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www.insightscare.com<br />

July <strong>2018</strong><br />

<strong>The</strong><br />

<strong>10</strong><br />

<strong>Most</strong><br />

I N N OVAT I V E<br />

DIGITAL HEALTHCARE<br />

SOLUTION PROVIDERS <strong>2018</strong><br />

Grace<br />

Castillo-Soyao<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

Chrissa McFarlane<br />

CEO & Founder<br />

Patientory, Inc.<br />

SELF CARE<br />

CATALYSTS<br />

Transforming <strong>Healthcare</strong> through<br />

Real World Evidence and Experience


Helping all people<br />

live healthy lives<br />

w w w . b d . c o m


<strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

www.usa.philips.com


From the<br />

Editor<br />

Convergence of<br />

Life Sciences and<br />

Technology can<br />

Revolutionize the<br />

<strong>Healthcare</strong> Vertical<br />

igital healthcare is the buzz word these days. Technologies<br />

Dlike Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data<br />

Analytics, and more have the potential to revolutionize the<br />

medical sector. <strong>The</strong>se innovative digital technologies can play a<br />

pivotal role in curbing long term healthcare costs, and enabling<br />

better health outcomes. <strong>Digital</strong> healthcare can empower both the<br />

patient and healthcare provider with real-time data and assist in far<br />

better healthcare outcomes. Mobile phones, smartphone sensors,<br />

wearable gadgets, cloud storage, and big data can assist healthcare<br />

providers and patients in the early detection of various chronic<br />

diseases. With the efficient and precise use of these technologies,<br />

behavioral changes could be detected in early stages which prevent,<br />

eliminate or reduce the overall healthcare cost.<br />

Patients will also get empowered with the usage of these<br />

technologies. Patients will be able to compare the service, quality<br />

and affordability of different healthcare providers and thus assist in<br />

making an informed decision based on value, which will ultimately<br />

improve productivity. Telemedicine and remote monitoring are the<br />

other facets of digital healthcare which can improve patient’s<br />

health without even directly coming to the hospital premises and<br />

ensures the most efficient level of care through long distance.<br />

<strong>The</strong>se benefits are driving the digital healthcare innovations<br />

towards the positive trajectory. In 2016, the global digital health<br />

market was valued at $179.6 billion and is expected to touch<br />

$536.6 billion by the end of 2025. <strong>The</strong> projected CAGR of 13.4%<br />

from 2017 to 2025 itself indicate the growing interest of technology<br />

adoption in healthcare. But there are certain areas that need an<br />

overhaul. <strong>The</strong> digital environment comes with an array of<br />

implications, and evolving will require a bit of a balancing act. For<br />

example, products will need to be “patient differentiated” while<br />

delivering both value and best-in-class quality, and solutions.<br />

<strong>Digital</strong> healthcare solutions will need to cover a broader part of the<br />

patient pathway supporting the full range of care. Apps and devices<br />

must be secure yet provide seamless interoperability, and the value<br />

proposition must be transparent while driving improvements across<br />

the value chain. Better usage of big data analytics and machine<br />

learning algorithms to draw much more effective insights without<br />

any error is the other area which must be looked into on priority<br />

basis.<br />

Working on these vital aspects will truly transform healthcare<br />

vertical and will provide the optimum level of benefits to all the<br />

stakeholders.<br />

Ashwini Deshmukh


Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal<br />

Managing Editor Ashwini Deshmukh<br />

Executive Editor Shane Gomez<br />

Visualiser David King<br />

Art & Design Director Amol Kamble<br />

Associate Designer Rahul Kavanekar<br />

Co-designer Vanshika, Shweta<br />

Art & Picture Editor Paul Belin<br />

Jayant Khanna<br />

Senior Sales Manager Amy Jones<br />

Business Development Manager Mark Williams<br />

Sales Executives<br />

Kelli Thomas, Bill Thompson, John Smith<br />

Technical Head Swapnil Patil<br />

Technical Specialist Amar, Vivek, Pratiksha<br />

<strong>Digital</strong> Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza<br />

SME-SMO Executives<br />

Prashant Chevale, Uma Dhenge<br />

Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses<br />

Circulation Manager Robert, Tanaji<br />

Database Management Stella Andrew<br />

Technology Consultant David Stokes<br />

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THE<br />

<strong>10</strong> <strong>Most</strong><br />

<strong>Innovative</strong><br />

DIGITAL<br />

H E A L T H C A R E<br />

SOLUTION PROVIDERS <strong>2018</strong><br />

<strong>The</strong><br />

Caretakers of<br />

our Health<br />

Good healthcare providers are good communicators. <strong>The</strong>y reflect altruism through a strong sense of service for<br />

the betterment of healthcare. For such providers, patients always are at the forefront of their every operation.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y understand the agony of underprivileged patients and thus believe in giving back to society in terms of<br />

affordable, subsidized or even free of cost healthcare services to the needy. Ace healthcare providers carry the highest<br />

degree of professionalism and work with full integrity to treat the patients. For them, earning money is never the main<br />

intention; instead, sharing the burden of the distressed patient remains the focal point of their every maneuver.<br />

Such healthcare providers always foster a healthy team environment at their workplace and engage in behaviors that<br />

benefit the team and display empathic behaviors when interacting with patients and their family members. To<br />

highlight such great healthcare providers, we have come up with an issue of “<strong>The</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Most</strong> <strong>Innovative</strong> <strong>Digital</strong><br />

<strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Solution</strong> <strong>Providers</strong> <strong>2018</strong>”.<br />

On the cover we have highlighted Self Care Catalysts. It is a cloud based analytics company powered by real world<br />

evidence to impact health decisions and outcomes of patients, physicians, providers, payer and pharmaceutical<br />

industry.<br />

Biolumo is growing MedTech Company that aims to provide the doctors with a device which helps them in making<br />

accurate antibiotic prescriptions. healthbank is a health-tech firm that provides cutting-edge solutions for managing<br />

clinical data. Intelligent Locations is focused on optimizing hospital operations and increasing patient satisfaction by<br />

implementing an easy to use Real-Time Location Services (RTLS) platform for the healthcare industry.<br />

Kanteron Systems helps healthcare providers to manage imaging and genomic data effectively, for precision medicine<br />

applications at the point of care. Marham is a digital healthcare platform assisting people to find, ask, and consult a<br />

doctor. oladoc is a healthcare startup provides a leading-edge health-tech platform that solves all challenges that come<br />

across a typical patient life-cycle.<br />

Patientory, Inc. provides an easy way to securely store and manage health information in real time. It is the leading<br />

provider of dApp and block-chain solutions for healthcare sector. Sehat Kahani is an all-female healthcare service<br />

provider which aims at providing cost-effective healthcare solutions. Sihatech is a digital healthcare company that<br />

helps in documenting a patient’s medical journey as well as provides financing services to the non-insured medical<br />

treatments.<br />

We have included some intriguing piece of articles written exclusively by industry veterans and our in-house editors<br />

which you will find captivating.<br />

So, do flip the pages and enjoy reading!!


<strong>The</strong> da Vinci<br />

Surgical System<br />

da Vinci is powered by robo c technology that allows the surgeon’s hand movements to be<br />

scaled, filtered and translated into precise movements of the EndoWrist instruments<br />

working inside the pa ent’s body.


Contents<br />

Cover Story<br />

<strong>10</strong><br />

Self Care<br />

Catalysts:<br />

Transforming <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

through Real World<br />

Evidence and Experience<br />

Company of the Month<br />

18<br />

Patientory<br />

Your Health at Your<br />

Fingertips


Inventive Diagnostic<br />

Tool<br />

Liquid Biopsy: A Non-Invasive<br />

Approach Intended for<br />

Personalized Care of<br />

Cancer Patients<br />

Tech-Health<br />

Smart Inhalers: Tackling<br />

Respiratory Maladies<br />

with IoT<br />

26<br />

42<br />

30<br />

50<br />

cxo<br />

Insider’s Opinion<br />

Molecular Genetic<br />

Diagnostics: A Bird's<br />

Eye-View<br />

Expert’s Viewpoint<br />

From Relevance to<br />

Convenience to Value –<br />

<strong>The</strong> Future of Data<br />

Analytics in US <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

22<br />

24<br />

Biolumo:<br />

An Ingenious <strong>Solution</strong><br />

for Precise Antibiotic<br />

Selection<br />

healthbank:<br />

Transforming the Way<br />

Health Data get Exchanged,<br />

Stored and Monetized<br />

32<br />

Intelligent Locations:<br />

A Seamless <strong>Solution</strong> Provider<br />

to all <strong>Digital</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

Problems


34<br />

38<br />

40<br />

46<br />

48<br />

Kanteron Systems:<br />

An Incredible Precision<br />

Medicine and Diagnostic<br />

Platform<br />

Marham:<br />

Sharing the Distress of<br />

those Fighting<br />

a Disease<br />

oladoc:<br />

Engineered a Groundbreaking<br />

'Hub' to Bring Varied <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

Services to Consumers<br />

Sehat Kahani:<br />

Making Quality <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

Facilities Accessible<br />

and Affordable to All<br />

Sihatech:<br />

Emboldening the Connect<br />

between Doctors<br />

and Patients


Cover Story<br />

Grace Castillo-Soyao<br />

Founder & CEO


self care<br />

catal sts<br />

Transforming <strong>Healthcare</strong> through<br />

Real World Evidence and Experience<br />

<strong>Digital</strong> Transformation<br />

will play a pivotal role<br />

in the future of <strong>Healthcare</strong>


Patients are the most vital part of any healthcare ecosystem.<br />

Everything starts and ends with patients.<br />

When a healthcare solution provider keeps patient at<br />

the center of their operations, chances of better patient<br />

satisfaction augment significantly. Such providers believe<br />

when patients are informed, respected, and engaged, they<br />

make better choices for maintaining healthier lifestyle. One<br />

such trailblazing healthcare solution provider is Self Care<br />

Catalysts (SCC), which considers patient’s real world<br />

evidences/experiences are necessary for crafting cuttingedge<br />

healthcare solution.<br />

This Toronto headquartered organization was founded in<br />

20<strong>10</strong> with the mission to promote self-care behaviors<br />

among patients, while enabling patients to contribute their<br />

behavioral data to support important research across the<br />

product lifecycle, such as drug discovery, precision<br />

medicine, and development of support services and<br />

programs that are specific to the community. Today, after a<br />

successful stint of several years in the business, Self Care<br />

Catalysts is leveraging its intimate understanding of<br />

patients in the market<br />

with its many state-ofthe-art<br />

solutions. It is a<br />

cloud based solutions and<br />

analytics company<br />

powered by real world<br />

evidence to impact health<br />

decisions and outcomes<br />

of patients, physicians,<br />

providers, payer and<br />

pharmaceutical industry.<br />

<strong>The</strong> organization’s vision is to contribute towards the<br />

improvements of healthcare eco-system that are driven by<br />

patient’s willingness to participate, share and own their data<br />

through research and behavior interventions. <strong>The</strong>y are<br />

working towards the empowerment of patients through<br />

personalized and customized self-care tools like digital<br />

therapeutics that generate real world experiences and<br />

evidence to support better healthcare decision-making.<br />

Journey towards Excellence<br />

With the desire to craft an ecosystem that can set a<br />

landmark in the health journey of a patient, Self Care<br />

Catalysts was established. In a shorter span of time, it<br />

moved ahead with full vigor and collaborated among all<br />

stakeholders, be it patients, providers, pharmaceutical<br />

companies and doctors to seamlessly paint a full patient<br />

experience in order to manage better health outcomes.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y have built a SaaS that empowers physicians,<br />

“We have built a SaaS that<br />

empowers physicians,<br />

researchers, and providers<br />

to customize and (personalize patient care”<br />

researchers, providers to customize and personalize care for<br />

patients to generate real world, real time data.<br />

<strong>The</strong> company understands the power of technology and thus<br />

always aims to be at the forefront of using leading-edge<br />

technology to craft better products. <strong>The</strong> company is aiming<br />

to extend personalized medicine to personalized healthcare<br />

through the application of AI, Behavior Science and<br />

BlockChain. Its endeavor is to build a new healthcare<br />

business model where patients, physicians, providers and<br />

industry are equal participants in research, care and healthy<br />

economic exchange.<br />

Products and Services<br />

<strong>The</strong>y have multiple products and services that are widely<br />

popular in the healthcare sector and have won many<br />

accolades for the same as well. Some of its notable products<br />

are:<br />

• Health Storylines Creator is a customized and<br />

personalized platform that can be used for clinical<br />

research, patient<br />

monitoring, patient<br />

behavior modification,<br />

and patient support. It<br />

is a disease-agnostic,<br />

customized and<br />

personalized self-care<br />

and disease<br />

management product<br />

and tool to generate<br />

real world evidence.<br />

• Patient Storylines is an enterprise platform that can run<br />

various analytics required by Pharmaceutical industry,<br />

patients and physicians.<br />

Health Storylines has been ranked #1 in motivating<br />

behavior change among heart failure patients by many<br />

eminent healthcare organizations.<br />

New Product Innovation Award for North America, Frost &<br />

Sullivan (2016) award, Springboard Enterprises’ Life<br />

Sciences awards among others are few of the top notch<br />

accolades that Self Care Catalysts has earned with its sheer<br />

commitment towards designing efficient and deep<br />

impacting products.<br />

Self Care Catalysts is known for building an eco-system<br />

that generates and interprets real world patient experiences<br />

outside the traditional clinical labs or genomics data to<br />

complete the entire patient journey. And its eco-system is<br />

(<br />

THE<br />

<strong>10</strong> <strong>Most</strong><br />

<strong>Innovative</strong><br />

DIGITAL<br />

H E A L T H C A R E<br />

SOLUTION PROVIDERS <strong>2018</strong>


inging positive transformational changes towards drug<br />

development, clinical research, product commercialization,<br />

post marketing, patient monitoring, behavior care and<br />

population health management.<br />

Patients are the <strong>Most</strong> Significant Stakeholders<br />

<strong>The</strong> management has nurtured a robust company culture<br />

where the vital traits like resilience and risk taking attitude<br />

are always encouraged. For them, bigger the challenge is,<br />

more bigger is the opportunity. <strong>The</strong>y never bog down with<br />

challenges rather turn them into an opportunity to grow<br />

further. <strong>The</strong>ir ability to forecast changes in industry and<br />

mitigate risks are deeply rooted on their culture which<br />

always assists them to turn out with more shine even after<br />

facing a catastrophe like situation.<br />

<strong>The</strong> company is strengthening its data collection and<br />

analytics tools but most importantly, they treat the patients<br />

as the most significant stakeholder whose needs to improve<br />

outcomes and quality of life are addressed by leveraging<br />

continuous collection and interpretation of real world<br />

experiences.<br />

Judicious Leadership<br />

Over the years, Grace Castillo-Soyao has taken various<br />

executive business and leadership programs from the<br />

Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto, the<br />

Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and has a<br />

rich corporate experience of over 20 years in<br />

pharmaceutical vertical. She is the Founder and CEO of<br />

Self Care Catalysts and is driving this organization towards<br />

the path of glory with her astute business mind and adept<br />

leadership skills.<br />

Grace considers herself a Citizen Scientist. For years, she<br />

had wondered how drugs are approved based on a narrow<br />

set of data and evidence and yet when patients experience<br />

illness and health in the real world, there are many other<br />

variables and factors that need to be factored. According to<br />

her, big decisions related to healthcare are shaped mostly by<br />

data locked inside clinics and labs, despite the fact that 90%<br />

of care happens outside the clinical setting. She believes<br />

there are enormous types, format range of patient data that<br />

can be gleaned from actual patient experiences when they<br />

are not inside the physician clinics. <strong>The</strong>refore, to put<br />

patients at the forefront of any healthcare development, she<br />

established Self Care Catalysts.<br />

In 2014, Grace transformed a patient research company into<br />

a digital health and data company, building an eco-system<br />

that finally connects various healthcare stakeholders to<br />

‘‘<br />

Patients<br />

are the<br />

Epicenter of<br />

our Every<br />

Maneuver<br />

‘‘


‘‘<br />

When patients are informed,<br />

respected, and engaged,<br />

they make better choices for<br />

maintaining healthier<br />

lifestyle<br />

‘‘<br />

begin generation of real world patient experiences that will<br />

drive innovation in clinical research, drug development,<br />

commercialization, patient engagement and behavior<br />

change.<br />

Take on <strong>Digital</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> Industry<br />

According to the organization, technology will continue to<br />

play a pivotal role in the healthcare industry. <strong>Digital</strong><br />

healthcare will redefine patient diagnosis, treatment and<br />

post-treatment activities. Traditional hospital will become<br />

obsolete and digital therapeutics; digital patient care will<br />

become the booming trend in up-coming future. This digital<br />

transformation will assist medical professionals in<br />

generating greater revenues, cost-reduction, enhanced<br />

operational efficiency, and better drug regulation. Everyone,<br />

from patient, physician to provider will get benefited with<br />

the progression of digital revolution.<br />

Future Endeavors<br />

Self Care Catalysts has an endeavor to be part of this<br />

revolution by catering to varied client needs through its<br />

cutting-edge healthcare eco-system. Ultimately, they want<br />

to upgrade a business model where physician, patient<br />

participation, data ownership and sharing could drive<br />

personalized and customized healthcare for all.


Community Care Collaboration (C3) Model<br />

Care Teams<br />

Family, friends and<br />

Professional community care<br />

providers<br />

Mobilize Care Actions<br />

Care instructions distributed<br />

via mobile devices shared by<br />

Care Teams<br />

Lifestyle Support<br />

Access to lifestyle<br />

products/services to keep<br />

people in their homes<br />

Because together, we’re better. Our C3 model – Community Care<br />

Collaboration – supports care programs that require high levels of<br />

collaboration between interdisciplinary care providers, patients, and family<br />

caregivers. Our goal is your goal: to keep patients independent, living<br />

comfortably in their homes.<br />

Care3.co


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Company Name Management Brief<br />

Biolumo<br />

biolumo.eu<br />

Olga Grudniak, CEO<br />

Marcin Pitek, CSO<br />

Wojciech Giżowski, CTO & COO<br />

Jakub Wysocki, CMO<br />

Biolumo is growing MedTech Company that aims to provide<br />

the doctors with a device which helps them in making<br />

accurate antibiotic prescriptions.<br />

healthbank<br />

healthbank.coop<br />

Reto Schegg<br />

CEO<br />

healthbank is a health-tech firm that provides<br />

cutting-edge solutions for managing clinical data.<br />

Intelligent Locations<br />

intelligentlocations.io<br />

Bogdan Nedelcu<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

Intelligent Locations is focused on optimizing hospital<br />

operations and increasing patient satisfaction by<br />

implementing an easy to use Real-Time Location Services<br />

(RTLS) platform for the healthcare industry.<br />

Kanteron Systems<br />

kanteron.com<br />

Jorge Cortell<br />

CEO & Founder<br />

It helps healthcare providers to manage imaging and<br />

genomic data effectively, for precision medicine<br />

applications at the point of care.<br />

Marham<br />

marham.pk<br />

Ehsan Imam<br />

Co-founder<br />

Marham is a digital healthcare platform assisting<br />

people to find, ask, and consult a doctor.<br />

oladoc<br />

oladoc.com<br />

Patientory<br />

patientory.com<br />

Abid Zuberi<br />

CEO<br />

Arif Zuberi<br />

CTO<br />

Chrissa McFarlane<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

oladoc is a healthcare startup provides a leading-edge<br />

health-tech platform that solves all challenges that come<br />

across a typical patient life-cycle.<br />

Patientory, Inc. is the leading provider of dApp and<br />

blockchain solutions for healthcare sector providing an easy<br />

way to securely store and manage health information in real<br />

time.<br />

Sehat Kahani<br />

sehatkahani.com<br />

Self Care Catalysts<br />

selfcarecatalysts.com<br />

Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram<br />

Co-Founder & CEO<br />

Dr. Iffat Zafar Aga<br />

Co-Founder, Director & CDO<br />

Grace Castillo-Soyao<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

Sehat Kahani is an all-female healthcare service provider<br />

which aims at providing cost-effective healthcare<br />

solutions.<br />

Self Care Catalysts is a cloud based analytics<br />

company powered by real world evidence to impact<br />

health decisions and outcomes of patients, physicians,<br />

providers, payer and pharmaceutical industry.<br />

Sihatech<br />

sihatech.com<br />

Ahmed Al-Bader<br />

Co-Founder<br />

Dr. Mussaad Al-Razouki<br />

Co-Founder<br />

Sihatech is a digital healthcare company that helps in<br />

documenting a patient’s medical journey as well as<br />

provides financing services to the non-insured medical<br />

treatments.


‘‘<br />

We empower consumers,<br />

clinicians, and healthcare<br />

organizations to access,<br />

store and transfer<br />

information safely, with<br />

blockchain technology<br />

‘<br />

‘<br />

-Chrissa McFarlane<br />

CEO & Founder<br />

18 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Company of the Month<br />

PATIENTORY<br />

Your Health at Your Fingertips<br />

ealthcare organizations are<br />

Hworking for improvements in<br />

patient outcomes and<br />

operational efficiency, using<br />

technology. <strong>The</strong> <strong>2018</strong> Accenture<br />

<strong>Digital</strong> Health Technology Vision<br />

Report published in May <strong>2018</strong> states<br />

that, “91% of health executives believe<br />

blockchain and smart contracts will be<br />

critical for their organization over the<br />

next three years.” This is clearly an<br />

exciting time for the healthcare sector<br />

as many organizations are adding new<br />

technologies, to enhance their<br />

operations. This will create better<br />

experiences for patients, physicians<br />

and healthcare workers. Meanwhile<br />

there are rising information security<br />

risks, which is why it is vital to begin<br />

securing health information in the<br />

healthcare blockchain to mitigate<br />

health data risk and related financial<br />

penalties.<br />

Patientory, Inc. is an industry-leading<br />

pioneer of blockchain based solutions<br />

for healthcare. Incorporated in 2015,<br />

Patientory is recognized as an<br />

award-winning innovator in healthcare<br />

information technology. Many veteran<br />

healthcare organizations are calling<br />

upon Patientory to discuss its<br />

technology solutions and consulting<br />

services. It is the first-mover in<br />

distributed App (dApp) and<br />

blockchain-based software solutions<br />

for healthcare that address the complex<br />

challenges faced by today’s healthcare<br />

industry. Its mission is to empower<br />

consumers to better manage their own<br />

health information, thereby improving<br />

their quality of life and health<br />

outcomes, while delivering benefits to<br />

all healthcare stakeholders.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Successful Journey of the<br />

Company<br />

Patientory was incorporated and<br />

initiated as part of the inaugural class<br />

of the Boomtown Health-Tech<br />

Accelerator, in Colorado. This led to a<br />

collaborative exchange with the<br />

Denver-based Colorado Permanente<br />

Medical Group, part of the Kaiser<br />

Permanente consortium, based in<br />

Oakland, California. Patientory is also<br />

part of the Startup Health portfolio, a<br />

global organization leading the<br />

movement to transform health.<br />

In 2017, <strong>The</strong> Patientory Stiftung was<br />

established to be a global<br />

not-for-profit, healthcare<br />

member-organization that connects<br />

healthcare industry adopters of<br />

disruptive technologies, right now with<br />

a focus on blockchain adoption. It<br />

provides neutrality for its PTOY utility<br />

currency that provides users access to<br />

the platform to store and secure health<br />

information. <strong>The</strong> PTOY coins are<br />

TM<br />

utilized to access the PTOYNet , a<br />

private permissioned blockchain with<br />

data storage. This blockchain is similar<br />

to that which cryptocurrencies like<br />

Bitcoin currently operate upon.<br />

Passionate and Humble Leadership of<br />

Patientory<br />

Chrissa McFarlane is the CEO and<br />

Founder of Patientory, Inc. She is a<br />

passionate entrepreneur, working<br />

towards making a difference in the<br />

healthcare sector on a global scale, and<br />

has achieved unprecedented success in<br />

a highly compressed timeframe.<br />

Chrissa is among the youngest female<br />

CEOs in the <strong>Healthcare</strong> IT industry,<br />

and is a highly sought after global<br />

speaker. She brings more than ten<br />

years’ experience in the healthcare<br />

industry conducting research and<br />

managing teams. Her passion for<br />

healthcare began in high school, where<br />

she conducted microbiology research<br />

at the Albert Einstein College of<br />

Medicine and won top honors. Later at<br />

Cornell University, she worked with<br />

organizations such as the US<br />

Department of Agriculture.<br />

Chrissa is named as one of the top<br />

women, “leaving their mark on the<br />

medtech field in health IT.” As an<br />

innovator, she recognized that<br />

healthcare provider organizations<br />

urgently need secure, scalable, and<br />

cost-effective health information<br />

management solutions that empower<br />

patients and healthcare organizations to<br />

use actionable data to make clinical<br />

decisions for improved operational<br />

efficiency and health outcomes. Thus,<br />

Patientory was born.<br />

Distinctive Products and Services<br />

<strong>The</strong> Patientory, Inc. dashboard<br />

software for healthcare provider and<br />

payer organizations, and the Patientory<br />

App for consumers, provide easy,<br />

secure means to store and better<br />

manage health information. <strong>The</strong><br />

Mobile App empowers consumers to<br />

take better control of their health and<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 19


Company of the Month<br />

to manage their healthcare information<br />

both clinically and financially with<br />

greater accuracy and efficiency.<br />

Primarily, the app allows easy access<br />

and precise sharing of their medical<br />

information that is secured within the<br />

healthcare blockchain. It provides<br />

users better control over their health<br />

information, with a more complete<br />

picture of their health and goal setting.<br />

It allows customers to receive targeted<br />

access to health information,<br />

healthcare support, educational<br />

resources and community. It also<br />

enables them to utilize and manage a<br />

broader and more efficient array of<br />

payment options.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Patientory, Inc., Dashboard – is<br />

currently testing for large healthcare<br />

organizations, with a current EPIC,<br />

Cerner, Meditech, or Allscripts<br />

installation. This dashboard is a<br />

population health management<br />

software solution that regulates and<br />

safeguards patient data in the<br />

blockchain, while providing<br />

convenient secure access to actionable<br />

health information, and clinical<br />

administrative decision support. It<br />

enables physician-coordinated care,<br />

enhanced by peer-to-peer patient<br />

support.<br />

Professional Services are for healthcare<br />

organizations that leverage Patientory’s<br />

technology. Typical customers are<br />

healthcare organizations that require<br />

interoperability or custom use case<br />

development. Patientory Professional<br />

Services provide customization of the<br />

blockchain application, integration,<br />

faster deployment, as well as ready<br />

access to blockchain technical and<br />

expert resources.<br />

Patientory’s Unique Selling<br />

Proposition<br />

Patientory solutions empower patients,<br />

clinicians and healthcare organizations<br />

to readily harness meaningful data to<br />

make more effective and efficient<br />

treatment, and financial decisions,<br />

enabling real improvement<br />

opportunities as well as the safe<br />

access, store and transfer of<br />

information, thus improving care<br />

coordination while ensuring data<br />

security within a secure<br />

TM<br />

HIPAA-compliant PTOYNet<br />

blockchain.<br />

<strong>The</strong> company offers unique solutions<br />

that interconnect with most EHR<br />

systems, thereby enabling doctors, care<br />

providers and consumers to<br />

communicate on a single easy-to-use<br />

platform. Also, its solutions will work<br />

with almost any healthcare blockchain;<br />

bringing together into actionable form<br />

many previously inaccessible data<br />

sources. <strong>The</strong>se range from EHRs, to<br />

patient monitors, wearables, and Apps,<br />

connecting this data into a more<br />

complete view of a personal health<br />

information (PHI). Benefits of the<br />

solutions will include the following:<br />

Sustainable risk mitigation<br />

Patientory takes PHI security to the<br />

next level as it uses blockchain<br />

technology, ensures end-to-end<br />

encryption, and adheres to current<br />

regulatory guidelines and compliance<br />

requirements.<br />

Data risk reduced - HIPAA<br />

Ÿ<br />

compliant, reduced risk of PHI data<br />

breaches and related penalties<br />

Patient risk reduced - greater<br />

Ÿ<br />

consumer engagement, control, and<br />

responsibility with their PHI<br />

Financial risk reduced – reduced<br />

Ÿ<br />

readmissions, broader<br />

reimbursement options<br />

Operational performance improvement<br />

and efficiency<br />

Ÿ More efficient access to health data<br />

for physicians saves time<br />

Ÿ Better controlled access to current<br />

PHI, from a wider range of current<br />

data sources<br />

Ÿ More proficient access to sources of<br />

payment, and rules of payment for<br />

claim resolution<br />

Financial performance improvement<br />

Ÿ Enables efficiency for diverse<br />

payment methods (including<br />

cryptocurrencies and soon<br />

electronic claim reimbursement)<br />

Ÿ Saves costs by reducing the need for<br />

duplicative tests/radiological scans<br />

and related measures<br />

Recent Accolades<br />

Patientory, Inc. has been recognized<br />

with accolades including the following:<br />

Ranked Top 5 digital health solution<br />

Ÿ<br />

in the world for empowering<br />

patients, alongside multi-milliondollar<br />

revenue companies<br />

Voted Top <strong>10</strong> Amplify Women in<br />

Ÿ<br />

Technology Startup Company out of<br />

139 startups<br />

<strong>2018</strong> Globe Award Winner in<br />

Ÿ<br />

International Trade by U.S. State of<br />

Georgia<br />

Top 11 Company Disrupting<br />

Ÿ<br />

<strong>Healthcare</strong> in 2017<br />

2017 Company of the Year by the<br />

Ÿ<br />

Metro Atlanta Chamber<br />

Future Perspective<br />

<strong>Healthcare</strong> is embracing a wave of<br />

technology and cultural changes.<br />

Patientory’s vision is to provide<br />

solutions that will enable doctors, care<br />

providers and consumers to<br />

communicate on a single easy-to-use<br />

platform, one that interconnects with<br />

most EHR systems, while also<br />

enabling a wider array of payment<br />

types. Patientory, is continuing to lead<br />

advancements in artificial intelligence,<br />

blockchain, and is working with the<br />

industry’s uptake of the Internet of<br />

Things (IoT) to better serve healthcare<br />

consumers, providers, payers and<br />

BioTech while creating a more<br />

accessible, efficient, effective<br />

continuum of care throughout a<br />

patient’s life, and wherever they may<br />

travel.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 20


Biolumo:<br />

An Ingenious<br />

<strong>Solution</strong> for Precise Antibiotic Selection<br />

n world of medicines, the most frequently<br />

Iprescribed one is antibiotics. Yet, every solution<br />

that might help the general practitioners to<br />

prescribe the right antibiotic is beyond their reach. As a<br />

result, they have to guess and statistically there are only<br />

50% chances that they guess right. Biolumo is a<br />

company which will help the practitioners in prescribing<br />

proper antibiotics.<br />

‘‘<br />

Olga Grudniak<br />

CEO<br />

We aim to help<br />

you in precise<br />

antibiotic selection<br />

‘‘<br />

Biolumo is an innovative and growing MedTech<br />

company that aims to provide the doctors with a device<br />

which helps them in making accurate antibiotic<br />

recommendations. <strong>The</strong> device is fast enough to test<br />

every patient as well as affordable for both, doctors and<br />

the patients. In a long perspective, it will be developed<br />

for the governments or the healthcare providers. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

aim to design, test, and mass-produce an inexpensive<br />

and rapid point-to-care tool.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Exemplary Leader for Biolumo<br />

Olga Grudniak, the CEO, is an adept leader for a<br />

MedTech company due to her interest and expertise in<br />

economy as well as biotechnology. She has inherited the<br />

“business genes” from her father, who established many<br />

successful enterprises, and “science genes” from her<br />

mother. This has helped her to find the balance between<br />

the good of the company and the benefits that their<br />

science can bring to the healthcare. <strong>The</strong> entire team of<br />

Biolumo has two very important features- they are<br />

persistent and systematic. <strong>The</strong>se qualities have<br />

inculcated in them the habit of not giving up in difficult<br />

situations and seeking ideas to solve any problem that<br />

comes as an obstacle to them.<br />

22 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Biolumo’s Take on Effects of Technological<br />

Advancements on <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

Pacing through their Story<br />

<strong>The</strong> idea of Biolumo came to them in 2016, from a phone<br />

call. A friend, whose son had a bacterial infection, had<br />

called them to ask for a solution to quickly determine the<br />

right antibiotic for his son. <strong>The</strong>ir research in-charge,<br />

Marcin Pitek, now the CSO of the company, did not find<br />

any existing answers to that question, but knew how to do<br />

it. From that moment on, with the help of many mentors<br />

and experts, the idea of Biolumo turned into a complete<br />

concept. Featuring in a prestigious conference, Infoshare-<br />

2017 was a breakthrough for them. <strong>The</strong>reafter, they were<br />

invited to the Start-up boot camp in Berlin and started<br />

appearing in all the major conferences in Poland, like <strong>The</strong><br />

Chivas Venture and Impact’18. Recently, they were<br />

honoured as one of the biggest innovators in Polish<br />

MedTech by receiving <strong>Healthcare</strong> Leader’s Competition<br />

award.<br />

Developing a Radical Product and Future Aims<br />

Biolumo is developing a device for quick antibiotic<br />

resistance detection for healthcare as its core product. This<br />

device is being designed from scratch to be implemented in<br />

a mass, which means the hardware will not be that<br />

sophisticated and hence, will be made in large quantities at<br />

a low price. Along with being affordable for the GPs as well<br />

as the patients, the device will be fast and easy to use. In the<br />

next six months, they will enter into clinical validation by<br />

testing the product on patients’ samples and comparing it<br />

with antibiogram, the golden standard. Biolumo’s target is<br />

to introduce the product to the market in two years. Next in<br />

the pipeline, they have a tool for antibiotic resistance and<br />

bacterial infection detection for vets and livestock breeders,<br />

for which they have got the EU grant. This is estimated to<br />

enter the market in four years.<br />

Without easy access to new technologies, like the clouds<br />

and servers, fast exchange of data, 3D printing, AI, and IoT,<br />

digital healthcare solutions wouldn’t have been possible.<br />

Jakub Wysocki, the CMO, talks about how the most<br />

important change the technology can bring in healthcare is<br />

to treat every patient individually. Different people with the<br />

same infection react differently to the same antibiotic and<br />

therefore, moving a step closer to the personalized<br />

treatment will be a breakthrough in the healthcare sector.<br />

Strategy against the Challenges<br />

Wojciech Giżowski, the CTO & COO, talks about how<br />

they keep the check of their competition, but the main<br />

strategy is to continuously improve their technology. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

are well-informed about the changes in laws, procedures,<br />

and so on, which helps them to stay up-to-date with the<br />

emerging trends. Improving their solutions according to the<br />

market needs helps Biolumo to stay ahead in the<br />

competition. To better adapt to the changes, Biolumo is<br />

thinking about implementing the TRIZ methodology, which<br />

can be used to improve the competitiveness of their<br />

technology.<br />

A Word on the Future of <strong>Digital</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Solution</strong>s<br />

“With all the enhancements the technology has brought to<br />

the world, medicine- the most important for our lives, is still<br />

underdeveloped. But slowly the change is coming, with<br />

quick diagnostic tools for viruses, cancer, cardiovascular<br />

diseases, genetic diseases, and of course bacterial infection,<br />

and that is the future,” says Olga. She further talks about<br />

how with decrease in the number of doctors and healthcare<br />

professionals, the diagnosis in the future will be outsourced<br />

to the patients themselves, for which all the new MedTech<br />

solutions should be easy to use, affordable and quick.<br />

Biolumo is focused on delivering one such solution with the<br />

development of their device.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 23


healthbank:<br />

Transforming the<br />

Way Health Data get Exchanged, Stored and Monetized<br />

IT and mobile revolution has changed the landscape<br />

of many businesses and healthcare too is not an<br />

exception. Whether it is an X-ray report, a MRI<br />

report, or just a normal pathological lab report every<br />

data can be stored digitally or even on cloud with just a<br />

few clicks of a device. All these reports and patient<br />

history generate mammoth amount of data every year<br />

which often get stored in a closed eco-system and<br />

remain dormant. Stakeholders thus cannot process and<br />

derive meaningful insights from this valuable data as<br />

they don’t have access to the comprehensive record of<br />

any individual.<br />

‘‘<br />

Reto Schegg<br />

CEO<br />

We are giving back the<br />

control of personal<br />

health data into the<br />

hands of its rightful<br />

owners i.e. the people<br />

‘‘<br />

To alter this scenario and to revolutionize how personal<br />

health data is exchanged, stored and monetized,<br />

healthbank got incepted. <strong>The</strong> firm empowers all the<br />

healthcare stakeholders by providing an open ecosystem<br />

that enables users to securely store and exchange<br />

data with a range of healthcare, pharmaceutical and<br />

wellness & lifestyle service providers – at the user’s<br />

request. healthbank provides an independent and neutral<br />

solution, that only the user has access to yet provides<br />

access to a vast amount of health services in the open<br />

eco-system.<br />

Incepted in 2013, this Switzerland based health-tech<br />

firm is gaining popularity with its leading-edge<br />

healthcare solutions. Today, healthbank consists of two<br />

symbiotic organizations:<br />

• healthbank cooperative is the core solution which<br />

stores patient data on a fully secure digital platform -<br />

governed by people (members). What makes it unique<br />

is healthbank cooperative is owned by the people,<br />

controlled by the people, and the profit also goes back<br />

to the people.<br />

24 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


• healthbank innovation AG as the platform manager –<br />

responsible for the development of services, apps,<br />

integration of partners, and data processing on behalf of<br />

the user.<br />

About the Company<br />

This Switzerland based firm was founded when an<br />

international team of 28 academics, entrepreneurs and<br />

experts of the healthcare industry came together with the<br />

intent to give back the control of personal health data into<br />

the hands of its rightful owners i.e. the people. <strong>The</strong><br />

company’s vision is to empower people across the globe to<br />

exchange their health data, on their uniquely neutral and<br />

independent platform.<br />

Uniqueness of healthbank is its policy of ‘one-person-onevote’<br />

which develops a greater sense of trust among all its<br />

stakeholders and encourages greater participation. This<br />

policy is one of the prime factors behind healthbank’s<br />

stupendous success. When it comes to health data, they put<br />

people at the center of every maneuver.<br />

<strong>The</strong>ir ultimate aim is to bring together market players and<br />

help them to participate in an open eco-system connected to<br />

the healthcare market. <strong>The</strong>y believe that open ecosystems<br />

are more efficient than closed ones. <strong>The</strong>refore, health<br />

service providers benefit from joining healthbank and will<br />

be able to integrate their service with customer data and<br />

other service providers to more comprehensive solutions.<br />

Benefits of its Eco-system<br />

Technological Security: Through a full-fledged end-to-end<br />

encryption as well as a high-security software architecture<br />

concept, healthbank provides the right ecosystem<br />

partnership to safely manage health data for ecosystem<br />

partners that rather want to focus on their first-class services<br />

and products than on data back ends.<br />

Full Independence: healthbank provides a truly open and<br />

neutral ecosystem that comes with long-term stability as<br />

well as competition on the platform itself.<br />

Real World Patient Information: As soon as the users give<br />

their consent, the app service provider can integrate dozens<br />

of other data sources to enhance their own services through<br />

big data, artificial intelligence or machine learning<br />

algorithms.<br />

Full GDPR compliance: Due to its detailed, informed and<br />

dynamic consent management, which puts the user in the<br />

middle of the decision process to connect, store and share<br />

personal data; healthbank helps achieving full GDPR<br />

compliance for their application partners from the<br />

ecosystem.<br />

Future Endeavors<br />

<strong>The</strong> company will soon follow a much more robust<br />

architectural approach and will raise its data security to the<br />

utmost level through end-to-end encryption <strong>The</strong> range of<br />

functions for users will also get expanded. <strong>The</strong> health<br />

platforms get refurbished to integrate further partners and<br />

applications from the health sector quickly, efficiently and<br />

more securely. With the new software architecture and the<br />

implemented security mechanisms, healthbank is ready to<br />

connect further partners and applications with a healthbank<br />

account.<br />

• <strong>The</strong>ir two award-winning apps “CatchMyPain” and<br />

“PainCompanion” will soon be integrated into the<br />

healthbank. Users suffering from severe or chronic pain<br />

can benefit from the long-term pain documentation in the<br />

future and continue to share their experiences and<br />

thoughts.<br />

healthbank works closely with the Swiss app developer<br />

•<br />

“Rehaptix”. Rehaptix monitors the rehabilitation of<br />

patients with motor disabilities due to a neurological<br />

injury such as stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s<br />

disease. All data generated in the app is securely stored in<br />

the healthbank and can also be passed on to other people.<br />

healthbank plans to integrate fitness trackers into the<br />

•<br />

healthbank in the near future. With this service users can<br />

connect their fitness tracker with the healthbank. And if a<br />

user changes the tracker, this will no longer be a problem<br />

in the future - the data and the connection to the<br />

healthbank will remain intact.<br />

<strong>The</strong> trailblazer behind its Success<br />

Reto Schegg, Chief Executive Officer, has proficiency in<br />

eHealth projects. He was involved in many of the big<br />

eHealth initiatives in Europe in recent years. Holding<br />

master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering, Business<br />

Administration, and Business Law, he has been responsible<br />

for international health tech business lines and sales teams.<br />

Reto drives the idea of encouraging citizens to make better<br />

decisions about their own health in order to receive the best<br />

possible care.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 25


26 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Inventive Diagnostic Tool<br />

Liquid<br />

Biopsy:<br />

A Non-Invasive Approach<br />

Intended for Personalized<br />

Care of Cancer Patients<br />

Cancer has been the talk of the town for many<br />

years now. <strong>The</strong> main obstacle that Cancer<br />

patients face is the late detection of the disease<br />

that causes sixteen percent of the deaths around the<br />

world. A biopsy is a method which is generally used to<br />

diagnose cancer. It involves sampling of the tissue or<br />

cells from any part of the body that is affected and<br />

checks it for cancer, which is a highly invasive and<br />

costly technique.<br />

Traditionally, cancer diagnosis has been carried out by<br />

pathology and medical imaging. This included tissue<br />

biopsies, serological indicators such as CEA and PSA<br />

test, molecular pathology test, Ultrasonic testing, X-ray<br />

imaging, CT-scan, MRI, PET-CT, and endoscopy. <strong>The</strong><br />

real-time diagnosis is not possible with these tests, since<br />

in imaging there is usually a lag in the tumor<br />

progression, while in the serological indicators there is a<br />

lack of effective bio-makers for early diagnosis.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 27


Inventive Diagnostic Tool<br />

Although tissue biopsy is considered a potent technique, the<br />

patient faces severe clinical complications during sampling.<br />

Also in case of terminal cancer patients, it is very difficult<br />

to obtain tissue samples. Due to this, it has become the need<br />

of the hour to look for new biomarkers that are highly<br />

sensitive and specific to tumor diagnosis. This will help in<br />

monitoring tumor progression.<br />

Recently, researchers have proposed a new technique which<br />

involves only a blood test, known as Liquid Biopsy. It is<br />

gaining ground all over the world and has been referred to<br />

as the potential game changer. Although, professionals<br />

believe it requires a couple of years of development to<br />

become a vital screening tool worldwide. Using this<br />

technology, doctors will be able to screen cancer using only<br />

a small sample of the patients’ blood.<br />

Liquid biopsy would be a huge leap in deterrent cancer<br />

treatment. It will help doctors to provide a personalized and<br />

targeted treatment (aiming only the cancer cells and killing<br />

them). Essentially, liquid biopsy is an analytically sensitive<br />

blood test which can detect a single tumor cell loitering<br />

among a billion normal cells. This process would be carried<br />

out in real time and will transform cancer diagnosis and<br />

control.<br />

Mechanism of Action<br />

This test examines cancer related proteins and DNA that is<br />

available in the blood of the patient before cancer spreads.<br />

It also helps the doctor to narrow down the form of cancer<br />

which is present. <strong>The</strong> cells of a tumor are continuously<br />

shed, allowing the tumor’s DNA to be released into the<br />

bloodstream; no matter where the tumor is. This tumor<br />

DNA that is found in the bloodstream is termed as ctDNA<br />

(circulating tumor DNA). Liquid biopsies target the ctDNA,<br />

which makes it the most non-invasive technique. This<br />

ctDNA has been used by scientists to monitor and check for<br />

genetic changes that might impact treatment. <strong>The</strong> protein<br />

markers are used to help determine the site of the tumor, to<br />

provide a specific and correct diagnosis.<br />

Why Choose Liquid Biopsy Over Traditional Diagnosis?<br />

Liquid biopsy being non-invasive makes it feasible for the<br />

doctors to take frequent samples, without causing<br />

discomfort to the patient. It has very few side effects, it is<br />

easy to maneuver, has a high testing speed, which helps<br />

decrease the bias in diagnosis and helps doctors understand<br />

the progression of cancer. This permits it to be done<br />

frequently to observe the treatment’s effect. Combining a<br />

cell-free DNA marker with a known protein marker (for<br />

several common types of cancer) has allowed scientists to<br />

throw some light on where cancer may be found.<br />

C ancer’<br />

s genetics which plays a major role in the<br />

development of the disease can be studied using liquid<br />

biopsy. This will provide new and valuable information<br />

regarding the complex mechanism involved in drug<br />

resistance and progression. Liquid biopsy has a pleasing<br />

future in early diagnosis, cancer drug design, determining<br />

the mechanism of drug resistance, assessment of tumor’<br />

s<br />

grade and stage, arbitrating prognosis and regulating the<br />

treatment plan.<br />

Complications That Need to Be Overcome<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are a few characteristics of the test that have yet to be<br />

addressed further, like the primary or initial stages of tumor<br />

might be small and easily missed. Researchers are trying to<br />

solve the problem of small quantities of ctDNA. Even with<br />

a medium sized tumor, the ctDNA is very small, making it<br />

difficult to detect and diagnose. Also, ctDNA is not the only<br />

DNA that is moving around in the bloodstream; pregnant<br />

women have placental DNA from the baby’s placenta in<br />

their blood which might cause misreading. Patients who<br />

have suffered from a heart attack also have DNA fragments<br />

in their blood. Accurate identification of the ctDNA from<br />

the other DNA is a problem that needs to be addressed to<br />

evade false alarms; telling somebody they have cancer<br />

when they don’t could be disastrous.<br />

Although liquid biopsies provide valuable insights into the<br />

progression of cancer, it does not currently provide any<br />

insights into the origin of cancer. Studies are still being<br />

conducted to refine the technology to throw some light on<br />

the nature of cancer (its mutations), its place of origin and<br />

so on. <strong>The</strong> cells that have metastasized may gain bonus<br />

genetic characteristics over time and grow individually<br />

away from the primary tumor. Direct analysis of the<br />

metastasized cells is required so that the patient is provided<br />

with specific therapy and side effects can be avoided.<br />

This method would provide the diagnosis of cancer before<br />

the symptoms start showing. Although this is an advantage,<br />

pre-symptom testing could cause a scare, since cancer cells<br />

are produced by the body continuously and they get killed<br />

internally. <strong>The</strong> tests are expensive. Not all cancers are<br />

aggressive and lethal, some are slowly progressing, and are<br />

not fatal, thus do not require any treatment. <strong>The</strong> method<br />

should be further developed to differentiate which tumor<br />

can be left alone and which require treatment.<br />

As scientific information advances, researchers are<br />

unveiling various potential aspects of liquid biopsies; to<br />

detect mutations, determining the position of the tumor.<br />

This suggests that the technology promises a powerful<br />

diagnostic technology that could be game-changing. More<br />

substantiation, development and clinical trials are required<br />

to completely understand the value of liquid biopsies in a<br />

medical setting.<br />

28 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Molecular<br />

Genetic<br />

Diagnostics:<br />

A Bird’s Eye-View<br />

Genetic testing, especially molecular genetic<br />

diagnostics, has evolved rapidly since the advent<br />

of the twenty-first century, thereby prompting a<br />

corresponding evolution in patient management and the<br />

healthcare industry. Recent advances in molecular biology<br />

research have opened a portal to plenty of phenomenon that<br />

were previously heard of only in science fiction, such as<br />

gene editing, personalized medicine, and even designer<br />

babies. A literal interpretation of the term ‘genetic testing’<br />

would refer to the analysis of changes (known as mutations)<br />

in the hereditary material or DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)<br />

of an individual or group of individuals to confirm or<br />

predict health-related outcomes. A genome refers to the<br />

complete set of genes that an individual possesses and the<br />

study of this is referred to as genomics. <strong>The</strong> concepts of<br />

genetic and genomic testing are relatively novel for the<br />

larger population and present multiple challenges for<br />

everyone involved, including the clinician, patient, and<br />

even the scientists developing the tests.<br />

Genetic testing is available in a plethora of flavors, so to<br />

speak, ranging from the genuine, actionable and relevant to<br />

poorly regulated, ambiguous fluff. Accurate molecular<br />

diagnosis can impact patient treatment by comprehensively<br />

identifying the disease condition and providing the clinician<br />

with treatment modalities. In addition, one can also<br />

ascertain if a family member carries a risk of developing the<br />

same condition. <strong>The</strong>refore, it is of primary importance to<br />

uphold impeccable laboratory quality standards to minimize<br />

the scope of error.<br />

In an effort to remedy this, a comprehensive team that<br />

includes diverse specialists such as molecular biologists,<br />

medical geneticists, clinicians, bioinformaticians,<br />

histopathologists, and genetic and psychological<br />

counsellors is required to overcome the scientific, technical,<br />

social, and psychological implications of a molecular<br />

genetic test. <strong>The</strong>ir expertise extends to choosing the right<br />

technique and avoiding unnecessary testing with the aim of<br />

minimizing the financial and psychological burden on the<br />

patients.<br />

Countless applications of molecular and cellular biology<br />

have permeated across various fields ranging from<br />

agriculture to healthcare. For example, modern oncology<br />

relies heavily on molecular testing for disease management<br />

decisions. Successive testing for mutations in family<br />

members of the patient has proven to be cost-effective with<br />

long-term benefits. Disease predisposition and prophylactic<br />

measures are based on such genetic evaluations.<br />

<strong>The</strong> prevalence of conditions such as muscular dystrophy,<br />

dysmorphism, intellectual disability, and disorders of sexual<br />

differentiation are commonly observed in young children.<br />

30 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Insider’s Opinion<br />

Ms. Kavita Khatod<br />

MBBS, MS (Molecular and Cell Biology),<br />

Certified Medical Geneticist<br />

Head, Technical Marketing & Genetic<br />

Counselor<br />

GenePath Dx<br />

This has prompted pediatricians to use molecular tests to<br />

augment their clinical acumen. Reproductive and maternal<br />

health too has been revolutionized owing to developments<br />

in molecular biology. This is critical for family planning<br />

and its possible implications in cases of hereditary disease<br />

and consanguineous marriage as most reproductive<br />

decisions are seriously impacted with this knowledge.<br />

Genetic testing is proving to be invaluable in the diagnosis<br />

of critical infections such as sepsis and transplantassociated<br />

infections as timely intervention is of paramount<br />

importance in such cases and genetic tests have a very short<br />

turnaround time compared to classical microbiological tests<br />

such as urine or blood cultures.<br />

Pharmacogenomics, better known as personalized<br />

medicine, enables doctors to utilize the genetic profile of an<br />

individual to tailor a therapy, and its dosage, that would<br />

elicit the maximum response with minimal adverse effects.<br />

This helps improve the prognosis in cases of cancers, single<br />

gene disorders, neurometabolic disorders, and<br />

hematological disorders. To maximize on this wealth of<br />

information, it is essential to establish certain parameters<br />

that include correct interpretation and communication, right<br />

bioinformatic support, non-directive genetic counseling and<br />

open access to population databases for comparison.<br />

Every developing technology, however, has its own caveats<br />

and pitfalls, some of which are unnecessary testing,<br />

improper validation of tests and limited access to<br />

population databases. In addition, the ethical complexities<br />

of access to such information need to be reviewed as lifealtering<br />

decisions may be based on the findings of the test.<br />

It is imperative to maintain patient confidentiality and<br />

results must always be conveyed by authorized and trained<br />

personnel owing to the social stigma attached to such tests<br />

as discrimination by employers, family members and<br />

societal pressure lead to disfavoring outcomes. Establishing<br />

and following guidelines to avoid unnecessary screening<br />

and testing should be mandatory.<br />

<strong>The</strong> impact of genomics is far-reaching and tapping into<br />

new horizons. Data for the first human genome was<br />

assimilated over a span of thirteen years through<br />

cumbersome research. Since then, however, exponential<br />

leaps in technology have shortened the time and monetary<br />

investment required for whole genome sequencing (WGS),<br />

thereby making personalized medicine a reality. Artificial<br />

Intelligence (AI) will bridge the gap in accessing global<br />

databases for data analysis and reduce human dependency<br />

to a large extent. Awareness and education, however, are<br />

required for the population and the clinicians to benefit<br />

from the recent breakthroughs of modern molecular<br />

science. Genomics is at a nascent stage and caution through<br />

good governance is required to ensure that it evolves<br />

rapidly to make concepts like gene editing a reality in our<br />

lifetime.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 31


Intelligent Locations:<br />

A Seamless <strong>Solution</strong><br />

Provider to all <strong>Digital</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> Problems<br />

<strong>The</strong> healthcare industry is under constant pressure<br />

to do more with less. As technology advances<br />

the future of digital healthcare continues to get<br />

more and more congested. Every time one turns around,<br />

there is a new digital health solution that has popped up.<br />

<strong>The</strong> key feature that hospitals and healthcare centers<br />

seek is that the solution should be easy to use, adapt and<br />

most importantly it should work efficiently. <strong>Digital</strong><br />

solutions must build sustainable trust with its users by<br />

helping them in doing their job efficiently, and not<br />

hinder them.<br />

‘‘<br />

Bogdan Nedelcu<br />

Founder and CEO<br />

We help Hospitals and<br />

<strong>Healthcare</strong> centers<br />

achieve smart operations,<br />

in a seamless, costeffective<br />

and timeless<br />

manner<br />

‘‘<br />

One such platform that helps the hospitals ease their<br />

workload effectively is Intelligent Locations. Founded<br />

by Bogdan Nedelcu, in 2015, the company is a cloudbased,<br />

end to end Real-Time Location Services (RLTS)<br />

provider, working exclusively for the healthcare<br />

industry. What started as an idea on a single piece of<br />

paper, is now a leading digital healthcare service<br />

provider. Intelligent Locations started with a proof of<br />

concept pilot with its first hospital partner; once it<br />

proved successful the company scaled up and launched<br />

out its RTLS Platform.<br />

<strong>The</strong> platform allows hospitals to achieve smart<br />

operations and is a one-stop shop for its users, including<br />

everything from hardware installation to end-user<br />

analytics. <strong>The</strong> speedy installation of its system is the key<br />

feature of Intelligent Locations. It leverages the RTLS<br />

network to track everything from equipment, people,<br />

and environmental conditions. Using this platform, its<br />

clients can easily add new functionality or use cases as<br />

problems are identified.<br />

Intelligent Locations is acknowledged as a top<br />

innovative digital health company. Listening to its<br />

32 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


clients biggest (and smallest) problems has allowed the<br />

company to stay ahead of its competition and constantly<br />

evolve its IoT platform to solve them. It is focused on<br />

adding value to its clients, every chance it gets and the<br />

company believes that will keep it at the forefront of digital<br />

health innovation.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Consummate Leader<br />

Currently, Bogdan Nedelcu is the CEO of Intelligent<br />

Locations. He has received a Degree in Physics, while<br />

studying in France after which he started his career working<br />

with various companies. Upon graduation, he began his<br />

career with Motorola in their Networks division, developing<br />

cellular networks working in seven countries. His journey<br />

with the company lasted over a period of fifteen years,<br />

during which his role grew<br />

from an engineer to the<br />

management of the product<br />

life cycle and business<br />

development of the entire<br />

product platform. After his<br />

successful stint with<br />

Motorola, Bogdan started<br />

working at a Silicon Valley<br />

startup to manage a product<br />

realization for a big data<br />

analytics platform; and then<br />

spent a few years working for<br />

major technology companies<br />

in both mobility and<br />

embedded electronics. He<br />

founded Intelligent Locations<br />

to disrupt the current status<br />

quo in the Real-Time<br />

Location Services space by<br />

using newly available technology like cloud computing and<br />

Bluetooth low energy. He uses his valuable experience to<br />

achieve outstanding tasks and operation for Intelligent<br />

Locations.<br />

Providing Intelligent <strong>Solution</strong>s through RTLS platform<br />

Intelligent Locations offers the most cost-efficient, a<br />

healthcare-focused, Real-Time Location Services (RTLS)<br />

platform in the market. <strong>The</strong> robust RTLS platform is at the<br />

core, that the hospitals can use to track the location and<br />

status of any moveable piece of equipment or person.<br />

Unlike legacy RTLS technologies, Intelligent Locations<br />

does not require an upfront installation fee; this allows their<br />

clients to immediately realize their return on investment.<br />

Intelligent Locations’ cloud-based solution can easily be<br />

deployed throughout the entire healthcare systems and used<br />

by many departments including nursing, hospital<br />

administration, clinical engineering and others. Once its<br />

solution is installed the company can easily layer on<br />

services like asset tracking, patient tracking, staff tracking,<br />

special equipment monitoring, way-finding and bed<br />

management. This helps identify bottlenecks and streamline<br />

process and procedure. <strong>The</strong>re are many other use cases it<br />

can accomplish and always puts a present and future plan<br />

together with their clients. This allows it to add an unmet<br />

value to its customers.<br />

Testing new and exciting technologies is vital and helps<br />

Intelligent Locations grow and innovate. <strong>The</strong> large chunks<br />

of data that is generated by the platform can further be<br />

leveraged to make better and informed decisions. <strong>The</strong><br />

company has always paid a<br />

lot of attention towards<br />

analytics and machine<br />

learning so that the data<br />

generated can be put to good<br />

use by its business<br />

intelligence software.<br />

Intelligent Locations helps<br />

hospitals and surgical centers,<br />

to make informed decisions<br />

and standardize healthcare,<br />

ultimately driving down the<br />

total healthcare cost.<br />

Outlook into the Future of<br />

Intelligent Locations<br />

<strong>The</strong> company is persistently<br />

looking forward towards<br />

leveraging its technology, to<br />

provide an added use. A huge<br />

differentiator of Intelligent Locations’ technology, that sets<br />

it above the rest, is being able to easily facilitate additional<br />

use cases within the initial hardware installation. <strong>The</strong><br />

consultative approach of the company is a key aspect that<br />

its clients like. Intelligent Locations works alongside its<br />

clients to seek and solve problems and bring additional<br />

value to its client’s investment.<br />

Currently, its platform uses BLE technology, but Intelligent<br />

Locations platform can use any radio frequency for location<br />

services, such as ultra-wideband, LoRa and other radio<br />

frequency technologies. This helps it to make the hospitals<br />

investment in the technology future proof. Also, the<br />

company is opening a new Center of Excellence in Paris to<br />

enhance their capabilities on predictive analytics and<br />

machine learning.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 33


Kanteron Systems:<br />

An Incredible<br />

Precision Medicine and Diagnostic Platform<br />

<strong>The</strong> ultimate aim of any healthcare solution is to<br />

identify and treat a disease before it shows any<br />

symptoms and determine the right medication<br />

for a particular person. Humans have a long way to<br />

reach there yet. Kanteron Systems is a leading biotech<br />

company, who brings us closer to this goal.<br />

It is a privately held <strong>Healthcare</strong> IT-Biomedical<br />

Informatics Company that was founded in 2005. It helps<br />

healthcare providers to manage imaging and genomic<br />

data effectively, for precision medicine applications at<br />

the point of care. With offices and subsidiaries in<br />

London (UK), Madrid (Spain), and European HQ in<br />

Valencia (Spain), Kanteron System’s solution has<br />

already been deployed successfully over 500 times in 12<br />

countries, even at some of the world’s largest healthcare<br />

networks.<br />

Jorge Cortell<br />

CEO and Founder<br />

‘‘<br />

We bring<br />

precision medicine<br />

to the point of care,<br />

today<br />

‘‘<br />

<strong>Innovative</strong> Services that Revolutionized <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

Industry<br />

To identify the source and type of disease in a human<br />

body, it requires a side-by-side study of various reports<br />

from many standalone systems like, PACS, VNA, digital<br />

pathology, analysis tools, and so on. Kanteron System<br />

allows integrating all these test results to facilitate<br />

precise diagnosis. Kanteron’s solution stores, integrates,<br />

analyzes, and visualizes medical imaging (radiology and<br />

pathology), biosensors, clinical genomics, and<br />

pharmacogenomics data.<br />

It provides the healthcare professionals a technological<br />

platform to share test reports and images, check the<br />

patient’s medical history, and analyse which medications<br />

work effectively.<br />

34 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


It has put forth a digital health solution that drives<br />

continuity of care, reduces gaps in care, and<br />

ensures early initiation of preventative care.<br />

Kanteron helps to improve health outcomes by<br />

enabling a seamless connection between disparate<br />

technologies.<br />

It All Started with a Love Story<br />

It sounds like a movie storyline, but Kanteron Systems<br />

actually did start with a love story. Jorge Cortell, the CEO<br />

and Founder of Kanteron, fell in love with a girl, who was<br />

a breast cancer patient. Going for the treatments along with<br />

her, Jorge saw the loopholes in the system and in the pursuit<br />

of saving the love of his life, he risked everything he had;<br />

he set to find a better solution for diagnosis and treatment<br />

for her and for many others like her. During this journey, he<br />

realized not just the potential, but the absolute necessity to<br />

integrate medical imaging with clinical genomics both in<br />

the patient’s medical record as well as for the doctor’s<br />

workflow. More importantly, he knew what was needed to<br />

be done in order to make it happen. Thinking way ahead of<br />

his competitors, Jorge built a phenomenal Precision<br />

Medicine Platform, Kanteron Systems.<br />

A ‘No Investors’, Self-Sustaining Company<br />

Kanteron Systems is self-funded company that has grown<br />

organically to the point where its bleeding-edge technology<br />

has, today, reached five continents. Although, being selffunded<br />

means bootstrapping: slow start and progressive<br />

growth, it also means mature. This has made the company<br />

experienced, self-reliant, always-improving product, and<br />

absolutely independent, something that their customers<br />

have really admired.<br />

Outlining Current <strong>Digital</strong> <strong>Healthcare</strong> <strong>Solution</strong>s<br />

With too many start-ups focused on problems that are too<br />

narrow to make a real difference and several large players<br />

reluctant to change the existing systems, Kanteron believes<br />

that it is necessary to destroy the barriers in healthcare<br />

solutions that many companies have been setting up for<br />

decades and there is a need to put the doctors and the<br />

patients first and foremost. Being a part of the healthcare<br />

industry, it realizes the need to make interoperability,<br />

innovation, and agility a priority. Jorge says, “<strong>The</strong> end goal<br />

should be to treat a disease before it shows any symptoms.<br />

We should aim for prevention, not cure. And the right<br />

technology can help us get there. But it will take much more<br />

than just technology: it will take will, education, political<br />

support, a generational change, and overcoming narrowminded<br />

corporate greed.”<br />

Triumphing over their Challenges<br />

<strong>The</strong> biggest challenge for Kanteron, as it is for all<br />

healthcare solutions, is to stay abreast of all new<br />

developments and technologies. Amusingly, that’s the<br />

favourite part of their job. Kanteron’s partnership with tech<br />

giants, like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Hitachi,<br />

gives it a unique perspective of new possibilities and latest<br />

as well as future technologies. At Kanteron, they dedicate a<br />

lot of time and resources in trying new ideas, implementing<br />

new technologies, and learning about everything and<br />

anything new. <strong>The</strong>y are focused on their vision and their<br />

customers’ needs, and not on what others are doing or<br />

selling.<br />

Dreaming Big about the Future<br />

Jorge envisions a near future where ubiquitous sensors<br />

produce data that gets integrated, via the Kanteron’s<br />

platform, into a system that detects anomalies before they<br />

become a problem, a future that allows patients and doctors<br />

the freedom to use any cloud, program, and algorithm and<br />

having a best-of-breed arsenal of tools at their disposal,<br />

perfectly integrated into their workflow. He talks about a<br />

future where data is as transparent as algorithms. Open<br />

source and interoperability are a requirement in any<br />

enterprise purchase, so that all stakeholders can have the<br />

peace of mind by knowing that their data will never be<br />

taken hostage by any large <strong>Healthcare</strong> IT vendor. “It will<br />

feel like magic.” Jorge says. “That’s what our customers tell<br />

us. Because that near future is the present for some of us,<br />

and we want to make sure everyone participates in that<br />

future,” the CEO concludes.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 35


When you deliver<br />

superior service, rely on<br />

superior equipment.<br />

Ensure a comfortable birth day, every day.<br />

w w w . g e h e a l t h c a r e . c o m


At<br />

Horizon,<br />

clear purpose; to improve<br />

Patients’ Lives.<br />

we’re driven by a<br />

w w w . h o r i z o n p h a r m a . c o m


Marham<br />

Sharing the<br />

Distress of those Fighting a Disease<br />

ith the rapid advancements taking place in<br />

Wthe field of technology, digitalization of<br />

healthcare is ought to be an inevitable<br />

outcome. In the last decade, healthcare has completely<br />

transformed the way it was perceived as a solution with<br />

technology being the core part now, however, in a<br />

country like Pakistan, the deliverance ratio of healthcare<br />

system remains a question but since the rise digital<br />

healthcare solutions, it has considerably changed. <strong>The</strong><br />

disparities of healthcare industry can only be fulfilled by<br />

the digital healthcare solutions.<br />

‘‘<br />

Ehsan Imam<br />

Co-founder<br />

We are<br />

always open<br />

to connect<br />

‘‘<br />

One such innovative healthcare service provider is<br />

Marham. It is currently the largest digital healthcare<br />

platform in Pakistan helping people to find, ask, and<br />

consult a doctor. An online tech based solution provider,<br />

Marham is providing services regarding the search of an<br />

authentic doctor, booking appointments online, online<br />

consultations, and medical tourism in Pakistan. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

also provide practice and hospital management soft<br />

wares and other services to hospitals and doctors. <strong>The</strong><br />

organization has helped more than 5 million people in<br />

Pakistan through its services.<br />

Distinct <strong>Healthcare</strong> Services<br />

Marham is a digital go-to platform for the ones in need<br />

of healthcare assistance providing a 360 degree<br />

healthcare solution to the people of Pakistan. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

provide a wide array of services for hospitals, patients,<br />

and doctors. A variety of services that Marham offers<br />

include the following:<br />

Marham for Patients:<br />

• Website/ Apps: Doctor’s Information Portal<br />

• Call Center/ Apps Appointment Booking<br />

38 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Platform through which they can book doctor for any<br />

disease<br />

• Online Consultation from anywhere: Telemedicine<br />

Platform to get an expert opinion<br />

• Forum: Easily get an answer about their medical<br />

conditions<br />

• International Patients: Medical Tourism, complete<br />

solution for booking hospital, hotel, and transportation<br />

• Social Platform: Online community to ask for suggestions<br />

Marham for Hospital & Doctors:<br />

• Patient Growth: Create awareness in masses about the<br />

services in a broader & authentic perspective and get new<br />

patient referrals<br />

• Telemedicine: Increase patient reach beyond the<br />

boundaries<br />

• Appointment Booking System: Manage daily schedule<br />

and effectively communicate with patients. Real-time<br />

reporting for administration<br />

• Medical Tourism: Generate International patients<br />

• EMR: Paperless practice, creates patient’s health records,<br />

generates prescriptions and reduces per patient time with<br />

the help of technology<br />

• Organizational Medical Partner: Give a better healthcare<br />

experience to the employees<br />

An Arduous Journey to Glory<br />

Choosing a doctor without much information is difficult in<br />

Pakistan. <strong>The</strong> healthcare platform started with a small<br />

community on Facebook where people could help each<br />

other with information about health facilities, doctors, and<br />

their reviews. Thousands of people started joining the<br />

community and began sharing the information with each<br />

other. Understanding the need, Marham thus extended its<br />

services to an active website and mobile apps, where<br />

patients could find complete doctors’ information, read<br />

reviews, and book appointments online every month. Not<br />

only this, but through telemedicine, now patients are<br />

consulting authentic doctors from their home.<br />

Two years down the lane, today Marham has 15,000+<br />

doctors on board, catering to 18 specialties and helping<br />

almost <strong>10</strong>,000 people every day to book an appointment<br />

and answering their queries with authentic information<br />

from relevant doctors and surgeons. Adding value to user<br />

experience are services like online consultation, teleconsultation,<br />

second opinion, subsidized cosmetic deals,<br />

and services for international patients.<br />

Insightful Leadership<br />

Ehsan Imam is the Co-Founder of Marham. Being a<br />

software engineer and an IT industry veteran, Mr. Imam<br />

carries experience of working with fortune 50 companies.<br />

Ehsan believes in working for a healthcare system which is<br />

patient-centralized and designed to help and serve people.<br />

He envisions a dignified, graceful and respectful life for<br />

patients and thus has committed himself to transforming<br />

healthcare in Pakistan by bringing in innovation and<br />

technology.<br />

“Together we can share the burden of those fighting a<br />

disease,” says Ehsan. He wants compassion and care for<br />

others to be the core values among his team as he believes<br />

in making Marham a product which serves people and the<br />

healthcare industry.<br />

Embracing Innovation and Continuous Up-gradation<br />

For any company which believes in serving humans, it is<br />

must to innovate and keep making new advancements and<br />

products for the well-being of people. Marham began with<br />

recognizing the need that there must be a platform which<br />

guides people to authentic doctors. Today, Marham is<br />

booking appointments online, online consultations and the<br />

team is working on the launches of video consultation<br />

software’s, online clinics prenatal health and child<br />

immunization.<br />

In Pakistan, healthcare startups have started to come up the<br />

ranks; so Marham not only believes in changing the<br />

stereotypical tired trends but is also setting new trends for<br />

upcoming market players to follow. Marham wants<br />

transformation of healthcare system with an improved<br />

healthcare experience for patients. <strong>The</strong>y are always keen<br />

towards a continuous up-gradation of their product, not<br />

only in terms of new technologies and innovation, but also<br />

in making it more and more servable.<br />

Future Perspective<br />

<strong>The</strong> company states that one should understand that it is the<br />

human beings, who orchestrate the future outcomes. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

further add that if it comes to future of digital healthcare<br />

solution industry, they foresee it fulfilling the healthcare<br />

needs with conventional industry being cut off. Marham<br />

considers themselves as the key players in making this<br />

possible and thus will continue to strive for it.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 39


oladoc:<br />

Engineered a Groundbreaking<br />

‘Hub’ to Bring Varied <strong>Healthcare</strong> Services to Consumers<br />

echnology continues to save numerous lives in<br />

Tmultiple ways. Everyone understands the impact<br />

of higher quality healthcare equipment that are<br />

improving diagnosis while advanced medical treatments<br />

supported by technology are assisting patients defeat<br />

deadly diseases effectively. However, technology such<br />

as mobile data that has only now become pervasive in<br />

emerging markets is making even bigger contribution<br />

towards saving lives as it helps democratize information.<br />

Patients are now able to read about symptoms, treatment<br />

options, and have a more informed discussion with their<br />

doctors.<br />

‘‘<br />

Abid Zuberi<br />

CEO<br />

Touch of a Finger is<br />

enough to trigger<br />

revolution, and we have<br />

proved it right with our<br />

cutting-edge oladoc app<br />

‘‘<br />

One such trailblazing company which is democratizing<br />

healthcare solutions in one of the emerging markets i.e.<br />

Pakistan is oladoc.com. Founded in 2016, this Lahore<br />

based healthcare startup provides a leading-edge healthtech<br />

platform that solves all challenges that come across<br />

a typical patient life-cycle. It connects patients with the<br />

right doctors, delivers medicines to patient’s doorstep,<br />

offers a host of lab tests from the convenience of<br />

patient’s home, and provides high-quality health content<br />

and much more. For doctors, oladoc offers innovative<br />

practice management software that allows doctors to<br />

fully digitize their practices. <strong>The</strong>ir practice management<br />

software is linked to oladoc’s appointment booking<br />

system and helps doctors to augment their practices as<br />

well.<br />

Ingenious Leaders of oladoc<br />

With the noble vision to improve the quality of<br />

healthcare in Pakistan, oladoc was incepted by two<br />

young and budding entrepreneurs Abid Zuberi (CEO)<br />

and Arif Zuberi (CTO). <strong>The</strong> duo believes in<br />

democratization of healthcare access and making the<br />

40 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


overall system efficient to improve the diagnoses, quality of<br />

care and ultimately save lives that are currently being lost<br />

due to lack of information and inefficient industry practices.<br />

“My aim is to leverage the mobile data (digital) revolution<br />

in Pakistan and enable every Pakistani the ability to access<br />

top doctors, maintain electronic records, obtain authentic<br />

medicines etc. right from their mobile phone,” asserts Abid.<br />

Under the mentorship of this duo, oladoc has gained<br />

immense trust amongst the patients and doctors that too in a<br />

very shorter period of time. In 2017, oladoc assisted over 1<br />

million Pakistanis to find doctors and specialists for their<br />

needs near them. <strong>The</strong> company has a robust network of<br />

more than 14,000 listed doctors across the top cities in<br />

Pakistan spanning over 50 specialties that allow patients to<br />

find the right doctor for their needs. <strong>The</strong>re are over 1,000<br />

doctors with whom patients can book a confirmed<br />

appointment from oladoc website and mobile apps. What<br />

started in 2016 as a band of 2 brothers has now transformed<br />

into an eminent institution with over 40 full time<br />

employees.<br />

Extending Great Benefits to Patients<br />

oladoc.com (web and app) is a one stop solution for all<br />

consumer healthcare requirements. At oladoc, patients can:<br />

Ÿ Search required doctor through the gigantic database of<br />

qualified doctors for their medical need. Also, they can<br />

review feedback given by other patients, compare<br />

consultation fees, know more about the different services<br />

provided by the doctor and even schedule a confirmed<br />

appointment with them in a few clicks.<br />

Ÿ Order authentic medicines that are delivered at their<br />

door-step by simply uploading their prescription.<br />

Ÿ Order lab tests with free sample collection from their<br />

home or office. <strong>The</strong> patients are notified once the test<br />

reports are ready and can be accessed online.<br />

Ÿ Read a host of health content with pragmatic tips to<br />

improve quality of life and get smart about various health<br />

topics.<br />

Ÿ Store medical records at free of cost for lifetime, and<br />

share them with a doctor at the time of need. This is a<br />

one of its kind of service available in Pakistan.<br />

Medical Practitioners too are getting Benefits<br />

To empower doctors, oladoc offers myPractice app that<br />

makes it easier for them to keep their practice in their<br />

pockets 24x7 and access any patient record and details at<br />

the click of a button. oladoc’s myPractice app allows<br />

doctors to<br />

Ÿ Update their online profile conveniently so patients can<br />

be kept up to date about the latest procedures and<br />

treatments offered by the doctor.<br />

Ÿ Manage their schedule/calendar effectively to maximize<br />

time with patients and avoid over-booked /under-booked<br />

slots.<br />

Ÿ Store their patients’ medical records to improve quality<br />

of care on an ongoing basis irrespective of the location<br />

of the clinic/hospital where a patient meets the doctor as<br />

most doctors in Pakistan work across 2 to 3 different<br />

clinics/hospitals.<br />

In addition, oladoc also offers Hospital & OPD<br />

Management <strong>Solution</strong>s that can digitize entire<br />

Hospital/Clinic with services such as In-Patient<br />

Management, Out-Patient Management, Pharmacy, Labs,<br />

Billing, and Accounts along with Online Appointment<br />

Booking & Online Profile Management for Doctors and<br />

Hospitals.<br />

Future Endeavors<br />

<strong>The</strong> mentors have plans to expand its services across the<br />

entire country and want expand its offerings to include<br />

services such as e-consultations to help the rural population<br />

of Pakistan who otherwise need to travel long distances to<br />

find a quality healthcare practitioner. “We are also<br />

upgrading our Electronic Medical Records functionality to<br />

make way for even better quality and more precise records.<br />

Also, entering new geographies in Asia and Africa is in our<br />

wish list,” concludes Abid.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 41


Smart<br />

Inhalers:<br />

Tackling Respiratory<br />

Maladies with IoT<br />

42 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Tech-Health<br />

Numerous devices and appliances are getting connected to the Internet day-by-day. Internet of Things is the<br />

new technology that has triggered a revolution all around the world. It has changed our day to day life to<br />

a great extent, from cell phones to washing machines and fitness bands and monitors. This new paradigm<br />

has wide ranging applications in various sectors, including healthcare. It has given hope to the healthcare sector,<br />

by allowing medical centers to function more efficiently and patients to obtain better treatments.<br />

IoT in the healthcare market is growing progressively, and has various applications extending from remote<br />

monitoring to adhering to medication. With the increased use of IoT based systems in medical centers, it has<br />

shown a promising prospect to improve the quality and effectiveness of treatments and further improve the overall<br />

health of patients.<br />

Technology has made healthcare easier on the pocket and also made it more accessible, for the patients. It has<br />

been observed over the years that medical diagnostics take up a large part of hospital bills. Technology has made<br />

routine medical checkups more home-centric for the patients, and accurate diagnosis has helped lessen the<br />

necessity of hospitalization.<br />

One such IoT based solution that has recently caught the eye is the Smart Inhaler. Asthma is a chronic illness that<br />

has no cure and is thus prevalent lifelong. <strong>The</strong> World Health Organization testified that 250,000 people die<br />

annually due to asthma. <strong>The</strong> control medication and treatment of asthma consists of either completely avoiding<br />

triggers or regulation via control medication, that avert airway inflammation; or to stop spasms via rescue<br />

medicines, to reduce emergency room visits and deaths. An inhaler is a device that provides a measured and<br />

aerosolized dose of a wide assortment of medication that is administered to the lungs and air pathways.<br />

Framework of a Smart Inhaler Device<br />

Almost all the IoT based smart inhalers are sensors that act as a clip on to existing inhalers. It has a GPS extension<br />

which allows it to track when and where the puffs are taken by the patients. <strong>The</strong>se sensors are linked with an app<br />

that the patient needs to install on their smartphone. This information is readily conversed to the app by the<br />

sensors via Bluetooth on the smartphone or a plug-in hub. <strong>The</strong>se are often used as a part of the asthma<br />

management program, under a physician’s regulation. It is a digital platform consisting of a custom sensor which<br />

records and transmits the treatment acquiescence data.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Smart Inhaler platform enables the physicians to effectively monitor the inhalation technique and frequency,<br />

capturing factors such as inhalation flow rate, flow speeding, inhalation volume, stimulus time, as well as the<br />

patient’s usage of the inhaler. <strong>The</strong> data that is generated by the app is an important tool which offers the user<br />

simple metrics and tailored advice for a more real supervision of their condition.<br />

Benefits that the IoT based Smart Inhaler Platform Offers<br />

Adherence to the medicine routine is a major issue that patients and physicians face. <strong>The</strong> patients often neglect the<br />

medications that are given to them to control their condition and end up using the rescue inhalers very often,<br />

putting themselves at a severe health risk, which can lead to loss of effectiveness. This trend has been observed for<br />

many years now. <strong>The</strong> key feature of the IoT based Smart inhaler is that it helps the patients adhere to their<br />

medication routine, and also allows the physicians to monitor their patients remotely.<br />

<strong>The</strong> smart asthma inhaler precisely archives usage- when each dose is taken, it transfers this status to doctors, and<br />

helps keep the illnesses at check. This technology also gives automatically generated reminders, through the app,<br />

informing the patient to use the inhaler whenever necessary. Identification of the pattern, in the usage of the<br />

inhaler by the patients can aid the doctors in better understanding and controlling the respiratory disease. This<br />

makes the patient aware of the triggers, like pollen or temperature and helps keep them well-informed which helps<br />

to avoid Asthma attacks, preventing hospitalization.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 43


<strong>The</strong> GPS sensor of the inhaler is a unique feature which actively records where and when the puff was taken, with this<br />

data over a period of time, it comes up with a pattern, without any necessity of personal diaries or other conscious<br />

entry of information. <strong>The</strong> time and location data for each use is linked with a wide range of factors from<br />

environmental, geographic, traffic, to numerous neighborhood data, thus creating a map of asthma attack incidences.<br />

With the help of this understanding of when and where the prophylactic puff of rescue medication was taken, the<br />

trigger of the attack can be altogether eliminated.<br />

How the IoT helps Doctors and Patients Communicate<br />

<strong>The</strong> amalgamation of technology in healthcare sector is beneficial only when it reinforces the relationship between the<br />

patients and doctors; it is not intended to substitute the bond. Currently, there is a suite of profession-oriented<br />

applications available to the healthcare professionals and physicians, which provide them tools to monitor various<br />

aspects of AI-based therapy suggestions and data analytics. This allows them to be up-to-date instantly, to help them<br />

make an informed, smart and personalized treatment for their patients. A sensor on an inhaler can be a boon as it would<br />

provide a wealth of data, which can in-turn be used to improve adherence to medication. This data at the hands of<br />

physicians will allow them to understand the actual usage of the medication, by focusing on behavior changes,<br />

possible triggers, and hindrances to adherence. However, the major issue that needs to be addressed is privacy and<br />

security concerns, with such close monitoring of the patients.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Players and the Market<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are various companies that are currently looking into this technology. One of the prominent smart inhaler<br />

manufacturers has partnered with the Weather Channel to observe air quality in Louisville, Kentucky. As a part of a<br />

program, some companies have been giving out free sensors for rescue inhalers, and the other for maintenance inhalers<br />

to city residents with asthma. <strong>The</strong> market of smart inhalers is estimated to reach $191 million globally by 2022, which<br />

is approximately projecting an annual growth rate of 60%, according to a popular market research.<br />

Big pharmaceutical companies, who have a significant portfolio in the Asthma and COPD, are forming alliances with<br />

the top technology giants, to develop smart inhalers. This shows how quickly generic competition can catch up with a<br />

potentially lucrative smart inhaler market. Development and launch of this sensor based smart inhaler offers the user<br />

simple metrics and custom-made advice for a more active control of their ailment. At the expense of smart inhalers,<br />

healthcare professionals are armed with a suite of specialized applications, providing remote monitoring tools, which<br />

can precisely and rapidly inform them. This enabled them to make smarter, informed and personalize decisions<br />

catering to the needs of the patients.<br />

44 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


Sehat Kahani:<br />

Making Quality<br />

<strong>Healthcare</strong> Facilities Accessible and Affordable to All<br />

igital healthcare solutions are utilizing software<br />

Dor internet connected devices for detection and<br />

treatment of many prevalent but easily treatable<br />

medical conditions. <strong>The</strong>y are likely to advance<br />

regulatory processes and bring more clarity to mankind<br />

on wellness tools and medical devices. Additionally,<br />

there has been a shift to value based reimbursement,<br />

creating a productive platform for adopting new<br />

business models and clinical approaches. More<br />

importantly, they are empowering consumers to selfmanage<br />

their health. <strong>The</strong>y also reduce the chances of<br />

human error by employing intelligent data analytics so<br />

that information is processed more efficiently.<br />

Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram<br />

Co-founder and CEO<br />

‘‘<br />

At Sehat Kahani we<br />

aim to democratize<br />

healthcare for<br />

everyone<br />

‘‘<br />

One such innovative digital healthcare solution provider<br />

is Sehat Kahani (Story of Health). It is an all-female<br />

health provider network in Pakistan that connects home<br />

based female doctors, currently not working due to<br />

socio-cultural taboos, to provide accessible, effective,<br />

and affordable health care solutions to patients in need<br />

using ICT enabled health solutions.<br />

In the low income communities of the country where<br />

majority of the population is uneducated with limited<br />

exposure to technology, the company upgrades existing<br />

basic health centers within the community to Sehat<br />

Kahani E - Health Hubs. <strong>The</strong>y are also a market leader<br />

in Pakistan in preventive health care messaging in low<br />

to middle income communities using easy and engaging<br />

digital and non-digital health education tools to<br />

influence and improve community health patterns.<br />

Insightful Leadership<br />

Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram and Dr. Iffat Zafar Aga are<br />

the Co-Founders of the company. After one year of her<br />

46 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


marriage, while doing her residency in Radiology, Dr.<br />

Khurram conceived her daughter and unfortunately could<br />

not continue her education as her institute did not have a<br />

policy to have an expecting mother in the program.<br />

Through another work opportunity, she landed into<br />

community health, recognizing her passion and interest to<br />

create basic primary health care accessible to people<br />

especially in the underserved areas. Having recently<br />

finished her master’s in Public Health; her key strengths<br />

include raising investments, strategy development and<br />

implementation, vigilance, passion and a strong business<br />

sense which has enabled her to develop the company from<br />

scratch. Dr. Sara is also the Regional Acumen Fellow for<br />

2016.<br />

Dr. Zafar has extensive experience in the field of E-Health<br />

and Tele-health. She is currently doing her masters in E-<br />

Health from University of Edinburgh through a<br />

commonwealth scholarship. Her key strengths include<br />

strategic development, business opportunities exploration,<br />

and synergies development with external stakeholders. She<br />

is also a Global Good Fund Fellow for <strong>2018</strong>-19.<br />

Noteworthy Services<br />

<strong>The</strong> company connects all female health provider networks<br />

to underserved beneficiaries providing access, outreach and<br />

efficiency of healthcare. <strong>The</strong>y have three distinct health<br />

verticals:<br />

• Access: By using trusted intermediaries (female front line<br />

workers) in the communities and dormant health<br />

infrastructure, they create Sehat Kahani E- Health Hubs<br />

where a front line worker is trained by five step training<br />

on medical knowledge, leadership and soft skills to<br />

connect patients in these Hubs to qualified home based<br />

female physicians and skills.<br />

• Prevention: Sehat Kahani, through its preventive health<br />

care portfolio creates innovative preventive healthcare<br />

messaging and social marketing activities in target<br />

communities to bring out a long term change in<br />

behaviors and health patterns.<br />

• Efficiency: Using their expertise in tele-health, they have<br />

created their unique and specialized tele-health platform<br />

- “Concierge Model”, which is accessible through<br />

desktop and from mobile as well.<br />

Facing Challenges Head-On<br />

Currently, many competing tele-health companies are trying<br />

to create similar solutions in Pakistan. Sehat Kahani is led<br />

by two female doctors who have not only been through the<br />

agony of not being able to practice but also know what it<br />

takes to come back to the workforce. <strong>The</strong>y recognize the<br />

pool of knowledge their country is, that is being wasted by<br />

not being able to reach where it should. <strong>The</strong>y also have the<br />

first mover’s advantage of being in the field for more than 3<br />

years, piloting and iterating revenue streams, treating actual<br />

paying customers. <strong>The</strong>y are the data aggregators striving to<br />

streamline true health data that has been under reported or<br />

misreported in Pakistan. <strong>The</strong>y have made revenue of over<br />

net, created key collaborations and partnerships across all<br />

service lines, and won national and international<br />

recognition for their work showing that they are in it for the<br />

long haul.<br />

Marching Ahead Confidently towards the Future<br />

Sehat Kahani works in multiple domains which encompass<br />

a multitude of health outcomes ranging from treatment<br />

options to preventive healthcare. Alongside using<br />

technology-enabled treatment methods they have a special<br />

focus and interest in preventive health care solutions that<br />

can help create long term impact on the quality of life of a<br />

patient. In a country like Pakistan where health care<br />

indicators project a very grim picture, enabling doctors and<br />

patients with first line health care support can be answer to<br />

many complicated disease conditions. <strong>The</strong> company aims to<br />

become a household name in Pakistan where by every<br />

Pakistani can avail quality health care services from the<br />

comfort of their communities, mobiles, and laptops at a cost<br />

they can afford and with a health care provider they can<br />

trust.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 47


Sihatech:<br />

Emboldening<br />

the Connect between Doctors and Patients<br />

s we all know, health of a nation is the wealth<br />

Aof a nation. Just as technology has transformed<br />

our everyday lives, it has played a pivotal role<br />

in transforming the diagnosis, treatment and especially<br />

management in the healthcare industry. Digitization has<br />

come bearing greater advantage for the doctors as well<br />

as patients. Various companies are looking at this as an<br />

opportunity and contributing to improve the healthcare<br />

domain for people.<br />

‘‘<br />

Ahmed Al-Bader<br />

Founder<br />

We put care<br />

back into the<br />

healthcare<br />

‘‘<br />

One such leading digital healthcare company is<br />

Sihatech. It provides the first full-fledged smart app and<br />

website that specializes in documenting a patient’s<br />

thorough medical journey. It allows the patients to<br />

document their entire medical experience and<br />

medications as well as provides continuous controlled<br />

communication between the doctors and patients.<br />

Sihatech has combined the concepts of managing the<br />

medical journey and financing it. <strong>The</strong>y provide first ever<br />

healthcare financing service to finance the non-insured<br />

medical treatments.<br />

<strong>The</strong> History of Ideas and Developments<br />

Initially started as a doctor-booking app, Sihatech soon<br />

realised that the journey of the patient is what matters<br />

and it is not given sufficient attention. <strong>The</strong>refore, they<br />

have developed the idea of managing a patient’s journey<br />

and financial support into a complete concept. Guided<br />

by their vision of putting care back into healthcare, they<br />

developed an app focusing on the patient’s journey,<br />

documenting the patient’s data and brief history, post<br />

consultation, treatment, and medical knowledge. <strong>The</strong><br />

app was designed to also provide the reminder of each<br />

medication’s time and type to the patient and allow<br />

48 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


interaction between the doctor and the patients for simple<br />

questions and appointment management.<br />

Luminary Leaders of the Extraordinary Company<br />

Ahmed Al-Bader, the Founder, and Dr. Mussaad Al-<br />

Razouki, the Co-Founder, each having 15 years of<br />

experience in the healthcare industry, have guided Sihatech<br />

to its glorious success. <strong>The</strong>y have established and led<br />

Sihatech to be the third fastest growing Saudi Insurance and<br />

Technology Company. <strong>The</strong>y are the significant brains<br />

behind the concept of grouping enhanced care delivery with<br />

technology. Under these two prominent and dynamic<br />

leaders, Sihatech has set various milestones, such as- it was<br />

selected by the WEF and IFC as one of the top <strong>10</strong>0 ventures<br />

th<br />

shaping the 4 Industrial Revolution in MENA. Sihatech is<br />

also the proud winner of the ArabNet 2017 Startup<br />

Championship as the top venture from the MENA region.<br />

Prime Products and Services<br />

Sihatech provides a fully-developed smart app and website<br />

for patients’ journey management, finding the doctor, and<br />

communication. Jamalek, a finance service for patients, is<br />

provided by Sihatech which focuses on arranging finance<br />

for non-insured medical procedures.<br />

Sihatech’s Role in Improving the <strong>Healthcare</strong> Industry<br />

In the prevailing scenario of the digital healthcare<br />

management, numerous solutions are less interactive and<br />

some of them have limited the growth of some healthcare<br />

organizations. Amongst this, Sihatech’s services have<br />

radically changed the way of how the doctors and their<br />

patients view the healthcare sphere due to their nonintrusive<br />

interactive nature and provision of better<br />

understanding about the treatments to the patients. Due to<br />

the rating feature provided in the app, accountability at both<br />

the ends is improved as well as calendar-integration in the<br />

phones have increased the adherence. Sihatech has made<br />

financing attainable without coverage, which has helped in<br />

severe situations where payment-cycle was an obstacle.<br />

Sihatech is a standalone digital healthcare management app<br />

in the GCC that allows instant healthcare insurance<br />

eligibility check.<br />

Sihatech’s Insight on Recent Technological<br />

Developments in <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

Acknowledging the advancements brought by the new age<br />

of digital health, like online consulting, genetics and<br />

advanced diagnosis like IBM’s Watson, Sihatech talks about<br />

someday having a universal medical record with blockchain<br />

technology where the data will be most secured, but<br />

still be most shared and utilized to help the humanity. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

are confident that the world of digital healthcare will<br />

change dramatically once the government in the GCC will<br />

change their approach towards class.<br />

New Revolutionary Product Launches<br />

Sihatech has invested in Sihatech V2.0, which is a<br />

completely redesigned app, incorporating new services,<br />

Jamalek and Salemtek, as well. Salemtek will be the first<br />

standalone portal in the GCC that is geared to deliver ondemand<br />

homecare and home-nursing services. By<br />

launching this service, Sihatech wants to mobilize the<br />

currently unemployed Saudi health-care workers as well.<br />

Many healthcare providers have already agreed with<br />

Sihatech to widen the scope of their home care services<br />

using the Salemtek portal. <strong>The</strong>y believe that by introducing<br />

Salemtek, they will change the healthcare model from<br />

hospital centric to point-of-service centric, allowing<br />

healthcare facilities to save costs and serve a wider range of<br />

patients. <strong>The</strong>y have also introduced their own ERP and<br />

sales team for <strong>2018</strong>.<br />

Optimistic About the Bright Future<br />

Sihatech is positive about the advantages the new<br />

generation of tech-savvy healthcare workers, will bring to<br />

the company. <strong>The</strong>y are very optimistic about the market<br />

trends in terms of digital healthcare. Sihatech promises a<br />

few major surprises to the healthcare market in the coming<br />

future.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 49


Expert’s Viewpoint<br />

From Relevance to Convenience to Value-<br />

<strong>The</strong> Future of Data Analytics in US <strong>Healthcare</strong><br />

About the Author<br />

Jonathan M. Prince, CEO of DataSmart<br />

<strong>Solution</strong>s, brings 35 years of business<br />

administration experience to the U.S.<br />

healthcare industry. As CEO for<br />

DataSmart <strong>Solution</strong>s, he is responsible<br />

for seeing that DSS fulfills its mission to<br />

help raise the quality and significantly<br />

lower the cost of U.S. healthcare through<br />

predictive analytics. Taking a<br />

population-based, big-data approach,<br />

DSS evaluates and identifies members<br />

who are at the greatest risk of health<br />

deterioration (and toward whom early<br />

intervention resources should be<br />

directed); DSS also assists in optimizing<br />

benefit program design and in provider<br />

evaluation and benchmarking. Prior to<br />

joining DSS, Jon worked 30+ years in<br />

financial markets with experience in<br />

sales, trading, management, business<br />

redesign, and client relations.<br />

50 | July <strong>2018</strong> |


et’s explore the power of data. Transforming raw<br />

Ldata into real value begins with the concept of<br />

relevance. Merriam-Webster defines “relevance” as<br />

having ‘relation to the matter at hand’, ‘practical …<br />

applicability’, or ‘the ability to retrieve material that<br />

satisfies the needs of the user.’ In a world that is<br />

increasingly flooded with data, relevance is in high demand.<br />

<strong>The</strong> last thing management in any industry needs for more<br />

irrelevant data. <strong>The</strong> burning need always has been, and<br />

continues to be, actionable information that is conciselypresented<br />

and relevant to the ‘matter at hand.’<br />

Consider US healthcare. While congress deliberates on<br />

revisions to Obamacare, the cost of specialty medications,<br />

secondary care and tertiary care continues to rise. <strong>The</strong><br />

percentage of the US economy accounted for by healthcare<br />

now approaches 20%. <strong>The</strong> matter at hand is to eliminate<br />

waste and find the best care at the lowest price and place it<br />

within reach of those who need it most urgently. <strong>The</strong><br />

answers to these issues are relevant.<br />

In an effort to help those bearing the financial risk (e.g. selfinsured<br />

employer plans) to gain control over these costs,<br />

analytics companies obtain and process mountains of data –<br />

medical claims, pharmacy claims, biometric information,<br />

blood screen results, vision tests, questionnaires, and even<br />

consumer data. <strong>The</strong>n, running this data through algorithms,<br />

regression analyses, and predictive models, these same<br />

companies return computational results to their users in an<br />

often bewildering array of tables, charts, graphs, diagrams<br />

and narrations. Regrettably, not all of the information is<br />

relevant.<br />

Pareto’s Law (also known as the ‘80/20 Rule’) applies in<br />

dramatic fashion in healthcare. In general, a small<br />

percentage of any population accounts for a<br />

disproportionately large share of the plan’s expenses. <strong>Most</strong><br />

wellness programs focus efforts upon the masses (i.e. the<br />

80%). However, in actuality, most of a plan’s expenses<br />

originate with a small number of plan participants (i.e. the<br />

20%). In fact, as few as 3-5% of plan participants often<br />

account for one-half of a health plan’s expenses, somewhat<br />

regardless of the plan, the geography, or the demographics<br />

of the population. Imagine the impact on health and on cost<br />

that could be realized if the 3-5% could prevent their<br />

condition from deteriorating. Diabetes, cardiac conditions,<br />

and even some cancers can be readily identified in early<br />

states by the pro-active use of predictive analytics. Such a<br />

list of future high-cost claimants, the 3-5%, would be<br />

relevant information.<br />

Beyond relevance rests ‘simplicity’ – solutions that go a<br />

step further and automatically act upon relevant<br />

information. <strong>The</strong> financial investments industry mastered<br />

this idea years ago by creating mutual funds. Mutual funds<br />

are investment pools managed by skilled asset managers.<br />

Previously, analysts had to convert macro-economic<br />

statistics into a list of promising stocks that stock brokers<br />

could give to clients to provide relevant investment advice.<br />

<strong>The</strong>n, someone realized that the investment process could<br />

be simplified by forming a diversified portfolio into which<br />

investors could directly invest. Mutual funds represent a<br />

hands-free way to combine both relevance and simplicity<br />

into an investment vehicle that eliminates the need for<br />

individuals to study, and take action on, investment reports.<br />

Mutual fund investors don’t read reports or pick stocks.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y leave that with their portfolio managers.<br />

<strong>Healthcare</strong> is responding with similar, coordinated<br />

solutions. Programs are emerging which integrate all<br />

digitally-available medical information and translate the<br />

data into actionable and relevant information. <strong>The</strong>n, like a<br />

portfolio manager who synthesizes disparate economic<br />

reports into an investment strategy, clinical care<br />

coordinators integrate disparate data sets and provide<br />

guidance to plan participants who can take action to<br />

increase the likelihood that they receive the best care, at the<br />

best facilities, at the lowest price.<br />

<strong>The</strong> final responsibility for human health rests with the<br />

individual (or parent or guardian) but the technology to give<br />

relevant, simple guidance exists. Consumers need to<br />

demand and take advantage of price transparency, just like<br />

they do when shopping for other goods and services.<br />

Today, the race is on to transform raw data into useful<br />

information that will result in weeding out ineffective<br />

providers, sub-par facilities, and overpriced medications.<br />

Transparency is improving and analytics are revealing<br />

opportunities to save. To conclude, consider how this true<br />

story sheds light on the value of relevant information.<br />

Several months ago, while visiting the US Northwest on a<br />

business trip, I stopped at an independent drugstore to pick<br />

up two prescription medications. <strong>The</strong> drugstore did not<br />

participate in my health plan, and the cashier stated that the<br />

price for the two (common) medications would be $450. I<br />

was stunned. While traveling in South America the prior<br />

year, I had paid $52 for the same supply of the same two<br />

medications. I’ve since ordered the same quantity of these<br />

drugs for $163. Imagine how an investor would feel after<br />

paying $450 per share of the same common stock that could<br />

be ordered online for $163 a share. <strong>The</strong> inefficiencies in US<br />

healthcare are still excessive and are responsible in part for<br />

the size of this sector of the US economy. But the better<br />

analytics companies are transforming raw data into relevant<br />

information. Astute self-insured plan managers must partner<br />

only with analytics companies that offer relevant<br />

information in simplified solutions.<br />

| July <strong>2018</strong> | 51


Everything we do<br />

is aimed at<br />

Improving Lives<br />

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YOU DON’T JOIN US,<br />

WE JOIN YOUSM<br />

Whatever you health goals are, we’ll help you get there.


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QUALITY HEALTHCARE<br />

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