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Conversational technology and patient engagement are two technology trends sweeping through the three trillion dollar healthcare industry. In these short, interactive discussions, industry experts talk about how and where innovation is impacting the customer experience at hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and the vast array of related services in the industry.
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show series
 
Recent advancements in AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) have caught the world’s attention and for good reason. It’s a big deal. Specialty pharmaceuticals are typically costly, sometimes ranging from $10,000 to over $5 million per patient, per year. The onboarding and approval process that come with these drugs are complex, requiring extensive ef…
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The full power of conversational AI is being unleashed on the world through a steady stream of technological advancements, such as ChatGPT. It’s only a matter of time before language becomes the dominant interface between humans and machines. The healthcare industry will become one of the prime beneficiaries of this technology leap forward. In this…
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Business intelligence is a cornerstone of every digital transformation, with businesses spending $140B per year in analytics software. As conversational AI and digital engagement technology matures, a new domain of performance insights is emerging with the ability to measure every moment of the interaction between a business and its customers. In t…
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Clinical research studies are increasing in numbers, they’re getting more complex, and they must be executed in a very challenging, tight labor environment. These are some of the key drivers of decentralized programs that use technology to lessen the burden of requiring patients to be physically present in order to participate. Despite advances in …
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Observational studies are designed to establish baseline data for diseases and treatments across broad patient populations. There are over 94,000 of them each year. Often, these studies go on for an extended period of time, which places challenges on study sponsors to keep participants engaged and motivated. In this episode, Greg Kefer talks with R…
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As medications get more specialized, so has the need for better engagement to help patients with their prescriptions. Manufacturers are investing in tools and programs that can help patients on their medication journeys, and digital strategies are front and center. In this episode, Greg Kefer is joined by Emily Gibb, who leads the patient service o…
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More than 37 million Americans have diabetes today and an additional 96 million adults have pre-diabetes. Access to insulin treatment for many is vital. But in the past 10 years, the cost of insulin has increased by more than 1000% which is driving one in every four people with diabetes to ration or skip doses of insulin. The government and private…
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Healthcare has become an expensive, clunky mess for everyone. The path forward has to be digital, but with labor shortages showing no signs of slowing down, the time has come to double down on innovation. The good news is that technology has matured to a place where it may finally be able to make a significant difference. In this episode, Shuo Qiao…
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The technology behind Conversational AI is maturing rapidly across all sectors as consumers increasingly relying on language to interact with their devices. The labor shortage that plagues most industries has set the stage for technology that powers digital conversations, and the sector that may benefit most is healthcare. Anil Nair, Chief Technolo…
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Billions of people are now fully dependent on various forms of technology as part of their daily lives. Healthcare is no exception. As paper forms give way to digital health records and electronic communications, the risks of losing control of private patient information has risen dramatically. Every organization that deals with healthcare data mus…
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Conversational AI is rapidly maturing and becoming a viable technology option for healthcare organizations that need to digitize and scale patient engagement. Language-based user interfaces are ideal for reducing engagement friction and navigating high complexity. But technology experiences that are high on the user friendliness scale also require …
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The nursing profession is one the most cherished professions there is. Those who take the plunge are true heroes that must work long, hard shifts to help patients of all types get through very difficult situations. When the COVID pandemic hit, nurses had to take things up to another level in order to deal with the massive waves of sick patients tha…
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A recent study looked into patient perceptions about the administrative side of healthcare and found that tasks such as setting appointments, completing paperwork, and getting prior authorizations have gotten so hard, many patients have chosen to defer care to avoid the hassle. Investments to give patients the tools to manage their own healthcare h…
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The most lasting impact to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be the healthcare labor shortage that shows no signs abating. Hundreds of thousands of workers have left the field, and it’s not just doctors and nurses. Nearly one third of healthcare spending is in the administrative domain and that sector has seen massive reductions in the support sta…
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Genentech US Medical Affairs is involved in hundreds of concurrent clinical trials that involve a spectrum of participants and investigators. The world of clinical trials and therapy development has been evolving and now COVID-19 is forcing the industry to innovate in different ways as it deals with labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and a …
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Well before the COVID-19 pandemic put a new level of pressure on healthcare, the industry was struggling to deliver patient experiences that were on par with retail, banking, or travel. With more consumer companies evolving into healthcare services providers, the pressure to engage patients at scale became intense for hospital systems. Then COVID-1…
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The cost of prescription medicine continues to surge for patients. As insurance coverage evolves, the out of pocket burden now exceeds $80B each year. While government and business policy leaders continue to search for a solution, there are opportunities to use innovation to bridge gaps, provide better patient services, and lower costs at the same …
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Despite countless billions of dollars spent, and decades of effort, healthcare still lags behind other industries when it comes to successfully using digital technologies to interact with its customers — the patients. The ongoing challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in rapid advances in digital health solutions and telehealth. …
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The healthcare system always operated in a way that depended on providers to do the right thing, to step up and make sure nobody gets left behind. With the COVID-19 pandemic raging through a second year, the strains being placed on doctors, nurses, and other caregivers has been intense. In many ways, the pandemic has exposed the flaws of a system t…
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Healthcare has dealt with staffing shortages for years, and when COVID-19 arrived, the challenges became acute. Despite significant IT investments, process efficiency benefits have been elusive because staff or patients are still required to do additional work to make the technology perform. Now, as virtual care takes hold with patients, a new “thi…
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Healthcare systems of record have matured and serve as the digital home for all patient data. As the strategic focus shifts beyond the four walls, success at engaging patients through smart, digital interactions will be contingent on the ability to leverage that data in an EMR or CRM system so that communications are personalized and effective. A s…
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The race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine shined a light on an issue that has challenged the pharmaceutical industry for years. Underrepresented minority communities are often disproportionately impacted by diseases, yet those groups are usually underrepresented in the clinical trials that are designed to assess the effectiveness of drugs that they ne…
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Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a rapidly-maturing technology space that is focused on the high-volume, repetitive, low-end tasks that have traditionally been handled by human teams. High levels of complexity and data make healthcare an ideal target for RPA and we are seeing advances across a number of back office functions, ranging from billin…
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According to a recent survey of more than 2400 adults, 74% rated the doctor’s office waiting room experience as fair or poor, while 80% indicated they would rather check in to their appointments virtually, on their mobile device. Waiting rooms have been on the innovation priority list for a long time, but the need to reopen for routine care in the …
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COVID-19 is a once-in-a-generation career moment for healthcare professionals. Despite the incredible challenges that continue to reshape the industry, the pandemic has created new opportunities to address aspects of the patient experience that needed to change anyway. Jeff Johnson, who leads digital business at one of the nation’s biggest healthca…
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There’s no shortage of great technology. For an industry as big as Healthcare, there are literally thousands of different, viable solutions on the market. But driving adoption is always a challenge, especially when the solution is used by internal teams and by patients. Huge investments have been made in deploying systems of record, but if the need…
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After spending the past several years designing and building conversational digital assistants at IBM, Andrew Freed decided to share his learnings and experiences with the broader community. In his new book, Creating Virtual Assistants, Andrew explains the concepts involved in building effective conversational AI that can automate common inquiries …
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As we recorded this episode, the healthcare industry is in the midst of a struggle to administer the hundreds of millions of vaccinations necessary to contain the COVID-19 virus. One of the problems is the continued reliance on outdated administrative and communication approaches — paper, phone calls, e-mail — which become bottlenecks in the race t…
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Healthcare providers have invested billions of dollars digitizing patient data in large systems of record. Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems have become the digital home of patient information. The opportunity to tap into that data and leverage it with other, surrounding cloud technology solutions is maturing and companies like Redox provide t…
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There are countless specialty products that get prescribed each day. In the specialty pharmaceutical space, patients often require additional support to access treatment, determine coverage of benefits, understand how to administer therapies, manage potential side effects, and much more. Case managers work directly with patients to enroll them in c…
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While we all need healthcare at some point in our lives, it’s ultimately a business that is at its best when it’s focused on the patients. Healthcare does not work as designed unless the patients are interacting with their providers to manage care in lasting, meaningful ways. Unfortunately, healthcare systems and workflows are primarily designed to…
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The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted healthcare virtualization into a higher gear across multiple industry segments and workflow areas. Telemedicine might be the catch-all term for modern, digital communications between providers and patients, but a big opportunity awaits organizations — patient intake. Greg Kefer and Justin Mardjuki sat down in our v…
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While healthcare has been on a virtualization march for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has rushed forward significant changes in the way healthcare gets delivered. Front and center has been the emergence of telehealth services, where in-person appointments have given way to video calls. By some estimates, telehealth is up 83x over pre-pandemic leve…
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Historically, the development cycle for new drugs takes years. It’s a process that includes several phases of clinical trials with patient volunteers. Many trials struggle or even fail because of the challenges in recruiting participants. Today, massive speed and scale are vital as the pharmaceutical industry races to find a vaccine for COVID-19 th…
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Robert Neff, VP of Digital Solution Development at Jefferson Health, dialed into the Digital Conversations studio to discuss the state of innovation in healthcare. In this wide ranging discussion, we covered the current state of IT, the impacts of COVID-19, and how the pandemic has reset approaches to technology innovation across the healthcare ind…
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The debate whether it’s better for enterprises to build or buy business software has gone on for decades. As thousands of companies started investing in commercial software suites, an innovation curve was created that no single company could match. The emergence of cloud added economic and configuration benefits to software that few buyers could pa…
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Many governments are racing to hire tens of thousands of contact tracers to control the spread of Coronavirus infections. Human call center agents would be tasked with tracking down, contacting, and interviewing individuals that were in contact with individuals that test positive. By many estimates this could involve the hiring and training of seve…
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The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented surge of demand on emergency rooms around the world. Technology is playing a vital role in helping providers meet patient demand, while also complying with social distancing guidelines. Millions of non-COVID-19 patients still need to see their doctors, but will need to do so in different ways. Conversa…
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Supply chains are typically fairly rigid, well planned operations that are difficult to adjust quickly. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, shortages in supplies have been well documented, with PPE for care teams being among the most pressing challenges. At Banner Health, their innovation group was asked to apply different thinking and find alternativ…
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The concept of liquid expectations is based on the natural comparisons consumers make between great and weak experiences. As consumers ratchet up their use of advanced digital tech to shop, travel, and do their banking, the comparisons to healthcare are increasingly common. The hospital digital front door is the closest thing healthcare has to an e…
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Emergency departments inside the urban core of America’s biggest cities face an enormous challenge. The acute healthcare “grids” are operating in a state of resource constraint, while the flow of patients keeps increasing. The physicians and clinical teams in the ED must deal with the supply and demand mismatch every day. In this episode, Greg John…
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When it comes to next-gen innovation, discussions typically tend to be academic and conceptual. Sometimes, it’s insightful to hear from the client managers who run the implementations and are responsible for ensuring the cool new technology works. This kind of real-world, feet-on-the-street perspective, based on actual experiences, is often eye ope…
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Conversational technology promises to deliver a next level step towards simplicity and engagement for healthcare patients. On the surface, the conversational interfaces perform as simple, smart interfaces between machines and humans. Seamless, intuitive interactions that deliver results are powered by large technology platforms behind the scenes. I…
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It’s a known fact that most IT projects will deliver ROI if implemented properly. Typically cost savings through automation and operational efficiency are a big part of any IT value story. As a new class of conversational technology matures, the healthcare industry value prize is moving beyond the traditional back office and into the patient experi…
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A Digital Conversations podcast discussion with Steve Lindsey from Banner Innovation Group In healthcare, high complexity combined with an extreme amount of regulatory red tape frequently hinder innovation and progress. Despite significant investments in technology, the industry continues to struggle implementing solutions that patients will unders…
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When dealing with any kind of cardiac procedure, personal physician-patient interactions and relationships are key. But even in the cardiovascular medicine domain, there are opportunities to augment patient communications with modern technology. Ahmad Sheikh, one of the country’s premiere cardiac surgeons, sat down with Greg Kefer to provide a phys…
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Clayton Christensen’s great book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, describes disruptors and the challenges incumbent companies face in keeping up with the new entrant’s rate of improvement. Even great companies struggle because they are good at the wrong things. Many don’t survive. The healthcare industry is in the midst of massive change, fueled by new in…
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