Faces of Digital Health

Anyone who wishes to learn about blockchain in general or specifically in healthcare can get overwhelmed by the number of results offered by a Google search. Awareness of the difficulty of finding credible, helpful and nuanced information around blockchain, was among the triggers to create the book Blockchain in Healthcare Innovations that Empower Patients, Connect Professionals and Improve Care. In this episode David Metcalf and Alex Cahana share their view on the current blockchain in the healthcare landscape, accompanied by a comment on industry discussions seen at HIMSS 2019 Global conference, where the book was presented to the public from the first time.  Other episodes on blockchain in healthcare: F021 What is the CDC doing with blockchain? (Jay Jemal, IT specialist) https://medium.com/faces-of-digital-health/f021-what-is-the-cdc-doing-with-blockchain-36c15dac3603 F020 Blockchain, value of data, and the role of legislation with adoption (Ray Dogum, Health Unchained) - https://medium.com/faces-of-digital-health/f020-blockchain-value-of-data-and-the-role-of-legislation-with-adoption-ray-dogum-health-80919d909e97 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/si/podcast/f020-blockchain-value-data-role-legislation-adoption/id1194284040?i=1000421920886&mt=2&ls=1 Podbean: https://tjasazajc.podbean.com/e/f020-blockchain-value-of-data-and-the-role-of-legislation-with-adoption-ray-dogum-healthcare-unchained/ Episode 14 of Medicine today on digital health - What is blockchain and how fast could it be applied in healthcare: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/014-blockchain-in-healthcare-how-how-fast-could-it/id1194284040?i=1000389721696&mt=2&ls=1 Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-na6nf-7e3965   Episode 23 of Medicine today on digital health - Misconceptions about blockchain: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/023-misconceptions-around-blockchain-what-it-will-not/id1194284040?i=1000397151361&mt=2&ls=1 Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-3s9bh-7efd59   F007 The hype and the hope around blockchain (SXSW panel discussion): iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/f007-hype-hope-blockchain-in-healthcare-michael-dillhyon/id1194284040?i=1000407073820&mt=2&ls=1 Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-vimnn-8db4e0   F008 How do sex, blockchain and medical anthropology go together: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/f008-how-do-sex-blockchain-medical-anthropology-go/id1194284040?i=1000408108683&mt=2&ls=1 Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ew3f9-8e8f7a

Every person is unique and we all differ in our looks, but have you ever wondered, how much do people differ on the inside? This is something surgeons are most familiar with. Rafael Grossmann is known in the digital health community as the VR surgeon. Originally from Venezuela, Rafael has been practicing medicine for a few decades in the US by now. In this episode he talks about technological advancements in surgery - from minimally invasive surgery to robotic-assisted surgery -, followed by his passion towards digital technologies, telemedicine, and VR and in the end comments the national crisis currently happening in Venezuela, and its effects on healthcare.

Hackathons have by today become a popular approach for bringing people with various backgrounds in the same room, offering them a concentrated time, usually during a weekend, to come up with innovative approached for various challenges. The speaker of episode 31 is Annie Lamontagne - Special Projects Advisor and former Head of Global Growth at Hacking health - a global digital health organisation, currently active in 17 countries. Annie talks about how are hackathons evolving through the years, what kind of experiences can Hacking health chapters share among each other, since each chapter is active in a different country with a different culture. Annie also mentioned a few inspiring examples of solutions that were a product of hackathons organised inside the hospitals.

Hal Wolf III became the CEO of HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the largest global organisation connecting healthcare IT providers) in 2017. While having rich experiences in the healthcare industry, he started his career in a very different sector — the entertainment business. Hal first workes in Sales and Marketing for MTV Networks in the 80s, later as VP of Content at Time Warner. Then, after 20 years, did his professional development shifted to healthcare when he became the Chief Information Officer for Kaiser Permanente in Colorado.  Some questions addressed in the podcast:  What can healthcare learn from the entertainment industry?  What is the price of interoperability, what can we learn from Keiser Permanente, where $6 billion USD was spent to implement a unified system in 10 years time?  What is the role of HIMSS in the interoperability story? How has HIMSS changed since the acquisition of Health 2.0 in 2017? How to stay informed as a health executive in the era of overwhelming amounts of new information about new technologies?  What are the global healthcare challenges?

Investments in digital health have been rising for the last few years, encouraging innovation in applications of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, analytics, and other latest technologies in healthcare. At the same time, the next generations of doctors, who are supposed to embrace and use these inventions, are trained in an outdated model with little room for creative engagement. One of the people passionate about the re-invention of medical education is Dr. Nana Bit-Avragim, a digital health transformer and medical sciences expert. Nana is an MD/PhD, who formerly worked as Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Charité Foundation and was the Head of Digital Health and Life Sciences program at the German hub of Singularity University. In the 29th episode of Faces of digital health, Nana discusses how new cross-disciplinary models within academia in collaboration with industry and startups should be established to upgrade and rethink medical education.

Chris Johnson is a Children’s Anaesthetist with 30 years of experience in clinical practice. Chris was the medical lead for the healthcare IT transformation of the Perth Children’s Hospital in Australia, which was planned after the institution relocated into a new building, approximately 10 years ago.  In the end, the robotics system was bought, but the EHR project had been stopped, leaving the hospital medical records management right where it was — on paper.  Several reasons contributed to the outcome in the huge process of change management. After all, the IT support projects presented only 25% of the budget for transformation.  Some questions addressed: What do anaesthetists do in practice? What are the digital trends in anesthesiology? Will doctors be replaced by automation and precision dosing algorithms? How does a tender for digital transformation of a hospital look like? Who has to be included? How long does it take? How can hospitals be more pleasant for patients? What is the role of architecture and design in the hospital?

The first episode of Faces of digital health offers a reflection on digital health in 2018, followed by a discussion on digital health in Malta. Because the country is small, the adoption of new solutions could be faster compared to bigger countries. Stefan Buttigieg, Specialist Trainee in Public Health Medicine with a special interest in Clinical Informatics, Social Media and Digital Health, and the co-chair of Health 2.0 Malta believes in the bright future ahead, driven by AI, blockchain, and younger generations.  Some questions addressed:  What is the state of healthcare and healthcare IT in Malta? How big is the digital health community in Malta? What is the funding situation like for digital health in Malta? Is the national optimism and plans for digitilization driven by understanding or general hype of technologies such as artificial intelligence or blockchain?

In 2012, right after finishing his PhD in neurobiology, Martin Inderbitzin got a rare type of pancreatic cancer. He found his strength in another patient's story. Martin's doctor told him about another young man, who survived and was now skiing in the mountains. For the doctor that was an anecdote, for Martin a mantra that kept his spirits up, every time he received a piece of bad news. He started thinking how impactful stories of others with similar struggles to our own can be. To help other patients like him, he started a media project My Survival Story. In the 25th episode of Faces of digital health Martin shares his knowledge regarding how to be a good presenter, and what is the role of digital health in mental health.

What mistakes are entrepreneurs making? Why does the US seem like a better starting point compared to Europe in the early stages? How to look for support in the most initial stages of a company? In this episode: digital health investments and opportunities for startups. The speaker in this episode Jack van Lint. He is the Corporate Finance Director at NLC The Healthtech Venture Builder - a healthcare accelerator and incubator from the Netherlands supporting early-stage startups. ***   Additional episodes on financing: Ep. 18:What Forces Are Reshaping Early Stage Digital Health Funding? Recap: http://bit.ly/2Lblw1S iTunes: https://apple.co/2rHsumF Podbean: http://bit.ly/2C9dqEf   Ep. 12: Rethinking the Patient as Customer, Payment Models & Funding OptionsRecap: http://bit.ly/2zYLOjD Podbean: http://bit.ly/2QStm5O iTunes: https://apple.co/2UF4YUk   Ep. 10 and 11: Tackling the German Healthcare System Recap: http://bit.ly/2rx11E3 iTunes: Ep. 10: https://apple.co/2Py87l7 Ep. 11: https://apple.co/2RTK6H7 Podbean: Ep. 10: http://bit.ly/2C8maKU Ep.11: http://bit.ly/2rwsaqB

In November 2018, Associated Press shocked the global medical community with a news from China: A Chinese researcher claimed that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies. He edited the genes of twins with CRISPR/Cas9 technology, with the aim to make the babies resistant to possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus. The medical community was more or less unanimous in condemnation of the act because CRISPR technology is so new. This was not the only news that resonated in global news in December: the startup Nebula Genomics announced it is offering free genome sequencing, in which the ownership and control of the data would be in individual's hands. Furthermore, patients could make money with their data, as the company predicts that companies and research organizations would be willing to pay for the cost of sequencing if in exchange they also get some key medical information about the person involved.  The expert in this episode is Natalie Pankova. Natalie has a medical background but currently work as a COO of SHIVOM - a global genomics blockchain company, targeting developing countries first, to discover the genetic specifics of various ethnicities, which could improve drug development and help uncover, why certain ethnicities don’t respond to specific drugs.