A panel of licensed healthcare professionals preferred ChatGPT responses 79% of the time and rated ChatGPT responses as higher quality and more empathetic. Gulp. Understandably, some doctors are not happy with this study. And many were not pleased with me for not diving deeper into the complexities inherent in the research in my initial LinkedIn post. Message heard. Understood!

The news headlines and the initial study callouts overplay the immediate importance of ChatGPT in the physician-patient relationship. Physicians do not fair poorly.  However, the authors provide an inflection point that should not be ignored and must be acknowledged – Communication is Part of the Care and Cure! Physicians must be trained and have time to deal with patient curiosity and urgencies. #Patientexperience is different. They do not want to sit idle or silent. They are curious and concerned.

As generations have become more familiar with technology in their day-to-day lives, perhaps they place more trust in machines’ “unbiased nature” over humans. That assumption has led to the rise of “#misinformation.” We believe our Twitter feeds if we don’t explore the facts further. But, our screens reduce the press of needing to engage with people at the moment – they give us time to think and check in with this “on-call” information aggregator. To let the information sink in without being confronted about the next step. Doctors are too often pressured into an eight-minute per-patient provider reimbursement model. It’s not their fault – it’s the system that they must co-exist within. But that tilted system leads to the consumer seeking – needing – alternatives. If so, even imperfect ChatGPT4 and beyond will be a go-to.

There are changes afoot that we need to make happen sooner rather than later by moving minds, systems, and behaviors so that life-sustaining and life-saving approaches to patient care may eventually tip the scale of human survival toward health and wellness. However, we see data from a human perspective – sometimes self-interests or emotional needs for control. ChatGPT is the aggregate of data and human input. It is not divorced from us but a faint mirror of the human experience.

Yes, this study is worth reading. Yes, many have criticized its design and the intent of the authors. Yes, many are fearful that machines may replace physicians. But, the latter assumption is doubtful. Reading between the lines reinforces that, as industry colleague Ritesh Patel often says, “If it moves, digitize it!” People get their information in ways that are quick and convenient. That is a reality everyone in the health community must face!

The medical community and health communicators must rise to the moment if they want to harness this technology. Learn about ChatGPT and how it operates – its prompts. Also, read words from experts on the digital health news platform Medika Life including the insightful words by innovation theorist John Nosta. John will rock your boat; however, often, he points to where this is going.  Read the words of Tom Lawry, former head of Microsoft’s AI team, author of the best-seller Hacking Healthcare, and a global counselor on the practical application of AI.

Almost one year ago, I penned a piece titled: Health Possibilities We Cannot Afford to Block. There were 10 ideas/technologies included in that piece – #1 was #AI. That’s the heart of ChatGPT. Fixing one part of the healthcare puzzle is encouraging – but is it transformational? What can we do to make things work better for patients? Medicine can harness the power of ChatGPT to make it work even better for patients seeking healing solutions. Perhaps we can give physicians more time to help patients feel their doctors have and always are among their greatest advocates. We can also bring technology companies and leading medical associations together to talk about ChatGPT influence on trusted people-to-people connections, particularly with physician-patients.

Why do consumers turn to machines instead of people for medical counsel?  Well, we haven’t been able to clone or at least develop teaching models drawing upon the many outstanding physicians who demonstrate incredible patience and empathy for patient woes and questions – doctors like WebMD’s John Whyte and NHS’s and Microsoft’s Junaid Bajwa—many answers to consider. Among the most important are skill, collaboration and empathy.

Consumers may feel that devices are better listeners and work with them in partnership. We should expect this outcome due to the fragmented health ecosystem that consumers must navigate with difficulty. We must recognize that ChatGPT’s interest and popularity among health information seekers didn’t just happen. It is possible to realize that these same information seekers feel they are not getting what they seek.

Keep learning! This is not the end of humanity and the beginning of the Matrix – where people, software and machine battle for survival. The world will be changing in amazing ways in the short years ahead. Collaboration and communications go hand-in-hand as essential tools for healing.

The post Does Artificial Intelligence (#AI) Chatbot Outperform Physicians in Patient Experience? appeared first on Medika Life.

The concept of rest has been an important aspect of human history, both in terms of religious traditions and in contemporary society. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the seventh day is regarded as a day of rest, symbolizing the completion of creation and the appreciation of its beauty.

However, in today’s world, with technology enabling us to work around the clock, the idea of taking time to pause and reflect is often lost. Perhaps it’s time to explore the philosophical implications of the concept of rest and how it can help us put our lives and technological achievements into perspective.

In the book of Genesis, after creating the universe and all its inhabitants, God looked at his creation and saw that it was good. He then rested on the seventh day, not because he was tired or needed to recover, but to reflect on his creation and appreciate its beauty. This concept of rest is not just about physical relaxation, but also about taking time to appreciate and reflect on the good that has been accomplished. In the modern world, however, the pace of human accomplishment is almost continuous, and there is no time for such reflection.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.  Genesis 1:31

The technological advancements of the modern age have made our lives faster and more efficient, but they have also made it more challenging to slow down and reflect. With constant access to the internet, social media, and work emails, it can be challenging to disconnect and take a moment to appreciate what has been achieved. This constant connection to technology has led to a world that is always on, always working, and always striving for more. However, this constant striving can also lead to burnout, a lack of perspective and a vapid existence.

The bible, in Exodus, commands us to take a pause and reflect. This pause is not just about resting physically but also about taking the time to appreciate what has been accomplished and put it into perspective. In our modern world, this pause can be difficult to achieve, but it is essential for our well-being and for understanding the impact of our technological advancements.

The Greek word “schole” has given rise to the word “school,” but it has a deeper meaning that goes beyond the traditional idea of a place of learning. “Schole” can be interpreted as “restful learning,” which emphasizes the importance of taking time to breathe, contemplate, and discuss what one is learning. The idea is to create an environment where learning is not just about acquiring knowledge, but also about fostering a deeper understanding of oneself and the world.

This concept of rest—or disconnect—is not just about taking a break from work but also about taking time to appreciate the good in life. It is about taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of nature, the people around us, and the technological advancements that have made our lives easier. Taking the time to reflect on our achievements and put them into perspective is crucial for our mental and emotional well-being. It can help us gain a sense of gratitude and see the bigger picture of our lives and technological advancements.  This shift or separation allows us to move from being a participant to an observer, facilitating a new perspective on the world. And, as a function of this perspective, it enables us to evaluate innovation and technology from a more comprehensive viewpoint, taking into account the impact of our actions on the larger system.

The concept of rest is an essential aspect of the human experience, both from a religious and contemporary perspective. In our fast-paced, technology-driven world, it can be challenging to slow down and take time to appreciate the good in life. However, taking the time to reflect and put our achievements into perspective is crucial for our mental and emotional well-being. We can all benefit from taking a moment to rest and appreciate the beauty of the world and the technological advancements that have made our lives easier.

The post Technology’s Day Of Rest appeared first on Medika Life.

Augmented Intelligence (AI) refers to the use of AI technology to enhance human decision-making rather than replacing it altogether. In healthcare, AI can be used to analyze data from multiple sources, such as electronic health records, medical imaging, and genomics, to provide healthcare providers with valuable insights and recommendations. The insights provided by AI are meant to support, rather than replace, the judgment of healthcare providers.

The concept of Augmented Intelligence has the potential to transform healthcare in multiple ways while keeping the healthcare professional as the lead thinker…

1. Improved Diagnosis and Treatment. By analyzing vast amounts of medical data, AI can identify patterns and provide insights that healthcare providers may have missed. Augmented Intelligence can help healthcare providers make more accurate diagnoses and provide more effective treatment options. Additionally, AI can help healthcare providers personalize treatments for each patient based on their unique medical history and genetic makeup.
2. Enhanced Efficiency. Augmented Intelligence can automate repetitive tasks such as documentation, transcription, and scheduling, freeing up time for healthcare providers to focus on more critical tasks. Additionally, AI can provide real-time data analysis and generate alerts, allowing healthcare providers to respond quickly to changes in a patient’s condition.
3. Cost Savings. By reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks and providing accurate diagnoses and treatment options, Augmented Intelligence can help reduce healthcare costs. Additionally, by providing personalized treatments based on a patient’s medical history and genetic makeup, healthcare providers can avoid costly trial-and-error approaches.
4. Improved Patient Outcomes. The insights provided by Augmented Intelligence can lead to better patient outcomes. By providing healthcare providers with more accurate diagnoses and treatment options, patients can receive more effective care, leading to faster recovery times and improved quality of life.

The concept of Augmented Intelligence in healthcare represents a shift in the way we think about AI. Instead of replacing human intelligence, AI can be used to enhance it, providing healthcare providers with valuable insights and recommendations. The benefits of Augmented Intelligence are numerous, including improved diagnoses and treatment, enhanced efficiency, cost savings, and improved patient outcomes. As we continue to explore the potential of Augmented Intelligence, we can expect to see significant advancements in healthcare delivery, benefiting healthcare providers, patients, and society as a whole. 

Perhaps we can even evolve the concept and define this “cognitive augmentation” as completely living in the human domain and as part of the complex constellation of tools that advance civilization. And then, it’s not AI, but HI. And that’s a friendly step forward.

The post AI Is Really Augmented Intelligence appeared first on Medika Life.

Healthcare ethnography can help your hospital to discover front-line insights to transform patient care and the patient experience and save money.

In some places, outdated industry standards have become ritualized. A proactive approach to innovation and improvement is not always possible for hospital staff immersed in their daily routines.

Ethnography offers your hospital a solution to achieve and maintain operational efficiency in what is often a disruptive healthcare environment.

What is Ethnography?

Ethnography studies the culture and habits of people in specific situations. In healthcare, it can be applied to:

• Explain discrepancies between what patients say and what they do.
• Identify needs that people can’t articulate explicitly.
• Describe both usage and meaning of healthcare services.
• Put a human face on market data through real-life stories.
• Evaluate current products or services or create brand new ones.
• Help collect and organize multiple viewpoints and represent patients in an unbiased manner.
• Directly provide patient models that can quickly generate many good ideas.

Gaining front line insights from the viewpoint of patients, their families, and carers is essential to improve the quality of patient care. Our ethnographers use this qualitative research methodology to understand how to improve individual departments within your hospital, leading to greater patient and family satisfaction. The care coordination within a bundled payment model is also enhanced.

Our holistic approach involves gathering subjective insights to accompany data analytics and equip your hospital with the tools it needs for continuous innovation and improvement.

Our Process

The first part of the process is to illustrate a Patient Journey Map™ to identify existing challenges within your hospital. Our experienced ethnographers then collaborate with your team to create sustainable solutions.

One pathway to this process (VIE Healthcare), is to adopt a holistic approach that engages employees, patients, and their families by examining and analyzing their behaviors, attitudes and emotions.

The result is the discovery of valuable front line insights to empower your organization with opportunities that innovate and improve products and services to meet those needs.

Our team of ethnographers can uncover and solve hidden, complex issues in the delivery of your care and operational performances across your hospital, which can result in millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Our process involves:

• Engagement with, and interviewing your employees, allowing them to contribute individual insights and ideas. This helps us to recommend improvements and enhance patient care.
• Shadowing surgical cases from the front line to observe the decision-making process and staff performance. This gives us the insight to identify inefficiencies or areas where shortcuts are made often due to a lack of effective training or awareness of regulations.

Benefits of Ethnography in Healthcare

In summary, ethnography offers numerous benefits in your hospital, including:

• Target the actual needs of patients and families, saving valuable time and resources.
• Identify process improvements that have a tangible effect on your staff’s daily activities.
• Improve staff satisfaction by allowing them to be heard and addressing their needs.
• Redesign care through a collaborative approach for patients, families and staff.
• Multi-disciplinary care coordination throughout the care continuum.
• Improve patient satisfaction scores that directly impact bundle payments and reimbursement.
• Transform the patient experience.
• Reduce your hospital purchased costs.

Ethnography for Exceptional Patient Care

The insights we discover during our analysis reveal the unspoken needs of your patients and families to transform the patient experience and deliver a smoother patient journey through your organizational boundaries.

Our insights reduce errors, duplications and delays often experienced during processes such as “hand-offs.”

The result is improved health outcomes and a more enriching experience for patients and their families, positioning your hospital as a thought leader in the healthcare sector. As value-based care comes to the forefront, it becomes an essential part of driving margin improvement for the survival of your hospital.

The post Healthcare Ethnography: Discover Front Line Hospital Insights appeared first on Medika Life.

The answer, at least the expectation of the commanding officer, was fairly simple, if not obvious. And a good ice-breaker to start the discussion. But the young pilot’s response caught his CO completely off guard. The pilot reacted, as pilots often do, with a simple and emphatic word: no.  At that moment, the tone of the conversation changed rather dramatically, and the officer looked quizzically at his inexperienced student and asked why. His answer was both factual and based on science versus speculation or military optimism. “With our current engine specifications of lift and drag, higher speeds would require the engines to be too big. And, at that size, the resulting aerodynamics would not allow a significant increase in airspeed.” Of course, the answer didn’t incorporate the jet engine which was the real game-changer and not yet available to either the military or commercial aviation.  But that innovation was just around the corner.

Years later, a young medical student was called into his attending’s office.  This time, the discussion was regarding his application for a residency program at a prestigious medical center. The conversation followed a similar path as the young pilot, as they both chatted about the evolution and transformation of medicine today and into the future.  The discussion turned from the clinical to the philosophical, as the student spoke of his father’s dissatisfaction with his current job as a primary care physician. The future seemed a bit uncertain for both father and son.

Then the question from the attending came.  “Do you feel that the physician of today, you and me, will become obsolete?”

The medical student was on guard, as this was an important interview.  So, it’s no surprise that he heard zebra hoofbeats in the distance. But still his response was swift, resolute, and almost pilot-like—he said yes. But there was more to come. He spoke eloquently of his father and how the joy of medical practice had deteriorated into a system where pre-authorization became a misplaced journey of hope for both the clinician and patient. He explained how holding a hand was replaced by holding a mouse and peering at a keyboard and screen. And he opined on how his father would come home late at night, exhausted and burned out from a system that seemed to priortize dollars over heartbeats.

His point was clear.  That physician of today is obsolete.  The role is inconsistent with the human needs and desires expressed by patients, caregivers, clinicians and all those who provide that simple four-letter word: care. But he continued about his personal expectations for tomorrow. He clearly didn’t want to become that type of physician and suffer the consequences of an oppressive system. It had little place for him or his father. 

His voice became elevated and optimistic as he presented his generation’s future and reclaiming the joy of medicine.  His vision wasn’t a compromise, but a perspective on how technology can redefine roles, share the cognitive burden, and even enhance his human capabilities such as hearing, touch, and sight. 

Just like the jet engine, advances in technology that he grew up with, can help define his humanity and redefine medical practice.  He tempered his perspective with the reality that this is no simple task or path.  And in many instances, it’s already been declared DOA by those types who still flew in the old “prop jobs” of yesterday.  He concluded with the simple observation that change, and change for the better, is at hand.  And his job, as a new intern, would certainly be to hold the hand of his patient. But sometimes, he concluded, technology might be holding his other hand.

Author’s note:  The young pilot in this story is my father, John T. Nosta who was a Naval Aviator in World War II. He later went on to become a successful electrical engineer.  His vision was both practical and forward-thinking.  And sometimes, he liked to fly very fast.  The year 2022 is the 100^th anniversary of his birth.

The post The Parable Of The Pilot And The Medical Student appeared first on Medika Life.

 How so?

The COVID pandemic has changed the way we evaluate health technologies in four important and distinct ways.

1. Practicality replaces glitz.  The “Wow factor” is what mattered in the past.  “Look how cool this laser is that can identify your heart rhythm from 300 feet away!” “This headset lets me see how food travels through my body in real time!”   Technology can still be cool, but now the question is how will I use it?  Wearables that measure important variables like blood pressure will get more attention than new imaging tools that simply provide a clearer picture.
2. Prevention takes precedence over therapeutics.  COVID has demonstrated to us the importance of our personal health.  For too long, we made our jobs and other commitments our top priority.  Going forward, one’s personal health will become a major focus, especially as it relates to prevention.  How will a particular technology let me take control of my own health?  Nowadays, I am now more interested in a toilet that can monitor my urine for signs of diabetes or my stool for colorectal cancer than a device that creates holograms.  Once one gets pass the “icky” factor of some tools,  we will evolve to truly personalized preventive medicine.
3. Rigorous outcomes rule the day.  Everything now will be measured by how did it change patient outcomes.  Sure, it a device might show a new way to measure blood glucose – but what impact does it have on quality of life, co-morbidities, and life expectancy?
4. Consumer centricity rather than physician centricity.  In the past, technology has been focused on the health system and doctors.  It’s been a B-B approach.  That won’t go away, but more and more tech innovations will put the health consumer in charge.  For instance, I won’t be wearing a device that sends all the information to my doctor, but rather there will be more interpretation of all the data from wearables with direct communication to the patient.  This may require changes in regulation by the US Food and Drug Administration with a more practical definition of what constitutes a “medical device.” 

The real future of  digital health is when tech tools  continuously collect health data points and help interpret the information and provide preliminary diagnoses to patients.   The doctor isn’t going to be left out of this equation, but the difference will be that the patient will no longer be left out.  It’s the patient who will be at the center of how these technologies function from start to finish.

I’m sure I still going to be wow-ed this year and be entertained by the advancements we have made, especially during the last two years. But I’m also going to ask tougher questions on innovation, especially as relates to the purpose and impact.

The post Four Ways COVID has Changed Health Tech appeared first on Medika Life.

Dallas-based startup Listeners on Call is trying to solve the problem through its consumer listening services connecting people in need to an empathetic listening ear. The company believes in the power of meaningful conversations.

Listeners on Call launched in July of 2020 in response to the growing pandemic of loneliness exacerbated by Covid-19. The platform promotes mental health by connecting callers to a trained team of listeners. The company website states, “Everyone has something they need to share. Not everyone has someone to listen.”

The Dallas-based startup matches Listener on Call users to others who provide an empathetic ear and share experiences. The company believes sharing with someone who can relate to your problem can be life-changing. Callers can rest assured their privacy is protected as all calls are anonymous.

The Listeners are not trained medical professionals and do not give out medical advice. The platform is not designed to provide therapy or counseling. Instead, Listeners on Call’s goal is to be a “first step” for those seeking support. Dallas-based CEO Cole Egger told the Dallas Business Journal, “the company isn’t looking into the crowded field of telehealth companies providing professional services instead of seeing itself as the first step in seeking care and support.”

After downloading the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, users can select their listener to find someone who shares a connection to what they are experiencing. The company website states, “We are committed to connecting anyone, anywhere, anytime with someone who has a related personal experience and is ready to listen and are proud to offer on-call empathy, privacy, and support for millions of people who need to feel heard.”

The next step is to find a convenient time to speak directly to the listener. The app allows users to connect immediately for urgent conversations or to schedule a time in the future when it is convenient.

Next, Listeners On Call connects the user to the listener on a private line to help maintain privacy and anonymity. The calls can be as long or as short as needed. Users pay $0.50 per minute to use the service.

Every day people can apply to be listeners and be paid for their time. The application process is spelled out on their website. The company seeks out people who have empathy and who have a “natural spark of curiosity that makes people want to open up to them.” The listeners are trained through the company’s Listening Academy.

The Listening Academy involves a series of short courses focused on the art of Connected Listening, which the company explains as “how to create a bond with strangers based on a shared experience.” The program provides listeners with tools and techniques to help callers feel heard and valued.

The techniques employed by Listeners On Call is backed up by data showing an individual’s emotional state can be improved by exposing them to an empathetic listener. The company performed research evaluating callers disposition before and after engaging with a listener on their platform.

Listeners on Call partnered with Morphii, an experience measurement technology to complete the study. Morphii’s patented technology quantifies users’ emotions and feelings after engaging with various technologies.

During the study, Listeners on Call evaluated a caller’s disposition before and after a call with a trained listener. The Morphii system then quanitfied the caller’s pre and post-call emotional state.

The results were summarized in a press release as:

• Almost all Callers (97% leave the Listeners On Call platform in a more positive state.
• Overall, Callers experienced a 115% improvement in disposition from pre-to-post call.
• Callers identifying isolation/loss as the reason for seeking Listeners reported an average improvement of 151%.
• Callers seeking Listeners to cope with stress demonstrated a 184% improvement.
• Lastly, Callers who did not designate a specific topic, but who simply needed to talk/vent averaged an 89% improvement from pre- to post-call.

The mission of Listeners on Call is to make sure no one ever feels like they are alone. We all need someone to talk to sometimes. Perhaps, this platform can help the world feel more connected.

The post Listeners On Call Tackles Loneliness Through the Art of Listening appeared first on Medika Life.

1. Poor Design

Without a doubt, the most commonly raised issue for existing solutions and new-to-market products that rely on user input, whether patient or provider input. The refrain “the system doesn’t allow me to do x, y, or z” can be heard across every field of healthcare in America. This speaks to one single cause. Poor design based on a limited understanding of the ecosystem you are engaging with and as it’s a frequent refrain, many companies, in fact, the large majority, are at fault here.

You are producing AI and data-driven software that, while efficient at performing its assigned tasks, lack the ability to perform accurately or meaningfully as your data capture is incomplete. You’re not asking the right questions and offering your user the breadth of input they require for their responses. The result is an incomplete picture and as you’re probably all too well aware, in healthcare that can prove fatal at worst, and at best, result in, you guessed it, terrible adoption.

You’ve chosen one of the most complex ecosystems to distribute a product into. Not only is the healthcare sector incredibly diverse with wide-ranging needs to address the most complex piece of machinery on the plant (the patient), this ecosystem is already filled with a multitude of products that you need to be able to communicate with seamlessly. There is no standardized Windows, Apple, or Android platform to base development on. Healthcare is the programmer’s version of data hell and you need to be ready to toss out all your preconceived ideas out the window.

To develop an effective AI or digitally driven software solution for healthcare(we’re not referring to cutting edge medical devices and tools here, but rather the software that drives much of the industry) it’s time to go back to med school 101 and that involves being able to draw on a full picture. One that includes both patient and provider views. Fail either and you’re doomed. This might sound patently obvious, it clearly isn’t and it this lack of a proper appreciation for the issues faced in the day-to-day practices of patients and providers that undoes most new solutions.

Startups need to spend time in their doctor’s and patients’ shoes. Live with them, shadow them and develop systems that solve their problems without creating new ones. Only once you can relate to their experiences can you arguably develop suited tools and solutions. You can’t provide the answers when you’re not even sure which questions to ask. Embed yourself and learn first. Then do what you do best. Build solutions.

2. Inbuilt Bias

I’ve broached this topic before and it’s a critical one that speaks directly to patient safety. Depending on which areas of the United States you’re pushing your services into, you’re addressing a multilingual, multiracial patient and provider landscape. The time for developing solutions for a white middle-class patient has died a well-deserved death and is now ascribed to history. The fact that so few platforms address equitable access to healthcare successfully is almost criminal, not only from an ethical perspective but when viewed from monetizing any solution.

Dude, you just missed half your customers. Seriously. Do you know how many Asians, Hispanics, and other nationalities intentionally avoid using your solution because you’ve built bias into the system? What about the elderly? You’ve forgotten about half your market and that has two major consequences. Let’s examine both.

• You‘ve just cut your income stream in half and potentially rendered your product obsolete by not making it inclusive. It will suffer from poor adoption rates and as users discover its limitations you will hemorrhage clients. Trust me, go ahead and design for privilege, intentionally or otherwise, and let me know how that turns out.
• You‘ve developed a product that is in direct contradiction to healthcare’s much-vaunted goals of equitable and accessible care for all. We’re not there yet, but if your solution is part of the problem rather than seeking to address it, you can see where this is going right? EVERYONE, irrespective of race, color or creed should benefit or be able to benefit from your solution. If not, then it clearly isn’t fit for purpose.

Create products that are inclusive and allow for varying levels of access and when all else fails, still allow for human interaction. Do this well, and in the current market, you are ensured of spectacular success.

3. Flexibility

The ability to change and adapt to a fluid working dynamic like the one posed by healthcare is key to your product’s success. No matter how much homework you’ve done, how inclusive your system is, and how much money you’ve spent on testing, you’re dealing with human beings and ever-changing dynamics in terms of protocols and treatments. Build a rigid system that cannot be easily and rapidly fine-tuned and you will quickly find yourself in customer service hell.

IT companies often adopt an attitude of “fault tolerance levels”, waiting for the reports of glitches and flaws to mount up before they effect system-wide repairs. Healthcare is no different and if you want to really get a leg up on the competition, your ability to respond quickly and meaningfully is key. Not only will you reduce customer service loads, but your solution will also ingratiate itself with providers, who in turn, will ensure widescale adoption and brand loyalty. Win, Win.

Ignore issues, calls for updates, changes, and additions to a system and you’re committing brand suicide. At best, you’re alienating your customer and at worst, your inability to respond to requests for change can cost patients their lives. Neither outcome is desirable Build it so you can change it. Easily and quickly. This one aspect alone, coupled with simple and accessible customer service, will set your product light-years apart from competitors.

4. Understand the problem you’re addressing

This isn’t about poor design, although the two concepts overlap. it is about not correctly understanding the parameters of the problem you are seeking to address and this can have major ramifications when it comes to product adoption. One GP or a hospital that faces an issue is not reflective of the entire industry and problems can often be localized to an area or state. Do your homework. Understand the extent of the problem before you set about creating solutions.

Keep in mind that solutions don’t make users’ lives more complex. This is at odds with the whole idea of a solution and yet, the market is flooded with clever ideas that practitioners don’t need, much less have time for. Does your product address a widespread issue faced by healthcare workers, does the solution simplify their lives, and finally, is it simple to use. Tick all three or head back to the drawing board. Again, these are basics, but basics that are often lost sight of in our eagerness to bring our version of a solution to the marketplace. Any addition to a doctor’s workload that doesn’t translate into time saved and better patient outcomes is doomed to failure. Understand the problem you’re addressing and ensure the solution is appropriate.

Develop working models and consult with your users along every step of development. Changing tack is easily done when you’re in the development phase, less so when your distributing.

5. Accessibility

Possibly the most obvious of all, and yet, applications are still designed that will only function in the chrome browser, require the latest computers to run, and offer users complex and logic-defying UI’s. Dependence on a stable internet connection is another issue faced by many applications. kill the internet and you kill the application. While many solutions require an internet connection for functionality, many don’t, and making a system available offline increases reliability and access. 

Offering your solution across all platforms and browsers also greatly increases adoption and again, for a world that loves digital but doesn’t enjoy total coverage, don’t ignore your users that don’t as yet have access to smart devices. Integrate voice for people who don’t own a smartphone, who may not have internet, or who may simply not be familiar with our technical world. They also require access to medical help and the solutions you are creating. Be innovative and include them.

Ensure application UI’s are user-friendly, that visually impaired users can access the system and that font sizes can be adjusted. Inclusivity is your guiding principle for any healthcare application, particularly patient-facing solutions.

Going Commercial

There are fortunes to be made and lost in healthcare, especially in the trending arena of digital health. That hunger for profit and the need to generate turnover is often achieved at the expense of the patient and the provider. If your sole purpose is revenue, your experience with healthcare will most probably be singular and short-lived. The industry is unlike any other and while commercial interests do currently skew the medical landscape there are moves afoot to set the world to rights,

Idealists, purists, and ethical professionals want to ensure a return to patient-focused medicine, where the patient serves as both the motivation for and the final purpose behind the industry. Again, companies who are perceived as furthering the commercial exploitation of healthcare and patients will be spurned for their more ethical competitors. This patient-focused movement is alive, well, and growing within healthcare. Developers would be well placed to ensure their primary focus is improving the lot of the patient, even if that means occasionally forsaking profits and shareholders.

The post 5 Key Pitfalls That Compromise or Sink Digital Health Startups appeared first on Medika Life.

The White House Press Briefing is not always so exciting. But in today’s press brief, the Covid Response Team discussed OkCupid and Tinder dating advice. Dr. Anthony Fauci and Andy Slavitt handed out free tips to get people to swipe right.

According to Slavitt, people who display their vaccination status are 14% more likely to get a match.  He said, “We have finally found the one thing that makes us more attractive, a vaccination.”

Match Group, with headquarters in Dallas, has the largest online dating app portfolio, including popular brands like OkCupid, Tinder, Match.com, and Plenty of Fish. The company’s mission is “to spark meaningful connections for every single person worldwide.”

It seem no aspect of meaningful connection includes infection.

Covid-19 is spread through person-to-person contact via respiratory droplets — droplets first spread through coughing, sneezing, and respiratory particles. These particles get on our clothes and hands and are passed through handshakes, hugging, kissing, and other close human contacts.

Single people can help protect themselves and others by disclosing their vaccination status to those they date. Open disclosure allows people to make conscious choices about who they meet or date on apps. #SafeSex2021

Covid-19 shaming and finger-pointing reduce our ability to fight the pandemic. Stigmatization may lead people to hide infections and avoid testing. If those infected avoid disclosure and limit dialogue, others may not make safe choices to reduce their risk.

The hope is that sharing vaccination status on dating apps will encourage good public health and help individuals make informed personal choices regarding their health and safety.

The world is reopening, and people are ready to get out of the house. The White House partnership with Match Group helps promote public health as dating ramps up again. The campaigns are starting now and will run through July 4 across the various dating apps.

“Human connection is so vital for healthy lives — it’s why I am so committed to this business,” said Shar Dubey, CEO of Match Group, in the press release. “We are honored to work with the White House on increasing vaccinations across America, which will allow people to once again meet in person and engage in meaningful ways. This will make dating safer for everyone, everywhere.”

To promote Covid-19 vaccinations, the apps will help users find a location to get Covid-19 vaccine sites. People can add vaccination badges to their profiles. Some of the apps will offer boost features to profiles displaying vaccine badges.

Match Group reports dating app users have asked for these features to help them make decisions about dating safety.

Here are the features that will be available on various apps.

Tinder

On Tinder, members can add a variety of profile stickers celebrating Covid-19 vaccines. Profile stickers like “I’m Vaccinated” or “Vaccines Save Lives” help share vaccine status with prospective dates. In June, Tinder will offer a “Super Like” feature to help vaccinated members stand out from the crowd.

Tinder plans to offer a “Vaccine Center” hosting Covid education and vaccination site locations.

Match.com

Match.com users will be able to add a “Vaccinated” badge to their personal profiles. Match.com will provide a free “boost” to vaccinated profiles to give them more exposure on the site.

OkCupid

OkCupid will also offer “I’m Vaccinated” badges and free profile boosts. But OkCupid plans to allow members to search for other vaccinated people as part of its matching categories.

Plenty of Fish profiles will feature the “I Got My Shot” badge. BLK will add “Vaxified” profile badges, and Chispa will add “Vacunado.”

Dallas’ Match Group has been the industry leader in online dating for many years. These proactive steps promote public safety and help single people learn to live in our new normal.

The post Tinder and the White House Want You to Swipe Right on the Covid-19 Vaccine appeared first on Medika Life.

Technology means we no longer need to be separated from our point of care. It can follow us everywhere, an ever-vigilant protector and guardian angel, and its applications are limitless.

We are entering a brave new world. One where the boundaries between human and AI-based care have begun to blur. Where software offers patients more control over their health outcomes and some patients choose to trust this digital voice over the advice of their doctor. It is an emerging quagmire of moral and ethical debates centering around the care of patients and how they are best served. Many doctors are both intimidated and threatened by this encroachment, while others embrace it.

The question we need to be asking is how this all impacts the patient? Where do they lean? Towards reliance on their doctor’s or opting instead for the breadth of knowledge offered by AI.

Confusing tools with solutions

AI isn’t a solution, an independent entity sent from the digital domain to cure all the ills that ail us. Perhaps, fifty years from now, it may be, but for the present, it is merely a tool that doctors must embrace for the sake of their patients. The complexities of modern medicine are beyond the scope of a single individual mind. 

AI offers a solution, enabling diagnosis and treatment by expanding the doctor’s range of vision and his knowledge base beyond the scope of his education, experience, and (apologies ahead of time for the ego-bruising) mental capacity. 

It’s important to understand that there isn’t a choice to be made here. It isn’t an either-or scenario, either AI or human-based healthcare. In 2021, in healthcare, one cannot exist effectively without the unique talents of the other. Separately they both offer benefits to the patient, together they can achieve god-like status.

There are still impediments to the successful incorporation of AI into modern-day practices. Differential Diagnostic (DX) systems rely on physician input which affects the physician’s ability to focus attention on the patient. Envisage a time, in the next few years, where DX AI listens to the consultation in real-time, absorbing key phrases and expressions from the patient designed to elicit a set of diagnoses that are presented seamlessly in real-time to the physician for consideration.

Emotional and physical queues exhibited by the patient can then be considered by the physician in conjunction with the diagnoses to ensure an accurate evaluation of the patient. AI doesn’t tire, it doesn’t make mistakes and it can access the entire wealth of our medical knowledge in the blink of an eye. DX systems like Isabel from Isabel Healthcare are beginning to truly understand and exploit this relationship for the benefit of the patient.

Overcoming obstacles to broad-scale integration

AI has become a victim of its own success. A myriad of systems all offering different solutions and perspectives, litter the marketplace. This is counterintuitive to developing a cohesive network. There is also the issue of public domain software that belongs in the professional realm. Let me explain.

The Patient Perspective

When you apply for a bank loan, the bank will run software that allows it, based on a number of parameters the bank establishes, to decide if they’re going to take pity on your impoverished self, or if you’re going to be sent packing without a cent. You never see this software, you never have access to it, and you never will. There is an excellent reason for this.

Most members of the public possess little or no knowledge about financial instruments, risk, etc. The same holds true of medicine. It is an incredibly complex and nuanced field, where the way you hold your head when you sit in front of your doctor may alert him to a diagnosis no software is yet able to make. Neither can you (the patient) and that is why public access to professional tools should be limited.

Without a thorough understanding of the subject, the rabbit hole of the internet, ably supported by the myriad of self-diagnostic tools the public now has access to, leads to a flurry of incorrect seld-diagnoses, inappropriate self-administered medications, and actions that inevitably prove more harmful than helpful to the patient.

No software can replace the experience and training of a qualified and caring pair of human eyes and in our opinion, releasing packages that enable the public to play “doctor” is disingenuous to the profession and simply endangers public health.

Patient-based software, however, that seeks to enforce and simply the relationship between the patient and caregiver should be considered a priority. The diversity of new packages launching into the public sphere complicates the development of a single, stable, and broadly adopted product. This matters, as doctors are often forced to adapt to protocols at a practice-based level to integrate with public-facing packages. 

The industry would benefit from a more cohesive approach that allows for the development of an industry-based standard, a single API to allow for seamless communication between professional diagnostic, practice-based software, and patient-focused software. Again, in our opinion, the two markets are too diverse to allow for a single solution. 

Focus on one or the other for development. You cannot be everything to everyone and building complex packages that attempt this, simply dilutes their efficacy and increases UI complexity. Keep it separate and keep it simple. Your users demand it.

What should a patient be looking for in a software app?

• Your entire patient history (Patient Record) stored in a simple, accessible, and shareable format that is easily accessible to medical personnel and EMTs in the event of an emergency.
• Lucky enough to own a medical monitoring device, smartwatch, or other wearables? Your software package must interface with this tech. If it doesn’t, it isn’t fit for purpose.
• Can your primary care provider (your doctor) communicate and interface with the package, critical, as owning the coolest app on the block is useless unless it has widespread adoption in the industry?
• Do you understand the app and is its user interface simple and intuitive? Not much use having a heart attack and you can’t find the panic button.
• Most importantly perhaps is this one single thing. Does your app simplify and improve your health relationship with your care provider? Are appointments simple to make, do you receive updates about cancellations, openings, upcoming vaccinations, etc? Does your pharmacist ping you reminders for repeat scripts and can you access related services and support groups relevant to any conditions you suffer from?
• Are you able, in a pandemic society, to wait in your car until the app goes off with that message you’ve been waiting for? The doctor will see you now.
• Does your app support multilingual interaction? This single aspect may save your life.

The Professional Perspective

The problem IT faces in medicine is IT. It permeates every corner of the profession, bits of randomized and unassociated code that perform various functions critical to the daily running of a professional practice. Think of a pack of Lego blocks of different colors and sizes, stuck together in a random haphazard fashion to form a psychedelic house of data. Pull it apart and you’re left with exactly that. Unintellible noise that cannot be interpreted.

Not for the benefit of the profession nor the patient.

The medical field is huge and data sets can differ dramatically from one discipline to another, but developing compartmentalized solutions merely perpetuates data isolation. More colored blocks that sort of fit, but don’t contribute towards a stable, interperable data structure.

Approach any doctor in any profession with a new data solution and expect eye-rolling and sighs. Rather than simplifying the profession, IT has complicated it. Add more fields and checkboxes to the doctor’s life and the doctor checks out. There are movements underfoot in the industry to address this, but they have their work cut out. Doctors are or should be, the developer’s first port of call. For broad adoption, software should address two key issues.

• Simplify the doctors life. Key to this is not adding new processes to worloads.
• Improving patient outcomes and communication

Integrating systems isn’t the responsibility of practice managers. It falls to the IT profession to remove these hurdles and provide point-of-care software that can seamlessly communicate with patient portals and federal and state-based government platforms. Arguably, the architecture of these government platforms should be based on emerging medical data standards, not the other way around, as is currently the trend.

Inverting the pyramid in this way is counterintuitive and leads to the development of products that are far from suited for the actual day-to-day functioning of practices and are most certainly not patient-care based.

The patients and the caregivers form the base of the IT Medical pyramid, building architecture that obeys any other structure is counterintuitive and doomed to failure.

Give the doctors what they are crying out for. Seamless tools built to operate intuitively and that take advantage of the latest technologies to achieve this. Save them time, improve their patient interactions and outcomes and do it unobtrusively. Integrate these tools with patient portals and forget about addressing external, non-medical entities for now. 

Focus on the correct pyramid, the industry, on the patients and their care providers. Create bespoke, silent and effective tools that address these issues and doctors will no longer see you as a threat, but in your real role. 

That of an indispensable partner.

Why does any of this matter?

It’s a fair question. Medicine has survided and thrived till now, pretty much on its own and will continue to advance, albeit far more slowly, without the intervention of AI. Patients however, you and I, will pay the price. 

It’s probably worthwhile contextualizing the term “AI” first. Any software that makes decisions based on inputs it receives is an example of artificial intelligence (AI). We are unaware of the programming inthe background that has enabled the software to make seemingly random choices. It’s been taught by its programmers how to make associations and link things together, giving it the appearance of being intelligent. It isn’t.

More modern software is designed to evolve and grow on its own, it can teach itself and “learn” from the input it receives, but only in the context of its programming. We are a few generations and movies away from machines working out that the best way to eradicate disease permanently is to eradicate humans. For the foreseeable future, computers form an integral part of medicine, and for good reason.

Let’s check in on Bob. He’s on holiday abroad and has a nasty run-in with a jellyfish. Bob is rushed into a hospital and a foreign doctor who cannot understand Bob evaluates him and prescribes medication. The doctor is able to immediately access Bob’s entire medical history via the app on Bob’s phone. Multilingual support overcomes the language barrier and allows the doctor to pick up two medications Bob uses every day. The doctor is able to adjust his prescribed medication to prevent Bob suffering cardiac arrest from a drug interaction.

He is also able to see that Bob will require evaluative hospitalization as he is in an at-risk category for developing potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis in response to the jellyfish sting. Bob’s app absorbs the new data and treatment provided and his doctor in the US is immediately notified. The foreign doctor also notices an abnormally high count on Bob’s bloodwork that isn’t related to the jellyfish. On his return home, Bob’s doctor is able to admit Bob for further testing and administer early preventative lifesaving treatment by removing a tumor. 

Without the app (yes, and the jellyfish, we know) Bob could have died twice, once from a drug interaction, and in the second instance, from an undiagnosed disease which his doctor was alerted to. In the same way, Bob’s smartwatch can save him from an undiagnosed heart attack by interacting with his Patient App and providing early warning to his GP. 

The health benefits offered by technology to the patient are endless. Improvements in access to care at the appropriate moment increase exponentially. Preemptive care is massively important to both patients and the healthcare infrastructure of any country. and it is for these reasons and others that IT and AI must be accepted and effectively integrated into modern healthcare as a matter of priority.

Technology means we no longer need to be separated from our point of care. It can follow us everywhere, an ever-vigilant protector and guardian angel, and its applications are limitless. It must be embraced.

The post For the Sake of their Patients, Healthcare Must Embrace AI appeared first on Medika Life.