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37 INNOVATION 'We're where people start their healthcare journey': Dr. David Feinberg on the power, future of Google search By Jackie Drees G oogle's search engine has become one of the first lines of medical consult for people around the globe, serving as a main driver of the tech giant's health- care innovation focus, according to Google Health Vice President David Feinberg, MD. During a March 1 episode of former Sen. Bill Frist's "A Second Opinion" podcast, Dr. Feinberg discussed Google Health's efforts to streamline healthcare and make it more un- derstandable for consumers. Here are six insights from Dr. Feinberg, according to a March 11 Forbes report. 1. Dr. Feinberg noted Google's role in health- care technology, claiming that the company is one of very few that have really changed healthcare: "But I actually think there's only one example of where tech really did fun- damentally change healthcare, and that's Google search," he said. 2. Google search is not only accessible, but one of the first lines of medical advice people seek out, he said. Before an emergency room visit, 70 percent of people do a Google search on their symptoms or conditions, according to the report. 3. e current version of Google Health is trying to address two main issues in Amer- ican healthcare: delivering health informa- tion that patients and their families can un- derstand and use, and ensuring patients get timely care when needed most. e company is working to build products that are trans- parent and address these challenges, Dr. Feinberg said. 4. Google's strength lies in its ability to order large amounts of information, search it and deliver authoritative and structured results. Of the billions of searches Google gets each day, healthcare makes up a large portion of the queries, according to Dr. Feinberg. "We are where people start their health- care journey," Dr. Feinberg said. "And we're open 24/7." 5. While the company has seen success in healthcare with its search engine, Dr. Fein- berg said his goal is to move Google Health into additional opportunities. He highlight- ed the company's partnership with St. Lou- is-based Ascension to recreate the Google search experience for clinicians within the system's EHR. "At this point, I'd still call it pilot, but we have live patient data with doctors, and we think — likely — we'll be able to improve care for people," he said. "ey won't get tests they've already had because the doc couldn't find it. ey won't get asked questions they've been asked 100 times because that information will be available. We hope that it'll lead not only to better quality care, but more time with your doctor." 6. Google Health is looking to expand col- laborations with more health systems to work on improving clinician and patient experiences, he said. n How digital transformation is changing C-level execs' roles By Hannah Mitchell C OVID-19 has dramatically accelerated digital trans- formation efforts, which is affecting expectations for C-level roles, according to a March 12 Harvard Business Review report. The authors analyzed candidate search specifications for C-level positions at Fortune 1,000 companies posted between June 2016 and June 2020. Five report findings: 1. One-hundred percent of desired qualifications analyzed for CIOs, chief marketing officers and chief technology officers involved technological or digital skills. 2. In comparison, 40 percent to 60 percent of roles for CEOs, board directors and CFOs sought those same skills. 3. Most companies focused a subset of job roles on digital transformation, where other roles have not had a major shift toward digital responsibilities. 4. In a global survey of board directors the authors con- ducted, more than a third said they personally struggle to stay on top of new technologies, along with risk and security issues. 5. Thirteen percent of board members sought technological expertise during their most recent search for a director. Financial literacy is a baseline qualification for any exec- utive, and digital literacy is needed in the same way, the article said. "Companies can't afford to have an executive who might confuse discussions about the cloud with small talk about the weather," the researchers said. n