Shock news: a very muted HIMSS 2021 set for 9-13 August, Las Vegas

November 13, 2020 | by

Yes, Virginia, there will be a HIMSS21, of sorts, we think. The news of a HIMSS21 in Las Vegas next August (when it will be 110° in the shade) is like the forecast of rain for this parched-of-business convention city and the parched-of-contact health tech community. The basics, mostly from the FAQ:

  • Registration will open in January (date TBD). If you paid your registration for the canceled 2020 conference, your registration will automatically be carried over to the 2021 conference, with details to come. If you cannot attend, no refunds.
  • Programming, exhibits, and events will be held at the Venetian-Sands Expo Center, Caesars Forum Conference Center, and Wynn 
  • The program and topics are sketched in (see the website dropdowns).
  • Proposals for the education track are closed, but open till mid-January for the optional events.  

Exhibitor registrations and paid badges will be carried over (unless you don’t plan on exhibiting, then again, no refunds). For whatever reason, the exhibit floor will be worthy of a Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) convention in Des Moines, based on the published rules:

  • NO SOLICITING OUTSIDE THE CONFINES OF YOUR BOOTH (replicating their capitals, including hotels–what fun is this?)
  • All demos and promo activities must be performed five feet set into your booth space. It’ll get cozy for the small, poor exhibitors in a 10 x 10! In fact, straying outside your booth for anything is apparently prohibited.
  • No megaphones, loudspeakers, or what is quaintly called ‘sideshow’ tactics, for instance, clowns, whistles, or high school marching bands in the aisle. Noise must be less than 75db. If there are speakers, they must face into the booth–and better be small.
  • Tchotchkes must have logos on them, so no running out for brand-name candy needed to fuel a looong floor day
  • You have to stay in your booth during exhibit AND non-exhibit hours. (I guess this means no food, event attendance, bathroom breaks–or scoping out/chatting up the competition, a key activity at any trade show.) And don’t wear lights or signage of any type on your clothes.
  • Speaking of clothes, they’re NOT optional–tops and bottoms required. At all times. Even though it’s HIMSS. And Las Vegas.
  • No cameras or video equipment on the floor. (I guess this means you can’t shoot reference pictures, booths you like, or cute videos to share on your blog, Twitter feed, and LinkedIn. Sounds like a closed shop for HIMSS Media.)
  • Exhibitors must use the official booker (onPeak), or you can lose your badges and booth. No economizing! Rough on the small, poor companies.
  • “Event Participants are expected to behave responsibly and to treat each other – and treat the community – with respect, kindness, and compassion.” If you don’t, you lose Exhibitor Points. (No comment!)

This Editor wonders that with all these restrictions and the mid-summer timing, how many exhibitors will simply walk away from HIMSS21 and its high expense? Or wait till March 2022 in Orlando? After all, 2020 booth expense was in last year’s budget and written off. Is going to HIMSS worth it to you?  Hat tip to HISTalk.

Propel@YH digital health accelerator open now for applications to 24 September (UK)

August 12, 2020 | by

The Yorkshire & Humber AHSN (Academic Health Science Networks) returns for a second year with Propel@YH, their regional digital health accelerator program.

We will cut to the chase and the key dates: 

Applications Open – Thursday 6th Aug 09:00
Webinar – 2nd September 13:00 GMT
Applications Close – Thursday 24th September 23:59
Assessment Starts – Monday 28th September
Assessment day – Friday 9th October
Cohort Launch – Friday 16th October
Programme commences – Monday 26th October

While Propel is regional, the program’s objective is to attract global applicants who are interested in solutions for the Yorkshire & Humber area. Backing it is the University of Leeds and the Leeds City Council. The accelerator will provide advisory, guidance, and supportive services, enabling digital health solutions to accelerate their growth and market presence in the longer term. An example is masterclasses on how to build clinical safety cases, develop evidence-based proposals, and understanding procurement in the NHS.

What companies accepted for the 2020 cohort will engage with:

  • How the NHS works – an introduction to the health system in England
  • Clinical safety by design – how to design in clinical safety throughout the digital development process
  • Making the grade – how to develop your digital product to meet the requirements of the NHS Digital Tools library
  • Digital by design – how to implement a human-centred design approach to developing digital products and services
  • NASSS Framework assessment clinic
  • Building the evidence base – how to develop a benefits realisation case and generate evidence that really counts
  • Understanding procurement in the NHS – find out from the experts about how procurement works in the NHS
  • Cohort-defined learning clinics

For more information on the program, content providers, partners, and applying–start here. Download application here. 

Vote now for finalists in the Aging 2.0 Global Innovation Search (to 31 July)

July 24, 2020 | by

Vote daily online for your favored technologies up to 31 July. Aging 2.o, the international organization that seeks to accelerate innovation around the biggest challenges and opportunities in aging, plus the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council (LHCC), are sponsoring the Global Innovation Search. 

Aging 2.0 chapters selected the companies (left) on the basis that they help keep older adults connected to their communities, families, healthcare providers, and provide vital information. In addition: 

  • The innovation should address social isolation and loneliness in older adults
  • Innovators must have a commercial-ready or commercially available product/service
  • The company’s Founder or C-level executive (or equivalent) must be the person to present if selected to advance to the Virtual Pitch Competition
  • The top ten innovators that are selected to pitch at the Virtual Pitch Competition will be required to present in English
  • The Global Innovation Search is not only open to startups. Established companies and non-profits are welcome to apply if they have recently (within the last 3 years) launched an innovative solution to improve the lives of older adults

Vote on this page. One vote per day up to 31 July is permitted. Based on the vote, the ten finalists will receive sponsorship, mentorship, and the opportunity to virtually pitch at an event in August (date TBD). 

Some familiar US names in this group are a very old friend from this Editor’s QuietCare days, GrandCare, and UnaliWear [TTA features here]. Many are from the US,  but a sample of international semifinalists are:

  • Canada–AltumView, Sirona.tv, Famli.net, Anna, Tamaduni Connect, Tochtech Technologies, Virtual Coffee House 55+
  • Spain–Oroi
  • Sweden–Camanio Care
  • Israel–BaldPhone
  • Brazil–Eu Vô, Cerebrar – Cérebro Ativo
  • UK–Joy, Buddy Hub, eargym Ltd (interesting to this Editor as it addresses age-related hearing loss and cognition through auditory training)
  • Australia–Feros Care

Hat tip to Jean Anne Booth, CEO of UnaliWear, via LinkedIn.

ATA’s annual conference now 22-26 June–and fully virtual; announces three awards and Fellows

June 12, 2020 | by

The American Telemedicine Association has reimagined their annual conference and gone fully virtual–including an exhibit hall and poster displays. This year’s theme is “Moving at the Speed of Innovation…. Accelerating Telehealth Adoption”–if it hasn’t accelerated enough during the COVID pandemic, there’s always consolidating the gains.

Perhaps due to the complete cancellation of HIMSS and the addition of Joe Kvedar, MD, incoming ATA President, this year’s ATA has a five-day menu of healthcare leaders and over 300 speakers in 100+ sessions. Here’s a sample from the keynotes:

  • Ken Abrams, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Deloitte Consulting
  • Rachel Dunscombe, CEO, NHS Digital Academy; Tektology
  • Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, Chair, AMA Board of Trustees
  • Thomas Goetz, Chief of Research, GoodRx
  • Jennifer Goldsack, Executive Director, Digital Medicine Society
  • Victoria Guyatt, Head of Ethnography, IPSOS
  • Joe Kvedar, MD, Professor, Harvard Medical School; Senior Advisor, Mass General Brigham (Partners HealthCare); Incoming President, the ATA
  • Ali Parsa, Founder and CEO, Babylon Health
  • Suchi Saria, Assoc. Professor, Machine Learning & Data Intensive Computing Group, Johns Hopkins University and Bayesian Health
  • Jennifer Schneider, MD, President, Livongo
  • Michelle Segar, Director, Univ. of Michigan Sport, Health and Activity Research & Policy Center
  • Jeroen Tas, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer, Philips Healthcare

Registration is priced gently at $450. Full information, schedule, and registration here.

ATA 2020 Awards

The ATA Champion award this year is to the Veterans Health Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA has been a leader in telehealth and store-forward technologies since, well, 2002 or so. VA Video Connect last year had 1.3 million appointments. (Sadly, your Editor’s former company, Viterion, which pioneered with VA in a RPM platform, is not currently a telehealth/RPM vendor–VA’s sole vendor is Medtronic.)

The President’s Award for the Transformation of Healthcare Delivery went to The Children’s Health Virtual Care Program at Children’s Health in Dallas. They have pioneered telemedicine programs for children.

The ATA’s Woman of the Year is  Tania S. Malik, J.D., an entrepreneur and a lawyer focused on healthcare, and specifically, telehealth solutions that facilitate online patient-provider interactions for primary care, mental health treatment, and naturopathic and integrated medicine.

Six Fellows were also named to ATA’s College of Fellows. Release.

 

DHACA home testing webinar 20th May 10am–next one 3 June

May 19, 2020 | by

DHACA is running its eighth WebinarWednesday on 20th May 10am on the topic of home testing. One of the two main themes of our webinars to date has been how technology can minimise face:face clinical interactions with patients whilst simultaneously improving patient outcomes and reducing costs.

This webinar continues that theme by showing how after electronic triage and remote consultation, a growing number of tests, of blood, urine, skin etc., can continue to be used to minimise face:face engagement, as well as improving patient access to prompt testing. We will look at the challenges and the benefits through the eyes of four brilliant speakers.

More details here, register here.

From Editor Donna: DHACA will have its ninth #WebinarWednesday on 3 June at 10am UK time. The topic is how best to promote technology to carers in the light of the pandemic. Editor Charles will be part of a panel discussion. More details and registration are right here.

The Future of Clinical Trials in the Post-Pandemic Era: HITLAB Seminar Series 6 May

April 30, 2020 | by

Wednesday 6 May, 11am to 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time

How can virtual trials improve patient enrollment, retention, and engagement in a clinical trial? How much of the future CRO model will be defined by digital solutions? These are two questions key for many digital health companies as they expand and/or pivot their business model. Answering these questions will be the task of the panel discussing “Clinical Trials in the Post-Pandemic Era”, a free virtual midday seminar hosted by HITLAB in New York.

Panelists are: Joris van Dam, Head of Digital Therapeutics at Novartis, Natalia Kotchie, Vice President R&DS Applied Data Science Center at IQVIA, Bill Taranto, President & General Partner at Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, and Jeff Ventimiglia, Senior Vice President, Medidata Solutions (sponsor). The panel will be moderated by Professor Stan Kachnowski, Director of the Digital Health Strategy program at Columbia Business School.

Seats are limited to 1,000. Registration is necessary through Eventbrite here. Registrants will receive a follow-on email with instructions on how to access the webinar.

Doing more for less in primary care – DHACA’s Wednesday webinars on 22 and 29 April

April 20, 2020 | by

DHACA restarts our webinar series after Easter Week with a panel of three contrasting suppliers of GP process improvement (aka “total triage”) software and the NHS England expert on the topic, at 10am on Wednesday. In our first Webinar, huge potential benefits were identified from use of this software, which is particularly well suited to the requirement of the current pandemic that face:face consultations be avoided where possible.

However the benefits don’t stop there. Patients, clinicians and practice managers all benefit hugely…and I can speak from personal experience as my local surgery converted recently and has never looked back! We’ll be exploring these benefits in more detail the following Wednesday 29th April in the following webinar when users – both professionals and patients – describe their experiences of the software, and the challenges implementing it.

For more information and to book for this week’s webinar go here and for next week’s (29 April) go here.

We have more exciting webinars coming up, including self-testing to reduce face:face GP consultations further so keep an eye on DHACA’s Webinar listing for when they are published.

Further ‘virtualization’ of industry meetings: DHACA Day, HITLAB, NAACOS, HXD, now ATA 2020 (updated)

March 18, 2020 | by

Practically all events that this Editor has noted on the calendar for the next few months have been converted to virtual events or postponed due to emergency restrictions around COVID-19. 

Close to our Editors’ hearts is DHACA Day–a must-read update. Originally set for tomorrow 18 March, it is now planned as a virtual event on Wednesday the 25th starting at 10am. Editor Charles Lowe has an update on the DHACA website in his mid-March newsletter. The tentative theme is ‘The silver lining in the COVID-19 cloud’.

  • Charles is also compiling a list of “all the products that members make and services that members provide that will help the health services and patients cope with Covid.19 and the subsequent lockdown.” There are more ‘calls for assistance’ in the newsletter for everything from ventilators to technical help at Public Health England.

HITLAB is going virtual indefinitely. Dr. Stan Kachnowski’s emailed update today notes that the Women’s Health Tech Challenge on 16 April is on as a virtual event, and virtually free. Remaining Seminar Series events will be virtual–and these extend into August. This Thursday’s (19 March) seminar will be a virtual town hall to discuss digital solutions which can help patients and physicians in the age of the coronavirus, with an international cast–panelists from Scripps Translational Institute, Ugandan Health, and more. Registration here (free).

The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) has officially converted its annual meeting scheduled for 1-3 April to a virtual event, date TBD.

MAD*POW Health Experience Design Conference 2020 (HXD) 14-15 April will be fully virtual. Quite relevant is a webinar being held noon ET Wednesday 18 March on Interventions to Encourage Social Distancing, based on a 12 March survey of Italians to gauge the effectiveness of government communications on staying at home and social distancing.

UPDATE: The sole outlier up until mid-week was the American Telemedicine Association’s ATA 2020 that was going to be in Phoenix 3-5 May. It won’t be a cure for cabin fever in the sun, as ATA’s announcement of a 100 percent virtual conference is up here. Details to come.

News roundup: Kompaï debuts, Aging Tech 2020 study, Project Nightingale may sing to the Senate, Amwell, b.well, Lyft’s SDOH, more on telehealth for COVID-19

March 13, 2020 | by

Believe it or not, there IS news beyond a virus!

France’s Kompaï assistance robot is finally for sale to health organizations, primarily nursing homes and hospitals. Its objective, according to its announcement release, is to help health professionals in repetitive daily tasks, and to help patients. It’s interesting that the discussion of appearance was to achieve a ‘slightly humanoid’ look, but not too human. The development process took over 10 years. (Here at TTA, Steve’s first ‘in person’ with the developers was in May 2011!) Kompaï usage mentioned is in mobility assistance and facility ‘tours’ and public guidance. Here’s Kompai in action on what looks like a tour. Press release (French/English)

Not much on robotics here. Laurie Orlov has issued her 2020 Market Overview Technology for Aging Market Overview on her Aging and Health Technology Watch, and everyone in the industry should download. Key points:

  • In 2020, aging technologies finally nudged into the mainstream
  • The older adult tech market has been recognized as an opportunity by such companies as Best Buy, Samsung, and Amazon. Medicare Advantage payers now cover some tech.
  • Advances plus smart marketing in hearing tech–one of the top needs in even younger demographics–is disrupting a formerly staid (and expensive)
  • The White House report “Emerging Technologies to Support an Aging Population” [TTA 7 March] first was an acknowledgment of its importance and two, would also serve as a great source document for entrepreneurs and developers.

The study covers the demographics of the older adult market, where they are living, caregiving, the effect of data breaches, optimizing design for this market, the impacts of voice-driven assistants, wearables, and hearables.

Project Nightingale may be singing to some US Senators. The 10 million Ascension Health identified patient records that were transferred in a BAA deal to Google [TTA 14 Nov 19], intended to build a search engine for Ascension’s EHR, continue to be looked into. They went to Google without patient or physician consent or knowledge, with major questions around its security and who had access to the data. A bipartisan group of senators is (finally) looking at this ‘maybe breach’, according to Becker’s. (Also WSJ, paywalled)

Short takes:  b.well scored a $16 million Series A for its software that integrates digital health applications for payers, providers, and employers. The round was led by UnityPoint Health Ventures….Lyft is partnering with Unite Us to provide non-emergency patient transportation to referred health appointments. Unite Us is a social determinants of health (SDOH) company which connects health and community-based social care providers….What happens if you’re a quarantined physician due to exposure to the COVID-19 virus? Use telehealth to connect to patients in EDs or in direct clinic or practice care, freeing up other doctors for hands-on care. 11 March New England Journal of Medicine….American Well is finally no more, long live Amwell. Complete with a little heart-check logo, American Well completed its long journey to a new name, to absolutely no one’s surprise. It was set to be a big reveal at HIMSS, but we know what happened there. Amwell blog, accompanied with the usual long-winded ‘marketing’ rationale They are also reporting a 10 to 20 percent increase in telehealth consults by patients (Becker’s)….Hospitals and health systems such as Spectrum Health (MI), Indiana University Health, Mount Sinai NY, St. Lukes in Bethlehem PA, and MUSC Health, are experimenting with COVID-19 virtual screenings and developing COVID-19 databases in their EHRs. The oddest: Hartford (CT) Healthcare’s drive-through screening center and virtual visit program. Is there an opportunity to cross-market with Wendy’s or Mickey D’s? After all, a burger and fries would be nice for a hungry, maybe sick, patient before they self-quarantine.

Update: healthcare/digital health conferences canceled/postponed due to COVID-19 include SXSW, Naidex, EPIC (updated 13 Mar).

March 12, 2020 | by

Your Editor has been offline since Monday to this afternoon (EDT) due to a Fios network outage, not a health outage due to COVID-19. Since last week and the HIMSS20 cancellation, major conference and meeting cancellations and reschedulings are multiplying like fig buttercups in the spring. And yes, WHO has declared it a pandemic as Italy closes down and the US bans travel and even trade from Europe for the next 30 days, but not the UK. (There are additional relief measures including a requested payroll tax reduction, tax deferrals and assistance to small businesses. Many schools and businesses are going remote and long-term care residences, a nexus of infection, are being strongly encouraged to defer non-medically necessary visitors.)

Below are some of the majors and of interest to Readers in the digital health area. Most are the largest conferences with international attendees:

What’s on? The DHACA Day on 18 March at Brown Rudnick in London. Agenda and registration here.  Updates at @DHACA_org.

Additional updates 13 March

Running lists are up at Forbes (including sporting events such as the NBA, Broadway, and every major St Patrick’s Day parade; happily the NY International Auto Show is moved to 28 August) and MedPage Today. Healthcare IT News has a list of government and academic information resources led by the CDC, the WHO, and the NHS. We’ll repeat the NHS pages from our earlier article:

The UK Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England has provided the following links to coronavirus guidance (hat tip to DOHSC via LinkedIn):

👩‍⚕️ Health: 
🚂 Transport: 
👩‍🎓 Education:
👨‍💼 Employers:
🏡 Social care:

Breaking News: HIMSS20 canceled; Naidex update; what is the outlook for other major conferences? (updated)

March 5, 2020 | by | 2 Comments

UPDATED 5 and 12 March

At 12.25 pm today, according to an email visible on HISTalk, HIMSS has canceled HIMSS20. This cancellation is the first in the 58-year history of the conference.

Quick facts are on HISTalk at the link above, on the HIMSS announcement, and on their FAQs.

The advisory panel recognized that industry understanding of the potential reach of the virus has changed significantly in the last 24 hours, which has made it impossible to accurately assess risk. Additionally, there are concerns about disproportionate risk to the healthcare system given the unique medical profile of Global Conference attendees and the consequences of potentially displacing healthcare workers during a critical time, as well as stressing the local health systems were there to be an adverse event.

Also from the announcement: “HIMSS20 exhibitors and attendees will be contacted with further information regarding booth contracts and registrations. Please contact exhibitors@himss.org for immediate booth concerns.”

The CHIME (College of Healthcare Information Management Executives)/HIMSS CIO Forum symposium on Sunday 8th-Monday 9th is also canceled, per a comment on HISTalk. The only indicator on their website as of now is a large ‘CANCELLED’ on their event list. Later this month is the 5G Executive Forum on 25-26 March in Plano, Texas; is that now being reevaluated?

Neither will be rescheduled for this year. Further chatter on the 3/6 HISTalk centers on what to do with all the promotional items and after-action assessments of losses to marketing and sales. There are companies which center their annual budget and marketing efforts on HIMSS, perhaps not the best ‘eggs in one basket’ strategy, but one that many follow. Hat tip to HISTalk and their ace staff

For our UK and European Readers, Naidex is one of the largest conferences for independent living and healthcare. So far, it is on at Birmingham NEC from 17–18 March, they are taking a long list of precautions based on guidelines set by the WHO and local authorities, but according to their site statement by the event director, it is a fast-moving situation and may change based on those advisories. POSTPONED 10 March–see 12 March update.

Original article follows:

There is a growing list of exhibitor and attendee cancellations for HIMSS20 in Orlando, Florida, starting next Monday the 9th. HIMSS is one of the largest global healthcare conferences, and is a ‘must attend’ for a wide swath of healthcare-related companies, including clinical and monitoring technologies, software from the giants (Microsoft, Cisco) to the startups, hospital systems, payers, telecoms, and all sorts of governmental entities like CMS. (When the opening keynote speaker is President Trump, you know it’s important.)

Health IT website HISTalk, a regular exhibitor at HIMSS, has been tracking the cancellations as of today, doing their own research and following reader leads and public announcements, with a follow up article dated tomorrow. It’s well above 50, with major companies like Humana, Siemens, IBM, and the aforementioned Cisco and Microsoft, on the list. Modern Healthcare has an update.

Based on the comments and HIMSS’ own advisory, HIMSS is accepting cancellations from the CDC’s Level 3 or 4 alert countries, but other cancellations are not being refunded (likely pushed to 2021). Hotels/airlines may not be refundable based upon policies and the clout of travel bookers. Onsite, HIMSS is preparing onsite medical offices for care and screening, as well as promoting the HIMSS elbow bump in lieu of the handshake. It’s regrettable as there are hundreds of staff involved year to year who are responsible for all the planning, marketing, logistics, and security for HIMSS and any conference of this size.

The major reason? Many companies, including healthcare companies, have indefinitely canceled non-essential travel across the board for the next 30 to 60 days as a matter of institutional policy. The large destination conferences taking place March-June are the most affected by this. Consider that for the immunocompromised, attending any large conference is dicey, but COVID-19 is one large red flag.

IBM has canceled Think 2020 in May, which regularly attracts 30,000 attendees to San Francisco. Mobile World Congress Barcelona, the largest in the telecom sector which crosses over to mobile-based healthcare, canceled two weeks before starting on 24 February. The American Physical Society (physics) canceled this week’s conference in Denver the day before it started. The LA Times has a roll call of canceled conferences including Facebook and Google I/O. Others remain on, but monitoring the situation:  the American College of Healthcare Executives Congress on 23 March and EPIC 2020 in Croatia 19-21 March [TTA 16 Jan].

Small, local conferences and meetings are the least affected, so you’re probably safe in London and NYC. The King’s Fund has a full roster of London meetings, including the Digital Health and Care Congress 2020 on 20-21 May. Upcoming are also DHACA Day on 18 March and the NYC meetings listed last week. (Don’t go if you’re sick, steer clear of the inconsiderate, avoid buffets, and wash your hands!)

HISTalk’s 5 March article (scroll down) reports on the findings from the leader of the WHO team which spent two weeks in China studying their COVID-19 response. China is moving patients from their best hospitals to ‘routine care’ to accommodate COVID-19 patients. Children do not seem to become infected or be carriers. The trend in infection there is trending down. Overall, it seems to be a series of global outbreaks, not a global pandemic. And they came away with a fatality rate in China of 1-2 percent, which seems low based on other reports.

A potpourri of upcoming NYC events

February 27, 2020 | by

Thursday 27 February, 6-8 pm, WeWork Soho
Behavioral Modification and Big Data: How Digital Health Helps Patients with Medication Adherence

HITLAB, which is a digital health research, teaching, and advisory services organization with the objective to improve healthcare delivery worldwide, is presenting a talk on digital health, eye care, and medication adherence. The featured speaker is Dr. Thomas Wong, an Associate Clinical Professor and Director of New Technologies at SUNY Optometry. Cost is $6.93 including Eventbrite’s take! Event information and tickets here.

Upcoming in HITLAB’s Seminar Series are When Patients Lose Patience: The Healthcare Consumer in 2020 (19 March) and The New Clinical Trial: Medication as a Core Business Strategy to Improved Drug Trials (23 April). Future events and notification signup here. 

Friday 28 February, 8 am to 6.30 pm, CONVENE West 46th Street
Columbia Business School’s 16th Annual Healthcare Conference

Speakers at this CBS conference will focus on the transformative impact New York City is having on the healthcare industry, and are from a cross-section of established healthcare organizations, emerging companies, and investment firms will present informed views. The Conference includes four panels, an inaugural CBS Start-up Showcase, and a Sponsor Expo. It also includes a buffet breakfast and lunch as well as a networking happy hour from 4:30 – 6:30 pm. Cost is $350, $200 for Columbia alumni, and only $75 for students. Conference information and tickets here.

Tuesday-Thursday 12-14 May
Columbia Business School Digital Health Executive Education Course

This three-day intensive executive education course sponsored by Columbia Business School Executive Education and HITLAB is an industry-first program that distills how digital technologies can transform life science research, clinical development, patient experience, operations, and business models. Upon completing the program, participants will earn three days toward a certificate with select alumni and tuition benefits. Application and additional information here.

Tuesday-Thursday 1-3 December, Bryant Park Ballroom
2020 HITLAB Innovators Summit

Mark your calendars for this three-day conference which will focus on the diffusion of digital technologies in the healthcare system, with speakers and attendees who are on the front lines of identifying, validating, integrating, and scaling emerging technologies that are improving patient outcomes. Preliminary conference information and 2019 information here.

Hat tip to HITLAB chair Stan Kachnowski, Ph.D., MPA

Calling all digital health entrepreneurs: DHACA Day on 18th March is for you!

January 23, 2020 | by

If you’re struggling with the many challenges of how to grow your digital health business fast, DHACA, sponsored by the AHSN Network, is at hand to help. Specifically on 18th March we have assembled an outstanding group of speakers to help you get to know NHSX and its priorities, to build AI into your product or service, to position yourself to benefit most from the current emphasis on longevity, to understand how the cabinet office can help, how data privacy legislation may change post Brexit, what Babylon is doing, how the AHSNs can help and much, much more. You only have to pay for lunch! You will also get to hear how you can access a wide range of in depth business services free, due to the generosity of our sponsors.

The event is being held courtesy of Baker Botts in their offices very close to Bank Tube station in London. 

Please click here to see more detail and to book.

(Disclosure: this Editor is also CEO of DHACA)

European Patient Experience and Innovation Congress (EPIC 2020) invites world health tech to Croatia

January 16, 2020 | by

European Patient Experience and Innovation Congress (EPIC 2020)
19-21 March
Valamar Lacroma Hotel
Dubrovnik, Croatia

One of our Readers from Croatia is the CEO of the Bagatin Clinic in Zagreb. In cooperation with the Cleveland Clinic, they are organizing this first-ever pan-European conference focusing on health tech and how it will impact the patient experience. This Editor has previously noted the growth of medical and healthcare tech in Central and Eastern Europe in places like Hungary and Estonia–and now, Croatia.

Ognjen Bagatin was kind enough to write me before the holidays and has since filled in some of the highlights.

  • Centered on the patient experience, it will explore the relationships among healthcare delivery, technology, private enterprise and the human beings who need and want these services.
  • Encompassing the scientific, clinical, behavioral and social perspectives, ranging from the futuristic, highly theoretical to current, best-in-class practice.
  • A high-energy, stimulating event for everyone, from c-suite executives, to clinical practitioners, clinic owners, scientists, and investors, EPIC will bring together some of the most influential physicians, med-tech startups and health professionals from Europe and beyond to the table to improve how your patients will experience healthcare in the near future.
  • As technology continues to help us achieve previously unattainable results in healthcare, the conference will bring an insiders’ look at which technologies, ideas, and innovations are improving the patient experience 
  • And, of course, there’s Dubrovnik
  • Speaker list here

Early registration closes on 19 January. More information here.

Texas Healthcare Challenge WISH-es on women in February hackathon (Dallas TX)

January 16, 2020 | by

The latest phase of the Dallas-based Health Wildcatters Texas Healthcare Challenge series is the Women in Science & Healthcare (WISH) Hackathon, taking place Friday and Saturday, 21-22 February at the Health Wildcatters office in Dallas. The program includes keynote talks, problem pitching, mixing, team forming, hacking, mentorship, feedback, idea iteration, pitch practice sessions, final presentations, judging panel, and prizes. Teams will use design thinking to create products, iterate business models, map out go-to-market strategies, and potentially build new healthcare ventures. It’s not for existing companies; you can register your group individually to form a team working on a problem that may result in a new product or company. There are several tiers of prizes, with the top prize of $1000, with four finalist teams winning $250 per team.

This women-only event is partnered with the Small Business Association and SoGal. Registration deadline is 14 February. FAQs are here. More about WISH.

CES roundup: what happened to the excitement around ‘innovation’, robots, VR, and voice assistants?

January 10, 2020 | by

What’s missing? Some sense of excitement. It may be your Editor’s back-to-work deluge after the holiday, but it’s hard not to have a sense of Déjà Vu All Over Again when reading the reporting from CES Las Vegas. So much of it seems lukewarm, a variant of what felt exciting, new, and transformative Back When. And so little of it seems to break through to a wider market. Let’s pick through and see what a Gimlet Eye might.

AARP’s Innovation Labs had yet another showcase of technologies from largely small companies from its own Hatchery and other accelerators with which it works. This year it highlighted VR developer partnerships with Rendever, which creates experiences for LTC residents, and VRHealth’s physical therapy at home. SanaHealth has a pulsed light/sound pain reduction device and the VoiceItt speech recognition device which translates the speech of the severely impaired into intelligible language.

Robots continue to seek a market, albeit tinier and we confess, occasionally more amusing.

  • Samsung’s Ballie robot, about the size of an orange, will roll through your home minding your pets, monitoring your safety, and interfacing with your smart devices and apps to make absolutely sure you get enough exercise and track your fitness. That is, if you don’t step on it, mistake it for a tennis ball, or your dog doesn’t mistake it for a chew toy.
  • The Charmin Rollbot will deliver a pre-loaded roll when you most need it, navigating through your home, although no capability of climbing stairs in its current concept.
  • The Misty II robot is yet again one of those tabletop robots which are developer toys. This one propels itself and has a camera, a microphone and 3D sensors, and could be repurposed for fall detection, companionship, or to bring you a hot towel.
  • The Lovot is a Japanese robot at its second CES which moves around, responds, is red and quite cuddly-looking (except for that weird thing on the top of its head). This ‘happiness robot’ will set you back over ¥299,000 ($2,700) when it finally hits the market.

Babies need both monitoring and changing, and combining the two may actually happen. P&G’s Pampers and Verily Life Sciences brought to CES the Lumi smart diaper with a connected HD video monitor plus an activity sensor in the diaper. It will detect baby’s sleep, feeding and diapering patterns. (But no changing by the Charmin Rollbot)

Voice assistants are getting more ubiquitous to find a way into the home. The war between Amazon Alexa (and siblings) and Google Assistant continues with new applications in cars (a/k/a computers on four wheels) to appliances and a host of third-party devices like garage door openers. A lot of this is ‘sneaky tech’ to get past the hard core of people who have already realized that both always-on Alexa and Assistant collect a lot of behavioral data which one does not necessarily want collected, and that many of these connected devices like Nest have been hijacked through compromised passwords.

More in Fierce Healthcare 7 Jan, 9 Jan; Mobihealthnews