Author: Jim Jordan

Understanding Population Health and Public Health

Posted on by Jim Jordan

Understanding Population Health and Public Health

The terms “population health” and “public health” sound similar. If you’ve used them interchangeably, you’re not alone. The similarities, both in name and concept, make it easy to overlook their nuanced differences. However, in order to have a productive conversation about the evolution of modern healthcare, it’s important to understand the distinction between these terms.

How Are They Similar?

Some of the confusion involving population health vs. public health stems from the fact that both focus on the health and wellness of a group or community. These concepts look beyond individual care to identify patterns of health and illness within groups of people. By monitoring trends, both population and public health seek to identify interventions or preventive models that can promote health, improve patient outcomes, and reduce overall costs.

Population Health

Population health is concerned with the medical outcomes of individuals in a specific group with a similar characteristic. This can be defined by geographic location or by other factors such as ethnicity, chronic illness or disability, socioeconomic status, employment, and age. Of course, individuals may belong to multiple populations. When studying population health, researchers look at societal structures, attitudes, and common behaviors that might influence health outcomes with the goal of identifying patterns of determinants and, ultimately, identifying what can improve those outcomes.

Public Health

Focusing on society at large, public health puts its attention on wellness programs and initiatives designed to prevent disease or injury. Researchers in this arena look to identify steps that can be taken to create conditions in which individuals can be healthy. The focus is often on large-scale initiatives such as smoking cessation, improved air quality, vaccinations, or management of disease outbreaks.

The Role of Health IT in Population and Public Health

The era of digital health tools has made it easier to collect relevant data used to identify specific populations and the social detriments that impact them. Further, innovations like artificial intelligence can be used to sift through the data to more efficiently identify patterns, and later automate tasks that facilitate improved outcomes.

For example, PLSG portfolio company Mental Health Metrics uses statistical process management techniques to intervene in patient care before adverse events occur. A great example of the way health IT can be used for population health initiatives, this start-up provides early detection of a pending patient crisis and triggers a treatment sequence. In turn, the early intervention may translate to a more effective and less expensive approach.

Digital health tools also help collect data used to identify public health issues and then widely disseminate information related those issues. A great example of a company working within this space is another PLSG portfolio company, Health Monitoring Systems (HMS), which aggregates healthcare data from more than 600 U.S. hospital systems and 3,600 ambulatory systems in order to monitor and quickly identify emergent threats to community health. HMS’s novel weather-map-like design is the largest private repository of this data.

Both population health and public health play significant roles in upgrading healthcare systems by improving access, reducing costs, and enhancing outcomes. They are two powerful disciplines working to make meaningful changes to better meet the healthcare needs of individuals.

HIMSS 2019: Solutions combine cutting-edge technology with government policy

Posted on by Jim Jordan

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a truly transformative event. The Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society, or HIMSS, held their global Health IT conference, where more than 45,000 healthcare professionals attended.

Tech leaders and industry executives networked with government policy makers, healthcare providers, and payors to discuss the future of healthcare. As expected, the results were eye-opening, and I would like to share them with you.

But before we talk about healthcare’s future, we need to take a step back and review the past to understand the significance of recent developments.

Shortly after the end of World War II, employers introduced the concept of health insurance as a perk to entice workers in an increasingly tight job market. Quickly, the practice took hold, and employer-sponsored, private health insurance became the norm in the United States.

The number of individuals covered by health insurance continued to grow significantly, but another issue had been thrust into the spotlight: Older and poorer Americans, without the benefit of employer-sponsored health insurance, were left out of the system. With the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s, senior citizens and those in lower-income brackets were provided a lifeline, but the cost of healthcare in the United States had skyrocketed.

And while healthcare costs continued to rise at a greater pace than the U.S. GDP, there were still many people who did not have access to affordable healthcare. The introduction of COBRA and other measures in the 1980s helped to bring some Americans back into the system, but the issue still persisted. And as Baby Boomers continued to age, healthcare costs began spiraling out of control.

In 2010, the issues of healthcare access and rising costs were addressed with the passage of the Affordable Care Act. The number of uninsured Americans decreased from 44 million in 2008 to 11 million in 2011. And with more people in the insurance pool, a value-based reimbursement system, and other measures designed to rein in costs, the decades-long growth in healthcare spending had finally begun to slow.

But while the ACA has improved access to healthcare and slowed the growth rate of actual cost, it has also limited choices for many Americans who are unable to see providers who are not within their insurance networks. This lack of competition will inevitably inhibit the best value being delivered by the system.

So this is where we are today. At the HIMSS Conference, we discussed recently proposed legislation and many ideas that will help tackle some of the pressing healthcare issues we are now facing. A few of the ideas presented include:

  • A dedicated focus on improving core outcomes, including access to affordable healthcare, reduced healthcare costs, and improved quality.
  • A shift in our current healthcare model. Through newly proposed legislation, there is an effort to convert our current provider-and-payor-centered healthcare system to a patient-centered model.
  • This new consumer-centered model will allow patients to have access and electronic portability of their medical records across the care continuum.
  • Providing this interoperability will lead to consistency across health IT systems, better communication among healthcare providers, and greater patient control over healthcare data.
  • Interoperability will also allow the capture of social determinants of health (lifestyle factors), which are now recognized as being equally as important as genetic information. This will give health providers a more complete picture of a patient’s health status, leading to better, more cost effective diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.
  • Leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance outcomes. This will lead to greater healthcare access, more patient involvement in their own care, and the alleviation of our growing shortage of healthcare providers.

After speaking with healthcare, technology, and government leaders, one conclusion has become crystal clear: Healthcare problems cannot be solved in silos. The only way we can address our pressing challenges is by developing a holistic solution that combines cutting-edge technology with government policy. Only when these two forces work together will we be able to make meaningful changes in our healthcare system. It will require a combined effort of lawmakers, health IT companies, healthcare providers, payors, and patients to adopt new practices and new mindsets, and tackle our challenges once and for all.

I believe that the HIMSS Conference was a powerful step in the right direction, and I remain excited about the future of healthcare.

Seizing the Moment in Health IT

Posted on by Jim Jordan

By Jim Jordan, President and CEO, PLSG

The life sciences industry presents an unending resource of fascinating ideas generated by brilliant minds, all in the pursuit of improving the health of people. One critical area – and one that may not, at first glance, appear as exciting as a new cure for disease or a new method of treatment – comes in the form of healthcare IT (HIT).

Think about it. If a new idea can’t be scaled, produced, or tracked, then it can’t be successfully commercialized. That’s the key role of HIT and one that many leaders in this space, myself included, believe represents an attractive growth opportunity in life sciences.

Healthdatamanagement.com recently posted its “Top 10 Predictions for Healthcare IT in 2018,” an interesting and illuminating survey, further proving the potential for growth in this discipline. Here is a summary of that list:

  1. Creating platforms to better assess the impact of existing and emerging drugs and treatments and to help identify patients who could benefit most from those offerings.
  2. Greater digital mobile engagement will create more and stronger information pathways among life sciences organizations, medical providers, and patients. Mobile device usage among these groups is estimated to increase by 50% by 2019.
  3. Using the Internet of Things (IoT) for asset tracking and inventory management in hospitals will double by 2020, improving patient safety, staff satisfaction, and operational efficiency while lowering overall costs.
  4. Patient-reported data is on the rise as patients become more like true partners in their own care. Technology enables greater ability for patients to measure, collect, and share relevant data with their providers.
  5. Hospitals are continuing to expand the use of robotics beyond supply chain tasks and into actual clinical settings to better automate existing processes and re-engineer established systems and practices.
  6. Healthcare organizations have increasingly moved beyond pilot projects and are using more blockchain for operations management and patient identity.
  7. Estimates call for 20% of healthcare organizations and 40% of life sciences companies to achieve up to a 20% gain in productivity through adoption of cognitive/AI technology.
  8. Commercial back-office operations, to adequately deal with tremendous and ever-expanding data management requirements, will increasingly shift this workload to business process as a service (BPaaS) vendors.
  9. Digital medical devices will require heightened cybersecurity protection, to avoid the possibility of causing multi-million dollar class-action lawsuits caused by cyberattack.
  10. A new generation of digital healthcare services is reaching consumers in a faster and more personalized way, relying on tele-health and patient management technologies.

Healthcare IT provides the common element of each of these items. The PLSG promises to devote the resources of time and talent to remain at the forefront of HIT development across our region.

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Young Talent Vital, PLSG Responds

Posted on by Jim Jordan

A greenhouse’s primary function is to help things grow. To create or simulate the optimal environment to spur as much of that growth as possible, actually.

In our case, the pursuit and promotion of growth focuses on the life sciences. Our name – the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse – wasn’t chosen by accident.

My connection with PLSG has been long and deep, but after becoming president, I noticed something troubling. The environment created to spur as much growth as possible in this particular “greenhouse” may not have been an optimal one. One element in particular had been falling short and required additional attention.

It became apparent that, at all of our events, we suffered from a lack of young talent being involved – a serious and unacceptable flaw.

In response, we started talking with entrepreneurs and researchers under the age of 40 to learn why they had not be participating in PLSG programs, and, thankfully, they answered with frank, honest, and constructive comments. Essentially, they believed their needs were not being met. Like anyone else, they need to spend their time wisely and productively, and, having drawn that conclusion about us, they chose not to attend our events or take full advantage of our offerings.

Obviously, this situation needed to change. The life sciences community here is on the rise, but it can only continue to do so when all elements of that community remain engaged. A major part of our mission at PLSG calls for us to remain open and inclusive and meet the needs of the entire life sciences community.

All of this led to establishing a new, six-member “Under 40, Underserved” Advisory Board, whose purpose will be to enlighten PLSG on the specific opportunities and challenges that confront minorities, women, and young entrepreneurs as business leaders in the life sciences.

The primary objective is to enable PLSG to develop and enhance its programs to support these underserved groups, spurring partnerships, friendships, and alliances to broaden individual networks and enhance professional abilities. We believe this new board also can help PLSG in connecting and cooperating with existing support groups in the region, such as Propelle, the Minority Network Exchange, Vibrant Pittsburgh, Coterie, and the T. Howard Foundation.

As president of PLSG, I want to open our doors to the wider community of innovative thinkers, financing sources, potential customers and users of new products, elected officials and governmental representatives, and anyone with an interest in the amazing work being accomplished here in the life sciences, in all its forms. Realizing that we had not been reaching this critical constituency of young people, we are working now to turn that around. We invite everyone interested in the life sciences to join us, as well.

After all, a greenhouse – this one included – is all about promoting growth.

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Cyber Security

Posted on by Jim Jordan

After hours, and a person no one recognized sat in the conference room of Medrobotics, a Boston-based medical device company’s offices.  And not just any conference room, but one reserved for vendors in the lobby and a single door away from the company’s secure area.  Plus, it looked like he had three laptop computers going at the same time.

Best of all, the company CEO, while on his way out the door for the evening, was the one who spotted the mystery man.

Police were summoned immediately, the intruder arrested and turned over to the FBI.  But how much damage had been done?  Turns out the uninvited visitor was allegedly conducting industrial espionage on behalf of a foreign-based entity, working to steal trade secrets about Medrobotics’ highly valuable IP and technology that it of course wants to protect.  The alleged spy now awaits trial in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.

How 007 can you get, right?  If elements of this tale sound implausible, that’s understandable.  How brazen must you be to show up in person, in full view of anyone, and just start mining for information illegally?  This story can’t be true, right?

But oh yes, it is 100 percent true.  The alleged spy entered the U.S. via Canada to lessen the chances of being detected and detained at Customs.  The CEO from Medrobotics told the FBI that companies from overseas had been attempting to infiltrate the company for about 10 years.  The extent to which those intent on stealing cyber information can be alarming and chilling – and the resulting damage even more so, should they succeed.

All of which makes cyber security such an essential concern and should make it a top priority.  No one is immune.  Everyone, from the most major presence to the smallest startup, needs effective protection and recovery systems in place.  Now.  Today.

Mark Bursic, Founder and President of Critical Syntax, has worked developing and securing sites for more than 13 years. As a cyber security expert, Bursic has seen first hand the hacking attempts targeted at both high-profile and low-traffic web sites.  His expertise in understanding the weak spots, how hackers go about exploiting them, and most important, preventing that from happening, promises to bring a greater understanding and appreciation for cyber security strategies and techniques.  Specifically, Bursic will be giving concrete advice on how to protect WordPress sites.

To learn how to protect your organization and its vital information, register for our next Life Sciences B2B Speakers Series on cyber security, scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 21, at PLSG’s offices, 2425 Sydney Street on the South Side.

 

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The Innovation Ecosystem

Posted on by Jim Jordan

The “innovation ecosystem” represents a complex and interconnected journey, drawing heavily on initial research conducted at the university level, then moving through a chain of parties and decisions toward a goal of successful commercialization.  This diagram outlines the system and the role of each function, starting with identifying the two main components, technology creation and technology commercialization.

 

Technology Creation

The process starts with universities, entrepreneurs and corporations conducting various types of research, including: basic research to advance general knowledge; applied research to focus on a specific academic, commercial or business objective; or translational research that uses multi-disciplinary collaborations to make findings useful for practical applications to enhance human health.

Research feeds into development, where business and technical resources come together to offer a set of features and benefits in a product.  The outputs of R&D include invention, patents, and trade secrets (confidential information that provides a company with a competitive edge) to form the technology, or the specific set of features and benefits offered in a product.

In many cases, to prepare the technology to move from academia to industry requires additional research funding. Large corporations frequently invest in university research to develop more advanced technology more cost-effectively than doing it internally.

Technology Commercialization

Commercialization requires supporting activities such as service, distribution, logistics, meeting regulatory requirements, and so on.  It takes one of two forms, either corporations or startups.  Startups must simultaneously raise capital and plot a liquidity event that provides return for their investors, and must assemble a support network to bring the product to full commercialization.

Startup companies typically progress through stages of funding from seed to early-stage, then to growth stage and later-stage, before achieve liquidity for their investors by eventually being sold or selling their stock on the public markets. These monies come from various types of investors from friends and family, angel investors, venture capitalists, and corporate venture capital.

Incubators like PLSG provide a critical mechanism to assist startup companies as they participate in pre-seed, seed, and early-stage funding. Startups that tap into the power and viability of incubators enjoy a higher success rate in bringing their products to market.

The conclusion of a successful innovation cycle is a product available in the market, producing a profit, and providing a return for investors. With all these ingredients satisfied, the innovation ecosystem provides increased employment and a strong contribution to the economy.

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Improving Consistency in Digital Health

Posted on by Jim Jordan

Digital Health is a complex system where ideas, trends, actions, and the ramifications that result, move at an ever-increasing rate of speed. In such an environment, it helps to have some level of consistency.  A set of rules, some generally agreed-to guiderails, that can keep forward progress moving while still enabling innovation and achievement.

That is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced establishment of a new digital health unit. Through this new group, the FDA and its Center for Devices and Radiological Health plan to ramp up medical app and device offerings, with the stated purpose of centralizing and coordinating digital health information so that there is consistency in applying policies.

Bakul Patel, associate director of digital health for the FDA, explained that the primary responsibilities of those on the project include developing software and digital health technology to assist with pre-market submissions or devices, utilize experts, and incorporate metrics that will assist with review times and submission.

This comes as welcome news for the life sciences industry, as it promises to provide some valuable structure, consistency, and direction to the burgeoning digital health marketplace, from inception of ideas through development prior to commercialization.

Creation of this digital health unit follows prior FDA actions to address this growing tech market, such as establishing guidelines for wellness apps in 2016, and cybersecurity guidelines for medical devices.

Later this year, the FDA plans to begin hiring as many as 13 full-time employees from various private sectors with hopes of having them on board by the 2018 fiscal year.

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Harry Potter, Business Coach

Posted on by Jim Jordan

In J.K. Rowling’s collection of “Harry Potter” novels, the titular character becomes increasingly immersed in an epic showdown between the forces of good and evil in the fictional world of magic.  At the same time, he increasingly feels the need to go it alone – wanting to protect his friends and mentors from further danger.

This goes on until, at a critical moment, his friends Ron and Hermione remind Harry that he doesn’t have to do all of this himself.  They will always be there to help, the same as all of the teachers and others who have provided guidance, direction, and support all along.

Anyone who has aims for success in the business world knows the value of seeking, cultivating, respecting, and listening to respected mentors.  No single person knows every aspect of an industry, a career choice, the best way to balance personal and professional desires and obligations, and a thousand other issues.  Mentors help fill in those blanks because they’ve been through the fire.  They’ve handled the negotiations.  They’ve seen and worked through stretches when plans go awry and you have to fight to get back on track.

Mostly, mentors know you and believe in you.  They want to help you succeed, and will do all they can to bring about that result.

I faced a challenging decision some months ago regarding whether to invite an individual to a PLSG event, based on a past experience that didn’t work out so well.  My gut told me this was an important decision, and to reach out to my network.  After considering their input and perspective, the decision was made to be completely inclusive, and to keep the open nature of PLSG strong.  While I would have felt good about making that decision on my own, the validation from others I respect so highly added a level of confidence that otherwise might have been missing or diluted.

It is worth the effort to identify and court people who have blazed the trail ahead of you.  Let them know what you stand for, where you would like to go with your career and life, and ask for their help as you make your way.  It has been my experience – especially in this friendly city of Pittsburgh, where relationships and associations between people can be so easily connected – that most people would be very happy to serve as mentors and supporters.  At PLSG, we consider mentoring a key part of our mission, in fact.

After all, as that noted business coach Harry Potter learned while on his famous quest, no one has to go it alone.

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Micro Facts, Macro Truth and the Life Sciences EcoSystem

Posted on by Jim Jordan

In research, commercialization, business operations, and life in general, it’s important to realize and remember that select pieces of micro information do not necessarily add up to a Macro Truth, the complete picture.

Often times micro information, a Micro Fact, is mistakenly generalized to represent the whole. This is not necessary intentional, and indeed most of the time it is not. But the damage it can do in incorrectly portraying a universe is significant. In Life Sciences, to get a true picture of activity you must look at each segment of the entire pipeline – the Life Sciences Ecosystem –  not just one component.

Since 2002, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) alone has provided services to 468 companies and invested in 79 of these companies. Thirty-five of these companies were university companies, 12 of which were just in the past three years. Notably forty-four of these companies (56%) were not from the university. This is important because focusing on university companies alone as the benchmark is a Micro Fact. Even focusing on PLSG investments is a Micro Fact. For example, Grunenthal recently acquired Thar Therapeutics. Thar’s management team was provided early market research from the PLSG but they did not require funding and thus are not in our 79 invested companies. Additionally, Innovation Works and Idea Foundry Life Sciences investments must be included to get the true Macro Truth.

It frequently takes many technologies to create a single product. For example, inventing an automotive engine does not itself make a sellable automobile. It takes multiple components – crankshafts, braking systems, and so on. If the problem is getting from point A to point B, creating an engine helps, but it doesn’t solve the problem by itself. Even the invention of an automobile requires supporting infrastructure such as fuel stations, repair shops, etc. Although technology development is critical, it is only the beginning of the process.

In this same way, as we look at the Life Sciences Innovation and Commercialization Ecosystem, we cannot focus on just one segment for funding. Universities, Incubators and Entrepreneurs are all part of the Life Sciences Ecosystem. By focusing on just one segment, we lose perspective.

For example, research opens the door to commercial success, but it does not guarantee it.  Technology may be critical to commercial success, but it is only the beginning of the process.  It is not the complete process. What may be a factual statement discovered during the research phase of a project may have little bearing on the final product as it prepares to enter the market. Objective evaluation of factors must be balanced with a more subjective assessment of commercial appeal. An over-reliance on one side over the other can spell trouble.

It’s important to remember that even carefully selected Micro Facts may not necessarily yield a Macro Truth.  Entrepreneurs, investors, the media, and potential customers of life sciences companies must heed this truth for all to be successful in the Life Sciences Ecosystem.

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Life Sciences Equals Economic Development

Posted on by Jim Jordan

Life Sciences drives economies, and for western PA it is one of our best contributors to economic development in the form of generating wealth and jobs. Just look at the math.

The term “life sciences” can include biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, medical devices, and health care IT products – which make up approximately 40% of health care spending. And our nation’s health care system is projected to be $3.2 trillion by the end of the year. When you do the math, that’s $1.3 trillion in life sciences.  And that’s just the U.S.

In short, success in the life sciences is necessary for prosperity in a region, state, or nation.  We’re not talking about a subjective observation.  This statement comes via cold, irrefutable, objective calculations.  The economic impact of the life sciences industry is simply too big to ignore and too important not to invest in heavily.

Our local universities attract nearly $1 billion of federal funding each year to the region. That means if we were a state, the economic impact of western Pennsylvania’s federal funding for life sciences research alone would rank us among the top 12 states in the country.  That sounds big, and it is.

Lastly, the PLSG and its central role in fostering and advancing the life sciences in this region would not be in possible without foundation support.  Funding from regional foundations can be directly linked to an annual increase in Pittsburgh-area life sciences startups from three companies in 2002 to more than 12 today.  While we always would like to see more funding to support the innovation coming from our universities and entrepreneurs, the fact remains that our local foundations have been invaluable in moving the needle higher.

A high level of cooperation among investors, foundations, university researchers and technology transfer offices, local entrepreneurs, and organizations like PLSG is essential for success.  We must all focus on the same result – to generate economic prosperity, increased jobs, and a higher quality of life for our families, all through a stronger, more vibrant, and ever-expanding life sciences presence across this region.