Monday, November 30, 2020
As COVID-19 cases surge across the U.S. and the globe, humanity seems locked in a tight race to beat the virus with a widely available vaccine. The past few weeks have delivered encouraging news about three different vaccines, one of which could be available as early as the end of the year. Even if we get a vaccine soon for widespread use, there are significant challenges in manufacturing and distributing the vaccine. We include a piece from The Economist which lays out the logistics of the complex scenarios involved.
An additional complexity, especially in the U.S. context, is overcoming the anti-vaccine sentiment among a section of the population. This is a specific aspect of the immunization problem for which we apparently need behavioral economists. Findings by a couple of Wharton Business School professors who undertook a study with Walmart provide insights on effective communication strategies to increase vaccination rates.
COVID-19 continues to be a strong catalyst for the adoption of telehealth and remote care models. However, the devil is in the details. Telehealth programs can increase digital divides, and even when they work, they require an appreciation of the populations involved, as described in this piece in HBR which addresses the needs of the elderly populations.
It’s the same theme that I discuss in the context of pediatric care with my latest podcast guest, Daniel Nigrin, SVP and CIO of Boston Children’s Hospital. Take a listen.
Stay safe. Wear a mask.
P. S. I am accepting speaking engagements for your in-company and user group events on the book themes and our recent research. Drop a line toinfo@damoconsulting.net for more details.
Podcast of the week
In this episode, Daniel Nigrin discusses how digital at Boston Children’s Hospital is about transforming healthcare by improving the care experience for consumers, patients, families, and clinicians and their interaction with the health system.
This Week in Digital Health Markets
America will be the first country to roll out a covid-19 vaccine
We are very close to widely available vaccine. What will the logistics of immunizing a population look like? The Economist
What Will Persuade People to Take a Vaccine?
A team of behavioral scientists at Wharton and Penn is studying the best methods of communication to persuade more people to get off the fence and into their doctor’s offices or local pharmacies to get vaccinated. Knowledge@Wharton
4 Strategies to Make Telehealth Work for Elderly Patients
Executives and frontline providers of four innovative primary care organizations that serve predominately elderly populations share strategies to make telehealth work for elderly patients. Harvard Business Review
CMS launches Acute Hospital Care at Home program to help with COVID-19 surge
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services took several new steps to help U.S. hospitals manage the crush of new patients as the COVID-19 crisis worsens. Among them are new allowances for telehealth and remote monitoring, for what CMS is calling the Acute Hospital Care at Home program. Healthcare IT News
Telehealth may worsen digital divide for people with disabilities
Experts say, in a new paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, telehealth may also exacerbate inequities faced by the disable community. Healthcare IT News
Hospitals are facing a new wave of ransomware attacks even as they struggle to confront a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. Fierce Healthcare
Workers leaving ‘healthcare prisons’ over COVID-19 stress
It isn’t just ordinary folks falling victim to COVID-19. The toll on healthcare workers is mental and physical. Modern Healthcare
Events
Paddy Padmanabhan with Geisinger Health System’ CIO John Kravitz presented Geisinger’s digital strategy and how Damo Consulting partnered with them to setup a Digital Transformation Office to drive enterprise initiatives at the recently held CHIME20 Digital Recharge. Click here to view the recording.
Damo Consulting Thought Leadership and Research
A mid-year review of the financial and market performance of global technology consulting firms in healthcare.
The WITCH Monthly Monitor - Our monthly update on major global IT consulting and services firms in healthcare provides the latest financial and market performance updates on WITCH companies along with other global IT consulting firms. *WITCH Monthly Monitor is now available as a free 1-year subscription with every purchase of The WITCH Report.
