by: Golden Spiral
TN HIMSS held its annual Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 23. A full-day educational and networking event with leading industry speakers and innovators, Summit23 provided an overview of the quickly changing health IT landscape.
Above all, three primary themes stood out:
- Accelerated Transformation: The health IT industry is poised to take a pivotal role as digital platforms expand to offer personalized patient care and providers leverage AI-powered innovations, all fueled by cutting-edge technology. Rather than slowing down, the pace of change accelerates as we look to the future.
- Unique Healthcare Settings: Clinical care evolves as patients seek virtual care outside the traditional exam room setting. Clinician shortages impact patient satisfaction and overall care quality, but health IT offers solutions for addressing this critical issue in today’s coordinated care environment.
- Tech Investment Discernment: Investors are keenly focused on building portfolios that feature impactful solutions, many utilizing AI in some form. Priority areas include value-based care and physician enablement, the labor shortage, transitions to lower-cost care settings, and more.
The Sessions
If you missed Summit23, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a quick recap of the sessions our attendees took part in.
Keynote
Dr. Marc Watkins, Chief Medical Officer of Kroger Health, presented “Food as Medicine” and how Kroger changes how America eats. Kroger provides various services such as food boxes, telenutrition, and an app-based program called OptUP, which assigns points to each item and gives a ranked score based on how healthy your shopping list is.
He also emphasized the importance of meeting people where they are and making food culturally relevant.
Session #2: Addressing the Talent Shortage
Scott Mancuso: Chief Medical Officer, Honest Medical Group
Adam Silverman: Chief Medical Officer, Syllable
Huy Tran: VP, People Ops & Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Syllable
Lani Williams: Chief People Officer, Honest Medical Group
Paul Vernich: CEO & CO-Founder, Winnow Health
This panel’s speakers discussed various issues related to physician burnout, empathy fatigue, work-life balance, and the need for culture and engagement in the workplace. They emphasized using AI to measure burnout rates, optimize supply and demand, and predict the propensity to leave jobs.
Additionally, the panel discussed the need for greater interoperability between EHRs and the best practices for recruiting new physicians. Finally, they suggested that it is essential to create an atmosphere of fun at work, increase transparency, and involve physicians in the hiring process.
Session #3: Artificial Intelligence – Breakthroughs and Barriers
Anthony Habayeb: Co-Founder & CEO, Monitaur
Chase Spurlock: Co-Founder & CEO, Decode Health
Chris Cashwell: Founder & CEO, Azra
Marten den Haring: Chief Executive Officer, Lirio
In this session, four companies utilizing artificial intelligence discussed how their AI tools help drive better patient care and target CFOs/CMOs of healthcare organizations as buyers.
- Lirio spoke about the importance of having a human in the loop when using large language models like ChatGPT, understanding the model’s biases, and being intentional about methodologies.
- Decode Health emphasized the need for realism in the promise of AI, working through healthy friction, and building safety and intention in development.
- Monitaur discussed how healthcare is now at a maturity level ready for AI deployment and impact and how collaboration across the healthcare continuum is necessary for pushing AI forward.
- Azra highlighted how AI can shrink the waiting time for answers and treatment in cancer care.
Session #4: Mental and Behavioral Health – The Current Crisis and Solutions for the Path Forward
Moderator: Danielle Dedrick, CSpire
Lisa Henderson: Co-Founder, Synchronous Health
Julie Kastner: Chief Product Officer, NeuroFlow
Marjorie Morrison: Founder and CEO, Psych Hub
The session discussed some of the biggest challenges in addressing mental and behavioral health, including the lack of providers, access, and rising suicide rates.
The speakers shared that not everyone needs the highest level of care and that some patients can receive care through apps or lower touchpoints of care. Strategies for addressing these challenges include tailoring solutions for different groups – such as employers and Medicaid patients – mapping consumers to the right place, and implementing collaborative care.
Session #5: Shifting Sites of Service – Bringing Care to Patients
Lisa Esch: Senior Vice President, NTT Data
Dan Yourk: VP of Operations, Current Health
Haden McWhorter: Chief Information Officer, Premise Health
Jeff Andrews: COO, Regent Surgical Health
This panel discussed the shift in care from hospitals to different care sites such as at-home care, outpatient clinics, and surgery centers.
They also focused on the role of technology in improving patient care, such as pre-operatively reaching out via apps, using sensors in the operating room, and post-op communication with patients.
Hospitals can reduce the cost of care by moving patients who don’t need inpatient care to surgery centers or at-home care. However, this comes with privacy and compliance challenges like educating patients about data ownership and implementing HIPAA-friendly technology.
Session #6: Gaining Clarity In A Sea Of Uncertainty — Expert Investor Panel
Devin Carty: Chief Executive Officer, Martin Ventures
Navid Farzad: Partner, Frist Cressey Ventures
Lauren Brueggen: Partner, Heritage Group
Eric Thrailkill: Chair, Project Healthcare
To round out the day, we ended with a panel discussion that included expert investors in the healthcare industry. They discussed various topics, including the importance of social determinants of health, unit economics, down rounds, runway extensions, and priority investments.
The panel also mentioned current trends of avoiding investments in devices, pharma, and consumer-driven products. They concluded that there might be short-term impacts, but to remain optimistic about investing and deploying capital in great companies long-term.
Connect at HIMSS23!
Join the TN HIMSS Chapter Reception at HIMSS23 on Tuesday, April 18 for an evening of networking, education, and celebration with industry leaders in healthcare information and technology.
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