Today I’m reflecting on last week’s Health Evolution Connect gathering in Nashville. I’m inspired by how central healthcare equity was alongside industry innovation – both on stage and throughout my discussions, but as an industry we still have so much work to do!
Key takeaways from the event, that will also influence our work here at CaringBridge moving forward:
1. #Caregivers are driving change: No surprise here as it often takes someone to lean into the purpose derived from lived experience to drive change. There were powerful discussions on stage and off that underscored both the importance of unpaid caregivers on patient outcomes as well as the emotional toll caregiving can take. A quote from the main stage by Sandra Abrevaya that has stuck with me every day… “Caregivers are screaming into the wind that they need help!” Let us not forget that activating #communities are the way caregivers get the help they need – from tangible to emotional support needs.
2. #Equity and #access: There are pockets of progress driven by solutions that build local activation in the community. However, equity and access for underserved populations continues to be a challenge due to not leaning into the data. Don’t be afraid of the story your data tells. Disparities exist. The only way to improve is to look into the face of the opportunity and operationalize the data. Understanding the unique needs of communities is vital to building trust and awareness – we must double down here to drive meaningful change.
3. #AI in #healthcare continues to show promise but needs human interaction and interventions: The integration of AI in healthcare has shown transformative potential and is rapidly iterating, addressing critical healthcare challenges, such as predicting disease progression, improving diagnostics, and optimizing treatment personalization. And there are A LOT of gray areas even when translating legislation and laws around healthcare AI. Don’t be afraid to question, push, innovate, and adapt.
My favorite tangible example from Bradley Crotty MD MPH: Auto populated medical record notes for physicians. In one case, the simple act of changing the AI populated notes action button from “submit” to two buttons, “edit” or “start from scratch,” changed the clinician note quality from poorer than before AI (‘submit’ button) to exponentially higher quality. LEARNING: AI needs human interaction to continually improve outcomes!
As we move forward, let’s focus on collaboration and innovative solutions that prioritize the patient and caregiver experience. This is the only way to create a more equitable healthcare landscape.
Alexandra Drane, Rebekah E. Gee MD MPH, Stephen Klasko, Aaron Perry, Rachel Thornton, MD, PhD, FAAP, Kelli Tice, MD, Aneesh Chopra, Suchi Saria, Sara Vaezy, Janice E. Nevin MD MPH, Sandra Abrevaya, Meena Seshamani, Carladenise Edwards, Nzinga A. Harrison, M.D.,Ye Hoffman, Lani Mattson, Cathy Skinner, Meg Barron
#HealthEquity #HealthcareInnovation
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2moYes, let’s do this. 💜