has over 20 years of drug development and healthcare expertise in both the US and Europe, and most recently, she led European investments as Managing Director for the MSD Global Health Innovation Fund and previously held roles at Novartis and Mount Sinai school of medicine, just to name a few. Francesca holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and a BA from Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences. In this conversation, Francesca shares h

The topic: Have you ever wondered how much more secure - or perhaps less secure - your organization is compared to your peers in the industry? This could have a significant impact on your business not simply the operational performance of your organization, but on the commercial opportunities as well. With the risks and threats surrounding healthcare data, the stakes are high to make sure that organizations, and all their partners, vendors and clients, are proactive and compliant with the latest requirements. Our guest: Grant Elliott is the President & CEO at Ostendio - a leading provider of cybersecurity and information management software based in northern Virginia. Ostendio is leading the way to make security auditing easier for smaller companies, and affordable and accessible to organizations of any size. Links and Resources:8 Steps to take to protect your OrganizationsOstendio MyVCM Crosswalk Assessment for Healthcare ComplianceGrant Elliot: Twitter  •  LinkedIn  Ostendio:   Twitter  •  LinkedIn  •  Web

The World Health Organization reports, based on statistics from the end of 2018, that about 38 million people are living with HIV around the world. While about 62% of those – about 23 million people – were receiving antiretroviral treatment by the end of 2018, another 21% of them did not even know their HIV status. That’s about 8 million people who didn’t even know they are infected, and who are at risk of infecting others. The epidemic has impacted different regions of the world disproportionately. For example, Europe has about 2.5 million people living with HIV, and there about 1 Million people in the United States. The African region is the most severely affected, with nearly two-thirds of the total number of people living with HIV worldwide. Nearly 4% of the adult population in Africa are infected, and between 14 to 20% of those individuals are not even aware of their status. South Africa, in particular, has the largest HIV epidemic in the world. Of the global number of people living with HIV, 19% live in

Our first State of the Podcast episode! We've been going for 3 years, and we've experienced a lot of growth and success. In this episode, we cover four key topics to shed some light on where we’re focusing our efforts and how we’re having an impact. 1) Metrics - Our shows have had over 200,000 downloads, 15,000 followers 2) Community - We've developed a network of Ambassadors and a global, engaged audience 3) Partnerships - Dozens of partners supporting our growth, relationships and content creation 4) Launch of Health Podcast Network to feature other great podcasts that help advance health, care and well-being We also cover the service mindset, and how we work to provide value through service to our listeners, partners and sponsors. Thanks for tuning in and being a part of the community! We appreciate the time, focus and hard work you put in to help improve healthcare, and we are pleased to help develop connections and collaborations through the Digital Health Today platform. Please get in touch if there's s

“We really love this new positioning of high tech meets high touch, to truly change health and well-being.” ~ Dr. Rajiv Kumar We’ve all heard the numbers regarding the healthcare spend in the United States. When compared to other developed countries, per capita healthcare spending in the US ($9,892 in 2016) is 145 percent higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) median of $4,033, and yet when comparing outcomes and process measures, the US lags behind. In some areas, such as the rates of premature death and disease burden, the U.S. is also not improving as rapidly as other countries, so the gap continues to grow. Some of the key opportunities to reverse these trends lies in the way employers and employees collaborate and engage in reducing costs. In addition to benefits such as financial savings and optimizing employee benefits, there are additional ways to get a return on the investment such as improved business performance and a great company culture. In this episode we’r

Overcoming challenges and accelerating change with Jen Goldsack of the (new!) Digital Medicine Society The use of the term ‘digital health' is continuing to grow, with new subsets of products and services being grouped within it: digital doctor’s visits, digital clinical trials, digital therapeutics, and digital medicine – these are just some of the terms that have burst onto the scene. In this episode, we’re diving into one of the terms in the digital health lexicon: ‘digital medicine'. We explore what digital medicine is, how it is positioned along with digital therapeutics and digital health, and explore what’s needed to make the field of digital medicine stronger, smarter and faster. My guest is Jen Goldsack, the Interim Executive Director of the Digital Medicine Society, a new organization that’s just been launched. Jen has a background in clinical trials, outcomes research, and innovation, and she holds masters degrees from the University of Oxford in England, the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA

Welcome to Coffee Talk! In this episode, we speak with two leaders from one of the companies that help make our platform possible, and we’ll learn more about the work they’re doing to move the industry forward.  My guests are from none other than Bayer G4A. Bayer G4A was officially launched as “Grants4Apps” in Berlin in 2013, originally with the aim of funding healthcare mobile apps. Now, six years later, this program has shortened its name to simply ‘G4A’, while also extending it’s global presence to more than 35 countries.  Bayer G4A is one of the most successful and highly regarded programs in the industry, and they’ve moved far beyond simply funding the creation of apps. They provide a powerful network of support for early stage businesses with a combination of funding, mentorship, and, perhaps most significantly, they provide opportunities to create commercial partnerships. I’ve invited two of the leaders of the G4A program to give us an update about their work and how the organization is working interna