Monday, April 12, 2021
Issue 109
There is a saying among Indians about the struggles of narrators and their listeners in telling or hearing a long story. The saying references the great Hindu epic Ramayana about the 14 years that Lord Rama spends in exile with his wife Sita. Loosely translated, the frustrated narrator asks a listener: After listening to the whole story, you’re asking me whose father is Sita? (trust me, it sounds funnier in any one of India’s 150 plus official languages).
A study published this week indicates that nearly half of over 4000 clinicians, technologists and administrators surveyed were not familiar with what information blocking was. 70% of the same respondents were aware that the information blocking rules went into effect last week. No doubt ONC Chief Mickey Tripathi feels the same way as the narrator of the Ramayana after declaring the interoperability final ruling to be the law of the land in a blog post this week.
Data, analytics, and interoperability are the focus of this week’s newsletter. In a piece in Modern Healthcare, I share my views on emerging data-sharing initiatives in healthcare. In a fascinating podcast interview, Jim Beinlich of Penn Medicine discusses their data management and analytics programs and shares their extensive protocols for integrating genomic data into patient records for diagnosis and treatment.
Coincidentally, over the weekend I finished reading The Code Breaker, Walter Isaacson’s profile of CRISPR gene-editing pioneer and Nobel prize winner Jennifer Doudna. If there is one thing I took away from the book, it is the need to carefully assess the ethical issues around gene-editing at a time when CRISPR-CaS methods to develop mRNA-based vaccines and cures is showing great potential and gene-editing technology is getting more and more democratized.
My favorite read from last week is an in-depth profile of Judy Faulkner and Epic in Forbes. It’s a must read for anyone who wants to understand the history and culture of one of the world’s most influential privately held companies that most people haven’t heard of.
I am excited about our participation in the CHIME21 Spring Forum this week. If you are attending do check out our conference booth – Type DAMO CONSULTING to find us. We will also be doing a LIVE demo of our recently launched DamoIntel™ platform. The demos are scheduled for 10:00 AM CT on April 14 and 15. Save this link to join the demo.
In my latest podcast episode, I interview Jim Beinlich, VP and Chief Data Information Officer at Penn Medicine. Take a listen.
Podcast of the Week
In this episode, Jim Beinlich discusses the current state and maturity level of data and analytics in healthcare.
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.
A New Day for Interoperability – The Information Blocking Regulations Start Now
ONC Chief Mickey Tripathi writes in this blog declaring the interoperability final ruling to be now the law of the land. Health IT Buzz (The Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT)
Confusion remains about ONC information blocking rules, even after start date
Nearly half of respondents to a recent survey said they were not familiar with the term “information blocking,” although70% said they were aware of rules taking effect on April 5. Healthcare IT News
Enforcement landscape for HHS data-sharing rules is hazy, experts say
The HHS’ new interoperability and information blocking rules have been in effect for one week, yet how they will be enforced is unclear. But there are some clues that could provide a glimpse into what the enforcement landscape might look like, and the best thing providers and IT developers can do is be proactive, experts say. MedCity News
Providers’ data-sharing ventures try to make patient data more useful, keep it safe
I share my thoughts in this article on the emerging data-sharing initiatives by health systems. Modern Healthcare
Google is exploring a health record tool for patients
Back to the future for Google? STAT News
Is ‘Femtech’ the Next Big Thing in Health Care?
Start-ups and tech companies are creating products to address women’s health care needs. It’s still a small segment of the market but growing. The New York Times
The Billionaire Who Controls Your Medical Records
Fascinating in-depth profile of Judy Faulkner and the Epic story. Must read. Forbes
How medicine discriminates against non-white people and women
National Racial bias in pulse-ox meters. What next? The Economist
Intermountain and its analytics subsidiary help manage value-based care
At providers working closely with Castell, the cost of care for patients has decreased in a meaningful way, its chief analytics officer says. Healthcare IT News
Chart of the week
A comprehensive overview of medical AI devices approved by the US Food and Drug Administration sheds new light on limitations of the evaluation process that can mask vulnerabilities of devices when they are deployed on patients.
Source: Nature Research
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
Digital Transformation in Healthcare WHY and WHY NOW
In this virtual conference, by Paubox, our CEO Paddy Padmanabhan will be moderating a session on “A Uniform Approach to Sharing Assurances and Other Certifications.”
Event details: April 22 | 09:00 AM PST
Register here. Upcoming event CT
Digital Maturity in Health Systems – The DigiM Framework and How to Use it
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
Damo Consulting’s ICEA™ framework guides health systems and technology firms on competitive assessment and partner selection strategies. This paper will help you find out how you can use the framework to categorize the technology vendors and evaluate each vendor within the categories. White Paper
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
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.
