Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Issue 107
It’s hard to keep track of the multitude of marketplace initiatives that traditional health systems and their emerging competitors are launching these days.
A number of new initiatives announced last week by health systems and tech firms point to an industry transforming itself rapidly and pushing the boundaries. Providence Health raised $20 million in series A for a new spin-out. Advocate Aurora Health launched an investment arm. Epic deepened its relationship with Humana, positioning itself for an expanded presence in the health insurance space. Cerner opened up its EHR data to New York Life for enabling underwriting decisions (with patient consent – of course).
Whether these initiatives are logical extensions to the core business model, or an effort to diversify revenue streams by any and all means available is a matter of perspective. If Amazon can get into core healthcare services, everything is on the table.
As vaccination efforts cover larger segments of our society (I got my first shot this weekend), we are left with the question of how to repeat our scientific breakthrough with mRNA vaccines to not just prepare for future pandemics but also to address other health conditions, including cancer. We include this piece from the Economist on the fascinating possibilities.
Last week, I did a webinar on CHIME with Sara Veazy, Chief Digital Strategy Officer of Providence Health. We discuss our recent research with CHIME on digital priorities in a post-pandemic era and also our DigiM™ digital maturity model for health systems. I invite you to watch the recording.
In my latest podcast episode, I interview Kash Patel, VP and Chief Digital Technology Officer at Penn Medicine. Take a listen.
Have a great week.
Paddy
Podcast of the Week
In this episode, Kash Patel discusses his role as the Chief Digital Technology Officer at Penn Medicine and provides an overview of their digital transformation initiatives covering all aspects of the institution including research, academic programs, and patient engagement.
We thank our partners and sponsors for their support in bringing you high-quality content
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.
Providence spins out intelligence-driven patient scheduler
Not-for-profit Catholic health system Providence is spinning off its in-house technology syncing provider availability and patient scheduling and has already scored several health systems as new client after its latest funding round. Modern Healthcare
Amazon Care and privacy: A host of unknowns
If HIPAA does not apply to Amazon Care, then absent another privacy regulation applying, avoiding exploitation of the data relies on the good faith of the entity operating the service. MedCityNews
Advocate Aurora launches investment arm
Advocate Aurora Health has launched an investment arm with the goal of backing businesses that aim to promote health and wellness. Modern Healthcare
Hospitals Hide Pricing Data From Search Results
In an era of healthcare consumerism, this seems pretty regressive. The Wall Street Journal
Epic-Humana partnership enters new phase focused on prior authorizations
The partnership between the insurer and EHR giant — announced a year and a half ago — will now focus on streamlining prior authorizations and offering providers enhanced insights about their patients. Ochsner Health will be among the first to implement the new capabilities offered by the companies. MedCity News
Cerner makes moves into the life insurance game
The vendor announced that it was collaborating with New York Life to facilitate and simplify EHR retrieval. Healthcare IT News
NIH Funds National Project to Promote COVID-19 Data Sharing
UC hospitals have received a $500,000 grant from NIH to enable COVID-19 data sharing on a national scale, allowing collaborations among researchers, providers, and patients. Health IT Analytics
Broad Institute launches $300 million effort to harness AI to fight diseases
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is launching a new, $300 million initiative that applies advanced computer science to some of the hardest problems in medicine — an endeavor it said could uncover new ways to fight cancer, infectious disease, and other illness. STAT News
Covid-19 has brought together biomedical technologies that will transform human health. Maybe even cure cancer. The Economist
Note: Some of the articles linked in this newsletter may be behind paywalls that need a subscription.
Events
Join Damo Consulting CEO Paddy Padmanabhan for a LIVE demo of our DamoIntel™ Digital Health Intelligence Platform – the first and only digital health intelligence platform for health systems and technology providers – at the CHIME21 Spring forum.
Event details: April 14-15 | 10:00 AM CT
Register here. Upcoming event
In this webinar, Paddy Padmanabhan and Sara Vaezy, Chief Digital Strategy and Business Development Officer of Providence Health discuss a roadmap for digital transformation leaders looking to take an objective view of their progress and prioritize their investments to meet their enterprise goals. Webinar Recording
Damo Consulting Thought Leadership and Research
NEW RESEARCH: Digital Transformation Priorities for health systems in a Post COVID-19 Era
Our annual survey on the current state of digital transformation, in collaboration with CHIME, reveals interesting insights on how health systems are prioritizing and funding digital initiatives in a post-COVID-19 era. DamoIntelTM Research
Assessing Digital Maturity: The DigiMTM Digital Maturity Model for Health Systems
Damo Consulting’s DigiMTM model is a framework that describes the different stages of digital maturity in the specific context of health systems. The framework is supported by an automated online evaluation tool that scores the digital programs of individual health systems and provides benchmarks to drive incremental investments and roadmap execution priorities. White Paper
Amazon Care is a big deal – here’s why
With its promise of virtual care in all 50 states, this is the first time a big tech firm will be directly in the healthcare services business. Will it be another failed experiment, or the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for? Blog
How to win physician confidence in remote patient monitoring programs
CIOs need to look beyond just EHRs and explore stand-alone platforms to enhance care delivery – keeping focused on reliable patient data and streamlined clinical workflows. Blog
Corporate Announcements
Damo Consulting releases annual survey of the state of digital transformation, points to access as the primary focus area for digital health and digital transformation. Virtual visits, automated communications for scheduling and reminders, and patient self-service tools are all high-focus areas.
Read more.
Damo Consulting offers branding solutions for technology firms looking to gain visibility and access to healthcare executives and CXOs.
