Recap: MDClone at HLTH VRTL 2020
Last week, MDClone joined thousands of healthcare professionals from the payer, provider, employer, investor, pharma, startup, and policymaking industry for the 5-day HLTH VRTL 2020 show. Our week was packed with one-on-one meetings, roundtable discussions, virtual booths, and a speaking session from our own CCO, Josh Rubel.
Filled with inspirational, thought-provoking sessions from healthcare industry leaders, most sessions revolved around the topic of COVID-19 and the state of the industry in this wild year of 2020. As HLTH states, “We are facing a global health pandemic, a cultural crisis, and will have one of the most important Presidential elections of our time.” With so much at stake and the potential for long-term implications from the pandemic, bringing together such a vast panel of industry leaders for speaking sessions, authentic discussions, unique collaborations, and personal meetings is exactly what we need to move healthcare into 2021.
We’ve put together a few key takeaways from our experience with the HLTH VRTL 2020 conference as well as some key topics we found important to note from sessions we attended.
KEY TOPIC #1
Democratizing healthcare is crucial.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge accelerator for the transformation of digital healthcare. Now, more than ever, it has become apparent how critical it is for everyone to have access to quality healthcare at the right time and the right place, for organizations to be able to share data, and for providers to be able to collaborate in a seamless fashion internally, domestically, and across the world.
Poor access to information, limited connectivity, inconvenient care, caregivers that do not work as teams with each other, and serious delays in learning and sharing information has slowed the ability for healthcare organizations to combat the pandemic and solidifies the need for a collaborative healthcare ecosystem, or democratized healthcare.
For example, as COVID-19 continued to accelerate, hospital systems began struggling with data interoperability as patients were transferred between hospitals and clinics, forcing these organizations to solve the issue with quick implementation informatics solutions. Sharing patient information was difficult, discovering trends related to the virus was hard to identify, and sharing insights and ideas to improve patient care was tedious and burdensome. Now, more than ever, it has become apparent that a democratized healthcare ecosystem is crucial in order to allow quality healthcare and information sharing to be accessible to everyone, with speed, privacy, and confidence.
KEY TOPIC #2
Telemedicine continues to accelerate in the healthcare industry.
Telemedicine has been one of the most dramatic shifts in the healthcare landscape due to the pandemic. It remains increasingly important for access to care to be available to all, and telemedicine has helped alleviate some of the inconveniences and social determinants the pandemic has forced healthcare organizations to adapt to including increased safety protocols, limited in-person visits, and ultimately patient’s fear of the virus. From reducing travel times, to allowing visitors to participate in the visit virtually, to being available to rural communities to offering relief to on-site providers, the importance of telemedicine continues to accelerate in our industry.
KEY TOPIC #3
Multi-channel healthcare delivery is here.
As the pandemic shifted consumer behavior, healthcare organizations began to adapt their products and services to meet the changing consumer landscape. From home delivery, to telehealth capabilities, to more liberalized policies to improve access to care, the healthcare industry has been forced to change as quickly as the virus to meet the demands of the patient.
Multi-channel, or omni-channel health delivery, or meeting people where they are, whether it's person-to-person in the community, at home, or in the palm of their hand, is a trend that is here to stay. The pandemic has revolutionized the way people expect healthcare and normalized many of the new trends 2020 has introduced to access to care. As healthcare delivery continues to evolve, it will be important for healthcare organizations to create a holistic approach to care – intersecting virtual offerings as well as physical, on-site options to fulfill the needs of all patients. Diversified healthcare is the future of our industry.
KEY TOPIC #4
We’re all fighting the same fight.
Our purpose in the healthcare industry has never been more relevant. We’re all fighting the same fight to bring quality care to everyone across the world, to solve the problems of the pandemic, and to ultimately, save lives. From manufacturing companies to digital health companies to those on the front lines, such as hospital workers, the pandemic has brought more than the healthcare industry together.
We’ve seen businesses that have never manufactured PPE equipment halt regular product production to pitch in, communities rally around small, local businesses, and frontline workers sacrifice so much to provide services to those in need.
If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that working together brings the best results, speed during a crisis is essential, and we’re all in this, together.
KEY TOPIC #5
Accessing, organizing, and sharing healthcare data is critical.
As researchers, providers, and industry leaders continue to work towards solving the pandemic crisis, the ability to access and analyze data, organize and understand it, and share insights and discoveries across not only departments of a hospital system, but to outside organizations across the world, are critical pieces of solving the problems of this pandemic. Pooling data and discoveries while maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality has been a burdensome task for organizations as they work in siloed entities across the world. Imagine if healthcare data was accessible to all, across any organization, to any user? Synthetic data can help solve this problem by allowing data to be shared with accuracy and confidence, but organizations need to be willing to take the plunge to openly collaborate with one another.
VIRTUAL WAS WEIRD
We knew virtual was going to be a different and challenging experience, but we were willing to embrace the change in order to connect with our industry. HLTH did a fantastic job of connecting the variety of attendees by replicating the in-person event we're all used to; for that, we are grateful.
We were proud to sponsor the day-long Health Equity Impact Program, which featured thirteen incredible sessions that boldly discussed the long-existing health disparities that have been magnified during the COVID pandemic.
CCO of MDClone, Josh Rubel, participated in a series of presentations on short- and long-term pivots and learnings during the pandemic called, “Pandemic Pivots – Entrepreneurs on Adapting in a Crisis,” and we were eager to share our experience in meeting the needs of the industry during the COVID-19 crisis.
We enjoyed listening to open, authentic discussions between key industry speakers, realizing that everyone is working together during this pandemic to achieve the same goals. We gained new insights as to what this pandemic has taught us in regards to missed opportunities, preparedness, the importance of collaboration, and the future of digital health.
Although we’d rather be sharing coffee, bouncing from booth to booth in an exhibit hall, shaking hands, and trading business cards in person, we believe HLTH did a wonderful job of hosting such a large-scale virtual show during this wild and weird year of 2020.
THAT’S A WRAP
Overall, HLTH VRTL 2020 was a fantastic show filled with remarkable speakers, and we were happy to participate, support, and attend this enlightening event. It’s refreshing to see hundreds of organizations working together toward one goal, to see innovation in healthcare changing at such a rapid pace, and to see so many positive aspects transforming our industry landscape despite the hardships the pandemic has brought to this world.
Until next year, HLTH VRTL discussions and conversations will fuel our passion for helping to transform care, and we look forward to (hopefully) seeing you all in-person in Boston in 2021.
BOOK A MEETING
If you’d like to see how MDClone is connecting healthcare organizations around the world, how synthetic data has made it easy to access information, and how we have already begun transforming care at some of the largest healthcare organizations around the globe, connect with us today.