Monday, August 24, 2020
I recently finished reading one of the most widely read accounts of the 1918 pandemic – the so-called “Spanish Flu” – titled The Great Influenza, by the author John Barry. I rarely bring my reading recommendations into this newsletter; however, I am making an exception given the important lessons we can learn from the past. I also invite you to read my review of the book.
While the world focuses on containing the spread of COVID-19 and developing a vaccine to immunize the global population, there is a new challenge that has emerged: how to take care of those who have survived COVID-19 but face other debilitating health effects that can become chronic. This piece from the Economist lays out what could be the next COVID-related public health crisis.
The sudden shift to virtual care and an increasingly remote workforce has increased security vulnerabilities and increasing incidents of ransomware. We include the fascinating story of how UCSF fell victim to ransomware operators and negotiated its way out of it (spoiler alert: they paid).
In our guest post this week, Sara Vaezy, Chief Digital Strategy and Business Development Officer of Providence Health, lays out why digital is much bigger than telehealth and is now core to survival.
My latest podcast guests are Diana Nole, EVP and General Manager at Nuance Healthcare and Dr. Yaa Kumah-Crystal, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Take a listen.
P.S. Signed copies of my new book Healthcare Digital Transformation, are available at the link below. You can also get your print and eBook versions on Amazon.
Stay safe. Wear a mask.
Podcast of the week
In this episode, Diana Nole and Dr. Yaa Kumah-Crystal discuss the progress, future state, and challenges of voice-enabled technology in healthcare. They also talk about its usability and application in a post-COVID-19 world.
This Week in Digital Health Markets
We are selectively featuring guest posts in our newsletter from senior leaders in healthcare and technology. Reach out to us if you would like to contribute a blog to one of our upcoming newsletters.
How Teladoc won: The inside story of how well-timed bets propelled it ahead of the competition
The story of how Teladoc’s founders came upon the idea of remote consultations and worked it for years before it got any traction. Stat News
GUEST POST: COVID-19 as Catalyst: The Journey Ahead for Health Systems
The emergence of COVID-19 has catalyzed change alongside two vectors for health systems: disease response, and business model disruption. Sara Vaezy, Chief Digital Strategy and Business Development Officer, Providence
How Hackers Bled 118 Bitcoins Out of Covid Researchers in U.S.
Fascinating case study in ransomware negotiation for every health system out there. Spoiler alert: UCSF paid the ransom. Bloomberg News
When covid-19 becomes a chronic illness
The long-term effects ofCOVID-19 could become a bigger public health crisis than the pandemic itself. The Economist
How one 500-doc physicians group scaled up telehealth to 130 clinics in a week
The Millennium Physician Group has worked with Hale Health since 2017 for telehealth solutions. With increased demand for telehealth amid the pandemic, the group had fully deployed the MPG Connect platform built using Hale Health’s technologies to all providers and offices. Healthcare IT News
Baptist Health begins $100 million total digital transformation
Baptist Health lays out a digital transformation roadmap and explains what is driving the investments. Miami Today
COVID-19 could push systems to create telehealth leadership roles
Is Chief Telehealth Officer the new title of the year? Modern Healthcare
Interoperability for improved care coordination amid COVID 19
How healthcare providers can leverage interoperability across the care continuum for improved care coordination and patient empowerment. Healthcare IT News
Chart of the Week
Damo Consulting Thought Leadership and Research
This research paper, based on focus group discussions with CHIME members, discusses the challenges with digital transformation for mid-tier health systems and what CIOs must do to accelerate digital transformation in their organizations.
This paper provides best practices for a successful healthcare digital transformation in a post-COVID-19 era.
This ebook is a snapshot of the more detailed whitepaper ‘Interoperability and Patient Access: what it is, who gets impacted, and how to plan for the future.’
In this podcast with host Mark Weisman, Paddy Padmanabhan shares insights about what a CMIO needs to know about the digital front door.
In this podcast, Paddy Padmanabhan shares his insights from the book. How they waited to gather a better understanding of the COVID-19 situation and then refreshed the content of the book.
A review of the financial and market performance of global technology consulting firms in healthcare. Our monthly update on major global IT consulting and services firms in healthcare, The WITCH Monthly Monitor, provides latest financial and market performance updates on WITCH companies along with other global IT consulting firms. It is now available as free 1-year subscription with every purchase of The WITCH Report– Annual Review
