Recent advancements in AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) have caught the world’s attention and for good reason. It’s a big deal.  Specialty pharmaceuticals are typically costly, sometimes ranging from $10,000 to over $5 million per patient, per year. The onboarding and approval process that come with these drugs are complex, requiring extensive effort from manufacturers and patients to get enrolled. Despite massive investments in people, processes, and systems, engagement remains a...

The full power of conversational AI is being unleashed on the world through a steady stream of technological advancements, such as ChatGPT. It’s only a matter of time before language becomes the dominant interface between humans and machines. The healthcare industry will become one of the prime beneficiaries of this technology leap forward. In this episode of Digital Conversations, Greg Kefer was joined by Sonam Shah, Director of Product Management at Lifelink Systems, who is developing...

Business intelligence is a cornerstone of every digital transformation, with businesses spending $140B per year in analytics software. As conversational AI and digital engagement technology matures, a new domain of performance insights is emerging with the ability to measure every moment of the interaction between a business and its customers. In this episode, Greg Kefer and Justin Mardjuki discuss the implication of new conversation-level insights for the healthcare industry. As provider...

Clinical research studies are increasing in numbers, they’re getting more complex, and they must be executed in a very challenging, tight labor environment. These are some of the key drivers of decentralized programs that use technology to lessen the burden of requiring patients to be physically present in order to participate.  Despite advances in IT, informed consent — the linchpin moment between recruiting and participation — remains a challenge. In this episode, Justin Mardjuki and Greg...

Observational studies are designed to establish baseline data for diseases and treatments across broad patient populations. There are over 94,000 of them each year. Often, these studies go on for an extended period of time, which places challenges on study sponsors to keep participants engaged and motivated. In this episode, Greg Kefer talks with Rob Chipperfield, a clinical study executive who has spent over a decade helping the world's leading research organizations design and...

As medications get more specialized, so has the need for better engagement to help patients with their prescriptions. Manufacturers are investing in tools and programs that can help patients on their medication journeys, and digital strategies are front and center. In this episode, Greg Kefer is joined by Emily Gibb, who leads the patient service organization at GSK, a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. In this...

More than 37 million Americans have diabetes today and an additional 96 million adults have pre-diabetes. Access to insulin treatment for many is vital. But in the past 10 years, the cost of insulin has increased by more than 1000% which is driving one in every four people with diabetes to ration or skip doses of insulin. The government and private sector are taking aggressive action to lower pricing, but that may not be enough. In this episode, Samir Khanna and Greg Kefer discuss the state...

Healthcare has become an expensive, clunky mess for everyone. The path forward has to be digital, but with labor shortages showing no signs of slowing down, the time has come to double down on innovation. The good news is that technology has matured to a place where it may finally be able to make a significant difference.  In this episode, Shuo Qiao, Co-founder and CTO of Moving Analytics, and Greg Kefer had a discussion about transformative innovation in healthcare. More than 6 billion...

The technology behind Conversational AI is maturing rapidly across all sectors as consumers increasingly relying on language to interact with their devices. The labor shortage that plagues most industries has set the stage for technology that powers digital conversations, and the sector that may benefit most is healthcare. Anil Nair, Chief Technology Officer at Lifelink Systems, is developing conversational systems that can handle the millions of routine, administrative interactions that...

Billions of people are now fully dependent on various forms of technology as part of their daily lives. Healthcare is no exception. As paper forms give way to digital health records and electronic communications, the risks of losing control of private patient information has risen dramatically. Every organization that deals with healthcare data must come to grips with an increasingly challenging landscape of criminal sophistication and the constant flow of new regulations that are being put...

Conversational AI is rapidly maturing and becoming a viable technology option for healthcare organizations that need to digitize and scale patient engagement. Language-based user interfaces are ideal for reducing engagement friction and navigating high complexity. But technology experiences that are high on the user friendliness scale also require robust technology platforms below the waterline to make everything happen.  Alex Thorpe, who runs product development at Lifelink Systems, joined...

The nursing profession is one the most cherished professions there is. Those who take the plunge are true heroes that must work long, hard shifts to help patients of all types get through very difficult situations. When the COVID pandemic hit, nurses had to take things up to another level in order to deal with the massive waves of sick patients that flooded the healthcare system.  Logan Scarbeary, who spent a decade in a nursing role at a major academic medical center, joined Greg Kefer to...

A recent study looked into patient perceptions about the administrative side of healthcare and found that tasks such as setting appointments, completing paperwork, and getting prior authorizations have gotten so hard, many patients have chosen to defer care to avoid the hassle. Investments to give patients the tools to manage their own healthcare have not paid off. At the same time, technology is making things easier in other business sectors. In this episode of Digital Conversations, Samir...

The most lasting impact to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be the healthcare labor shortage that shows no signs abating. Hundreds of thousands of workers have left the field, and it’s not just doctors and nurses. Nearly one third of healthcare spending is in the administrative domain and that sector has seen massive reductions in the support staff that typically help patients navigate the complexities associated with getting healthcare.  The labor shortage also isn’t just impacting...

Genentech US Medical Affairs is involved in hundreds of concurrent clinical trials that involve a spectrum of participants and investigators. The world of clinical trials and therapy development has been evolving and now COVID-19 is forcing the industry to innovate in different ways as it deals with labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and a new virtual-first patient engagement environment. Nik Kolatkar, Vice President, Scientific Operations, US Medical Affairs at Genentech sat down...

Jay Roszhart, President of the Ambulatory Group at Memorial Health, joined us again for a discussion about the daunting challenges of the last year, and how he envisions the future of healthcare — one that's predicated on building loyalty, trust, and long-term relationships. Jay is driving a digital transformation that is designed to make the patient experience as easy as using Google or Facebook.

As insurance coverage evolves, the out-of-pocket burden for patients now exceeds $80B/year. As policy leaders continue to search for a solution, there are opportunities to use innovation to bridge gaps, provide better services, and lower costs at the same time. In this episode, we talk about key challenges, and how digital assistants simplify drug information by breaking down dense clinical content and improving medication adherence through ongoing outreach that's tailored to each individual.

Bradford Lee, VP of Life Sciences at Lifelink Systems, sat down with Greg Kefer to share some of the developments he’s been part of while working with top innovation executives across all segments of the pharmaceutical industry. We’re seeing the traditional internal barriers for digital transformation come down as life science companies look for ways to deploy simple, effective solutions quickly to get wins on the board and begin to generate the kinds of results needed for wide-scale innovation.

With the COVID-19 pandemic raging through a second year, the strains being placed on doctors, nurses, and other caregivers has been intense. Ara Feinstein, a trauma surgeon and physician executive at Banner Health, discusses the state of healthcare and COVID-19 in context of the big innovation opportunities that can potentially make a difference. Ara shares perspectives on how technology can lighten the administrative burden that clinical teams face and how that can result in better patient...

Healthcare has dealt with staffing shortages for years, and when COVID-19 arrived, the challenges became acute. Despite significant IT investments, process efficiency benefits have been elusive because staff or patients are still required to do additional work to make the technology perform. Now, as virtual care takes hold with patients, a new “third gear” is beginning to emerge, one that takes on the role as a digital worker.

As healthcare shifts its digital attention beyond the four walls, success at engaging patients through smart, digital interactions will be contingent on the ability to leverage data in an EMR or CRM system. This episode focuses on the opportunities and realities of connecting systems of record with advanced systems of engagement, and how that technology combination is vital in delivering on the promise of wide scale patient engagement, high user satisfaction, and complex workflow orchestration.

Nik Kolatkar, VP of Evidence Generation, US Medical Affairs at Genentech, joined Greg Kefer for a discussion about clinical trial innovation and ways to address challenges around underrepresented communities. As one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies, Genentech is tapping advanced mobile technology to help increase the diversity of trial participants and improve the experience.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a rapidly-maturing technology space focused on the high-volume, repetitive, low-end tasks traditionally handled by human teams. At the same time, a new class of digital assistants is maturing and scaling on the patient-facing side of the healthcare operation. This episode drills into the world of RPA and the potential for a merging of traditional back office process efficiencies with a digitally-enabled network of patients who are using conversational AI.

According to a recent patient survey, 74% rated the doctor’s office waiting room experience as fair or poor, while 80% indicated they would rather check in to their appointments virtually. In this episode, we discuss how physical waiting room spaces are giving way to virtual alternatives. For providers, waiting rooms are frequently the front line, first point of contact with a patient, and the experience preference isn’t a room full of sick people and paper forms. It’s virtual, mobile, and...