Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1341133
40 INNOVATION Health innovation insider: 7 rapid-fire Qs with Memorial Sloan Kettering digital chief Dr. Claus Torp Jensen By Jackie Drees C laus Torp Jensen, PhD, leads Memo- rial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's digital transformation and data strat- egies at time when innovations are rapidly accelerating in wake of COVID-19. Dr. Jensen joined the New York City-based hospital in fall 2019 as its first chief digital officer. Previously, he served as chief technol- ogy officer and head of architecture at CVS Health and Aetna, as well as in various tech leadership roles at IBM and Danske Bank. Here, Dr. Jensen shares rapid-fire insights on COVID-19 innovations in healthcare and opportunities for digital transformation growth across the industry. Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edit- ed for clarity and length. Question: What COVID-19 data dash- board do you find yourself checking the most? Dr. Claus Jensen: e dashboard showing infection rates as a percentage of the number of tests performed at MSK. We are fortunate that from the very beginning of the pandemic our researchers and clinicians developed in- house testing, and we have been able to con- tinuously test both patients and MSK staff. Q: If you had to choose just one, which one of your organization's IT achievements has made you most proud during the pandemic? CJ: at we kept everything running and never le MSK without the systems and tools needed to get the job done. roughout the unpredictable environment of 2020, we al- ways managed to "just in time" stay ahead of changing technology needs. Q: In which ways do you think the pandemic has catalyzed innovation in health IT? CJ: e real game-changer is not actually health IT in isolation, but rather holistic innovation fu- eled by the fusion of clinical, digital and technol- ogy change. When we put our collective minds to a problem or opportunity, we can do so much more than any of us could do in isolation. Q: How do you think the pandemic has shined a greater light on predic- tive analytics? CJ: By illustrating how impossible it is to pre- dict anything large with certainty. ere is so much value in "prediction in the small," and we need to unleash that — not as an alter- native to more deterministic approaches, but as an embedded ingredient in everything we do. e most powerful approach to predic- tive analytics is to simply make it a habit to always ask: "which predictive insight would help me with what I am doing right now?" Q: How would you most like to see health IT further adapt to the pandemic? CJ: We live in a next normal where change is a constant. Finding the right balance between excellence, experience, safety and speed is the challenge of our generation. I am confident that we are up to the task. Q: What's the first word that comes to mind when you think about your inno- vation team's response to COVID-19? CJ: Inspiring. Q: What's been the biggest road- block to COVID-19 innovation? CJ: e fact that healthcare remains some- what disconnected data- and process-wise. Our patients rightfully expect us to be able to automatically connect the dots across time and space, not just within MSK but also across all of healthcare. We must collectively get better at that, remove friction and make it easy to get the help needed. n 4 tools to predict COVID-19 death risk, place on vaccine waitlist and more By Jackie Drees T hroughout the pandemic, healthcare and tech or- ganizations have been creating interactive tools to help individuals predict their likelihood of contract- ing COVID-19 or dying from the virus. Here are four COVID-19 calculators developed in 2020 that are available for free online: 1. Cleveland Clinic researchers developed a calculator that predicts a person's likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19. The model was built using clinical data from more than 11,000 patients and makes projections based on age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, vaccination history and current medications. 2. Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University researchers created a calculator that estimates both individual and community-level risk of dying of COVID-19. Researchers used information from existing studies to estimate the risk of COVID-19 mortality based on an individual's age, gen- der, socioeconomic factors and medical history. 3. The New York Times partnered with the Surgo Founda- tion and Ariadne Labs to develop a calculator that predicts what spot in line an individual may be for a COVID-19 vac- cine. The tool calculates the person's outcome based on age, what county they live in, profession and whether they have COVID-19 health-related risks. 4. Providence, R.I.-based Warren Alpert Medical School digital health center created a calculator that determines a person's risk of contracting COVID-19 based on their daily activities, such as going to the grocery store or an inside gathering. The tool also accounts for safety precautions such as wearing a mask, as well as geographic location. n