Becker's Hospital Review

28 INNOVATION Dr. Anita Gupta: 5 technologies that will drive patient experience improvements and the future of digital health By Jackie Drees W hile digital transformation has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, key factors to keep the momentum going are trust, a focus on the patient experience, and ensuring safety and efficiency, accord- ing to Anita Gupta, DO, PharmD. In a Nov. 5 viewpoint article published by Forbes, Dr. Gupta, who serves as an adjunct assistant anesthesiology professor at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University, shared her experience as a physician working on the front lines of the pandemic and how digital tools have enhanced innovation and the patient experience. "e pandemic has also revealed to me the importance of digital health in re- lation to data collection, artificial intelligence, machine learning, telehealth and virtual clinical trials," Dr. Gupta wrote. "As a physician, I believe patient out- comes could significantly improve if we start basing our decisions on combining these resources with clinical evidence and professional skill." Here are five types of technology that, when combined with patient experience, can positively affect the future of digital health, according to Dr. Gupta: 1. Artificial intelligence tools have helped with COVID-19 response efforts, in- cluding patient triage and rapid analysis of large datasets. ere are many future opportunities to use AI to connect data and help screen patients and read scans. 2. Digital data analytics and predictive tech will allow researchers to work with data more efficiently when establishing a new framework for digital health reg- ulation and innovation. 3. Virtual clinical trials present new opportunities for individuals with chronic illnesses, as well as drug development businesses, to participate in trials if they were previously limited by physical challenges. 4. Smart devices can give people access to important information that supports innovation; for example, social media can help make patients aware of trials and stir higher engagement, or individuals can use digital technologies such as wearables to track their health. 5. EHRs and telemedicine must be connected so digital transformation is efficient and providers can integrate data patients generate with digital de- vices at home into their individual health records to better track and manage health outcomes. n Tampa General develops venture capital fund, names VP for innovation: 5 things to know By Laura Dyrda T ampa General Hospital created a ven- ture capital fund to support early-stage startups and healthcare companies. The fund was announced Nov. 6. Here are five details: 1. The fund, dubbed TGH InnoVentures, com- prises the TGH Innovation Lab, TGH Acceler- ator and Tampa General. The TGH Innovation Lab will be the on-site program supporting team members and physicians to improve operational efficiencies systemwide. TGH Ac- celerator will invest in early-stage healthcare companies. 2. Tampa General will serve as a living-learn- ing laboratory for companies in the accelera- tor program to engage with team members and physician-scientists. Tampa General will also directly invest in healthcare-related com- panies through the fund. 3. The hospital will partner with Embarc Collective, a Tampa Bay innovation hub that helps startups grow into scalable busi- nesses. TGH InnoVentures will have space in Embarc's facility. Embarc Collective has 50 early-stage startups that can en- gage with TGH InnoVentures as a result of the partnership. 4. Tampa General named Rachel Feinman vice president for innovation to launch and manage TGH InnoVentures, effective in Jan- uary 2021; she previously served as exec- utive director of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator. 5. Tampa General aims to launch TGH Inno- Ventures during the first quarter of 2021. "TGH InnoVentures will allow us to develop innovative solutions to improve the quality and access to care right here at Tampa Gen- eral," said Tampa General President and CEO John Couris. n

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