HLTH21 – Derek Baird with Sensyne Health

Speaker 00:00:03 Today in. Speaker 00:00:03 Health it interviews from the health conference in Boston Speaker 00:00:06 My name is bill Russell. Speaker 00:00:07 I'm a former CIO for a 16 hospital system and creator of this week and Speaker 00:00:11 health it a channel dedicated to keeping health it staff current and engaged. Speaker 00:00:15 Just a quick reminder, I'm going to be dropping interviews Speaker 00:00:18 over the next couple of days. Speaker 00:00:20 And into next week from the floor of the health conference. Bill Russell 00:00:23 All right. Bill Russell 00:00:23 We're at the health conference, health 2021 in Boston. Bill Russell 00:00:26 And we're joined by Derek Baird, who is the president of north Bill Russell 00:00:29 America first, since I know. Bill Russell 00:00:31 Welcome. Bill Russell 00:00:31 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:00:32 Thanks bill. Bill Russell 00:00:32 Waiting for it. Bill Russell 00:00:33 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:00:33 Looking forward to the conversation. Bill Russell 00:00:34 The last time we saw each other, you were actually, uh, with a different company Bill Russell 00:00:38 you're working with with Avia and he made the transition to, uh, to this role. Bill Russell 00:00:42 Tell us, tell us, let's start with, since I know. Bill Russell 00:00:46 About the Derek Baird 00:00:46 company. Derek Baird 00:00:46 Yeah, sure. Derek Baird 00:00:48 Uh, so I, yeah, I joined I health about 10 months ago, uh, Derek Baird 00:00:52 to build up the U S operation. Derek Baird 00:00:54 So the company actually has its roots in the UK, uh, specifically in Oxford. Derek Baird 00:01:00 So about what about the past four years? Derek Baird 00:01:03 We've been building up a clinical AI shop there in the UK, working Derek Baird 00:01:07 with the, uh, NHS hospital trusts and with life sciences company. Derek Baird 00:01:13 So we brought that model with the U S I came on to build out the team and Derek Baird 00:01:17 land our first set of partnerships here and, um, adapt the UK model Derek Baird 00:01:23 for, uh, for us quirky Americans. Derek Baird 00:01:25 And so far it's working well. Derek Baird 00:01:28 It's, Bill Russell 00:01:28 I mean, it's a, it's a data play, right? Bill Russell 00:01:30 So it's, it's using data for research using data to, I guess, at Bill Russell 00:01:35 the end of the day, help patients live healthier and better lives. Bill Russell 00:01:38 Talk about how the data is used. Bill Russell 00:01:40 What, what sets you guys Derek Baird 00:01:41 apart? Derek Baird 00:01:42 Yeah, that's right. Derek Baird 00:01:42 I mean, as a, as a clinical AI company, you need data on which to Derek Baird 00:01:46 do your, your machine learning work. Derek Baird 00:01:49 And so, um, so yeah, we apply our clinical AI magic in two markets. Derek Baird 00:01:54 One is for life sciences companies. Derek Baird 00:01:57 So they're the, you know, the, the benefit is to support. Derek Baird 00:02:01 Faster smarter, hopefully less expensive development of new medicines. Derek Baird 00:02:06 And then, uh, you know, given we've got 40 plus PhDs who love doing Derek Baird 00:02:11 machine learning work, um, and 15 health systems across the world, Derek Baird 00:02:16 who've entrusted us with their data. Derek Baird 00:02:19 It also makes sense that we're developing algorithms and predictive Derek Baird 00:02:22 models to support patient care as well. Derek Baird 00:02:24 So we're working in life sciences and healthcare with, uh, Clinical AI Derek Baird 00:02:30 foundation underpinning all that work. Derek Baird 00:02:32 So Bill Russell 00:02:33 what partnerships are you looking to develop? Derek Baird 00:02:37 Yeah, a few different types. Derek Baird 00:02:38 So if you look at the recent partnerships here in the U S so our, Derek Baird 00:02:43 our first, uh, partner was the Colorado center for personalized medicine. Derek Baird 00:02:48 And then, um, we announced, uh, St Luke's university health network. Derek Baird 00:02:52 Most recently, Sentara health care for them. Derek Baird 00:02:55 We're doing either one or both of the things I just. Derek Baird 00:02:59 So I'll, I'll use Sentara, which is the most recent announcement. Derek Baird 00:03:03 So they're entrusting us with de-identified clinical data Derek Baird 00:03:09 from their data warehouse. Derek Baird 00:03:10 Right. Derek Baird 00:03:11 We then use that data set to support the research work that we Derek Baird 00:03:16 do for pharma and biotech firms. Derek Baird 00:03:20 Uh, and you know, that's all done in a trusted, you know, transparent, ethical Derek Baird 00:03:25 environment, which I can tell you more. Derek Baird 00:03:27 Um, and so for Sentara, it's a way for their data to be used, uh, to Derek Baird 00:03:33 support my sciences development. Derek Baird 00:03:37 Um, we're also with Sentara co-designing new clinical algorithms to support Derek Baird 00:03:42 patient care within the health system. Derek Baird 00:03:45 So we're working with their physicians, their it leaders to develop new predictive Derek Baird 00:03:49 models, uh, in CKD and heart failure. Derek Baird 00:03:53 So again, it all rests on. Derek Baird 00:03:56 On the data that they're entrusting us with, uh, and then working on both sides, Derek Baird 00:04:02 uh, uh, health sciences and healthcare, or life sciences and healthcare. Derek Baird 00:04:07 So Bill Russell 00:04:07 where does, and I'm going to be here, but where's Bill Russell 00:04:10 the intellectual property lie. Bill Russell 00:04:11 So if you co-developed stuff with Sentara, does the intellectual property Bill Russell 00:04:16 lie with the software and the company, or does it lie with the health system? Derek Baird 00:04:20 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:04:20 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:04:21 Well, that's why, that's why I said co-design rather than co-developed so. Derek Baird 00:04:26 Um, so yeah, we're, we'll eventually commercialize and, and, uh, and Derek Baird 00:04:30 productize these, these algorithms and models, assuming it works. Derek Baird 00:04:35 And we're doing this with a set of design partners here in the us, Derek Baird 00:04:38 and that'll be, that'll be sense. Derek Baird 00:04:40 Those are send signed products and send sign IP. Derek Baird 00:04:44 Um, obviously there's some benefit to Sentara and the other design partners Derek Baird 00:04:49 and being able to participate in the design and the implementation. Derek Baird 00:04:54 Roll out of these models. Bill Russell 00:04:55 So where do people put this in their mind with say a true Veda Bill Russell 00:05:01 or, uh, an epic, uh, cosmos or something Derek Baird 00:05:04 to that? Derek Baird 00:05:05 Yeah, I mean, it's funny the, uh, you know, we're in a really hot space, right? Derek Baird 00:05:11 Real world data and to Bill Russell 00:05:13 be in a hot space and it's, it's not so great. Derek Baird 00:05:16 We'd rather be in a hot, noisy space than Derek Baird 00:05:18 a cold, lonely, quiet space. Derek Baird 00:05:21 So we are in a weird, a very hot, um, you know, uh, space where it's the competitive Derek Baird 00:05:29 landscape is a set of concentric circles rather than some nice clean quality. Derek Baird 00:05:33 Correct. Derek Baird 00:05:34 One of the things Bill Russell 00:05:34 I could see happening is an organization getting lost Bill Russell 00:05:38 in the true Veta ecosystem, right? Bill Russell 00:05:41 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:05:41 They're going to be developing things, but when things get big, it slows down. Bill Russell 00:05:45 Same thing with epic. Bill Russell 00:05:45 When things get big, they slow down for yours specific use cases that you want to. Bill Russell 00:05:51 And it would, it would appear to me, I'm not telling you what your business Bill Russell 00:05:54 is, but it would appear to me that your benefit is if I partner with you in Bill Russell 00:05:58 the us, I'm one of a handful you guys are going to come in and partner with Bill Russell 00:06:02 your 50, some odd, uh, data scientists, and really partner with me on my Bill Russell 00:06:08 specific use cases for my community. Bill Russell 00:06:11 That sounds Derek Baird 00:06:12 like a really smart strategy. Derek Baird 00:06:15 So you just go with the smart strategy. Derek Baird 00:06:18 I mean, yeah. Derek Baird 00:06:19 We're, we're, you know, Young, nimble hungry. Derek Baird 00:06:23 And you know, I think our model for engaging with health systems stands Derek Baird 00:06:28 out versus, well, it certainly stands out versus big tech, right? Derek Baird 00:06:32 It stands out versus the three guys in a garage in Paducah. Derek Baird 00:06:37 No offense to your Kentucky listeners. Derek Baird 00:06:40 And I think it stands out versus some of the other entities where you're Derek Baird 00:06:43 one of dozens of health systems. Derek Baird 00:06:45 I think you're absolutely right. Bill Russell 00:06:47 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:06:47 It's going to be interesting. Bill Russell 00:06:50 So this conference, you've been to a lot of different conferences. Bill Russell 00:06:53 What's what is this conference about? Bill Russell 00:06:55 I I'm trying to, you know, I did my first post this morning, I'm talking Bill Russell 00:06:59 to my listeners and I'm like, you know, this conference is mostly investors, Bill Russell 00:07:05 pharma, biotech, and, but not a lot of healthcare providers that I've seen here. Bill Russell 00:07:11 Um, why is that and how does that change your approach to. Derek Baird 00:07:18 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:07:18 I mean, you're right. Derek Baird 00:07:19 It's a different mix than some of the other conferences that are, you Derek Baird 00:07:23 know, where, where the bulk of the attendees are health systems or vendors Derek Baird 00:07:27 trying to sell the health systems. Derek Baird 00:07:29 Right. Derek Baird 00:07:29 So it's definitely a different mix here. Derek Baird 00:07:32 Um, although there, I mean, there are several hundred health system Derek Baird 00:07:35 attendees here, so I wouldn't say they're totally underrepresented. Derek Baird 00:07:39 Um, but, Bill Russell 00:07:39 but it's mostly their investment, their Bill Russell 00:07:42 deal-making arms and that. Bill Russell 00:07:44 Um, I, I find this conference interesting because in a lot of those Bill Russell 00:07:48 other conferences, they're so big, you don't, you don't see that ecosystem Bill Russell 00:07:52 at work, but it's a big ecosystem. Bill Russell 00:07:54 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:07:55 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:07:55 I, you know, I think this one for me stands out because of the investor Derek Baird 00:08:00 bent, you get to look around the corner a little bit more, right? Derek Baird 00:08:04 So some of the other conferences you're looking back at case studies Derek Baird 00:08:08 and implementations, and that might be news from 2018, that's Derek Baird 00:08:12 finally making its way up on. Derek Baird 00:08:14 Onto the stage here. Derek Baird 00:08:15 You're getting a lot more through the lens of people who are trying to Derek Baird 00:08:19 forecast what's going to happen in 2025. Derek Baird 00:08:23 And I think that balances out some of the other views and news that we get. Bill Russell 00:08:28 So take me through the transition Avia to president of sensei. Bill Russell 00:08:33 So Avia you're essentially helping companies like yours. Bill Russell 00:08:36 Maybe it's maybe a little smaller, but you're helping companies like yours. Bill Russell 00:08:40 With their strategy, plugging into digital strategies at health system Bill Russell 00:08:44 menu, take this leap, but what does it look like from, from the other side? Derek Baird 00:08:50 Well, um, for me, I feel really fortunate because my time at ABI Derek Baird 00:08:55 had gave me a chance to get to know a lot of the senior executives in health Derek Baird 00:09:00 systems, yourself included at the time. Derek Baird 00:09:03 And, uh, And gave me a really great catbird seat on all things Derek Baird 00:09:08 going on digital health and, and, um, that's how I ended up in a Derek Baird 00:09:13 hot space within digital health. Derek Baird 00:09:15 I had a pretty good view of, of the Bill Russell 00:09:17 you, the pitch you got to, you got to pick the space that you're Bill Russell 00:09:21 like, Hey, that space is going to be high Derek Baird 00:09:22 and you were right. Derek Baird 00:09:23 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:09:23 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:09:23 And, um, in the last 10 months, I've definitely borne that out. Derek Baird 00:09:27 I think what a lot of people thought was, oh, well, Derek's going to Derek Baird 00:09:31 immediately call the, you know, does. Derek Baird 00:09:34 Health system exacts that he knows and, and work the address Derek Baird 00:09:38 book as fast as possible. Derek Baird 00:09:39 And, and, uh, you know, when I came on board, I said, look, we've got, Derek Baird 00:09:43 uh, we've got, uh, uh, we need to find the right model in the us. Derek Baird 00:09:50 And we've got, uh, you know, we've got to go on an intentional road show Derek Baird 00:09:54 with health systems to figure out. Derek Baird 00:09:57 What they're comfortable with in terms of providing data to support pharma Derek Baird 00:10:01 research and what the right model is to work with them on clinical AI. Derek Baird 00:10:05 And that took six months to really dial in. Derek Baird 00:10:09 And now that I know we're really onto something now, you know, we're in Derek Baird 00:10:15 talks with, with many of my former former clients and just, you know, Derek Baird 00:10:20 friends in the industry and future. Bill Russell 00:10:23 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:10:24 Last question. Bill Russell 00:10:25 Roots in the UK. Bill Russell 00:10:26 I mean, there's obvious differences between the UK payment models and that Bill Russell 00:10:29 kind of stuff, but are there, it would seem to me from a clinical research Bill Russell 00:10:34 and that kind of stuff, that it would be pretty common between the two. Derek Baird 00:10:37 Yeah, it is. Derek Baird 00:10:39 And, and, uh, yeah, that was an unknown for me. Derek Baird 00:10:42 I didn't know, know whether the model here would need to be 80% Derek Baird 00:10:47 different than it was in the UK. Derek Baird 00:10:49 I knew it wouldn't I knew it wouldn't be identical. Derek Baird 00:10:53 And I think it's ended up being about 25% different and that's Derek Baird 00:10:57 in areas like, well, in the UK, we were working with a government Derek Baird 00:11:02 entity under the banner of GDPR. Derek Baird 00:11:05 Right. Derek Baird 00:11:05 Um, but I actually think starting there and having to work with the Derek Baird 00:11:09 government in it, in a, in a market where privacy protections and regulations Derek Baird 00:11:17 are, are more current and better established than they are here with. Derek Baird 00:11:23 When we did come to the U S we looked, you know, I think quite buttoned Derek Baird 00:11:27 up conservative and thoughtful about all these, all these issues. Derek Baird 00:11:31 So it ended up being a feature more than a bug for us, which, which has been nice. Bill Russell 00:11:37 Fantastic, Derek. Bill Russell 00:11:38 Great. Bill Russell 00:11:38 Sit down with you and, uh, best of luck. Bill Russell 00:11:40 Yeah. Derek Baird 00:11:40 Thanks bill. Derek Baird 00:11:41 Appreciate it. Bill Russell 00:11:42 Check back for Morris. Bill Russell 00:11:43 The, we continues. Bill Russell 00:11:44 A lot of great interviews, a lot of great conversations. Bill Russell 00:11:46 I'm looking forward to sharing them with you. Bill Russell 00:11:48 That's all for today. Bill Russell 00:11:49 If you know someone that might benefit from our channel, Bill Russell 00:11:52 please forward them a note. Bill Russell 00:11:53 They can subscribe on our website this week, health.com or wherever you listen Bill Russell 00:11:57 to podcasts, apple, Google, overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, you get the picture. Bill Russell 00:12:01 We are everywhere. Bill Russell 00:12:03 We want to thank our channel sponsors who are investing in our mission to develop Bill Russell 00:12:06 the next generation of health leaders. Bill Russell 00:12:08 VMware Hill-Rom Starbridge advisors, McAfee and Aruba networks. Bill Russell 00:12:13 Thanks for listening.