Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1455714
32 INNOVATION Memorial Sloan Kettering names chief digital officer By Lauren Jensik R émy Evard has joined New York City- based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as chief digital officer and head of technology. He succeeds Claus Jensen, who left the orga- nization in May 2021, according to a Jan. 13 news release. "[Mr. Evard] joins MSK at a critical moment in our history as several developments have set the stage for dramatic and far-reaching change in the understanding and treatment of cancer," said Kathryn Martin, COO of Memorial Sloan Kettering. Mr. Evard most recently served as the chief infor- mation and digital officer for Flagship Pioneer- ing, a venture capital firm based in Cambridge, Mass. He previously served as the global CIO at the Novartis Institutes of BioMedical Research and held various leadership roles at Lemont, Ill.- based Argonne National Laboratory. n Health systems investing more in digital health to improve care, lower costs By Marissa Plescia H ealth systems are progressively creating venture funds for digital health innovation, as it allows them to find solutions for improv- ing quality of care, lowering healthcare costs, managing health- care burnout and optimizing revenue, eMarketer reported Jan. 13. OSF Ventures, part of Peoria, Ill.-based OSF Healthcare, launched a $100 million venture fund in January, its third and largest. The money will be used for digital health tools and tech-enabled healthcare services. It will focus on tools for social determinants of health, digital therapeutics and precision medicine, among other things, according to eMarketer. Ascension Ventures, part of St. Louis-based Ascension, has more than $1 billion in its venture fund. The fund includes companies such as Olive, Vivify, VisitPay and Phreesia, which have national footprints, according to eMarketer. Other notable health system venture funds are Oakland, Calif.-based Kai- ser Permanente Ventures, Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Ventures and Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Ventures, which have raised mil- lions, according to eMarketer. "These health system venture funds are pouring massive amounts of money into digital health moonshots — and while not all of them will take off, the ones that do could bring in more revenue via commercialization," according to the article. n Why 1 CMIO thinks AI can't revolutionize healthcare just yet By Georgina Gonzalez W hile some tout the potential revolutionizing powers of artificial intelligence in healthcare, others are not so sure that those powers can be actualized just yet, the American Medical Asso- ciation reported Jan. 5. Despite successfully integrating some AI platforms into his practice, Brett Oliver, MD, chief medical information officer at Louisville, Ky.-based Bap- tist Health Medical Group, isn't convinced that AI is in a place to trans- form healthcare. Dr. Oliver argued that AI needs more quality control, and its users need to fully understand how its algorithms work to ensure patient safety is priori- tized and bias isn't introduced. He also mentioned that without physicians fully understanding the technology, getting them on board is difficult. "Don't assume that your colleagues know anything about any of this," he told AMA. Lack of knowledge of the AI software also creates the need for large scale training of employees, not just at start-up but con- tinually, Dr. Oliver said. It also requires health systems to establish data governance policies. With the amount of AI offerings increasing, Dr. Oliver warned against be- ing distracted by the "bright and shiny things out there in the AI world." Instead, he recommended using AI to solve only priority problems and buy into programs that can produce actionable data. n VA scales up API- sharing program with Google Cloud deal By Katie Adams T he Department of Veterans Affairs signed a $13 million deal with Google Cloud to deploy Apigee, its application program- ming interface management platform. The implementation of Apigee is part of the VA's Lighthouse API program, which gives developers access to the VA's APIs to develop new tools and services. "Google Cloud's Apigee will help the VA to con- tinue scaling the VA Lighthouse API program for third-party developers in a cost-efficient manner, offering veterans more choice in the applications and tools they use to obtain access to their data and services," Dave Mazik, director of VA Light- house, said in a Jan. 12 news release. "This part- nership is a logical next step to better connect veterans with VA services, innovate with trusted third parties and continue to offer a high-quality, digital-first customer experience to which they're accustomed in other areas of their lives." n