The Beat

We have come to understand the importance of mental wellness in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many of us don’t have access to traditional therapy, or we’re hesitant to visit a psychiatrist’s office. And a growing number of people are looking to online therapy as an alternative. But can you build strong relationship with a therapist virtually? What does quality mental health care look like in a digital landscape? Dr. Varun Choudhary is a Board-Certified Forensic Psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer at Talkspace, a leading virtual behavioral health company that offers convenient and affordable access to a fully credentialed network of highly qualified mental health providers. Dr. Choudhary has 17 years of experience in behavioral health, providing care to patients in the public sector, correctional arena, private practice and community-based settings. He is a specialist in the realm of teletherapy, population health and collaborative care. On this episode, Dr.  Choudhary joins host Dr. Guatam Gulati to explain the concept of asynchronous text-based therapy and explore the benefits of building a relationship with a therapist online. Dr. Choudhary discusses the root causes of the mental health crisis in our country, describing how rates of depression and anxiety skyrocketed during the pandemic and why telepsychiatry remains popular while other forms of telehealth are in decline. Listen in for Dr. Choudhary’s insight on the future of telemental health care and learn how online therapy like Talkspace is democratizing mental wellness around the world. Topics CoveredThe significant shift in the way we think about mental health over the last 10 yearsHow the mental health reimbursement system is informed by the regulatory environmentHow Talkspace pioneered the concept of asynchronous text-based therapyThe benefits of building a relationship with a therapist online (and when it’s more appropriate to meet face-to-face)The potential for Talkspace to eventually add brick-and-mortar facilities to its comprehensive care modelWhat responsibility platforms like Talkspace bear in reporting potential criminal activityHow rates of depression and anxiety skyrocketed during the COVID crisisWhy telepsychiatry use did not drop off after the pandemic like other telehealth servicesDr. Choudhary’s insight on the root causes of the mental health crisis in our countryHow Dr. Choudhary’s WHY aligns with the Talkspace mission to democratize therapyThe meditation practice Dr. Choudhary uses to preserve his own mental wellness Connect with Dr. Varun ChoudharyTalkspaceDr. Choudhary on LinkedIn Connect with Dr. Guatam GulatiHLTHDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedIn Resources‘A Study of Asynchronous Mobile-Enabled SMS Text Psychotherapy’ in Telemedicine and e-HealthHealing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health by Thomas Insel, MDKFF/CNN Survey on Mental Health in AmericaRyan Haight ActMagellan HealthCOVID-19 and Mental HealthTogether: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Vivek H. Murthy, MD

About Taha Kass-Hout:Taha Kass-Hout, MD, MS is the Director of Machine Learning and Chief Medical Officer at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and leads AWS Health AI strategy and efforts. He led teams at Amazon responsible for developing the science, technology, and scale for Covid-19 lab testing, including Amazon’s first FDA authorization for testing our associates—later offered to the public for at-home testing. A physician and bioinformatician, Taha served two terms under President Obama, including as the first Chief Health Informatics officer at the FDA. During this time as a public servant, he pioneered the use of emerging technologies and the cloud (the CDC’s electronic disease surveillance) and established widely accessible global data sharing platforms: openFDA, which enabled researchers and the public to search and analyze adverse events data, and precisionFDA, part of the Presidential Precision Medicine initiative. Taha holds Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science in biostatistics degrees from the University of Texas and completed clinical training in Interventional Cardiology at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Things You’ll Learn:Amazon invented the cloud with Amazon Web Services, the widely available and adopted cloud platform with over 200 features and services from data centers worldwide. AWS helps healthcare and life science customers with breakthrough and ever-evolving medical innovations.In the last ten years, digitized medical record data went from 15% to almost 98%. Although medical records are digitized, about 97% of this data goes unused.Amazon HealthLake allows customers to store, transform, and analyze their structured and unstructured health information in the cloud at a petabyte scale. Amazon HealthLake has an Imaging service and an Analytics service.Just looking at medical imaging, 5.5 billion studies and procedures are done every year globally, which doubles the amount made ten years ago.Healthcare costs $8 trillion globally, and yet, 40% of the world’s population currently doesn't have access to care. Resources:Connect with and follow Taha Kass-Hout on LinkedIn.Follow Amazon Web Services on LinkedIn.Discover the Amazon Web Services Website. 

Several years ago, leading VC Marc Andreessen proposed the notion that innovation happens through a process of unbundling and rebundling. Healthcare is no exception. Through the micro-specialization of companies, we’ve witnessed a great deal of unbundling in the industry. Now, we’ve begun the process of rebundling. So, what does this mean for the future of healthcare tech? And how do venture investors leverage this idea to decide which digital health startups deserve funding? Dr. Vineeta Agarwala is General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where she leads investments for the a16z bio and health fund across digital health care delivery, biotech and life sciences tools and diagnostics. Dr. Agarwala has a special interest in companies leveraging unique datasets to improve healthcare delivery, and she serves on several healthcare portfolio company boards, including Memorial Health, Thyme Care and Waymark. On this episode, Dr.  Agarwala joins host Dr. Guatam Gulati to discuss what health payviders are doing to aggregate the best technology for specialty care and how we might integrate such specialized health tech into already complicated workflows. Dr. Agarwala shares her take on the successes and failures of digital health in the last decade, describing how healthcare tech has been transformative for certain patient populations and why she sees most remote connected wearables as a missed opportunity. Listen in to understand how the high bar for fundraising is changing the way a16z makes decisions and get Dr. Agarwala’s advice for aspiring founders in healthcare tech. Topics CoveredHow Dr. Agarwala thinks about the unbundling and rebundling of services in healthcareWhat health payviders are doing to aggregate the best possible technology across large numbers of specialty care areasHow we might integrate specialized health tech into already complicated workflows (and why it’s such a challenge)Dr. Agarwala’s take on patients, providers and payers as joint custodians of healthcare dataThe pros and cons of imposing a government tax on corporations to access healthcare dataHow digital health has been transformative for some small patient populations, health systems and provider practicesWhy Dr. Agarwala sees remote connected wearables as a failure in the absence of intelligent care managementHow the high bar for fundraising has changed the way a16z makes healthcare tech investment decisionsWhy a16z is encouraging its portfolio companies to adopt a lean business modelWhy now is a phenomenal time to start a company in the healthcare technology spaceHow Dr. Agarwala’s experience with her grandfather’s death informs her work at a16z Connect with Dr. Vineeta AgarwalaDr. Agarwala at Andreessen HorowitzDr. Agarwala on TwitterDr. Agarwala on LinkedIn  Connect with Dr. Guatam GulatiHLTHDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedIn  ResourcesJulie Yoo at Andreesen HorowitzThyme Care

About Jaime Murillo:Dr. Jaime Murillo is a Senior VP and the Chief CardioMetabolic Health Officer at Optum Labs. He is focused on disruptive care delivery solutions to improve health in the community using AI-powered technology, social-behavioral determinants of health, and community-based collaboration. His work also includes advanced analytics to identify gaps in care with an emphasis on health equity and AI/ML-based phenotyping and multi-omics to advance precision medicine. Before his current role at Optum Labs, he spent 2 years at UnitedHealthcare as the national lead for cardiovascular and ED services. This work focused on simple innovation and value-based transformation of care and affordability. He is a cardiologist from Yale University with a background in computer sciences and basic science and clinical research at Harvard Medical School and outcomes research at Yale University.He is a former IBM Watson Health collaborator on the clinical implementation of machine learning in the cardiovascular field. He practiced cardiology with a subspecialty in imaging for 20 years at Sentara Health. Within Sentara, he played several executive roles with a focus on leadership development and consumer strategies. Outside of work Jaime enjoys watching his son play tennis, watching movies with his wife, and practicing Pilates. Things You’ll Learn:In healthcare, communication is one of the areas with significant improvement opportunities.By 2025, about $300 billion in care will be delivered to consumers' homes.UnitedHealth Group also works with a sense of purpose, their recent merger with LHC seeks to build care in communities and at homes.Healthcare solutions today are based on clinical components and other different determinants of health.Algorithms can now be built to allow the identification of those who may have a condition before it develops any complications.Medical solutions today cannot exclusively take into account clinical data, they need to look at the patient holistically.  Resources:Connect with and follow Jaime Murillo on LinkedIn.Follow Optum Labs on LinkedIn.Discover the Optum Labs Website!

How can we transform patient health through personal and predictive care?By taking it home.Sheeza Hussain is the Chief Commercial Officer of Biofourmis, a global leader in digital therapeutics. Biofourmis has a vision to improve the delivery of healthcare by treating patients with chronic and acute medical conditions outside of the hospital utilizing advanced technology.On this episode, Sheeza joins hosts Dr. Gautam Gulati, Dr. Jessica Shepherd, and Dr. Jordan Shlain to discuss how Biofourmis is using continuous vitals monitoring to prevent adverse events before they happen, allowing patients to get healthy at home.Listen as Sheeza shares Biofourmis' mission to expand AI into people’s  lives by creating innovations that meet patients at home. Scientific studies support the fact that patients recover more comfortably in their own environment and now technology is making it possible for aging to happen at home.Topics CoveredHow Biofourmis is like the OnStar for your healthAn inside look at the data and the analytics of Biofourmis’ bio vitals indexThe 3 tools the Biofourmis platform uses to customize careThe partnerships required for hospital-at-home patient selectionSheeza’s passion for the future and how demand is increasing for patients to receive their care at homeConnect with Sheeza HussainSheeza Hussain on LinkedInConnect with Dr. Gautam Gulati, Dr. Jordan Shlain, & Dr. Jessica ShepherdDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedInDr. Shlain on TwitterDr. Shlain on LinkedInDr. Shepherd on LinkedInDr. Shepherd on TwitterResourcesBiofourmisViVE

Can we take what we learned from the influx of telehealth during the pandemic into the future to close the gap in health inequality?Scott MacLean is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at MedStar Health, a not-for-profit health system serving Maryland and Washington, DC. He's responsible for the leadership and vision of information services to support clinical research and academic and administrative functions across the system.On this episode, Scott joins host Dr. Gautam Gulati to discuss how the entire healthcare model is being re-engineered before our very eyes. The pandemic may have started the chain of change, but that was just the beginning.Scott shares the biggest challenges MedStar Health was facing before the pandemic and how his team found the technical solutions to serve the mass increase in telehealth visits during the COVID crisis.Listen as they discuss how those innovations became the catalyst for MedStar Health to transform its strategic processes and move the needle on optimization. And learn why he’s working so hard to invest in technology to engage his community with more digital healthcare options to close the divide of health inequity.Topics CoveredMedStar Health’s story of teamwork during the pandemic and their current focus on infrastructureHow MedStar Health adjusted the universal EHR across the enterprise as COVID treatment protocols evolvedWhat MedStar is doing to move the needle towards more optimization and clinician usabilityMedStar’s strategy for the future of home-based telehealth and how Scott’s team is using technology to better serve the communityConnect with Scott MacLeanScott MacLean on LinkedInScott MacLean on TwitterConnect with Dr. Gautam Gulati, Dr. Jordan Shlain, & Dr. Jessica ShepherdDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedInDr. Shlain on TwitterDr. Shlain on LinkedInDr. Shepherd on LinkedInDr. Shepherd on TwitterResourcesMedStar HealthViVE

The pandemic exposed the cracks in the healthcare system. But how do we prioritize resources to maximize capabilities for the future?By prioritizing partnerships.Dr. Rasu Shrestha is Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer and Executive Vice President for Atrium Health, one of the largest non-profit and leading academic health systems in the United States. Dr. Shrestha is responsible for Atrium Health’s enterprise strategy, including planning and tactical direction for the organization’s current strategic roadmap.On this episode, Dr. Shrestha joins hosts Dr. Gautam Gulati and Dr. Jordan Shlain to discuss his background and how he’s forging a path to the future by breaking down walls and building bridges to person-centered care enabled by technology.We discuss the cracks exposed in our healthcare system during the COVID and how we can pivot to make the heroics displayed during the pandemic the blueprint of how we operate going forward.Listen as Dr. Shrestha shares why social impact is such a big driver at Atrium Health and how they’re embracing their mission of health, hope, and healing for the future of healthcare.Topics CoveredHow Dr. Shrestha’s personal experiences, combined with today’s healthcare climate, inform what he is doing at AtriumHow the pandemic accentuated the cracks in the healthcare systemHow Atrium is creating a blueprint for collaborating in public-private partnershipsWhy human struggles mixed with a healthcare emergency and chaos in the healthcare field is the recipe for disasterHow Atrium is using technology to leverage data to reach underserved communitiesHow Atrium is thinking globally while acting locally in its program rolloutAn inside look at ‘The Pearl,’ Atrium Health’s innovative new medical schoolHow Atrium is asking the right questions to overcome data blind spotsDr. Shrestha’s quest to prioritize Atrium Health’s mission of health, hope, and healing for allConnect with Dr. Rasu ShresthaDr. Shrestha on LinkedInDr. Shrestha on TwitterConnect with Dr. Gautam Gulati, Dr. Jordan Shlain, & Dr. Jessica ShepherdDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedInDr. Shlain on TwitterDr. Shlain on LinkedInDr. Shepherd on LinkedInDr. Shepherd on TwitterResourcesAtrium HealthViVE

Since the pandemic many health care providers have shifted to a remote approach. Though, not every provider looks to improve the root of total health. How can we power proactive, predictive health from real-time patient data with prevention in mind - all remotely?Dan Vahdat is the CEO and Founder of Medopad, a global HealthTech AI company with a vision to create a world where people can live longer. His professional career spans from IT to medical technology including several years at Johns Hopkins University.On this episode, Dan joins hosts Dr. Gautam Gulati and Dr. Jordan Shlain to discuss the future of remote patient monitoring not only in the U.S. but in countries around the entire world. He describes exactly how the remote monitoring process works for clients at Huma, the constraints found in America compared to other countries, as well as how technology can help at a scale compared to physical care alone. Listen in to how Huma is working with countries all over the world to provide remote care that brings each patient proactive data that allows Huma to power predictive health and prevention.Topics CoveredWhat Huma does and how the company came aboutHow the remote monitoring process works at HumaWhat the exact care process looks like for clientsHow technology innovations have benefited the health care systemHow Dan and his team are handling the flow of communications at HumaDan’s insight on the differences being seen in remote patient monitoring in the US versus in European countriesThe biggest constraints found in America with remote healthcareDan’s insight on the non-traditional players who act as competitionWhat the future of Huma and Remote Patient Monitoring looks likeThe possible limits with remote telehealthHow Dan defines healthHow Dan defines health care as care with a smile Connect with Dan VahdatHuma Connect with Dr. Gautam Gulati & Dr. Jordan ShlainHLTHDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedInDr. Shlain on LinkedInDr. Shlain on Twitter Introductory Quote[4:00–4:49]“In the past 18 months we have done national projects. Not one hospital, not two hospitals, not one region - across large scale countries as big as Germany, UK, France and not only modern countries but countries like India…and so on. Projects that are quite big..We have shipped millions of devices for our projects…This showed that technology can help at scale.

How do you optimize the outcome for a patient who has chronic kidney disease? By treating them as a whole person.Rani Khetarpal is Head of Value-Based Care Partnerships at CVS Health, where she leads the build and execution of innovative alternative payment models and risk arrangements. While she encompasses a diverse array of experience within the healthcare ecosystem, Rani’s area of expertise lies in designing and delivering patient-centric, outcomes-driven models that align provider and payer.On this episode, Rani joins hosts Dr. Jessica Shepherd, Dr. Gautam Gulati, and Dr. Jordan Shlain to discuss kidney care models that look at the patient holistically—as a patient and a person.Listen as Rani shares how CVS is using brand recognition and its geographical footprint to reach patients where they are. They explore how CVS Health is partnering with provider care teams to change the narrative and provide value-based care that is quality-, cost-, and patient-centered.Topics CoveredThe psychosocial barriers, comorbidities, and other factors that contribute to the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD)How CVS is working to challenge the true cost of care by focusing on the desired outcomes and then working backwardHow value-based care is shifting the focus to preventing disease instead of treating patientsWhere Rani thinks the greatest use of digital technology is happening right nowHow CVS is using provider-based care teams to create individualized treatment modelsHow CVS is changing the value-based care narrative to better meet patients' needsConnect with Rani KhetarpalRani Khetarpal on TwitterRani Khetarpal on LinkedInConnect with Dr. Jessica Shepherd, Dr. Gautam Gulati, & Dr. Jordan ShlainDr. Shepherd on LinkedInDr. Shepherd on TwitterDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedInDr. Shlain on TwitterDr. Shlain on LinkedInResourcesCVS HealthViVE

If you think about our phones, we all essentially have the same phone yet, it’s a deeply personalized experience for each one of us. What if healthcare was like that? -  Personalized and holistic, thinking about you, where you are.Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., is the President of Verily Health Platforms, overseeing all health care platforms, including Onduo, Healthy at Work, and Verily’s Value Suite, among others. She is also the author of The Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. As a healthcare executive, she formerly served as the medical school dean, SVP, and CEO of the University of Utah Health, a $3.5 billion integrated health system and health plan that ranked first among university hospitals in quality and safety. Over her career as an NIH-funded MRI researcher, she has published over 200 articles in leading journals including JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine and received the Gold Medal of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.If that wasn’t enough, Dr. Lee was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015 and was ranked #11 among Becker’s 100 most influential people in healthcare in 2019. A Rhodes Scholar, she is a graduate of Harvard College, Oxford University, Harvard Medical School, and NYU Stern School of Business.On this episode, Vivian joins hosts Dr. Gautam Gulati and Patricia Bradley to discuss the intersection of health and tech and how it can be very transformative on health care. She describes strategies to solve America’s healthcare crisis and how these strategies can not only work for everyone, but also advance healthcare faster than ever before. Listen in for insight on the future of health platforms and the potential they have to advance population health.Topics CoveredVivian’s background in medicine and what she does now with VerilyInsight on Vivian’s book, The Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for EveryoneWhat the average individual can do to contribute to the ongoing change of healthcareWhere all the costs of healthcare are coming fromThe Surf and Turf ProblemHow the healthcare system is only designed to treat instead of preventWhat Vivian took away when writing her bookWho Verily is and their purposeVivian’s insight on how much more personal healthcare could be and the goal around thatVivian’s insight on how unique and personalized healthcare could and should beThe ways Onduo plans on providing more personal results and solutions for peopleThe vision of Verily Health PlatformsHow Vivian defines health as the ability to really live our lives in a productive, comfortable and safe wayVivian’s belief that healthcare for every single person in America is the answer to health Connect with Vivian LeeVerily Connect with Dr. Gautam GulatiHLTHDr. Gulati on TwitterDr. Gulati on LinkedIn ResourcesThe Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for EveryoneOnduoHealthy at WorkVerily’s Value Suite Introductory Quote[19:05–19:34]“Even though my book is called The Long Fix, I’m hoping that it’s going to be less long now because of the pandemic and the acceleration of these digital health approaches that can be a lot more personalized and holistic, and thinking about you, where you are. So, if you think about our phones, we all essentially have the same phone...but yet it’s a very deeply personalized experience for each of us. Now, think about if healthcare were like that.