Monday, December 21, 2020
As we close out the year, it’s safe to say 2020 may be the year on record when telehealth broke through into the mainstream of healthcare delivery. I offer my predictions for 2021 in my latest article in CIO online.
The much-awaited COVID-19 vaccination effort got under way with Pfizer’s vaccine, with millions scheduled to be vaccinated by the end of the year. Late last week, the FDA approved Moderna’s vaccine as well. It’s a story of a remarkable company that has never had an FDA-approved product till now. We couldn’t have asked for a better close to the year.
The other big news this past week was the flurry of lawsuits against big tech firms, specifically Google and Facebook, who have been charged with anti-competitive practices, specifically their abuse of personal data. We have included a quick breakdown of the multiple lawsuits and the charges against the firms. Don’t hold your breath; it will be years before we see a final outcome. For those who recall Microsoft’s multi-year anti-trust court battles, this time may be different.
The backlash against big tech’s use of personal data for profits without any regulatory safeguards for consumers has been building for a while. In this regard, the EU has been ahead, slapping billions of dollars in fines on big tech. However, that has not stopped firms like Google and Facebook from pursuing data for profit. What we are also learning now is that tech firms often have secret data-sharing arrangements as well which significantly increase their influence over consumer choices.
Big tech has their eyes on healthcare data as well. This past week, Google signed a multi-year agreement with Highmark Blue Cross. Named the Living Health Dynamic Platform, the partnership will focus on driving insights to improve healthcare outcomes using Google Cloud infrastructure, Google’s AI/ML tools, and the Google Healthcare API.
We are signing off with this final newsletter for the year. We are also including a list of our top 10 episodes from our wildly popular podcast The Big Unlock. We want to thank you for your support. We have exciting plans for the coming year that we hope to share with you soon.
Happy holidays and best wishes for 2021!
Paddy
- 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 to info@damoconsulting.net for more details.
Our Top 10 Podcasts of the Year 2020
This Week in Digital Health Markets
We are selectively featuring guest posts in our newsletter from senior leaders in healthcare and technology. Reach out to us if you would like to contribute a blog to one of our upcoming newsletters.
Healthcare digital transformation: 5 predictions for 2021
Consumerism, telehealth, and the learnings from the pandemic will drive priorities in the year ahead. CIO Online
10 health IT acquisitions over $100M in 2020
Healthcare IT companies continued to ink multimillion-dollar acquisition deals as digital healthcare adoption skyrocketed during the pandemic. Becker’s Hospital Review
Amazon’s Chief Technology Officer Shares His Predictions for 2021
The cloud may be unavoidable, on Earth and above, and more apps will be powered by it. Machine-learning will be available to a bigger audience, and quantum computing picks up. WSJ
Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Is Cleared for American Use
Vaccinations with the shot, the second to gain FDA permission, could start as soon as Monday. WSJ
Powerful alliance of payer, provider, and technology leaders will transform the health experience for patients and caregivers through the development of Highmark Health’s new Living Health Model. Google Press Release
COVID-19 pushes patient expectations toward self-service
There’s growing evidence thatCOVID-19 transmission is unlikely from touching surfaces exposed to the virus, but that hasn’t necessarily changed patient expectations, as patients are increasingly choosing organizations that take steps to limit contact. Modern Healthcare
Ranking the 5 big suits against Google and Facebook
Facebook stands to lose the most, but Google is more likely to lose: That’s the consensus of experts Axios asked to rank the threats the two tech giants face as five separate major anti trust lawsuits bear down on them.Axios
Microsoft’s Lessons for Google
What the Microsoft case teaches us about antitrust and the power of Big Tech today. New York Times
Pandemic-era burnout: How EHR vendors are redesigning UI and UX to battle stress
Experts from three top EHR vendors and one top technology design firm outline the user interface/user experience problems that physicians and nurses have encountered, solutions to these problems, and where EHR and health IT usability is headed in the future. Healthcare IT News
Top 10 privacy and security stories of 2020
As COVID-19 wreaked havoc at health systems worldwide, hackers and bad actors were all too happy to take advantage of the confusion and expanded attack surface – in a new “cyberpandemic” that shows no sign of abating. Healthcare IT News
Chart of the Week
Source: The New York Times
Events
Our CEO Paddy Padmanabhan on Health Tech Spotlight podcast talks about the new era of virtual care, telehealth, his podcast 'The Big Unlock,' and how he helped his community through music. Listen here.
Our CEO Paddy Padmanabhan on MarketScale’s I Don’t Care podcast with host Kevin Stevenson discusses the sudden upscaling of virtual care capacity, the mainstreaming of telehealth, the mounting momentum of healthcare digital transformation, and the cybersecurity risks that are sure to accelerate concurrently. Listen here.
Damo Consulting Thought Leadership and Research
Technology brings care to home for chronically ill patients
Video visits, temperature sensors and wearable scan replace the need for clinic visits. The pandemic has only accelerated this process – and shown the need to innovate infrastructure and make investments.
Top digital health tools to enhance patient experience and access
One of the most important aspects of care delivery is to enhance patient experience and access to care. This article talks about digital tools that can help with major digital health areas and how digital front doors help improve processes and enhance physician and patient experience.
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.
This research paper, based on focus group discussions with CHIME members, discusses the challenges with digital transformation for mid-tier health systems and what CIOs must do to accelerate digital transformation in their organizations.
