The gravitational pull is unmistakable. The Westin St. Francis remains the symbolic center of power, where scale dominates the conversation and capital moves in large increments. However, innovation, from the concept of a molecule or engineering marvel, rarely begins at scale. It starts with a question, a patient-care frustration, a molecular insight and a small group of people willing to compress years of work into minutes of explanation.

That is why the Biotech Showcase matters. It’s why it continues to thrive just off the main stage. Like off-Broadway, this is where blockbusters are discovered.

Seven Minutes to Be Understood

I spent part of the day sitting in one room at the Biotech Showcase, listening to a succession of rapid-fire presentations, each lasting seven minutes per company. The room was only half full, but it was intensely attentive. This was not casual listening. This was evaluative listening.

Companies including OrisDx, IowaiBIO Inc., Endure Biotherapeutics, SIvEC Biotechnologies, Frezent, Sideral Therapeutics, Courative Inc., and others each delivered a tightly constructed narrative of carefully curated slides: the unmet clinical need, the scientific or molecular approach, progress to date and the precise inflection point ahead. Most importantly, resources needed for the next stage of development.

What made these presentations compelling was not polish, it was clarity. There was no time to hide behind jargon or aspiration. Seven minutes forces discipline. It reveals whether a team truly understands its own story. For investors or biopharma partners in the room, it quickly answers the most important question: Is this something I want to continue discussing?

That is the essence of a productive dating game. Not every conversation leads to a match, but the right ones unmistakably spark an attraction.

Why This Room Exists at All

The Biotech Showcase works because it understands timing and intent. Seed and early-stage companies do not come to San Francisco in January to compete with global pharmaceutical announcements. They come because the people who can change their trajectory are already in the city and already thinking about what comes next.

J.P. Morgan Healthcare Week is where the industry takes stock of itself. Large companies outline business plan priorities. Investors recalibrate portfolios. Strategies are stress-tested. In that context, the Biotech Showcase becomes a natural counterbalance: a place where emerging science is introduced not as speculation, but as possibility.

There is also quiet wisdom in the Showcase’s decision to record and share presentations after the event. In a week where schedules overlap and choices are constant, the ability to revisit a story matters. Conversations that begin in a room can continue weeks later, grounded in something concrete and lasting. That continuity is how relationships form—and how trust accumulates.

The City Becomes the Platform

What is easy to overlook from the outside is how completely San Francisco itself becomes part of the infrastructure during this week. Beyond the formal stages, firms across the ecosystem host companies in nearby venues, creating dozens of smaller hubs within walking distance of one another.

At places like the Marines’ Memorial Club, companies are hosted quietly and efficiently, often fifteen or so at a time, by firms such as FINN Partners, alongside others working behind the scenes to support emerging science during the week. During the course of J.P. Morgan Week, these companies may hold more than 200 conversations with analysts, investors, and media representatives. No banners. No spectacle. Just focused, purposeful, personalized dialogue.

This distributed model works because it mirrors how decisions are actually made, not in a single dramatic moment, but through repeated, informed exchanges that foster knowledge and confidence.

When the day winds down, the city shifts again. Evenings during J.P. Morgan Week are reserved for receptions hosted by banks, global companies, industry groups, and even trade commissions from countries such as the UK, including the UK Bioindustry Association. These gatherings are not afterthoughts. They are where formality loosens, where introductions give way to relationships, and where ideas heard earlier in the day are tested in conversation. Science meets context. Strategy meets personality.

When AI Enters the Dating Pool

One of the most notable developments this year is the growing presence of AI companies entering this ecosystem alongside emerging biotech companies—firms such as Briya.Health demonstrates how AI is no longer merely orbiting the life sciences; it is now deeply embedded within them.

Early-stage biotech is data-rich and time-poor. They generate complex, unstructured information long before scale or certainty arrives. AI platforms that can surface insight, reduce friction, and accelerate decision-making change the nature of early collaboration.

When AI innovators and biotech founders encounter one another during this week—often in the same rooms, at the same receptions, and in the same corridors—the conversation accelerates. What might have taken months of coordination elsewhere can happen organically here. That is not a coincidence. It is designed.

Why This Week Still Matters

Events like the Biotech Showcase, alongside complementary forums such as 1BusinessWorld’s Global BioInnovation Forum, emerge because they recognize how innovation actually drives progress. They realize that timing matters: place matters and proximity matters.

These gatherings do not compete with J.P. Morgan Healthcare Week; they complete it. Together, they create a comprehensive view of the health innovation lifecycle, from initial insight to global execution.

What I witnessed in that half-filled room was not hype. It was intent. Seven minutes at a time, company after company made a case—not just for funding, but for belief.

That is why the Biotech Showcase remains exactly what its name promises: a showcase of possibilities. And why, in the great dating game of health innovation, does it remain one of the most honest and productive places to begin?

The post The Best Dating Game in Health Innovation Happens Just Off the Main Stage appeared first on Medika Life.

Years of pain – a dim look into a future that might have included a feeding tube or motorized scooter – and being dismissed frequently by the health system – underscore medicine’s shortcomings. The journey from worsening digestive function and painful neuropathy to post-surgical relief highlights an essential truth: The patient’s voice is a critical diagnostic tool, yet it is too often ignored or undervalued.

In two prior published pieces for Medika Life, I explored the challenges of diagnostic complexity and health-systemic fragmentation. In Looking for Zebras, I wrote about medical mysteries and how patients with rare or atypical conditions are often dismissed or misdiagnosed in a system designed to manage the average, not the exceptional. In We Know the Health Ecosystem is Fragmented, Resulting in Rising Costs and Poorer Patient Outcomes, But What Are We Doing About It, I called for centering health delivery around patient outcomes – Health System Kinetics – emphasizing treating patients as whole people rather than their isolated symptoms.

Now, I revisit these themes with renewed urgency and a personal lens, advocating for a health system that listens—to patients, advocates, and their potential to improve people’s lives and reduce care costs.

Listening to the Patient: A Missed Opportunity

For many years, my young adult experienced worsening neuropathy—moving from occasional discomfort to using a cane and eventually a walker. Despite multiple consultations and MRIs, no definitive diagnosis emerged. Physicians, each specialized in their narrow field, treated her symptoms piecemeal: one focused on her spine, another on her joints, and yet another on her nervous system. The resolution was to vary pain medications to address symptoms, adding medicines on top of medicines. The bigger picture was lost in translation, as no single practitioner took ownership of connecting the clinical dots.

This experience is symbolic of the “silo effect” in medicine. Specialization has undoubtedly advanced and, at the same time, compartmentalized the field, creating gaps where Zebra-like conditions like hEDS fall. Worse, when patients like my child describe their experiences—pain, immobility, or even emotional distress—physicians begin to roll their eyes – the worst clinical response. Doctors like patient problems that are easy to fix.

In our case, it took a patient advocate—someone who personally understood hEDS—to guide us toward the right questions and the right specialists. Her lived experience as both a patient and an expert in navigating the system became the linchpin for my child’s eventual on-point diagnosis and treatment. This advocate understood what the health system did not: The interdependence of symptoms and the importance of listening to the patient and looking at the non-obvious puzzle piece.

The Power of Patient Advocacy

Patient advocates bridge the chasm between clinical expertise and lived experience. They translate medical jargon, connect patients with appropriate specialists, and, most importantly, validate the patient’s voice.

In listening to the advocate, I heard the voice of my late father-in-law, Burton Giges, MD, a brilliant clinician who always asked a critical question when addressing complex clinical cases: “What is the underlying cause of the symptoms?” However, as a parent, I was skeptical of the non-medically trained patient advocate who suggested root causes for GI problems whose resolution required surgery. One doctor we consulted from a noted teaching hospital even confronted us, “Who are you going to believe a patient or me?”

Thankfully, we pursued the patient advocate’s counsel and eventually traveled to California to MALS Surgical Specialist Dr. Danny Shouhed. The outcome was a successful MALS surgery to relieve pressure on the celiac artery and restore normal GI blood flow, resulting in normal digestive function. But, like many rare conditions, the medical maze continued.

Our advocate’s role went beyond logistics; she gave us hope when the system offered none. Her guidance led us to a team of specialized neurosurgeons at Brown University Rhode Island Hospital and Patricia Leigh Zadnik Sullivan, MD, Director of the Center for Spine Tumor and Chordoma Research, who confirmed the tethered cord syndrome diagnosis and later performed this complex surgery. Post-operative improvement was almost immediate: reduced neuropathic pain, increased mobility, and a promising sense of physical autonomy not experienced in years.

This transformative outcome raises a critical question: Why did it take an outsider to achieve what the health system itself should have delivered? Advocacy shouldn’t be a workaround but a core component of care.

Reordering Priorities: Outcomes Over Office Visits

The fragmented state of health is not just a disservice to patients; it’s a detriment to the system itself. Rising costs and poor outcomes are direct consequences of this disjointed approach. Each specialist operates within their silo, often incentivized by metrics like the volume of patients seen or procedures performed rather than by long-term outcomes.

In Reordering the Health System’s Priorities, patient outcomes must become the central organizing principle of health access and delivery. This isn’t just a lofty ideal; it’s a practical necessity. A system focused on outcomes would:

1. Promote interdisciplinary collaboration. Specialists must be empowered and incentivized to collaborate, share insights, and co-develop treatment plans.
2. Integrate patient voices. Patients are not passive recipients of care; they are active participants. Their experiences, preferences, and insights must inform individual care plans and broader systemic improvements – not given lip service.
3. Leverage data intelligently. Electronic health records and diagnostic technologies generate vast amounts of data, but it is only valuable if synthesized into actionable insights. Medical teams must use technologies – AI, ChatGPT, and LLMs to connect dots and see patterns that might usually be overlooked.

Had these principles been in place, my child’s correct diagnosis might have come months, even years, earlier. Instead, it took an advocate outside the system to untangle the threads.

The Hidden Costs of Ignoring Patients

When the health ecosystem discounts patient experience, it fails individuals and incurs added costs. Delayed diagnoses lead to prolonged suffering, reduced quality of life, and higher medical expenses. For our family, years of neuropathy meant not only physical pain but also the emotional toll of feeling unheard and unseen.

Moreover, the economic implications are staggering. Treating symptoms in isolation often leads to more office visits, redundant tests, unnecessary procedures, and avoidable complications. A study published in Health Affairs estimated that diagnostic errors alone cost the US health system billions annually, to say nothing of the human cost.

Listening to patients isn’t just compassionate; it’s cost-effective. Their insights can streamline diagnostic processes, reduce unnecessary interventions, and improve adherence to treatment plans—all of which contribute to better outcomes and lower costs. But to make that possible, medical teams need to be trained differently and incentivized to listen – not just hear words.

Transforming the System – Three Tips to Make Healthcare More Caring

So, how do we create a health system that listens?

1. Train Physicians to See the Whole Person

Medical education must evolve to emphasize holistic, patient-centered care. This means training doctors to consider the interplay of physical, emotional, and social factors—and to listen deeply to their patients. Breaking down silos requires structural changes, such as multidisciplinary clinics where specialists work side by side, sharing insights and jointly managing complex cases.

2. Integrate Advocacy into the Care System

Patient advocacy should be institutionalized, not incidental. Hospitals and clinics should employ patient advocates as part of care teams, ensuring every patient can tap into a guide to navigate the system’s complexities.  Payers should consider employing patients who can objectively call upon their experiences to ask questions as ambassadors for better care.

3. Measure What Matters

Health organizations must redefine success metrics. Instead of focusing on patient volume or efficiency, they should prioritize metrics that reflect patient well-being, such as functional outcomes, quality of life, and patient satisfaction. My child can now feel surfaces with their feet – impossible before because of painful neuropathy. They feel they are “walking on the moon.”

Communication is Part of the Care

Like many others, our journey highlights the system’s failures and amazing potential. It is a sobering reminder that while medical science has made extraordinary strides, it is still fallibly human. We look to the magic of AI, ChatGPT, and LLMs to resolve problems, but in our rush to innovate and specialize, we have lost sight of the most fundamental aspect of care: listening.

Patients are not puzzles to be solved or cases to be closed; they are people with stories, insights, and wisdom to share—they hope for a healthier future. By listening, we can bridge the gaps in care, transforming outcomes and the experience of the care journey.  

As we look forward, remember that the most powerful diagnostic tool is not a test or a scan but the patient’s voice. Let us not dismiss it – but use it.

[My gratitude to the Marfan Foundation, Nieca Goldberg, MD, CNS Summit, Rachel Lee, Patient Advocacy Consulting, FINN Partners, Danny Shouhed, MD, Residence Inn by Marriott, and the many patient advocates I’ve met through the years who champion the voice of people in the care trenches]

The post Looking for Zebras: Listening to Patients, Healing the Health System appeared first on Medika Life.

Today, wind power influences the global transition toward sustainable and renewable energy sources. Its status as a key renewable energy technology is expected to grow in importance in the coming years. The potential of wind power lies in its ability to generate clean electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to energy diversification. Now, it is one of the fastest-growing infrastructures in history.  

One of the primary advantages of wind power is its abundance. Wind is a limitless resource, available in varying degrees across the globe. Harnessing this power efficiently through wind turbines can provide ample electricity alongside other renewable energy sources to meet the power needs of homes, businesses, and, possibly, entire communities.  Following the Paris Climate Accords, international climate governance was organized around three pillars: mitigation, adaptation, and implementation. While fossil fuels will not disappear entirely from the energy portfolio, the global goal is diversifying into other sources. Wind and solar power are the go-to possibilities.

Energy Diversification is Key to Meeting Paris Climate Mandates

Necessity is the mother of invention.  While the Dutch sought to prevent flooding, Israel used wind turbines to pump water to arid communities.  Then in the 1980s, the Start-Up Nation installed its first experimental wind turbines. Wind energy plays a growing role in Israel’s renewable energy mix as the nation seeks to reduce reliance on fossil fuels as part of its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

Enter First Airborne – Combining the Power of Drone Technology with Monitoring Performance

Now the country is championing bio-convergence – marshaling its peoples’ skills across the sciences – to explore how to make wind power an efficient energy resource.  Perhaps one of the leading players on the world measurement scene is First Airborne.  Headquartered in a small, picturesque village in Central Israel, First Airborne has developed a first-in-class patented wind measurement sensor called Windborne™. The 60-gram instrument, shaped like a small rocket ship, may transform wind farm monitoring and performance.

Attached to a moveable drone, Windborne, moving from wind farm section to section, enables short-staffed wind farm operators to obtain precision wind measurements across large-scale facilities at an unmatched scale. This validated level of accuracy and coverage has never been recorded before, making Windborne a possible game-changer for the renewable energy industry. It is the only robotic device in the wind-power industry to take direct measurements rather than provide a model measurement.

The potential of wind power to complement existing forms of clean energy is vast.  But how much wind is available, and what direction should the turbines face? As the renewable energy industry grows, accurate wind measurement data across large wind farms become vital to this growth sector.  Experts predict wind power offers the most significant future for energy. They suggest that even hydrogen will be fueled by wind farms. Green hydrogen is created by wind/solar power, and to meet our carbon-zero targets, green electricity must be used to produce hydrogen.

Wind Farms are Growing Exponentially

In speaking to Medika Life, First Airborne Founder and CEO Boaz Peled reflected on the possibilities of alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.  “The growth of wind power today is between eight and 12% annually. In the offshore sector, it could reach as much as 30% annually, and with what’s expected off the Eastern Coast of the United States, that growth could exceed even that optimistic estimate. That’s like owning 10 airports and building another every year.”

While initial investment costs for wind farms are significant, the operational costs are relatively low compared to fossil fuel-based power plants. But profitability is razor thin.  Economics remains one of the key obstacles to making the shift away from fossil fuels.  As technology advances and economies of scale are achieved, the cost of producing wind energy will continue to decrease, making it economically viable and competitive.

Peled says, “Solar and wind energy have infinite and abundant potential. But among the challenges is determining how operators go from managing 300 to 3000 wind turbines and doing that efficiently to ensuring a sustainable business model.”

Wind (and solar) power faces challenges that must be addressed to realize its fullest potential. One of the primary challenges is that wind is intermittent. The other is that it’s a rapidly growing energy sector with a limited talent pool to operate and maintain wind farms.  Large companies in the wind sector are operating their portfolios on low margins. Every failure has a substantial financial and confidence-loss impact. Every additional hire has a significant effect on successful operations. Efficiency guides the effective utilization of staff and the potential for greater societal and operational outcomes.

Addressing these issues through improved technology, proper planning, and community engagement is crucial to maximizing the positive impact of wind energy while minimizing the pitfalls.

Israel – Innovation Perfected By Necessity

Like Israel, many nations are pursuing on- and offshore wind energy development as a renewable energy strategy. Denmark, German, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom lead the way in Europe with operational offshore wind farms. In North America, the United States is making strides with efforts underway in the Atlantic Ocean.

But then there is the pressing challenge of maximizing the operational investment in equipment.  Wind turbines generate electricity only when wind speeds are sufficient, and this fluctuation requires backup power sources or energy storage systems to ensure a stable energy supply. Leaders in this ever-growing sector are asking critical questions about metrics: How do we know what the wind is? If I know what the wind is, do I know the value of my wind resource? Am I producing correctly or not?  Even how wind arms can are possible risks to birds and bats, leading to potential collisions with turbines. Proper site selection, direction and mitigation measures reduce these conservation concerns.

Technology advancements are crucial to tap the full potential of wind power. Ongoing research and development efforts aim to enhance turbine efficiency, increase capacity factors, and improve energy storage solutions. Additionally, advances in offshore wind power are expanding its reach into new areas, where winds tend to be stronger and more consistent.

On the Way to Dubai and COP28 – Wind Power Validated

“The earth has enough sun and wind to meet humanity’s energy consumption,” says Peled, who managed wind farms in Eastern Europe before returning to Israel to launch his company.  “Now, the prime business question is operational.  Are there enough solar panels – probably not. Currently, the rate of solar panel energy access is low – one megawatt-hour of solar power compared to one-third to half of the megawatt capacity of wind. Wind is more efficient as an energy source.  Real-time measurement is critical to shifting this industry with its great potential into a high-performance sector,” he adds.

Wind power offers a great future for diversified energy sources. Measuring wind power is crucial to secure its place as an effective solution.  Our dominant economic model is from extracting crude oil from the earth, but this chapter is coming to an orchestrated close.  As the world convenes soon in Dubai for COP28, calls for renewable and sustainable energy will grow louder. It’s not enough to suggest that wind is a sustainable alternative.  That must be proven.

Accurate measurements – amassing that data – will determine whether wind power will become a global priority and how nations and corporations assess farm site suitability, optimize turbine placement and evaluate energy output. Only accurate and validated data can enable that level of informed decision-making, planning, and, ultimately, the great potential of wind power as a renewable energy source.  This visit to First Airborne was a conversation with pioneers whose robotic engineering attention to detail will likely take the hot air out of wind’s significant renewable energy potential.

The post Harvesting the Breeze: Unleashing the Power of Wind Energy appeared first on Medika Life.

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In the first Medika Life analysis of the always insightful Galen Growth data offering insight into the state of affairs of digital health – from partnerships to its practical application to the category’s financial health – we described the global environment as promising yet filled with “trepidation”:

Trepidation. That one word describes the uncertain economic climate that gripped corporate and investment decision-makers. If we are to believe the headlines, wallets have tightened – almost closed – and investment in life science and digital health, as a result, has declined. That go-to conclusion takes a simple approach to a complex investment strategy for the digital health sector that has shown great resilience year-after-after.

Now, the word to describe this new report is “Potential.” There is incredible potential for digital health to find its way within the US health system in multiple ways – from AI to ChatGPT to digital therapeutics – it’s potential remains great. Its path arduous.

The special report prepared for ViVE2023 shifts from its usual global 30,000 feet analysis to a special meeting theme – digital health and the US health system – particularly on the provider side.  The data released during the first full day of ViVE as an analysis of hospital activities around digital health –where the rubber meets the road for many of these ventures – practice application of innovation. Galen Growth of their FINN Partners has mined the insights that entrepreneurs, their investors, health system chief information, and innovation officers need to study closely! 

The data are essential for ventures, incubators and accelerators to mine, determining whether the digital health category and the massive US health provider system are working together to evaluate their activities’ effectiveness and advance the nation’s wellbeing.

Galen Growth is among the world’s trusted digital health private market data, intel and insights firms for industry and investors. They remain the only specialist digital health innovation partner, able to bring together private market venture data, intel and insights platform giving its clients more applicable information than any other platform

In the US, some 417 Health Systems account for nearly 3,500 hospitals. More than 1,600 independent hospitals are the backbone of healthcare delivery in the country and – in addressing in-patient care — a significant contributor to health outcomes.  But, many of these institutions – particularly those in remote and rural communities – are ailing. They need a bolus infusion of health innovation to access patient data, reimbursement and basic diagnosis and treatment priorities.  Digital health – from EMRs to remote access technologies is part of the critical-care, system-wide treatment.

“More than 50% of the 417 US health systems are struggling financially, impacted by the rapidly rising labor cost and shrinking HCP workforce. Meanwhile, demand from consumers and patients continues to increase,” says Julien de Salaberry, founder and CEO of Galen Growth. “Health systems and hospitals have to make increasingly difficult decisions about their healthcare delivery capabilities and seek technology solutions to increase productivity and build capacity while retaining high standards of care,” he adds.

Unless otherwise stated, all data are exclusively sourced from the Galen Growth proprietary

database HealthTech AlphaTM – the leading global digital health intelligence and analytics on-demand platform. HealthTech Alpha now tracks more than 300 million data points and has coverage exceeding 13,000 digital health ventures across the globe.

Here are the core takeaways from the Galen Growth/FINN Partners – ViVE2023 Report – but read the entire report to mine its full value:

Partnerships

In 2022, 31% of all global partnerships with Digital Health ventures founded in the United States were built within the U.S. Health Systems and hospitals– more partnerships than any other industry vertical engaged with Digital Health.

Clinical Evidence

Among the ventures that are partnering with the U.S. Health Systems ventures focused on Research and Clinical Trials take the top strategic area spot, with 69% of the ventures having Evidence Signal > 40, indicating significant Clinical Evidence. Ventures in the strategic areas of Diagnosis and Treatment captured 40 and 36% shared, respectively.

Health Systems

Galen Growth has recorded more than 1,400 partnerships globally between Digital Health ventures and Health systems in the United States since 2012, with only 10 Health Systems recording a Digital Health portfolio larger than 15 ventures. More than 560 hospitals and Health Systems are active, but only the top 65 most active Health Systems are accountable for 50% of all recorded partnerships.

Oncology

Oncology takes the top position across the therapeutic areas, with more than 30% of U.S. Health System is partnering with ventures in this area—cardiovascular Diseases are in second place, with 20%. Looking across the top 25 most active Health Systems, the top 13 therapeutic areas were represented in more than half of the Digital Health portfolios.

Portfolio Size

Across the U.S., there is a 2.1x difference in the Digital Health portfolio size between the most active Health Systems and the most extensive Health Systems. While the largest Health Systems focus on infrastructure improvement and treatment partnerships, the most active systems are partnering more in diagnosis and have a higher share of digital tools for research (incl. clinical trials). Both groups have significant activity in Digital Health tools for Prevention and Wellness.

How is the digital health sector doing overall despite the energy and buzz?  According to today’s Galen Growth report, its most significant potential awaits to be fully realized. Julien de Salaberry summarizes:

“Since 2012, US health systems have disclosed more than 1,400 partnerships globally with digital health ventures, with only 10 Health Systems recording a digital health portfolio larger than 15 ventures. More than 560 hospitals and Health Systems are active, but only the top 65 most active Health Systems are accountable for 50% of all recorded partnerships.”

Once again, Galen Growth has given us a wealth of data to mine and contemplate. The potential for digital health – as a tool to accelerate access to life-saving information and care remains incredibly promising.

The post Galen Growth Issues Special ViVE2023 US Health System Digital Health Report appeared first on Medika Life.

The digital health sector has grown significantly during the past decade, primarily mobilized to address unmet health-system and care needs. From $2 billion invested in 2011, that figure morphed 28-fold to $56 billion in 2021. In the shadow of the COVID pandemic, unprecedented investment poured into digital health during this two-year window, accelerating the adoption of AI, remote patient monitoring, telehealth, digital therapeutics, wearables, VR and more.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE

Galen Growth and FINN Partners have collaborated – for a second time – to offer the entrepreneurial invention and investment industry a wealth of data that can guide financing life-sustain – perhaps saving – enterprises.  With this detailed report, data is shared not as “one-off” ideas but as puzzle pieces assembled to provide actional insight into a dynamic and evolving digital innovation sector that offers the transformative power to find effective detours around health ecosystem fragmentation.

The Damocles Sword of Access and Outcomes

The two companies avoided hype and biases to create this analysis enabling investors or potential business partners to weigh subjective decisions alongside objective facts in recognizing that the fragmented health ecosystem centers around preserving the system itself are vital to helping product innovators and patients navigate the healthcare labyrinth. That economic return on investment is weighted along with patient experience and outcomes.  This is the Damocles sword that inventors and investors must always consider – reimbursement that ensures access to care and meaningful and measurable outcomes.

While digital health venture capital fell short of the exorbitant funding of 2021, it closed ahead of 2020 levels. A closer look at the year-on-year development of funding value by funding stages shows that funding in 2022 nearly maintained the level of 2021 for the Early Stage and Series A funding rounds. However, it lagged behind the 2021 values across late-stage enterprise funding.

Investors learned and began to put their due diligence into action – targeting their energies toward specific geographies, sectors and needs (e.g., clinical trials).  They looked for therapeutic categories receptive to digital health innovation.  Within the disease-specific investments, oncology saw the highest participation of investors (9%), followed by mental health (7%) and women’s health (7%).  C-Suite leaders and their funders will do well to study the report data and to determine next steps.

Just Facts – 250+ Million Data Points Analyzed

While other studies highlight “media grabbers” and numbers disconnected from insight into where the money is going — from the investment stage to disease states— The Global State of Digital Health connected more than 250 million critical analytic dots. This report will guide C-Suite leaders, business development and therapeutic area heads, private equity funds, and financial analysts to make savvy decisions that drive return on investment—whether the goals be financial or patient care.

After an extraordinary two-year pandemic funding spree, there are apparent shifts in how investors place their economic bets. In this year of geopolitical turmoil and uncertain financial performance, digital health remains vital to the future of the health economy and in addressing public health press points. However, the development stages in which funds are directed, therapeutic categories selected, provider systems that demand transformation, and the regions where innovators establish headquarters are now investment factors.

Bottomline, funding levels exceed the pre-pandemic values. Digital health ventures are busy – submitting more than double the number of regulatory filings in 2021 than before the COVID era. There is a dramatic increase in partnering activity over 2021. If dollars and Euros are the only indicators of energy and commitment, it is easy to see why hand-wringing news stories prevail. Look at all the metrics that determine a vibrant sector.

In combining investment, regulatory filings for new product introductions, and partnerships, it is apparent that 2022 has been a formative period. Investors and innovators are putting in place the processes and systems – the people and science – that drive adoption and market traction. Investors are no longer looking at the sector as monolithic.

Putting the Right People and Processes on the Innovation Bus

If 2021 was the year of exuberance, 2022 was, as Jim Collins, author of the classic business bestseller “Good to Great,” dedicated to putting the right people – leaders and digital health sectors – on the bus. For example, medical diagnostics ventures had an exceptional year by representing 12 percent of regulatory filings of Digital Health ventures across the globe, taking the top spot for ventures with significant Clinical Evidence (Evidence Signal >40), and capturing the highest investment volume share (17%), with the total cluster funding value falling short of 2021 by 16 percent.

As the report suggests, 2022 is a turning point for digital health – a shift from Digital Health 1.0 to the 2.0 era, with Digital Health evolving into a more mature ecosystem. The recent data reaffirm that perspective and a fast-paced realignment occurring within the sector.

Looking at the past year, it is evident that investor mindsets matured in 2022, and lessons learned were applied. Obstacles – from regulatory hurdles to payer pushback – made incubators, accelerators and private equity groups much more selective in their investment and partnership decisions. They looked beyond “invention” to innovation – where the market seeks to embrace a new product and rally to Foreword its access within the health ecosystem.

The 2022 “Global State of Digital Health Report” does far more than examine monies invested in the broad digital health category — it offers a guide for decision-makers on how multiple data points translate into market shifts and how to pinpoint trends that provide predictive insight and best practices in investment strategies, across regions, Digital Health categories, therapeutic areas and technologies.

Decisions will be made based on this collaborative effort. This report offers a new perspective – the data this report provides – finding the balance between hype and hope to offer balanced optimism is a guide.

The post Digital Health Innovation Continues to Press Forward at Warp Speed appeared first on Medika Life.

The report will be available at HLTH and is available for download via this link.  This is the first in a series of reports to be released every quarter, the second of which will be released in January 2023 at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, CA.

Experts from the Galen Growth data and research team have been working side-by-side with the FINN Global Digital Health Group to chart the complex and often fragmented digital health landscape, emerging market trends, areas of growth, and innovation. This novel report goes beyond market ups and downs. It defines what therapeutic sectors are high priority, what digital health geographic hubs benefit most from the capital infusion, and at what stages of development equity funds prefer to engage and invest.

Report Provides Category Leaders with a Roadmap

“This first-of-its-kind ‘Global State of Digital Health Report’ does more than examine monies invested in the broad digital health category,” said Julien de Salaberry, CEO and co-founder of Galen Growth. “It offers the corporate, accelerator, and private equity decision-maker a roadmap for how multiple data points translate into market shifts and how to pinpoint trends that provide predictive insight and best practices in investment strategies, across regions, digital health categories, therapeutic areas, and technologies.”

While 2022 digital health venture capital has not matched the skyrocketing value of 2021, the closer look provided in the report reveals that capital infusion in 2022 exceeds 2021 values for the Early Stage and Series A funding rounds. It increasingly lagged in 2021 values across later funding stages.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Early-stage venture funding remains strong and promises a healthy innovation pipeline, while the IPO market has stagnated, with 6 IPOs and 4 SPACs globally. M&A activity has maintained strength, with a dip of only 7% YOY.
• With only 27% of ventures having raised venture capital in the last 18 months, the remainder of the ecosystem could be facing a bumpy ride, pushing their C-Suite and investors to cut costs, focus on profitability before growth or rethink business models.
• A global analysis of 12,000+ digital health ventures reveals that just 17% have significant clinical strength. Though some therapeutic areas saw funding shrink by more than 30%, oncology maintained the position of the most invested therapeutic areas in Q1 – Q3 2022, and mental health held the second position.
• Among the top 5 most invested therapeutic areas, gastroenterology was the only one that saw an increase in funding (2%) from 2021 to 2022.
• More than 60% of the total venture funding value comes from North America. But on a regional level, the Middle East (Israel and the United Arab Emirates) set record highs of venture funding in Q2 2022. Europe maintains momentum throughout 2022 and has not experienced the quarter-on-quarter decrease in venture funding seen in North America. Regions with increased investment correspond to established regulatory, public health and payer systems that prioritize digital health use.

Not Simple “News Grabbers”

“In the ‘Global State of Digital Health Report, data are shared not as simple ‘news grabbers’ but as a whole dynamic picture of an evolving digital innovation sector that continues to offer transformative power to find effective detours around health ecosystem fragmentation and use the information to improve care and reduce overall system costs,” said Ritesh Patel, Senior Partner and Global Digital Health Lead at FINN Partners. “This first report lays the groundwork for future releases recapping the year-to-date in digital health and focus on global investment insights, categories, and therapeutics to accelerate long-needed change.”

“Suddenly cut off from ‘in-the-room’ contact, digital was the connective tissue between physicians with their ailing patients and pharma brands with consumers and payers,” notes Gil Bashe, Chair Global Health and Purpose, FINN Partners. “But enthusiasm – the rush to enter the digital health category – cannot triumph over strategy and long-term business planning. This report will help C-Suite decision-makers determine where the health innovation is headed and why.  Any road will do when you don’t know where you want to go.  But the system needs to know where it’s headed when it comes to sustaining people’s health.”

About Galen Growth

Founded in 2016, Galen Growth partners leading companies for their digital health market intel and insights needs. With comprehensive data, empirical research and expert insights, the company help global organizations reach the optimal solution for their business transformation, discover the latest trends in digital health and strengthen their innovative know-how. HealthTech Alpha, Galen Growth’s proprietary platform, is the world’s leading digital health private market platform, powering how leaders and corporations make digital health decisions.

Headquartered in Singapore, Galen Growth has offices in Basel (Switzerland), Boston and Chicago.

Please find us at galengrowth.com and follow us on Twitter at @galengrowth and https://www.linkedin.com/company/galen-growth/.

About FINN Partners, Inc.  

Founded in 2011 on the core principles of innovation and collaborative partnership, FINN Partners has grown from about $24 million in fees to almost $170 million in fees over ten years, becoming one of the fastest growing independent public relations agencies in the world. The full-service marketing and communications company’s record setting pace is a result of organic growth and integrating new companies and new people into the FINN world through a common philosophy. With more than 1,400 professionals across 33 offices, FINN provides clients with global access and capabilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. FINN Partners clients are also supported through longstanding partner agencies and its membership in the PROI network of leading agencies around the world. Headquartered in New York, FINN has offices in: Atlanta, Bangalore, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Delhi, Denver, Detroit, Dublin, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Guam, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Jerusalem, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, Munich, Nashville, Orange County, Paris, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, Vancouver and Washington D.C. Find us at finnpartners.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @finnpartners.

Contacts:

FOR GALEN GROWTH:

Lawrence Wurtz, General Manager, North America
lawrence.wurtz@galengrowth.com  or info-usa@galengrowth

FOR FINN PARTNERS:

Celia Jones, Global Director, Marketing Communications
celia.jones@finnpartners.com 
+1 773 885 9781

The post First “Global State of Digital Health Report” Tapping into 200 Million Data Points Examines More Than 12,000 Digital Health Ventures Now Available appeared first on Medika Life.

America is experiencing an epidemic of gun violence, most recently witnessed in Buffalo, New York; Highland Park, Illinois; and Uvalde, Texas. According to the Gun Violence Archive, the United States has had at least 314 mass shootings since the start of 2022, and gun violence through suicide, domestic abuse, and other assaults has resulted in more than 23,500 deaths so far this year.

In launching this effort, Dr. Darryll Pines, President of the University of Maryland, stated, “Today, we add university presidents to the call for change. Why? Because guns are now the leading cause of death for young people, and we are charged with shaping young minds to tackle the grand challenges of our time. Because we lead communities that are deeply affected by the mass slaughter of citizens, and some weeks it feels like the flags at our public institutions fly ceaselessly at half-staff. And because universities are often the source of change and progress.”

“We are encouraged by political leaders at all levels and in all parties continuing to collaborate to make meaningful progress on reducing gun violence in America,” said Dr. Gregory Washington, President of George Mason University. “At the same time, President Pines and I proposed this initiative because we know that there are a host of non-political solutions that are desperately needed if we hope to change the tragic and escalating epidemic of gun violence.”

Consortium members are dedicated to leading on developing nimble, substantive, and actionable solutions to this complex issue. The 120 Initiative will engage subject-matter experts in a wide range of areas, such as gun violence, public and mental health, polarization, business sector engagement, citizen advocacy, education, and technology.

After analysis of available research, in approximately six months The 120 Initiative will share a series of evidence-based recommendations that provide all sectors with practical, tangible steps they can take, individually and collectively, to drive down gun violence. Time is of the essence.

“Our region arguably has the widest variety of public, private, and government expertise and Consortium universities and colleges are established leaders at the intersection of research, practice, and policy, especially on national issues,” said Dr. Andrew Flagel, President and CEO of the Consortium. “The 120 Initiative will collectively leverage our expertise to spur substantive progress on behalf of the nation and the more than 400,000 students in Consortium institutions.”

*Consortium institutions participating in The 120 Initiative:

• American University
• The Catholic University of America
• Gallaudet University
• George Mason University
• Georgetown University
• The George Washington University
• Howard University
• Marymount University
• Montgomery College
• Northern Virginia Community College
• Prince George’s Community College
• Trinity Washington University
• University of the District of Columbia
• University of Maryland
• University of Maryland Global Campus

Affiliate members:

• Johns Hopkins University
• Virginia Tech

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Digital Health Interviews: Levi Shapiro and Ellie Hanson on Digital Health in Israel

This new episode of Digital Health, hosted by Ukrainian health innovation leader Alex Koshykov, focuses on the topic of digital health in Israel. Guests are mHealth Israel Founder Levi Shapiro and FINN Partners Partner Ellie Hanson. Together, they discuss the current situation in the digital health market in Israel, how government helps startups in their early stages, and what are the main differences between American and Israeli health systems.

Ellie provides a short intro to a marketing strategy for digital health startups while Levi gave lots of useful tips for startup founders.

The post Digital Health Interviews: Levi Shapiro & Ellie Hanson – Digital Health in Israel appeared first on Medika Life.

Here is the background of the four thought leaders who joined in conversation:

Bob Martineau, JD, a Senior Partner with FINN Partners, a global integrated marketing communications agency, who heads the Environment and Social Impact Group, and the former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, served as moderator.

James Hildreth, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, the nation’s largest private, independent and historically black academic health sciences center. Dr. Hildreth is also a member of President Biden’s Health Equity Task Force. 

Rachel Hodgdon, CEO and President of the International WELL Building Institute. Rachel joined IWBI in November 2016, bringing her broad sustainability expertise and her track record as a leading global advocate for green schools, better buildings and social equity to IWBI’s work to advance human health through more vibrant communities and stronger organizations.

Gil Bashe, Chair Global Health and Purpose at FINN Partners.  He currently serves as editor-in-chief of MedikaLife, an online health magazine, and is a global correspondent for Health Tech World. He is also an ordained rabbi who is exploring how spiritual strength is a moral compass in addressing many of the world population’s most pressing physical needs.

Bob Martineau/FINN:  The discussion of many environmental and public health issues brings to the forefront environmental equity and social justice. So many studies show a direct correlation between public health in a community and the socio-economic impacts. Your work at Meharry with the social determinants of health speaks to that. It’s the lower income neighborhoods that sit next to factories and landfills and have contaminated water supplies. Low-income housing is the least energy efficient. How do we address these disparate impacts in our communities as we set public policy, both on the environmental health and the public health side of the coin?

Dr. Hildreth/Meharry:  First, I think we have to incentivize organizations, large and small, to start making different decisions about how they’re going to approach the business that they do and where they’re going to do it. Simple things like having walkways and parks and access to healthy foods would make such a huge difference in the lives of people. Even though I’m in healthcare, I understand that healthcare only accounts for about 10% of one’s overall health.

Health comes from being able to breathe clean air, eat healthy foods and have a certain level of educational attainment; that can only happen if organizations, even the governments that make the policies and laws that we live by, take a different approach to this. I point out that we spent $3.8 trillion on healthcare, but we’re not among the ten healthiest nations on the planet. If we just took 10% of that and use it to invest in children and their health and public health measures, we could actually change the dynamic for health in this country in a very dramatic way. But that’s going to take some will and dedication on the part of our leaders to get it done.

 Rachel Hodgdon/IWBI:  Health equity is a focus for IWBI as well.  Rabbi Bashe is working with us as a co-chair of our health equity advisory and the honor is mutual. We’re working on a new certification product or rating product that’s focused specifically on advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

We start with the social determinants of health as the foundation of that work. Dr. Hildreth made mention to the social determinants without using the name. The social determinants of health, which is sort of a universally accepted truth within the public health community, must tell us is that where you sit and who you sit next to, your physical and social environment, have a greater impact on your health and wellbeing than your access to healthcare, your lifestyle and behaviors and any other factor combined.

That is such a powerful way of thinking about what we have to shift to shift public health outcomes. We need to think about how to do that in an equitable fashion. What we learned during COVID-19, very quickly, is that those who had the least suffered the most, but that is true for virtually every other public health issue that is out there, from diabetes and obesity to heart disease to cancer. We need to think about how we can reach those communities and reach them first.

One of the most important ways to do that is through policy. I would say those on the line who come from the media and communications world, the other most important vehicle that we have, are through those engines. In other words, in order to shift health outcomes, we have to shift perspectives and perceptions in the communities that we serve; that can happen in any variety of ways, but we need to go straight to the heart of low-income communities, both within this country and outside of it. Places where there are high concentrations of black and brown people- rural communities, urban communities. These are the places with the highest areas of need.

 Bob Martineau/FINN:  Rachel, Gil, Dr. Hildreth, those are great points. You are right- framing that message, and as Gil alluded to, right now, we’re in an era in a world where we distrust so many people.

We distrust our politicians and government officials.  We even distrust scientists standing at a podium explaining the facts and the cause and effect. We are a distrustful group.

So, how do we frame those messages? And as you alluded to, you need to find the right messenger, who they trust, whether it’s their minister or a pop star celebrity. But how do we frame those messages to really hit home and explain the behaviors that you suggest we need to change so that we can address these health equity impacts? Any thoughts or suggestions from the three of you on that? I’ll let you jump in, Dr. Hildreth. Any thoughts on how we communicate with people so they will listen and take action given the distrustful era that we live in today?

Dr. Hildreth/Meharry:   I think that it’s very clear that when the messenger comes from the same cultural background and community as the population they’re engaging, messages are much better received, and people actually listen. Part of our problem today is that people only tune into and engage those who reinforce the disbeliefs and the negatives they bring to it. We’ve got to find a way to change that.

In our work at Meharry, in my work on President Biden’s Task Force, we recognize that trusted messenger means that the messenger comes from the community that you’re trying to engage. I want  to make one other point here: to solve some of the problems that we’ve been talking about there’s an issue that has to be addressed that is seldom talked about seriously. That is that there’s bias and racism in so many areas of life in our country that if we don’t address it, inequities will persist. We are not going to be able to fix it unless we address that issue, which is at the heart of much of what we’ve been talking about here today. All lives are valued the same. We say that, but there a lot of ways our actions seem to belie that we actually believe it.

Rachel Hodgdon/IWBI:  I’ll pick up where Dr. Hildreth left off. We know that intellectual agreement alone is not inspiration to act. We cannot continue to fool ourselves into thinking that if people accept the notion that climate change is real, that they’ll change the choices that they make day to day. We have to start to pivot our messaging to make it more about what’s in it for each one of us. What’s in it for our family’s health and well-being? What’s in it for our communities and their ability to thrive? What’s in it for organizations and their ability to be successful and do good work? I think that a more health focused spin on climate change is one that is proving to be extremely successful. This is about the livelihood of our families and of ourselves.

When we focus on solutions that are good for the planet, what we’re really doing is focusing on solutions that are good for ourselves- healthier food, more sustainable agricultural practices, more access to nature and to greenery, more physical activity, less driving. All these things serve to benefit us in so many different ways. It’s a matter of translating the solutions to universal imperatives that call us all to action. I think at the heart of all of it is our desire to be well and our desire for our families to be well.

Gil Bashe/FINN:  I want to reinforce some things that Dr. Hildreth and Rachel shared, and I also want to acknowledge their organizations for a moment. Meharry Medical College with Dr. Hildreth’s leadership is really doing some very incredible things in terms of education. I want to start there. Children of all ages, even adult children, have great influence on their peer group and their families. When you start training a fifth grader about the importance of environmental health in a way that they appreciate it, and feel safe, they go home and talk about it. Children can be very influential advocates on their parents. So, education, whether it’s children, whether it’s a medical school,

I think Dr. Hildreth nailed that. Rachel alluded to something, but it’s much more important than her passing comment- the International Well Building Institute certification. It’s an organization that is dedicated to examining every element of environmental health, from racial disparities and inequities, to making sure that areas have walking paths, to certification and really means setting standards. That is critical. I also want to say that there’s something that was not said that I’m worried about and that is our “cancel culture.”

Dr. Hildreth alluded to that and talked about how half the people follow this group, and half the people follow that group. We all end up producing produce from the same soil. We breathe the same air, we have to drink the same water, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of race, regardless of religion, yet we are terribly divided. Rachel alluded to something through my work in spirituality, and that is the fact that we are all here, visitors, finite visitors on this planet, and we have to remember that we’re placed here in partnership, perhaps with a higher source to do good things for future generations.

We’re in an Amazon-like, environment, People want it delivered tomorrow. People want healthier environments tomorrow. Well, guess what? Make it better now, for tomorrow. I think that’s what we have to understand. We can do great things immediately- recycling, sparing water, voting, as Rachel said, for people who want to educate our children appropriately. These are all things we can do now.

Bob Martineau/FINN:  Thanks, Gil. To wrap this up, I want to ask you one final question and get your thoughts. I think the message here is so correct that we need to bring it together.  As Dr. Hildreth said at the beginning, the planet will be just fine without us, but we can’t survive on an unhealthy planet. We need to use our own human ingenuity to fix the problems we’ve created, and we can because we created the problems. We can fix them and save us and our planet. So, how do we take those messages recognizing the need to personalize it so people see what’s in it for them?

The consequences of these health issues are generally the same, but the impact is different based on socioeconomics and race and education. What are one or two things that the attendees, the listeners can take back and help really take action to start to move the needle in their communities and in their institutions? In other words, what is your call to action?

 Rachel Hodgdon/IWBI:   I’ll present a three-part strategy. The first is a personal commitment that we all can think about making and that is to really take a look at how much time we spend on planes year over year. Again, this goes back to that notion that we’re gaining more than we’re giving up. During COVID, we learned the value of staying in one place, many of us, at least, who had the luxury of comfortable situations. For those of us who are on the road a lot, many of us spent more time with our partners and with our families. We realized that we could get a lot done remotely as opposed to face to face. So, I’m not saying don’t travel, I love that as much as anyone else, but I’m saying travel more efficiently and more mindfully. And when possible, think about alternative forms of transportation other than planes.

The second is another simple action that I think will be extraordinarily helpful to you in your personal life, and in your work life, no matter what industry you’re a part of, and that is to pick up a copy of Paul Hawkins book, Regeneration. Regeneration launched just a couple of months ago. It’s already a New York Times bestseller, and it is the most beautiful and complete reframing of solutions for solving the climate crisis, taking climate out of the atmosphere and healing our relationships to one another as we heal our relationship to the planet.

Finally, more of a global action- find out if the companies that you work for and otherwise associate yourself with have a plan around ESG and have a target as it relates to reducing their emissions. Ask the questions, volunteer where appropriate to make contributions, but start to make these demands. The more that we start to ask these for these commitments, I believe the more that the organizations that we align ourselves with will really start to heave that call because their one voice may not make a difference, but of course, a business of voices certainly can.

Dr. Hildreth/Meharry:  I guess my call to action is to remind people that leadership matters and we need to elect leaders who will do the things and make the right decisions in terms of the planet in our relationship to it.

Also, to remind people that as Gil said earlier, we’re all connected. We breathe the same air, and when I say “we,” I mean the global we. That is why I’m so concerned that unless we vaccinate the whole planet against COVID-19, none of us are going to be safe. Because these variants that we’re reading about and we’re concerned about, they can arise anywhere.  We need to start viewing ourselves as a global population that make decisions based on the fact that all of us are in this together. All seven and a half billion of us are in this together.

Gil Bashe/FINN:  My call to action is this: Invest more in science; invest more in engineering solutions so that we can correct the course; train our experts to be good communicators. And go out today and look at the eyes of a child very closely and say to yourself I imagine that child growing up to be a healthy 92-year-old with clean air and water and soil around them free of contamination so that we all have access to healthy food and water and a healthy world. Now imagine the opposite for that child and make your choice.

Our thanks to the Global Action Summit, hosted by the Belmont University Massey School of Business, for organizing this world-class conversation on planetary health.

The post Reimagining a World for Health and Environmental Health for Sustainable Well-Being – Part 2 appeared first on Medika Life.

Four outstanding thought leaders joined in conversation:

Bob Martineau, JD, a Senior Partner with FINN Partners, a global integrated marketing communications agency, who heads the Environment and Social Impact Group, and the former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, served as moderator.

James Hildreth, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, the nation’s largest private, independent and historically black academic health sciences center. Dr. Hildreth is also a member of President Biden’s Health Equity Task Force. 

Rachel Hodgdon, CEO and President of the International WELL Building Institute. Rachel joined IWBI in November 2016, bringing her broad sustainability expertise and her track record as a leading global advocate for green schools, better buildings and social equity to IWBI’s work to advance human health through more vibrant communities and stronger organizations.

Gil Bashe, Chair Global Health and Purpose at FINN Partners.  He currently serves as editor-in-chief of MedikaLife, an online health magazine, and is a global correspondent for Health Tech World. He is also an ordained rabbi who is exploring how spiritual strength is a moral compass in addressing many of the world population’s most pressing physical needs.

———

Bob Martineau:  I am pleased to convene this important discussion on the intersection of public health and environmental health or planetary health. Thank you all for your participation. The World Health Organization issued a report highlighting the connection between public health and climate change. The report estimates that 250,000 additional premature deaths each year globally are from climate change and without sustained rapid change, the report said these numbers will only increase.   Rachel, I’ll start with you. Can you share your thoughts on this report and what it tells us about public health and the environment?

Rachel Hodgdon/IWBI:  I think that the most important headline in that report is that we’re in a code red moment right now. Some might say that we are running out of time, others say that we have run out of time to experience some of the more dramatic impacts of climate change. I think the other principal findings of that report, and many of the conversations between global leaders that have happened since, is that we’re not on track to meet our targets.

This is a call to all of us to act. It is a call that is so urgent that it threatens our livelihood and the livelihoods of future generations. This means that all of us need to become advocates for making change and all of us need to start making choices about what we invest in, where we shop and what companies and communities, we align ourselves with based on this fundamental imperative to address the climate crisis.  What we’re seeing is a real response to that sense of urgency from younger generations.

We’re starting to see some of the policy levers turn the way that they should in the United States and in other economies. You could say that we’re driving slower off the cliff, and we’ve got to focus on more opportunities to take carbon out of the atmosphere, put it back into the soil, put it back into the land, and not just focus on slowing down what is essentially a collision course with our own humanity.

Dr. Hildreth/Meharry:  I would just add that the Earth can do just fine without humans on it. There are species that have been around for 2 billion years. There are plants that have been around for hundreds of millions of years. My point is that if we’re not careful, the Earth will get rid of us as a pest, so to speak, because we’re not necessary for the survival of the Earth itself. If we’re not careful, it’s going to take steps to rid itself of a species.

The pandemic reminds us that as we move into habitats, we have not been a part of, and as we destroy habitats, that brings us into contact with animals that have pathogens that can be deadly to us. So, that’s just another example of the kind of recklessness that we’re demonstrating by doing some of the things that we’re doing without being mindful of what it does to the earth and to the other species that inhabit it.  I totally agree with everything that Rachel said.

Gil Bashe/FINN:  I’m going to be an optimist here. I think it’s important. I’ve learned that from Rachel and from Dr. Hildreth; people enjoy positive messages, and I think that they’ve laid out the cause for alarm. I want to quote a 19th century mystic, for a moment, not a scientist, not an economist, a mystic, who said, simply, if you can break it, you can fix it. I think that through all of the doom and gloom, Bob, you have expressed before your belief that human ingenuity, science, engineering and creativity do give us the ability to fix some of these problems. So, I am going to believe that as well.  I’m going to also draw from what we’ve just heard from Rachel and Dr. Hildreth, which is we’ve got to engage. I’ve learned this certainly from following both of our other panelists, that sometimes to learn, we must unlearn certain behaviors.

Rachel Hodgdon/IWBI:  I totally agree with Gil, I am also an eternal optimist, and I do fundamentally believe that there are ways for us to really get ourselves out of the mess that we’ve created. But I also think that one of the challenges with climate change is that it has seemed to be a topic that’s so far off, that’s so huge, that we as individuals can’t make a difference. We think, yeah, we can solve it, but that’s somebody else’s job. That’s the job of elected and appointed officials. That’s the job of large corporations. So, I think that more than anything, the report that you mentioned in the opening is a call to action for all of us, it’s time for us to stop shifting responsibility in the solutions to others.

Bob Martineau:  With COVID, we saw the impacts were very immediate and real: a person got exposed, and within days, you saw people got sick.  It was easy to connect cause and effect.  However, with many public health issues caused by environmental health issues, the latency period is long term. It takes years for the asthma or the respiratory issues to develop. So, people don’t see the direct connection between cause and effect.  In addition, if you add that other factor Rachel mentioned – the doomsday effect. That is people saying there’s such a big problem and any change will not make any difference anyway.

So, how do we get that call to action? With COVID, it took a while, but people understood that if they wore masks and got vaccines, they could help mitigate the impact. It was individual behaviors that would change as we tried to reach a herd immunity. So, with these longer-term impacts and the magnitude of the problem and people just throwing up their hands in despair, how do we speak to people to get that action?

Dr. Hildreth/Meharry:  One of my biggest concerns is that we can’t ever get out of our own way.  If you look at what happened with the COVID-19 pandemic, science delivered, in record time, safe and effective vaccines. Yet, there are those among us who cannot realize that by taking the vaccines they can help the larger community.  It is not only a selfish thing to do in terms of protecting yourself, but it also allows us to protect the larger community.

What I worry about is, we cannot see that the things that we do now can benefit those who are going to come after us- we don’t seem to care. It’s the same kind of challenge we have with getting people vaccinated and to do the things you need to do. We have to figure out a way to get past that. Otherwise, we’re not going to solve this problem, climate change, or, in fact be able to deal with the pandemic, which is still ongoing. My biggest concern is, how do we get out of our own way and what do we need to do to have that happen? I haven’t thought of a solution to that yet. I’m hopeful that we can do it.

Rachel Hodgdon/IWBI:   I’ll give you a quick list of four and then I will elaborate: (1) You’ve got to make it visual; (2) You’ve got to make it personal; (3) You’ve got to make it actionable; and (4) You have got to make it positive. We have many visual ways to tell the story- the COVID-19 pandemic is one great example; we came face to face with the reality that we drive pollution in our own environment that ultimately accelerates climate change when we all stopped commuting. Also, when we all stopped operating construction equipment and the skies in every major city cleared. That is such an amazing visual. You can do a simple Google and see, you know, Dubai, Los Angeles, any of the world’s major cities before the pandemic and at the height of it.

We also must make it personal. I think one of the biggest regrets that I have about the outset of the pandemic is that we didn’t turn quickly enough to trusted ambassadors, deploying members of communities and spiritual leaders and even celebrities – the people that we know that the public trusts the most, that they can relate to. We need to give people actionable ways to take first steps; we need to lay out a roadmap for the choices that you can make in your own life. It’s less about those performative actions of using your reusable grocery bags or your non plastic reusable water bottles; it’s a lot more about asking people to make bigger choices around how many flights they take per year, or the kinds of cars that they purchase, or even where they vote, or where they vote with their wallet.

Finally, you have to make it positive.  We know through decades of research, that negative messaging, particularly around issues of climate can be debilitating and paralyzing. We need to shift these messages from doom, gloom and what we lose to positive messages of abundance and everything that we have to gain.

Gil Bashe/FINN:  We said often during the COVID period, that we should trust the science, but I’m going to put a twist on that and maybe make this a little more complex. Can we trust scientists, and do scientists understand the science of communication? Rachel touches on that in her points, and Dr. Hildreth talks about this as well, but the reality is our scientists, the people who really convey information, they’re not trained in public health to talk to the public and to mobilize the public. In fact, scientists can be very inspiring, but the reality is they don’t know how to communicate and that’s one thing we need to begin to fix immediately.

The other aspect is who’s responsible here? So let me take my sector.  I think Rachel and Dr. Hildreth will identify with this. Rachel and the International Well Building Institute are doing exceptional work trying to look at how to build a healthier world for the future. Dr. Hildreth at Meharry Medical College is doing a tremendous amount of work and effort to talk about critical public health needs that connect to environmental health. I believe that hospitals occupy about 5% of our commercial space in this country, but they consume about 20% of our energy. So, think about that.

The healthcare sector, which I come from and love, and has done remarkable, miraculous work during the COVID period, to invent vaccines quickly- if it were a country, would rate number five in greenhouse gases, after China, the U.S., India and Russia. Hospitals and health systems would be the fifth largest contributor to greenhouse gases in the world. So, how do we solve this? I’m calling upon the healthcare industry, first and foremost, which is so dedicated to our well-being, to take a stance to do everything possible not to reduce its contribution to climate damage or environmental damage but work diligently with the same creativity and the same science to correct its course.

Bob Martineau:  I think that’s a great point. Modeling best practices and moving from just pure sustainability to advancing causes and improvement in public health and in public environment. I think we’ve spent so long focused on treatments to diseases and impacts and less about the causes. If we don’t move to look at those causes more directly, we’ll continue to just treat diseases and that’s a vicious cycle that never ends.

Stay tuned for the second in this two-part series featured exclusively on Medika Life.

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