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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our team will be interviewing experts from across the ecosystem to bring the HLTH community timely facts and updates. Private Medical Founder &amp; Managing Partner <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjordanshlain/" target="_blank">Dr. Jordan Shlain</a> is a practicing primary care doctor, a digital health entrepreneur, a writer, and respected thought leader.

COVID-19 Discussion with Dr. Jordan Shlain

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Head of Content

Americans are sick and tired. Sick and tired of political division. Sick and tired of challenging economic headwinds. Sick and tired of inequality and stark disparities. And literally, just sick and tired. In 2023, eight chronic conditions reached their highest prevalence ever recorded, and it’s reported that one in three adults do not get enough sleep, leading to a plethora of adverse health outcomes.  While our life expectancy in the US has finally started to rebound after the pandemic, less and less of these years are spent in good health. The average proportion of life spent in good health has been on a slow, but steady decline over the past three decades. Further, women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health than men. We are on a downward trajectory that will have major economic, social and health consequences unless action is taken. Living healthier years, not just more years, needs to be the focus moving forward.  So, how did we get here? Some may argue technology has led to a more sedentary lifestyle. With a click of a button, everything you need can be delivered right to your door. Children are continuing to play less outdoors and preferring to scroll on social media instead, indirectly leading to approximately 10% of US children now having fatty liver disease, a condition linked to obesity and lack of exercise. Others may argue that the harmful chemicals in household products along with our increasingly processed food supply are the culprits.  Our healthcare system is also often to blame, with over 70% of US adults reporting that the system has failed them. And if you don’t agree with any of these reasons, you always have the option to blame politics! This is America after all.  Ok, enough lamenting on the negative state we find ourselves in. How do we impact positive change? How do we give people more healthy years to spend doing what they love with the people that they love?  How do we increase our healthspan and not just our lifespan? This question is at the core of what we’re looking to uncover through our HLTH 2024 agenda. We’ll walk through adverse health events plaguing us at each stage of our life, from birth to death, and the solutions available, or not yet created, to help people lead healthier, longer lives. We’ll focus on shifting the system, and healthcare dollars, towards a preventative rather than reactive approach to care. We’ll collectively discuss how to utilize the technology and knowledge available to catch disease earlier, treat it more effectively and place people on a path toward better health. And yes, we will talk about AI… a lot.  If you&#39;re thinking that this is a tall order for a mere 4-day event, you&#39;re not wrong. Our mission extends far beyond these 4 days in October, but in the small role that we play during our time with you in Las Vegas, we&#39;re determined to get it right. So, what will we cover this year? We recognize that the solutions to our healthspan problem lie in various corners of the health ecosystem. First, our current health system needs fine-tuning to increase access, reduce inequities, provide for greater price transparency and remain open to emerging technologies, like AI, that can improve the practice of medicine. How can we clean up our convoluted processes, implement novel payment models, embrace outside disruptors and get honest about what’s simply not working? The status quo of our broken system is no longer acceptable.  Next, we’ll cover specific conditions that are contributing to our decreased healthspan and are the biggest drivers of healthcare costs. For example, the increased prevalence of cancer among younger populations, the vital role of oral-systemic health in overall health, treating mental illness separate from mental wellness, and what GLP-1’s will mean for the future of diabetes and obesity care, just to name a few. How can we prevent the onset of unnecessary illness, injury and death while helping those genetically predisposed or already managing chronic disease to live a healthier life? We recognize that many contributors to health outcomes do not stem from healthcare at all. For example, reproductive rights were set back decades with just the sweep of a pen in D.C. Politics is playing an increased role in personal healthcare decisions and we won’t ignore this trend on our agenda. Further, where you were born, the color of your skin, the air you breathe, the gender you identify with, and the technology at your disposal all play a role in the level of access, quality and affordability of care received. Our agenda will provide a platform to have these hard, but necessary, conversations about equity and equality of care and how we can strive to put patients above politics, full stop.  WELL by HLTH will be back in full force as the thriving demand for direct-to-consumer health and wellness continues. There are a plethora of solutions out there that put consumers in the driver&#39;s seat of their own health and well-being, no longer confined by the invisible walls of our traditional healthcare system. People are hungry for solutions to guide them in eating better, moving more, sleeping soundly and staying mentally resilient. As our health system has been slow to prioritize prevention, consumer health is running laps around it with solutions offering the foresight necessary to heed disease and illness. The catch is of course that paying for many of these solutions out of pocket is not cheap, but we are in the early innings here. To make a dent in increasing our healthspan, we will have to welcome consumer wellness to the table.  Last but certainly not least, we’re bringing back our dedicated employer stage at HLTH where top benefits leaders will share their latest pain points and success stories on their mission to improve the health and wellbeing of over 150 million Americans with an employer-sponsored health plan. They are not alone in their mission, but will be joined by top digital health companies who believe the road to better health cuts right through the heart of America’s workforce. If we can improve well-being and foster inclusive workplaces in each of our employee populations, then we can collectively shift the needle for all.   I certainly cannot mention all the amazing topics we’ll cover at HLTH 2024 in this short blog, so if you don’t see something here, it does not mean we’re leaving it out. Our content team is aiming to release our preliminary agenda earlier than ever before this year, July 16th to be exact, so you won’t have to wait long to see it in its entirety.  For now, we are calling all bold thinkers to apply to speak on our stages. We want to hear your biggest and most ambitious ideas on how we can live not just longer, but healthier. How we can reach the underserved. How we can utilize novel technologies in unique ways. How we can collaborate, compete, and push each other to do better for patients. Currently we are not winning the game of better health, so we need to assemble the best and brightest to have a chance at creating real change in our lifetime and for our future generations.  After all, fortune favors the bold.  To join us at HLTH 2024, <a href="https://www.hlth.com/2024event?utm_campaign=registration_24&amp;utm_source=hlth&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank">register here.</a> We can’t wait to see you in Las Vegas!

Bold Thinkers Wanted to Improve Our Healthspan

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Principal, Patient Health & Equity Lead

MD, MBA

The dramatic changes in the U.S. healthcare system over the last decade-plus have been driven by the desire to deliver care that’s more patient-centric and fulfills the promises of the Quintuple Aim. Healthcare stakeholders have pushed to lower costs, advance health equity, improve patient and clinician experience and improve population health. New ways of working and new incentives gave way to value-based care programs, and digital health initiatives are giving patients unprecedented access to their own health data. Yet, despite all the change, patients themselves report that their experiences with healthcare are subpar at best, especially as compared to experiences in all other parts of their life. A <a href="https://www.zs.com/consumer-survey-on-the-future-of-connected-health" target="_blank">ZS</a> survey of over 4,000 U.S. healthcare consumers found 49% agree that the “healthcare system doesn’t care about people like me,” while 72% said the healthcare system doesn’t work fairly for everyone. Studies find similar patient dissatisfaction with pharma and life sciences. A <a href="https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/pharma-value-profits-over-patients-say-more-than-1-10-americans-new-harris-poll" target="_blank">Harris poll</a> found only 9% of U.S. consumers believe that pharma and biotech put patients before profits.  If patients feel left behind or as if life sciences companies don’t understand them, it’s because patient-centered care, or patient centricity, has taken too long to catch on in this space. For decades, life sciences companies viewed healthcare professionals as the key decision-makers—not the patient.  However, there’s been a monumental shift toward patient centricity in the last several years, driven by patient-focused drug development, an increase in competition, advancements in technology and analytics, and a shift in consumer behaviors and preferences. Life sciences companies are now more consistently making patient-centric choices and investments—but how do they know the extent to which their efforts are truly affecting patients’ lives?  If these organizations want to deliver on their promise to put patients at the center of the care paradigm, they must reassess how they define and measure value to patients. We’ve witnessed an evolution in the definition of value, but there’s still room to grow. <ul><li>Past: Value was defined by the functional benefits of a treatment. “It relieves my migraine.” </li><li>Present: Now, the focus is on experience. “It relieves my migraine and it’s easy to take, easy to refill and I have support to stay on it.”</li><li>Future: Going forward, value will be defined by all the above, plus outcomes, as reflected by the ability of a treatment, plus a program, to help make progress toward the Quintuple Aim. “I have fewer migraine days, so I don’t need to go to the doctor as much” or “I don’t have to miss work because of my migraines.”</li></ul> These outcomes have profound implications for the economics of care delivery, employee productivity and quality of life, among many other drivers of value.  As we increasingly recognize the outsized impact social determinants of health (SDOH) have on a person’s health, life sciences organizations need to better understand how their efforts help people of all backgrounds live healthier, more fulfilling lives.  Many life sciences organizations are already experimenting with initiatives to address SDOH, such as the <a href="https://www.pharmexec.com/view/novartis-reveals-new-collaborators-to-beacon-of-hope-initiative" target="_blank">Beacon of Hope Initiative</a>. Under this program, Novartis, Sanofi and Merck partnered with historically Black colleges and universities to improve recruitment of Black and Latino patients into clinical trials. <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/node/469931" target="_blank">Pfizer</a> is working with Emory Glenn Family Breast Center and Grady Memorial Hospital’s Avon Foundation Comprehensive Breast Center to develop a care pathway and to implement assessments that will improve outcomes for Black breast cancer patients. Understanding the impact these initiatives have on patient outcomes can help life sciences companies determine what successful partnerships could look like in the future.  You can’t improve what you can’t measure	To prepare for a future—and a present—focused on outcomes, life sciences companies need to measure more than just return on investment. They also need to incorporate a patient-centric metric that demonstrates their broader efforts to deliver the benefits patients expect and that’s widely understood and bought into. Outcomes measurement cannot be “one size fits all.” To help life sciences companies start the process of measuring outcomes and experience, ZS created patient outcomes impact (POI™) metrics, which offer a way to measure the performance of patient-centric activities and initiatives on patient outcomes across seven key dimensions, including: <ul><li>Disease prevention</li><li>Clinical outcomes</li><li>Disease burden</li><li>Care delivery</li><li>Patient experience </li><li>Patient access</li><li>Health economics</li></ul> Life sciences companies often seek ways to compliantly measure the impact of noncommercial activities (e.g., medical affairs and patient support services) without using traditional promotional metrics, such as prescription volume. POI™ metrics also provide noncommercial measures to assess impact of nonpromotional activities. Ultimately, conclusions drawn from POI™ metrics can help inform strategy and investments, as well as align company objectives and priorities with patient needs.  To test the viability of POI™  metrics, ZS recently measured the impact of an unbranded disease awareness campaign to improve awareness of a risk of a rare cardiac condition specifically in Black Americans. Using publicly available data, ZS evaluated the change in diagnosis and treatment rates before and after the campaign launched, as well as the time to diagnosis and treatment. In addition, we segmented the results by key SDOH factors, including race and ethnicity, age, and gender. Our analysis of this campaign found that despite its emphasis on raising awareness among Black patients, there was a halo effect: Patients of all races saw an increase in diagnosis. As compared to all other races and ethnicities, Black patients also experienced a slight decrease in time to diagnosis, which is quite significant considering the complexity of seeking answers when one isn’t feeling well. However, only the non-Black population saw an increase in treatment initiation, signaling that life sciences organizations need to take further action to ensure every patient with this condition can obtain the medications they need.  The results of our pilot study demonstrate the tremendous impact an equity-focused initiative can have. They also underscore how data can uncover remaining care gaps that, if filled, can have a significant impact on outcomes. As our pilot confirms, POI™ metrics aren’t just about measurement—they’re about using measurement as a tool to inform smart business decisions in an industry focused on improving outcomes for all. They&#39;re about equipping organizations with a common lexicon for discussing outcomes and providing a way to help companies standardize their approach to assessing noncommercial impact. They&#39;re about ensuring life sciences organizations do know how their efforts are truly impacting patients’ lives.

You Can’t Improve What You Can’t Measure: Measuring Patient Outcomes in Life Sciences

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Chief Clinical Product Officer and Medical Director

Click here to watch the video on YouTube In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our team will be interviewing experts from across the ecosystem to bring the HLTH community timely facts and updates. About Dr. Jay Bhatt: Jay Bhatt, D.O., MPH, MPA is a physician executive, internist, geriatrician, public health innovator and widely quoted expert on the most pressing challenges and exciting opportunities in health care. These include cross-sector initiatives; the application of predictive analytics and informatics; using Medicare and Medicaid as opportunities to redesign the healthcare system; addressing the social determinants of health to lower costs, improve outcomes and eliminate inequities; technology innovation; and emergency preparedness. As a physician executive, Jay’s innovative initiatives have helped hospitals deliver safer, smarter and better care; made physicians and nurses more skilled and responsive to patients; and helped government across sectors impact health outcomes and the health of communities. These accomplishments have been informed by his earliest positions practicing internal medicine and geriatrics in underserved communities at the Erie Family Health Center on Chicago’s Northwest Side and as the managing deputy commissioner and chief innovation officer for the Chicago Department of Public Health. Though hard work and fresh ideas, he became a trusted community leader and eventually was able to bring the voice of those patients to the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) and American Hospital Association (AHA) as a senior executive. Jay earned a B.A. from the University of Chicago; a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; a MPH in public health from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a MPA in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Zuckerman and Commonwealth Fund Minority Health Policy Fellow. Over the years, Jay has received many honors. He was an Aspen Health Innovator Fellow and a Presidential Leadership Scholar; was named to 40 Under 40 lists by Crain’s Chicago Business, the National Minority Quality Forum, MedTech Boston and Becker’s Healthcare, where he was a Rising Star; and received UIC School of Public Health’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the National Medical Fellowships’ Champions of Health Award and the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Walter J. McDonald Award for Early Career Physicians. He was also named a leader in the ACP’s Resident/Fellow Membership and is part of the National Health Service Corp, a program aimed at reducing health workforce shortages in underserved areas. Follow him on Twitter @bhangrajay, Instagram at drjaybhatt and LinkedIn.

COVID-19 Updates with Dr. Jay Bhatt

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