Alice Zheng

John Kell's recent article in Fortune, "The best investment opportunities in AI for health care right now," provides incredible insights about the challenges of healthcare data and how it impacts the advancement of #ai. Three out of every four leading health care companies are experimenting with generative AI or attempting to scale it across their business. What are they creating and why? Venture capitalist Deena Shakir asks founders if they "are aiming to solve a technology problem or a clinical adoption problem". Solving existing problems will speed decision making and improve data quality. The Deloitte report:  “Navigating the Emergence of Generative AI in Health Care” shares some of the data challenge in health care. While boasting the largest source of raw data, 80% of the data are unstructured.  Simon Gisby, managing director and the global leader of life sciences and health care at Deloitte further expounds "But as an industry, we’re not surprisingly that good at analyzing and drawing correlations out of that" https://lnkd.in/gXE_HVG2 Read thus great article for use cases and examples from fertility and maternal health care to predicting adverse outcomes to drug development and immunotherapies. The future of health and #ai is the hope that we can provide value in health care data equal to the volume we produce Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gTx6ic_b

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For those interested in a credibly perspective on the current state and future of health tech, and the rapid emergence of a new category, see the attached research by one of the most reputable health tech venture investors in the market, Bessemer Venture Partners. Exciting news: Although "healthcare has traditionally lagged behind other industries in digital adoption - we believe AI Services-as-Software companies are well-positioned to change that narrative." Thank you Sofia Guerra and Steve Kraus for keeping apprised of market trends and where we are headed - to better healthcare! https://lnkd.in/eH_aag73

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Q2 2024 saw a resurgence in home-based care M&A, driven by strategic acquisitions and a cautious yet optimistic private equity landscape. Based on the Q2 2024 Home-Based Care M&A Report from Mertz Taggart, here are the top three trends that I see: 1. Increased Deal Activity: After a slow first quarter, M&A activity picked up significantly, particularly in home health and hospice sectors. 2. Private Equity Influence: Private equity’s role in M&A was smaller than usual due to tightened credit markets, but optimism is rising for more deals in the latter half of 2024. 3. Strategic Acquisitions: Companies like Addus and Amedisys made strategic moves to expand their market share, signaling continued consolidation in the industry. As deal activity heats up, how will these trends shape the future of home care? You can read the full report here - https://hubs.ly/Q02KY4r90 #HomeCare #MergersAndAcquisitions #HealthcareTrends

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HLTH and ENDEAVOR PARTNERSHIP for Masterclasses! Thrilled to be a new Partner and Anchor in the Health HLTH Community. Endeavor will be delivering a series of Masterclasses on a regular basis over the next year on AI and Healthcare in the areas of drug development & discovery, innovation impacting hospitals including electronic healthcare records, radiology, pathology, surgical suite logistics, discharge planning, improving patient fall risks, and addressing nurse and physician burnout. We will be discussing important partnerships in AI and Healthcare between Emerging Companies, Big Tech, Biopharma, Biotech, Bedtech, Healthtech, and Major Academic Medical Centers. As part of our 20 year development of the Endeavor Healthcare Ecosystem, we've established partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and collaborations with major tech firms, including Microsoft, as well as with Big Pharma, including Sinofi, and leading medical centers such as Mount Sinai, Memorial Sloan Kettering, SUNY Downstate, and Mass General Brigham Hospital. Our focus is on fostering collaboration as we look to integrate AI into the healthcare system. Join us on November 13th for a celebration of collaboration at the Endeavor and Mount Sinai Health Systems Healthcare AI and Technology Investor Summit, from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the offices of Goodwin Proctor in NYC. For more information, please contact us at [email protected]. #Artificialintelligence #VentureCapital #Investing #Entrepreneurship #Startup #Healthcare #HealthTech #MedTech #Funds #DrMartinAlexanderGershon #BetterHealth Dr. D. Martin Alexander Gershon, MD, JD, MPH Endeavor Venture Fund & Venture Studio

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When the music stops we find out which emperor has no clothes. (That’s not how the saying goes is it?) Anyway, here’s the most basic way to look at private equity investments in healthcare (disclaimer: not all are bad!) Healthcare entity sells a piece of itself to an investment group. Let’s say it’s sells 50% for $100 bucks. Investment group (doesn’t matter which one, just choose a color and an object from nature and add Capital or Equity at the end 🤣) puts up $20 dollars and borrows $80 dollars, saddling the healthcare entity with crushing debt. (Works great when interest rates are low, not great when they skyrocket like they have the last couple of years.) Investment group needs to show a return. Easiest way to increase revenue: Raise prices. Don’t pay people what they’re worth. Squeeze them. Cut staff and services. Now you have overworked, underpaid healthcare workers who think they don’t have another option. Let’s say investment group manages to sell their piece for $120 bucks in the usual 3-7 year hold period for private equity. (Remember they only put up $20 and borrowed $80.) Returns the money they borrowed, and keeps the profit. In this scenario it’s basically 100% return on investment. Investment group gets rich. Healthcare entity owners get rich. Patients and healthcare workers suffer. Anyway, Dr. Hal Inc is also a healthcare consulting firm. Follow me for more tips and tricks on what NOT to do in healthcare! (Shameless plug!)

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I had the honor of participating in an Oxford style debate this week at the Oliver Wyman Health Innovation Summit: “Consumers Know Best, Or Do They?” As healthcare continues to evolve, the rise of consumer point solutions has promised greater convenience and affordability, allowing patients to access care in new ways. It’s exciting to see so many innovations aimed at improving the healthcare experience. However, the question posed was this: Do the convenience and affordability of these solutions deliver better access and health? Or, does an integrated approach—driven by health systems—ultimately drive better outcomes? I believe that healthcare is not just about transactions and convenience; it’s also about long-term, coordinated care for the whole person across the continuum. Consumers need partners to support them in understanding their choices. Integrated systems, like Fairview Health Services, are partners in care. And while technology plays a crucial role, there’s no substitute for the integrated systems that ensure every doctor, every specialist, and every caregiver is on the same page when it comes to the health and well-being of the people we serve. I’d like to thank my fellow debater, Laura Jensen from Amazon Pharmacy, for a thoughtful and insightful discussion on the role of consumer-driven care. There’s no doubt that together, we can find a way to merge the best of both worlds—leveraging innovation while ensuring that the human element of healthcare remains at the forefront.

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#SDoH is a hot topic in healthcare, but the key question is: How can we truly address these factors to create lasting improvements in patient health? Our CEO, Hillit Meidar-Alfi delves into the challenges and opportunities of implementing SDoH to promote health equity in this article from MedCity News. Here are some of the key takeaways: 🔸New data sets and analytics tools are needed. We need better data to understand the impact of SDoH on health and to track progress over time. 🔸Addressing SDoH requires collaboration across sectors. This means working together with healthcare providers, policymakers, community organizations, and others to create systemic change. 🔸There is a potential for significant return on investment. Investing in SDoH interventions can lead to lower healthcare costs and improved quality of life for all. https://hubs.la/Q02vYzCG0 #healthequity #healthcareinnovation #ThinkSpatially

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I had the honor of moderating a panel of three hospital Presidents/CEOs at Laudio's inaugural Leadership Innovation Exchange (LINE) conference. We discussed “Future-Proofing Health Systems” and what is required for the next generation of hospital leadership to effectively manage the healthcare workforce. We didn’t have a crystal ball, but we had the next best thing -- insights from these three impressive leaders. Quick takes: 💡 Mark Slyter, DSc, FACHE of Dignity Health: High reliability organizations are the way of the future. When implemented correctly, retention is the output and not the goal. 💡 Bill Santulli, FACHE formerly of Advocate Health: When looking for his successors, he looked for leaders who are effective at change management…it’s ultimately all about culture. 💡 Joseph Mitchell of Franciscan Children’s: It took a strong arsenal of leaders who were resilient to complete the integration with Boston Children’s and ultimately to bring attrition down from 35% to 18%. Heard throughout the day were these fascinating tidbits from C-level leaders on what is improving their workforce culture and satisfaction: 🐕 Geisinger: ‘Paws to Reflect’ program that brought in dogs for healthcare workforce, not for patients 🤖 El Camino: Robots for patient wayfinding – an idea that stemmed from their nurses when they saw the robots delivering specimen 💻 Stanford: Being discerning about not automating processes that are terrible, but only the ones that are deserving Hats off to the Russ Richmond, CJ Floros, Emma Smith, Ashley N. and the whole Laudio team on this fantastic LINE-up!

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This is the second in interview series with thought leaders, executives, and experts focused on specific issues in health technology. In this post I focus on health systems with three leading experts providing thoughtful perspectives on issues facing health systems, particularly when it comes to technology. I am grateful to Stephen Klasko (Executive in Residence, General Catalyst/formerly President & Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health); Lee Schwamm, MD (Senior Vice President-Chief Digital Health Officer/Associate Dean, Digital Strategy and Innovation, Yale New Haven Health and Yale School of Medicine; and Sara Vaezy (Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Digital Officer, Providence) Providence). You can find the full interview below, but here are a few quotes from the discussion:    “The single biggest barrier healthcare faces is the feeling that nothing can be done.” "Consumer expectations of the healthcare system will increasingly be personal, enduring, meaningful and rewarding—expectations that healthcare systems are struggling to comprehend, never mind to deliver."   “While some health systems have returned to profitability, many are facing substantial headwinds due to rising labor costs . . . and a demoralized workforce.”   “Hospitals that have invested billions in the physical infrastructure of sick care are now ill-prepared for a vision of healthcare at any address. It’s hard to get someone to do something when their salary depends on them not doing it."   “Health systems are tired of hundreds of founders pitching their ‘point solution’ while they are suffering with decreasing or disappearing margins.”   “Free pilots are never free.”   “Unless the ROI is outsized or the problem is extremely complex, vertical solutions rarely deliver the full value possible.”   “The key is not about telehealth, hospital at home or AI, it's about how those technologies can help a system achieve ‘healthcare at any address.’”  #digitalhealth #healthtech #healthAI

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Whole Health Takes Center Stage at ISPOR 2024 ISPOR's 2024 international conference in Atlanta in just 2 weeks comes at an exciting time in the history of our Society. We’ll be launching a bold new strategy for the organization that reaches out to 2030 and seeks to position health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) as a key tool to help forge a world in which healthcare is accessible, effective, efficient and affordable for all. I’m enormously excited by this vision and the role that HEOR, and ISPOR, can play in making it a reality. Further, the concept of “Whole Health” is rapidly gaining currency as the right “frame” within which to view health care. The National Institutes of Health in the USA, the World Health Organization, and others define it as physical, behavioral, spiritual, and socioeconomic wellbeing as defined by individuals, families and communities. This is an important point as it underscores the importance of individual patient perspectives and gives voice and self-determination to the patient – and his/her families – in defining health. Another important dimension here is the overarching focus of Whole Health on promoting resilience, disease prevention and the restoration of health. It is no longer accurate to focus healthcare solely on the treatment of disease. With this in mind, ISPOR 2024 will offer many opportunities to learn where and how a more deeply embedded understanding and use of HEOR can accelerate the transition to Whole Health as a healthcare paradigm. I look forward to welcoming you to ISPOR 2024 in Atlanta. See you in 2 weeks! #ispor2024 #ispor #wholehealth #heor #healtheconomics #outcomesresearch

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This is a great report from Mckinsey of what health system executives are prioritizing

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Quite accurate description of the increasing HC IT M&A supply/demand imbalance: " HC IT M&A trends have become stratified into three distinct categories: high-quality, medium-quality, and distressed companies. Companies with strong financial performance (revenue, growth, and profitability) are attracting premium valuations, potentially due to both their merits and a supply demand imbalance. This high bar makes it challenging for mid-tier companies, particularly those with operating losses, to find buyers at their asking price due to a valuation mismatch. As for distressed companies, HGP estimates that roughly 15-20% of M&A deals in the US involve companies selling for less than their total invested capital. This stratification presents both challenges and opportunities for participants in the health IT M&A market. Well positioned strategic buyers face a trade-off between high-priced, high-quality ‘A’ assets and potentially undervalued distressed targets. Private equity firms must balance high-growth, high valuation opportunities with riskier, yet potentially rewarding lower quality investments. Mid-tier companies need to enhance their financial profiles to remain attractive in a market favoring extremes. " https://lnkd.in/etR5H667

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***From Best Practices to Next Practices*** This article from Jon Warner and Jomo Kenneth Starke discusses the shift from Return on Investment (ROI) to Return on Value (ROV) in healthcare, emphasizing a holistic approach that includes innovation, impact, and investment returns. ​ ROV considers qualitative factors alongside financial gains, guiding organizations to align investments with their missions. ​ It encourages long-term perspectives, justifying patient capital for incremental value creation. ​ Challenges in quantifying non-financial returns are acknowledged, but the benefits of ROV outweigh them. ​ This framework aids in strategic decision-making, resource allocation, and partnership formation to maximize value for individuals and society. ​ #Healthcare #ReturnOnValue #Innovation #PatientOutcomes #Collaboration #nextgen #valueovervolume https://lnkd.in/gihZBhSY

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Agreed Rodrigo Alvez - Medical and Economic Impact Assessment for Digital Health solutions from a payor perspective is integral for scaling globally. Having supported numerous impact models for reimbursement negotiations with payors (e.g. the mentioned case study below), my experience shows that there are 3 key success factors: 1️⃣ Tailoring the model to the regional care context by considering local treatment pathways, payer-specific costs, and physician incentives. 2️⃣ Providing transparent and flexible calculation mechanics, allowing payers to input their internal data to enhance model precision and foster collaboration between industry and payers. 3️⃣ Ensuring that key messages from complex calculations are effectively communicated on a decision-maker level. #DigitalHealth #HealthTech #ImpactModelling #Reimbursement

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Health systems are at a disadvantage in a consumer-focused world => Not true - leading health systems are investing in enhancing the patient experience, leveraging data/analytics, and delivering more personalized, value-based care. Health systems can't do tech is also misguided - the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, with health systems buying innovative solutions like telehealth, RPM and AI-powered pop health and clinical decision support. The key is for health systems to take a strategic, patient-centric approach focusing on value and revenue to technology adoption.

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Can grassroots innovation transform healthcare? A throwback to VIVE 2024 in LA as we dive deep into this question with Paul Machado & Alex Fair. Discover the power of community-driven change! Link in the comments (but you can listen on all the major podcast platforms - Look for The Reverse Mullet Healthcare Podcast from BP2 Health). #HealthcareInnovation #GrassrootsRevolution #ReverseMulletHealthcarePodcast #bp2Health

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My team and I see huge potential in value-based care, and 3️⃣ big opportunity areas for innovation: 1️⃣ PCP-specialist collaboration  Aligning primary and specialty care will be essential for the next wave of VBC. There are big innovation opportunities in referral management, analytics and effective incentive models. Companies like AristaMD and Embold Health are building solutions in this area. 2️⃣ ”Last Mile” of Care Delivery  Well-equipped VBC programs identify at-risk patients, get a full picture of patient health, and enable the “last mile” of care. Our portfolio company Monogram Health is a great example of a solution built to enable last-mile engagement. It uses a comprehensive, evidence-based care model for chronic kidney disease with personalized care plans. 3️⃣ New Arrangements with Payers VBC arrangements aren’t one-size-fits-all, and can be tough for providers. They can start with upside-only arrangements, bundled payments or shared savings before providers take on full risk. Players like Accorded and Arbital Health are building scalable analytic solutions. We’re always on the lookout for companies innovating in these areas. If you know someone — or are an entrepreneur — working to build solutions in this space, feel free to message me. And here’s a link to read more on VBC innovation opportunities: https://lnkd.in/gFCsaGPm MobiHealthNews

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How do community oncology practices make the best technology decisions for their practice and their patients? Read on for a pragmatic playbook from Nini Wu, MD, Chief Medical & Development Officer, and Anish Arora, VP, Product Management, in the October issue of AJMC - The American Journal of Managed Care's Evidence-Based Oncology. #communityoncology #healthtech

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My Weekly Reflections: MedTech, Health Innovations, and Longevity This week, I’ve been deepening my exploration into predictive medicine and health tech, which continue to shape the future of personalized care. ➡️ Predictive Health Models: I’m fascinated by how tools like plasma metabolites and microbiome analysis are pushing us toward a new era of chronic disease prevention. Personalized healthcare has never looked more promising. ➡️ Nutritional Therapy: Even though I’ve worked with it for years, targeted nutrition remains a key component in optimizing health. It’s amazing how the basics, when done right, can make such a big impact. ➡️ Thought Leadership & Longevity: Reflecting on thought leaders and their ideas around well-being reinforces my goal—helping people live longer and better. It’s not just about adding years to life, but quality to those years. ➡️Staying Productive in a Fast-Moving World: With the rapid advancements in HealthTech, staying productive is key. I’ve been refining how I manage information to stay on top of it all. Would love to hear what trends others are focusing on in healthcare—let’s discuss!

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