News and Insights
“Future & Health CEO Summit” Ahead of #JPM23 Encourages Attendees to Seize The Moment and Keep Momentum Going with Digital Health Transformation
January 11, 2023
Historic winter storms in the San Francisco Bay area could not dampen the spirits of those in attendance at the “Future & Health CEO Summit” co-hosted by UC Davis Health, FINN Partners, and Decimal.health on Sunday, January 8.
The event, held at The City Club of San Francisco, included four panel discussions and two fireside chats as CEOs and senior leaders discussed the impact of investments in digital health and AI. In addition to these informative and interactive sessions, FINN Partners and Galen Growth debuted the year-end 2022 Global State of Digital Health Report, analyzing 250+ million data points and providing data-driven insights in investment strategies, across regions, digital health categories, therapeutic areas and technologies.
The venue was buzzing with excitement as about 300 colleagues, peers, and friends reunited ahead of the 41st Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. As Edward Cox, Head and General Manager of Digital Health and Medicines at Pfizer, pointed out during the “Creating Evidence and Value from Digital Health and AI” panel, the 2023 JPM Conference is the first held in-person since the COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers and attendees alike reflected on the many lessons learned and progress made during the pandemic, and shared an optimistic outlook for the future of healthcare. Key themes of the day included:
KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING. The pandemic greatly accelerated the awareness and adoption of digital health. While unfortunate that it took a pandemic to get to where we are today, we should not allow this progress to go to waste by not capitalizing on all that was gained as a result of it. With a wealth of use cases available we are more equipped than ever to tackle industry challenges like interoperability, data security, and patient mistrust in order to drive continued uptake of digital health solutions, improved care delivery, patient experience and, ultimately, health outcomes.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. That being said, our focus should not solely be on creating new solutions and coming up with the “next big thing”. There is tremendous opportunity to optimize what already exists and is not currently being used to its full potential. Furthermore, increasing access to digital health technologies and services is absolutely critical to ensure health equity. One example given was smartphone access, but attendees were also encouraged to consider how to frame health and medical apps to payers and employers to assist in increased coverage and accessibility.
SIMPLICITY, SIMPLICITY, SIMPLICITY. From Leonardo da Vinci to Steve Jobs, there is no shortage of great minds and innovators who have advocated for simplicity. We must continue to remind ourselves of this core tenet as we develop, refine, and evaluate solutions. Panelists spoke openly about their personal experiences, as well as those of their family members and loved ones, in adopting health technologies. The resounding consensus was that regardless of how passionate we may be about something, it won’t have the desired impact if it’s not easily understood and used.
WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER. Open innovation is crucial for success with a community sharing. As Dr. Ashish Atreja, chief information officer and chief digital health officer at UC Davis Health, reflected upon in his opening remarks, “it takes a village”. The idiom extends beyond child rearing and captures the promise of what can be when we embrace the diversity of experiences, knowledge, and perspectives. After the past years of virtual/remote working and isolation, there is a clear appreciation of opportunities to meet in person at events like JPM, forge new connections, and foster the collaboration necessary to achieve our shared goal of digital health transformation.
