In this episode

Industry news keeps coming, from cyberattacks to AI chatter. Amongst it all, health systems need to deliver patient access at scale, with fewer resources. Adnan Iqbal (CEO) and Aditya Bansod (CTO), co-founders of Luma Health, shared their perspectives. They highlighted key topics such as cybersecurity, interoperability, and the evolving role of technology in patient care. Drawing from recent discussions with healthcare leaders, they share insights on how healthcare organizations are adapting:

• Cybersecurity is the top priority for healthcare leaders.
• The goals of digital health have changed and are now focused on delivering consumer value and loyalty.
• AI has promise to solve real problems in healthcare, but the market is also flooding with products using it as a buzzword.

“It’s really all about the patient as the healthcare consumer. And not just as a concept. [The healthcare industry] has internalized: We are here to deliver care to our customers and their families. It needs to be easy, it needs to be clear, and it needs to get them to success – whatever that means for them.”

– Adnan Iqbal

Key takeaways

Cybersecurity remains a top priority in digital health.

As healthcare organizations continue to digitize their operations, the risk of cyber threats has become a pressing concern. Bansod notes that cybersecurity is a top concern for CIOs he interacts with and a key topic at healthcare conferences in 2024.

“When I talk to CIOs the three things they care [most] about are their EHR, their electronic resource plan, and cybersecurity,” said Bansod. “Protecting that [patient] consumer and the need of the consumer is so important.”

With hospitals and health systems managing vast amounts of sensitive patient data, the need for robust cybersecurity measures has never been greater. Bansod and Iqbal emphasized that organizations must invest in advanced security protocols and remain vigilant against emerging threats. They also discussed how cyberattacks can disrupt healthcare operations, leading to delays in patient care and financial repercussions.

“Healthcare hasn’t been the fastest adopter of technology,” said Iqbal. “But [we’re seeing] what the technology companies, your Microsofts, Googles, you know, pick one, are doing in terms of securing their data. Healthcare isn’t quite there yet, but the risk here is magnitude times a million.”

Digital health goals have changed. Healthcare organizations are now using digital health specifically to create value and foster loyalty for patient consumers.

“It’s really all about the patient as the healthcare consumer. And not just as a concept, not just as a theme,” said Iqbal. “Everyone [in the healthcare industry] has really internalized: We are here to deliver care to our customers and their families. It needs to be easy, it needs to be clear, and it needs to get them to success – whatever that means for them.”

Bansod and Iqbal discussed that the need to bring patients back amongst competition from new entrants like retail providers is changing how healthcare organizations approach digital tools.

“Digital health has grown up. It’s not, what it was ten years ago…I think definitionally, ‘what is digital health’ is changing,” said Iqbal. “Before it was: ‘There’s point points, there’s technology. We use technology to solve pain points.’ And I think now it’s far more: ‘What is going to deliver impact at scale?’”

Bansod and Iqbal discussed creating “lifetime value” for patients with convenience at different points in their care journeys. In particular, they cited the experience provided by organizations like Northfield Hospital + Clinics and Banner Health, where patients have options like seeing the wait times for urgent care or texting with clinic leadership. Bansod noted that Walmart Health’s closure showed that providing a great retail experience is only part of a patient’s care journey. He also noted that process changes are a necessary but challenging part of providing this value, and that between a large-scale process change and a technology change, “nine times out of ten, deploying a new version of Epic will be easier” than a big process change.

AI has promise, but the market is also being flooded with products using it as a buzzword.

Bansod acknowledged the rapid evolution of technology like AI and suggested that AI applied to actually help healthcare organizations change settings or upgrade their technology could be incredibly useful.

“We’re in this state now with the richness of technology, but change is difficult because ultimately, it’s change management. [And] if you can’t impact those changes, how are we going to push [impact] to patient lifetime values?” Bansod said.

Bansod and Iqbal also discussed the boom of AI solutions in the digital health field and how health systems are navigating it.

“Healthcare decision-makers have been living the digital health journey for fifteen years now. They’re fairly sophisticated and very astute,” said Iqbal. “[Just] calling your product ‘chat AI,’ that’s not AI…adding a ‘.ai’ to a new product someone releases is insufficient,” he said.

“There are real problems –business problems, people problems, technology problems – that healthcare delivery mechanisms are looking to solve. And there’s very clear alignment where AI can actually be very enabling,” including clinical imaging and diagnostics, call handling, and administrative work.