Today in.

Health it interviews from the health conference in Boston

My name is bill Russell.

I'm a former CIO for a 16 hospital system and creator of this week and

health it a channel dedicated to keeping health it staff current and engaged.

Just a quick reminder, I'm going to be dropping interviews

over the next couple of days.

And into next week from the floor of the health conference.

All right.

We're here with Amy quirk, the digital health.

Uh, you're seeing.

Digital health for so,

well, the way that, um, I've been in Austria now for

six years, and at that time, uh, we formed an innovation company.

You call it IO, which stands for innovation officer.

And I served as the CEO of that group.

And, um, more recently I've been focusing on scaling a lot of our digital health,

um, businesses and services and products across our, some many of which we

created inside of our innovation shop IO.

I, I stopped by your booth.

It's one of the more interesting ones to me because when the, the, uh, solution

was described to me, I said, you know, my audience would love to hear about this.

So I'd love for you to just discuss what you guys are talking about at the,

at the health conference with people.

Yeah, no, thanks for coming by.

So, um, you know, we have been on a journey, um, in digital, Um, for

many, many, many years at Osher Osher.

And for those in your audience who may not know, we're a large nonprofit

health system headquartered in new Orleans, the greater new Orleans

area, but we serve all of Louisiana.

And, um, and you know, we have a population that we feel committed

to serving and making sure that we're bringing, uh, breakthroughs

and care to them every day.

Uh, it's a genius bar for healthcare apps and technology, because we wanted

to bridge the gap between technology and availability that had just

started to come out on the market.

And even back then, there was a lot of noise, you know?

And so we wanted to bridge that gap.

And so we created a no bar, a place where people to DM, who, who needed it,

who wanted to get engaged, it could be, you know, we're an epic shop, right.

It could just be on the, the, my Asher or my truck.

Um, it could be with wearable devices, connected devices, apps, you name it.

And we curated those types of tools.

Now we've got 10 plus and a mobile and we've since virtualize it so we can

provide that support to patients wherever.

So that was sort of our, you know, one of our first forays into that and really

thinking about the patients first,

if I'm a consumer, I go to the O bar.

I like my, my, uh, my physician says, Hey, you should probably do these three things.

Just go to the other bar.

They'll help you get set up.

And they saw that we've got, we offer a bunch of connected

devices, doctor approved, connected devices, many of which we use in our

programs, which is sort of phase two.

So first we started with saying, how do we connect and help with

access with literacy, with people understanding how to use technology

and make sure that people can, you know, we'll meet them where they are.

The next thing we did was really think about how, how do we re-engineer

care, um, leveraging some of those tools, that data, the connected.

Uh, to, to create an opportunity for more, um, continuous rather

than episodic care, particularly for conditions that, that need that

particularly chronic diseases, which of course is a huge issue in a country.

Um, and so that was really where we started hypertension, the most

prevalent of all the chronic diseases.

And we said, you know, rather than go in three times a year, four times a year

and get four readings, you know, and 15 minute visit, what if we create a

continuous care model that allows for.

Do you know, view of how someone's doing.

And we also will collect data on their lifestyle, their behaviors,

you know, so we can get sorted to the social determinants questions

that we know are really impacted.

So you take a broad view, getting more regular blood pressure

data, but also getting a more complete view of the patient,

a whole

person profile.

Totally.

Um, our team's amazing.

Um, I work with Dr.

Malani Richard Romani.

Who's a cardiologist, but a visionary technologist, many years.

You may know him.

Um, and our amazing team built this all into epic.

Um, so it's not a separate platform.

It's not a separate, we've committed to trying to reduce friction.

Um, and you know, don't introduce more fragmented.

The system.

So the team was able to make this all work and epic.

And then, um, we also, we didn't just say we're going to collect the data

and then have doctors looked at it.

We created a whole new care team, um, with really the right level

of care to, to monitor the data.

So, um, we, we built a team of pharmacists, um, who are the best ever

at medication management, introduced medication management, according to the

latest evidence-based guidelines that change all the time, coupled down with

health coaches that really can focus.

You know, lifestyle choices that are really important in chronic disease.

Um, and we started that in populations for whom we have financial risks.

So Medicare populations, our employees, things like that to

test it, but will it even work?

Right?

And what we found over time is that it does work.

What it does is it, um, improves the blood pressure control.

We eventually launched diabetes.

Now we have hyperlipidemia, we also have CLPD and then we've got other

programs that are in pregnancy and, um, that we call connected moms.

Um, monitoring for COVID using pulse-ox is, but we've

created a number of programs.

And here we're really focused on the chronic disease solutions, um, where

we're able to get far far superior results in blood pressure control.

We're seeing reduced cost of care.

Um, so reduce utilization, the kind of utilization we don't want to see.

It could be any, you know, visits and patient admissions.

We're seeing increased medication adherence, you

know, so that's a big thing.

That's hard to measure and sees.

We're seeing.

And, and then, and then patients like it, our last MPS score was an 87, um, which

is really, you know, it was pretty good.

So we're talking to people in healthcare and they're listening to

this going, okay, how are you doing this?

Cause this is like, uh, this to me feels like a combination of nurses

going into the home, getting social determinants data and that kind of stuff.

There's self-reported data, there's technology solutions.

There's an awful lot of things that you're talking about here.

Are you doing a majority of it through technology?

So we don't have nurses going in the homes.

Determines data we've, we've tried to enable as much self-service as we can.

Right?

So it comes in through surveys and questionnaires and, and whatever we

can get, you know, from a third party standpoint or any objective data, but we

are able to collect that recommendation.

So we're not depending on, you know, humans to collect that information.

We've tried.

Make this as frictionless for everyone and, and really just put the people where

we need it, let the technology do where it can and put the people so it can scale.

Yes.

Oh yes.

It's scaling right now.

So what we're doing, um, and why we're out here at health is, you know, we

started, as I mentioned earlier of this program in populations for whom we have

financial risk to see if it worked right.

And this is before there were any payment codes and CMS or anything

like that, you guys do have.

Yes.

Yes, yes, we do.

What we did.

We take a lot of risks because we believe in our care.

No, it's like being an actor in that situation, but not all

of our patients are that way.

And so we were able to prove out the value of the program, make sure that

it was getting the clinical results.

We wanted to see an outcomes that it was getting the cost of care reduction

outcomes that, that our doctors, you know, responded well to it, which they did.

And they're, they've been great champions.

And then finally that patients liked it.

Once we had all that, we went, we've been able to start talking to payers about

expanding that, including some self-funded employers who said, we want you to bring

this and offer this to our employees.

And so we then started doing that for local employers who then said, well,

wait, we have employees all over the country, like come to us everywhere,

you know, bring it to everywhere.

So now were the programs available and in our product, The 48 states.

Um, and they'll soon to be 50.

And so it's allowed us to be able to provide this, this product

that we know to be successful.

That really is integrated, um, to people wherever they are.

Are you taking

this nationally as an Oschner brand or you just, you are.

So it's not like some digital health startup that you're spinning out.

This is part of it's connected to Osher Oschner for the physicians.

And you're, you're offering this literally in what'd you say, 49 states.

48 as of today, but we're going to, we're gonna, you know,

waiting on the last, last couple, but, um, but yeah, no, we're doing this

as Ashner because, um, I'm not, this was, these were products that were

developed by doctors to care for our

patients and it is the power of the solution.

Right.

It's connected back to world-class physicians and cause we're sitting

here across from a million startups that aren't connected to a world-class

healthcare system and I'm sure there's solutions are great, but that is one

of the differentiators, I mean, Uh, you have a solution that has on one end

world-class physicians on the other end, I would assume really, because I want

to get into the technology a little bit, because you're talking about putting

some sophisticated monitoring devices and those kinds of things in the home,

for some challenges with doing that, how did you overcome those challenges

for the most part were, um, and you know, there each program's

a little bit different, but for the most part, um, we've been able to.

I mean, explain it to patients and support them and how they do it.

Download the app, you know, connect there, things that you probably do every day,

multiple times a day, that we've figured out how to explain and make sure that at

scale, we're able to get people to do it.

But, um, really as, as more and more people have smartphones, there's more and

more people have access to these tools and are used to pairing Bluetooth and,

you know, doing those sorts of things.

It hasn't been as hard.

Now we are starting to do more things in the home to allow for.

Passive monitoring.

Um, and so those are some of the newer things that the team's been working on.

Um, and, uh, which, which I think will be very impactful as well, and

already showing a lot of promise.

And those, you know, we're still working out the kinks about how do you get those

set up in the home, but the people are used to setting up cable boxes or whatever

the thing is in the, in the house.

And we'll be able to help support, um, patients do those things as well.

So if I thought about this, the market for this is, is self.

Uh, employers it's payers.

I think payers would do

this

as well with other health systems that maybe don't have the

sophistication, but have risk contracts.

Look at this as well.

I talk to several health systems and, um, you know,

and many of them have approached us and then they thought, well,

maybe we're not ready for this.

Particularly when the reimbursement schemes weren't as advanced as

they are now, although they're still not perfect today.

Um, and so, you know, we continue to talk.

And partners, this is all an epic, it's not a separate

platform, which is really nice.

Um, and we know how to do this.

And so I think, you know, we're very interested in talking

to health systems as well.

Um, but right now the, the, the, the greater interest to act is

becoming from payers, from employers.

And, you know, honestly how we manage our own populations, um, you know, that

were natural ways for, because we know that this is a better way to care for

people and it, and, um, and it allows us.

Have that sort of continuous connection.

And our CEO, Warren Thomas was just on a panel panel here at health.

And he described it as, you know, this idea that we'll never, we

don't discharge you, you know, it's, it's not a one and done.

It's like, we're gonna maintain that engagement with you and

be there when you need these.

And hopefully we're getting to the point where not only we're

proactive, but we're predictive.

We're able to say, oh wait, something that you know is not

trending in the right direction.

How do we bring that back?

Yeah.

The reimbursement reimbursement models.

Allowed for this.

But when I came into CIO, I came from outside of healthcare.

I'd like, we need to increase the number of times we talk to patients,

the number of times we're interacting.

And they're like, well, we don't get reimbursed for that.

And I'm like, all right, then we have to figure out how to do

it at a very low cost, but they still feel like they're protected.

There's their health system is, is part of their, their daily health, uh,

conversation.

Oh, you have to get it right.

Right.

They're going to want to hear from us all the time, you know, are you stressed?

Are you stressed?

But I think, I think.

No, but when they are stressed, they, they want to

get through, be able to try to help support them,

um, and know when they need us and be there when they need us.

And that's really what we're endeavoring to do and have been building over

time is to really try to be that partner, to help people live their

best lives, stay healthy at home and in technology can help us do that.

It takes more than just the technology.

Um, but it's, um, you know, And, you know, I think we've got, we've got an

amazing team and incredible leadership.

That's allowed us to invest in these things.

Maybe, you know, a lot sooner than other

folks.

Amy, thank you for your time.

Really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Check back for Morris.

The, we continues.

A lot of great interviews, a lot of great conversations.

I'm looking forward to sharing them with you.

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