This is a special episode, featuring a wrap up of insights from top data leaders across the healthcare industry. They dive deep into topics like digital transformation, personalized healthcare, the future of the industry, and much more.
This is a special episode, featuring a wrap up of insights from top data leaders across the healthcare industry. They dive deep into topics like digital transformation, personalized healthcare, the future of the industry, and much more.
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Hello and welcome to The Data Cloud Podcast. Today we have a very special episode. We’re going to do a deep dive into the healthcare industry. With insights from some of our top experts. We’ll tackle some of the biggest data challenges facing healthcare today. Topics like: digital transformation, personalized healthcare, the future of the industry, and much more.
First, Omar Khawaja, Global Head BI Roche Diagnostics at Roche, talks us through the revolution currently happening in personalized healthcare.
Omar Khawaja: We are all experiencing this as patients, or if you are closely , uh, associated with any life scientists for, in any, in any possible way. So I can give you examples, which I think everybody will be able to relate to. Um, We can see a big print where , uh, the healthcare and the solutions are becoming more consumerized. So, uh, Which is also driven by the various maturity levels of the digitalization of the solutions. The stakeholder engagements that we do in a classic way is changing to more digital and this was accelerated last year. But thanks to, unfortunately, thanks to the pandemic, the focus has shifted to , uh, patient outcomes uh, in various different ways. , uh, We are , uh, as a healthcare industry, not just Roche, I guess we are also , uh, focusing on how we manage this, how we measure this, how the [00:05:00] patient data is collected. Uh, It is becoming more and more real time versus a very classic approach of doing things on paper and then collecting them. As a patients aren't we all becoming more aware of these things. Uh, Look at our consumer health devices like Apple watch., But We can do things on it, which we were unable to do without visiting a lab or a doctor or a clinic a few years ago. Uh, similarly , uh, you can also now verify our own data, right? Uh, We want to own this. Um, We want to have control and visibility. As a patient, I would personally love to contribute my data for the advancements of patients, for example. Um, And then , uh, another key trend where , uh, very non-traditional players are driving, uh, we have , uh, all the big tech companies jumping in into this area. So that's a huge impact. And they're bring in with the knowledge of how to do the , uh, uh, what you can do with technology, for example. Especially when it comes to data. Big links, scalable platforms, which are integratable in the large ecosystems. And last but not the least, this [00:06:00] whole digitalization is also happening in a very classic internal value chain context, which we cannot forget. Because , uh, we are applying now , uh, more and more , uh, uh, automated process. We are applying more and more application of AI, data sciences and other processes. The awareness around data, it's quality has increased. And with all of these things happening to your point, data is being generated all over the place. I don't have a number on the top of my head which I can tell you, but I, I believe that we are generating more data than ever before, every day. And the best thing we can do with the data is to make use of it. Um, And I guess that is the direction that , uh, we are also taking in Roche. That how we take the advantage of the amazing synergies we have in pharma and diagnostics and how we uh, elevate the past of companion type of diagnostics, where we used to have medicine for every other [00:07:00] solution, , uh, moving towards a more targeted medicine for a different disease areas and going towards this individualized treatments, which will only be powered if we are able to make the sense of the data and apply advanced analytics on it. So that's the future. It looks like with all these trends taking place.
Ashok Chennuru, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Anthem, is seeing a similar transformation in personalized healthcare.
Ashok Chennuru: Um, so the, the role of. And , um, in transformation is really, you know, being able to make the healthcare, you know, simpler, you know, like for our customers and really leveraging, you know, digital first data driven insights to able to serve the members, you know, at the time of need.
And I would, like you said, you know, we had an, a pandemic where, you [00:03:00] know , like, uh, digital acceleration as helped. And now like with watch will care visits, but more importantly, you know, making health care personalized. Right. You know, so we see Anthem in the middle of, you know, like, uh, through the number of people we serve, you know, like, uh, being a big key player in the transformation.
But personalized healthcare isn’t the only part of the industry going through a transformation. As companies migrate to the cloud, they are undergoing complete digital transformations. Which is happening right now at Anthem.
Ashok Chennuru: one of the biggest, you know, Anthem a few years back, you know, we started the whole cloud journey, you know, for some, for number of reasons, you know, like I think one of the key reasons being the traditional on-prem. Computing does not have the elastic aspect, you know, where, you know, uh, you know, for a company of our size, as, you know, the, the, the , uh, you know, the, the petabytes of data we manage , um, you know, elasticity is really important and , uh, on-trend computing could not provide that, you know, in a cost-effective manner.
So, so that's. Number one , um, number two is, you know, it helps us to be more agile, you know, and fail fast without making huge investments. And now you pay on demand, you know, like, uh, and , uh, then there's lot of innovation that's [00:11:00] happening in the cloud as well, you know? So, um, and, and that flexibility, you know, the last city.
And, and, and even disaster recovery is more economical in outcome , uh, compared to the traditional on-prem, you know, uh, disaster recovery. And, and more importantly, it helps us to collaborate better in the ecosystem, you know, because , uh, in, in healthcare right now , uh, while we can process the data and create insights, it's about the collaboration D.
Example you mentioned earlier, you know, sending our data to a primary care provider are, you know, sending data to a community and out like in a food bank, you know, for example, who we are collaborating with to seamlessly exchange data. So cloud enables that, you know, like much more easily, you know, like, uh, uh, compared to the on-prem models and, and , uh, you know, uh, for us, the big thing is.
Now staying true to our core principles of how do we serve our members are, you know, simplifying healthcare. [00:12:00] And we believe, you know, like, uh, with, with cloud being in the center of, you know, enabling us to be a child , uh, really helps us to innovate, you know, like, uh, which in terms really helps our consumers.
Loic Giraud, Global Head of Digital Delivery at Novartis, is driving a similar migration to the cloud.
Loic Giraud: I think if I reflect on, when we started the cloud journey in 2016, there was a lot of skepticism on [00:27:00] the organization. First and foremost, I think there was a lot of , uh, skepticism because of the security fight. People are fed. If you blamed your data to the cloud, you're not in control. Um, and this is becoming unsecure then. Um, the second challenge we found out is that , um, it was an immature , uh, ecosystem, a lot of players, a lot of technologies, technologies change and activity rapidly. And , uh, and we don't, he know where to invest. The third is, is. Um, it's not a single technology set anymore.
You actually integrate , um, a set of , um, components to be able to build a platform. And , uh, how do you do that in such a way that you use modular enough that you can exchange with component as the technology mature and develop? Then I think that the challenge became access to talent. [00:28:00] He knows a cloud technology is only 10 years old and , uh, it takes probably 15 to 20 years , um, for the world economy to create the talent pool that is required to be able to work say, so how do we get access to Newfoundland when they don't exist?
And what did you do with your own workforce? And on top of all of this, the regulator decided to impose , um, data, residency law. So in the class you used to build a platform and the platform, you can host everything, but now you ask staff to federate that, that from according to regulators, These are some of the challenges we had and, and, and I'm sure that there will be more to come.
In an industry as ever changing as healthcare, there are always more challenges to come. But there are some trends in data management and analytics that can help prepare us for what’s next. Omar has some insights on the matter.
Omar Khawaja: oh boy. Um, I don't have a magic , uh, ball with me, but let's see. Um, I think , uh, people will realize that they have to work with the ecosystem of tools, but it will get more and more integrated eventually so that we don't have to jump from tool A to tool B to tool C. And that's happening rapidly right now. Uh, We will also see the interoperability between these solutions will increase. Take the example [00:38:00] of recent announcements on external functions that you have. That's a classic example. Uh, I foresee that the large amount of work that we do no matter where you look at, it's still pretty much with structured data. In some cases, semi-structured data with XMLs and whatnot, and the value that you have in terms of JSON files. But I foresee that things will move towards text analytics and voiced based images are completely into the area of one structure, basically. Those The value in those types of data sets can be unlocked. And very soon , um, I do see acceleration around data science and application of AI, definitely. Um, I'm hoping and relatively, even. Pushing forward, to make things more and more , uh, productionized and industrialized in the hands of the people who need to use AI and data science and , uh, Go beyond the proof of value cycle and the milestone that we have achieved. So these are the top two, [00:39:00] three things I see that will be happening very soon in the next year or so.
With those trends informing the next year, what about the next five? In each episode, we ask our guests to put on their visionary caps to help us predict what’s to come. Let’s hear what our healthcare experts had to say. We’ll start again with Omar.
Omar Khawaja: So let's, let's take that a full back one year and explode it. Right? So, um, data sharing will become a norm. People will laugh at the old ways of dumping and CDs and uh, data sharing via FTP and whatnot. That will be like, are you kidding me? Who did that? Uh, You know, it's the same way our kids react to a landline phone? Uh, my, My son, 10 years old, have no idea how to talk on the phone because they are not used to it speaking. They, They may not even understand when we make the sign of a phone with our hand you know with a finger and a thumb.. That's, That's the reality. That's the, It's funny, but it's a reality. And similar things will happen when it comes to data sharing. We will say, yeah, just publish it and I will access it. Yeah. Thank you so much. That's it, really. Are the, Did you tell the journey that COVID [00:41:00] has started? I think that will explode. We know it's important. Let's not shy away now. We have proven it. The world knows it. But that also means that the data explosion will take place. All type of data sets. Uh, The new normal will means that we will no longer be working every time, face to face. So maybe , uh, the advancements in telemedicine and things like that, will explode. And that, And the tools and the technologies and the understanding of the non-structured data, will explode big time. Uh, It will be as easy as writing an SQL statement in future. Uh, I think the, on the data sharing piece as well, the companies will realize that they need to work with each other. , the, The chain world will I think we have already done this this year, last year. Uh, The competition moved on into more coopertition and the favor of let's say consumers in the favor of patients in our case. And , uh, to build upon what you were saying about AI, it has to be in the, it will become a given. It will be, We'll take it for granted. It will become so normal. Um, And , uh, we will ask [00:42:00] ourselves the question, where was it? How. How about people doing things, right? So when I start writing something on my email, some email clients literally complete your sentences based on your writing styles. Um, And it can be, it can be, and sometimes it is so helpful because that's exactly what I wanted to write and boom, I'm done. So I think that will a similar thing will happen when it comes to data. Uh, And this will have a tremendous impact on the business in general in society , uh, um, for the, for their betterment, that how we will be using data out there.
Next, we’ll hear Loic’s predictions.
Loic Giraud: if I look at this pandemic, which our staff, I think we've done something extraordinary within 12 months, we were able to even look. Five or six Lexi.
This is actually unprecedented event where people, at least the forces and these vaccines are [00:31:00] the gets into such a short time time. It's actually the collaboration and exchange of information. If I look at, if I now take this into our sector, I believe the insurance care provider and the health care manufacturer will work together.
And I think we discussed before, but that would be probably a lot of areas where we have exchange of data and information, because the value chain that will help us to return more value to patients. And.
And finally, Ashok.
Ashok Chennuru: Yeah, I think collaboration with the eco system would kind of become a standard affair. You know, when they talk about, you know, data insights. Um, and , uh, it won't be Tesla bet as you know, uh, this is what is needed , uh, you know, uh, within , uh, Anthem, you know, this is how we need to look at it from an ecosystem standpoint.
And , uh, and that would also include, you know, like, uh, the communities as well by , um, you know, like, uh, because , uh, I think with the digitization and technology evolution , Uh, it's not, you know, uh, guests in a few companies who are driving , uh, the , uh, innovation field innovation would be [00:28:00] driven across at all levels now , uh, which means , uh, greater access to, you know, like, um, you know, actionable insights, you know, et cetera.
So, um, uh, but I , the, the one that I am most excited about is now around the team of. No, how do we leverage this to , uh, really, you know, focus on, you know, uh, uh, again, the term, the most vulnerable are, you know, like facade, the , uh, the social divide right now and, and , uh, leveraging the power of , uh, you know, the data we have , like, you know, so, um, uh, like technology wise, I feel that , um, Um, you know, compute on demand and like will really, really help us, you know, like accelerate or even, you know, uh, from the time data is available to making it actionable, you know, from, it will be in minutes in a, because of the compute.
Know, and then even the , uh, the varieties of data, you know, like, um, you know, right now the data has to be structured in a certain way to become actionable, but all the data that's sitting in documents, you know, are, you know, like, um, uh, in, in a lot of , uh, you know, PDFs, et cetera, you know, uh, we'll have the same , um, uh, [00:29:00] approach that we currently do and how to turn that into , uh, you know, to sparse through that and turn that into a.
Um, and like a valuable insights, so it can be leveraged across. So I see , um, and, and, and , uh, you know, paper and fax, or, you know, uh, some of the current ways of communication , uh, would , uh, would definitely disappear, you know, like, uh, so, uh, digital becomes the main line of communication.
As we can tell, the world of healthcare is ever changing and full of interesting data problems to tackle. Luckily, we have experts on hand to guide us through the murky waters. With these key insights into the next few years of data, There’s no excuse to be unprepared.
We hope you enjoyed this special episode of The Data Cloud Podcast. Until next time.