Digital Content

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. We’ll assume you’re ok with this, but you can opt out if you wish. See our 

Footer

Column Name Goes Here

Footer V2

2024 Event

Event Global

New HLTH Insights Programs

Become a Hosted Buyer

Become a Sponsor/Exhibitor

Apply for Media Pass

Promote Your Presence

2023 Event

Event Global Footer

Startup Opportunities

Hotel

2022 Event

LLC Global

2021 Event

LLC Menu Official

LLC Menu

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. Nancy Brown is Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association. Serving as CEO since 2008, Nancy has elevated the AHA as a global leader in heart disease and stroke science innovation. Robert Harrington, MD, is President of the American Heart Association and chairman of the department of medicine at Stanford University.

COVID-19 Discussion with The American Heart Association

Blog - 0025

The use of technology is an exciting and seemingly limitless solution to providing better, faster, and more accessible healthcare for everyone. It is long overdue, but there is growing recognition that this potential won’t be fulfilled without understanding and guarding against technology’s power to increase disparity. Left unchecked, implicit bias can impact the design, development, and use of health technology in ways that cause harm. The electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital record of a patient’s medical history used to standardize medical data and improve patient outcomes by ensuring that providers have access to complete and accurate patient information. But implicit bias, our unconscious attitudes and stereotypes, can influence how clinicians collect and interpret information. For example, a doctor or nurse may unconsciously make assumptions or judgments based on a patient&#39;s race, gender, age, income, or other social determinants of health which influence how they document the patient&#39;s symptoms or medical history.  A recent article published in JAMA Network Open1 looked at ED visits across a large urban academic health system to understand physician use of behavioral flag notifications to identify potentially unsafe or aggressive patients. These flags can help healthcare providers identify patients who may need additional support or interventions. However, the study found that Black patients were almost twice as likely than White patients to be flagged, even when they had similar symptoms and medical histories. The flags caused patients to wait longer to be seen resulting in delays in care and to receive less lab testing and imaging. Studies also show that Black patients are 2.54 times more likely to have negative comments in their patient notes than White patients2. While the EMR has revolutionized the way healthcare providers collect and manage patient information it exemplifies how technology can exacerbate the impact of implicit bias and racism.    Healthcare innovation has historically been driven by people who are not representative of the diverse communities they serve. This lack of diversity in healthcare innovation has led to products and services that may not be effective for patients who have different health needs and experiences. Furthermore, there is a lack of diversity in clinical trials, which are crucial for testing the safety and efficacy of new treatments and technologies. This has led to products and technologies that are less effective for some populations or have higher risks of adverse effects. To help address these issues the HLTH Foundation has launched the Techquity for Health Coalition. Tegria is proud to be part of it. The Coalition is committed to developing and integrating health equity standards into healthcare technology and data practices. We define techquity as the “strategic design, development, and deployment of technology to advance health equity, and encompasses the notion that technology can inhibit advancements in health equity if not implemented intentionally and inclusively.” We see it “not as an individual or consumer-level problem, but rather a campaign requiring collaboration, transparency, inclusivity and a commitment to organizational and systemic transformation” – to borrow a quote from Ipsos’ Alexis Anderson.   We need to prioritize efforts to reduce bias and maximize the benefit of healthcare technology for everyone. Here are five steps we can start taking today: <ul><li>Conduct user research to understand the needs and experiences of different patient populations to help identify potential biases in the design and development of the technology.</li><li>Collect diverse data to train the technology and ensure it is representative of the population. This can help avoid biases in the algorithms and outcomes.</li><li>Regularly test the technology for bias by measuring its impact on different patient populations. This can help identify and address biases in the technology.</li><li>Be transparent about the technology&#39;s limitations and potential biases to build trust with patients and users.</li><li>Engage with the community and seek input from diverse patient populations to ensure that the technology meets their needs and is accessible to all.</li></ul> The growing recognition about the consequences of implicit bias in healthtech is cause for hope. The Coalition’s work is to translate that awareness and concern into meaningful action. To all the leaders in developing and applying new technologies in healthcare settings, let’s make sure we’re holding ourselves accountable to rigorous, measurable standards, and to keep moving forward.  References:Agarwal AK, Seeburger E, O’Neill G, et al. Prevalence of Behavioral Flags in the Electronic Health Record Among Black and White Patients Visiting the Emergency Department. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(1):e2251734. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.51734Sun M, Oliwa T, Peek M and Lung E. Negative Patient Descriptors: Documenting Racial Bias in the Electronic Health Record. Health Affairs. 2022<a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01423" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01423</a>

From Diagnosis to Treatment: Why Reducing Bias in Healthtech Matters

Blog - 0169

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact society worldwide, the scientific community is racing to understand SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease, and respond by developing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to combat it. Among the most powerful tools being used is CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), a gene-targeting and gene-editing technology based on the mechanism that bacteria naturally use to fight viruses.  CRISPR has enabled an efficient, precise and affordable way to manipulate and edit genomic DNA and RNA, completely unlocking a new frontier for biological engineering. Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers had begun to use CRISPR to find new ways to cure diseases, including cancer, blindness and Alzheimer’s disease; develop more sustainable methods for producing fuel; and improve food crops to better feed the growing global population.  In nature, CRISPR plays an important role in microbial immunity. By understanding the mechanism that bacteria naturally use to fight viruses, the research community and biopharma industry are now applying CRISPR-based genome engineering to the following potential solutions for COVID-19: Rapid Diagnostic Tests Scientists and companies are using CRISPR to detect the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in patient samples, developing diagnostic tests that are more efficient than the standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests now in use for COVID-19 testing, which must be conducted in sophisticated centralized labs by trained technicians. Supplementing PCR tests with CRISPR-based approaches could broaden access to COVID-19 diagnostic testing, a key strategy for stopping the transmission of the virus. The availability of such testing will be critical as we transition out of a complete shelter-in-place mode. Treatments Understanding how a pathogen operates at the host-pathogen interface is critical to developing new treatments. To that end, researchers are using the genome-editing power of CRISPR to shed light on how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the proteins in human cells and then generate appropriate cell models. As described in a recent Nature publication, these cell models could lead to faster discovery of a potential new treatment or an existing drug combination that could lead to a potential treatment. Furthering this approach, therapeutics developers are leveraging the convergence of technologies including CRISPR and artificial intelligence to rapidly advance discovery and development programs in innovative ways. Vaccines Researchers are utilizing CRISPR technology to develop a genetic vaccine. This approach involves using CRISPR to precisely target, cut and eliminate SARS-CoV-2 and its genome to stop the virus from infecting cells in the lung.  Collaboration as an engine to advance COVID-19 research  With SARS-CoV-2 transmission continuing on a global scale, it is more critical than ever that scientists have access to innovative tools that can enable rapid and accurate research. As an example, the team at Synthego, a genome engineering company that leverages machine learning, automation and gene editing to build platforms for science at scale, has been working hand-in-hand with the CDC, MIT’s Broad Institute, UCSF and others in government, academia and industry to help accelerate research being conducted by scientists in the trenches.  Inspired by the work that our collaborators are pursuing, Synthego developed COVID-19 specific tools designed to help enhance the speed and effectiveness of the development of rapid diagnostics and treatments. These tools include bioinformatically designed custom Cas13 guide RNA collections that can be used for individual or multiple gene knockouts to develop diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 and algorithmically-designed multi-arrayed CRISPR single-guide RNA (sgRNA) gene knockout libraries targeting 330 human genes that interact with SARS-CoV-2 proteins. These libraries can be used to investigate the molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 to identify drug combinations of enhanced efficacy, as described in this recent publication. Additional contributions have been focused on supporting the development of critical reagents for novel CRISPR-based COVID-19 point-of-care diagnostics including the STOPCovid protocol and the Sherlock™ CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Diagnostic, which received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA in May.  The unprecedented innovation taking place in the biopharma industry, academia and government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic today will provide a foundation for improving human health tomorrow. The current scientific efforts are representative of a paradigm-shifting movement in the life sciences – one in which the convergence of multiple technologies, the speed of information flow, and the rapid programmability and agility of technologies such as CRISPR will fundamentally change how research and development is approached and conducted. As society emerges from shelter-in-place orders, the scientific discoveries enabled by CRISPR-based genome engineering are poised to continue to drive innovation. Using the latest transformative tools, technologies and approaches, the scientific community is able to address both the challenges of today and those of the future.  About Jason Steiner: Jason Steiner, Ph.D., Chief Strategy Officer at Synthego, leads the company&#39;s business strategy and partnerships efforts to enable academic institutions and biotech and pharmaceutical companies to leverage Synthego’s gene engineering platform to accelerate the research, discovery, and development of next-generation therapeutics, including genetic and cellular therapies. Before Synthego, Steiner spent several years in the clinical genomics space commercializing liquid biopsy technologies in reproductive genetics and oncology at Natera. He holds a doctoral degree in materials science engineering from the University of California, San Diego, where his research focused on the development of nanoparticle delivery systems for therapeutics and diagnostics in oncology.

The Role of CRISPR Technology in the Development of COVID-19 - Rapid Diagnostic Tests and Treatments

Blog - 0065

Global Smart Health Solution Leader

The power of linked data in care transitions from hospital to home is fundamental to improving the health of individuals, as well as that of health systems. EY’s new insights paper, titled <a href="https://www.ey.com/en_gl/health" target="_blank">How innovative infrastructure can power the purpose of integrated care systems</a>, looks at the information architecture backbone necessary to join up the many threads of health, social and community services that keep people and populations healthier, independent and at home. The paper discusses integrated care systems (ICSs), which are presently being introduced in England’s NHS. However, the insights are relevant for any health system that is contemplating better coordinating care between health, social, third-sector and local government delivery channels. Joining up services is a long overdue recognition that, working together, rather than in fragmented silos, achieves better outcomes. And ICSs tick all the right boxes, ideally providing equitable, well-connected and coordinated care across all aspects of a person’s health and social needs for healthier populations and more sustainable systems.  Infostructures, or information systems that can create, connect and share data, leveraging a semantic standard, at scale, are key to modernizing health systems. As data becomes the core asset of health and care, it will be used by thousands of people for different purposes across time and space. Unlocking the power of ICSs as coordinated and collaborative ecosystems requires a new approach to health information architecture. This is one that not only spans the health and social dimensions of an individual’s life journey, but also realizes the immense value of health data availability in accelerating novel approaches for better and more efficient health and care.  Joined-up care means working differently  The richness and variability of health and social care encounters demand information infrastructures that are sufficiently agile to accommodate the heterogeneity of many different existing systems. Such infrastructures also need to act as platforms of exchange. This means allowing the easy flow of data within and between systems and analytics capabilities that support the use of data for local needs, safely and securely.  At a minimum, modernizing the operating environment should integrate the vast amount of health-related information about an individual into an integrated shared care record. Spanning complex care pathways across many different organizations, this should drive interorganizational information exchanges that prevent errors, avoid inefficiencies arising from duplication, and support primary care and health at home care models. As organizations such as the NHS move toward integrated care systems, there is a timely opportunity to build an information backbone with the entire system in mind. In the paper, we discuss why an open platform environment would allow sufficient flexibility to benefit from emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, hyper automation, decentralized identities and digital twins) and to deliver digital-first consumer and workforce experiences.  As major investments, health information systems need to stand the test of time. For decision-makers, this means not being constrained by elements that hold back system modernization and taking steps to avoid future burden from technical debt. Although the NHS points ICS decision-makers toward consolidation and enhancement of existing EPR assets, we have suggested in the paper that an alternative approach warrants consideration. This includes weighing whether existing monolithic EPRs in use in the acute health system can extend to satisfactorily meet the information needs of the community, mental health and social care domains, as well as in providing an experience desired by both the individual and the clinician.  Infostructure: The essential foundation for new models of care  Sharing organized and complete data to generate insights for better health outcomes is the driving force behind joined-up care in ICSs. This demands an information architecture that supports a longitudinal health and care record, shared services between different resources and the easy exchange of structured data across systems.  Health systems need to plan with a long-term view of the future. Beyond immediate need, strategic considerations must revolve around the vision for a modernized health system. Technology enablement is key to modernization, and the primacy of data liquidity is beyond question. The tools to deliver such liquidity must enhance, not impede, the permissioned sharing of complete data that gives rise to service model and operations innovations for better health outcomes. ICSs are a perfect example of the importance of considering the needs of all information users and ensure that a sufficiently agile system underpins the model.  Open platform systems will produce significant value as a result of seamless data flow across the entire health and care value chain – from primary and community care through to hospital systems. Integrated shareable care records replete with good-quality data are the backbone for any future health and care system. This is too important to get wrong. In this early stage of transition to ICSs, opportunity exists to weigh alternatives carefully. If information infrastructure is viewed through a different lens, that of open platforms and systemic design, the building blocks of a truly transformational change become clear.

As Health, Social & Community Care Systems Embrace a Common Ground in Integrated Care Systems, an Agile Information Infrastructure is Called For

Blog - 0152