HLTH Conference 2022: Echoes and Impressions

A jam-packed schedule, a soaring attendee list, across 100+ thought-provoking sessions, and transformative ideas in health designed to inspire: last week’s HLTH conference celebrated its 5th year in Vegas and was nothing but ordinary.??

From provider burnout, and data interoperability through patient engagement and AI to workforce shortages, digital health, and thriving telehealth solutions, attendees discussed numerous healthcare issues throughout the entire industry.??

While HLTH 2022 put on quite a show with all its Vegas-style glitz and glamour, it was still all about health and care but in the post-pandemic world. While HLTH is still fresh in mind, we asked a few members of our health excellence team who attended the event to share their impressions and takeaways.??

Data Interoperability: The Core of the Change is Tech that Makes Data Available

“One of the major focuses that opened up a lot of discussion at the conference was how to gather and unlock the true value of big data in preventive care. It seems that data interoperability and the usage of data will be set to a higher level in the future with increased attention to data privacy to improve patient outcomes. What’s more, according to a group recently surveyed by Google Cloud and Fierce Healthcare, three in four healthcare executives now rank data interoperability as the highest or one of the highest priorities for their organization.??

On top of this, I am happy to see that there is an increased awareness of the significant value of the product — more and more healthcare organizations are investing in improving patient and caregiver journeys through clearly recognized and defined pains.

Overall, this year’s HLTH offered a place where everyone could exchange their ideas on the most burning issues as well as the best approaches how to tackle them to shape the future of health in the coming years.” — Danijela Nestorovic, Principal Product Manager at HTEC Group?

Telehealth Opportunities Have Matured but Grown, Post-Covid?

“One of the obvious megatrends across presentations and exhibits was telehealth. The pandemic had jumpstarted telehealth in a significant and sustainable way, but many practices have returned to in-person visits, especially driven by reimbursement codes. What remains, however, is the use of telehealth as a tool for follow-up health diagnosis. The patient and doctor will have established a relationship and understanding of the current health status, and follow-ups would have a baseline, more comprehensive assessment that accounts for the patients' state-of-mind and other personal indicators that would be difficult to account for in telehealth-first situations.??

There is also quite a bit of discussion about having telehealth prescribed by design – some follow-ups really don’t need to be done in person.? In these cases, the digital experience follows the patients’ experience closely. Overall, there is a mass logistical redistribution of healthcare to the patient, using novel channels that arise like telehealth.?

Essentially, this is where HTEC can bring enormous value — by focusing on the follow-up segment of the patient and doctor journey and determining what tools, information, analytics, and biomarkers matter for each disease state and situation. Plus, building custom-built solutions to integrate all these follow-ups makes far more sense, and may even be the optimal choice if the hospital has some type of existing command center.” — Sava Marinkovich, Head of Healthtech at HTEC Group??

The Great Resignation Crisis — More of a Great Realignment?

“Another thing that caught my attention is much talk about workforce shortages. The nursing profession is approaching staggering stats — Hospitals/physician practices will be losing talent, leaving health systems struggling to balance adequate staffing levels, employee burnout, managing travel nurses, and administrative burdens. On the other hand, virtual providers and big tech/health plans will be gaining. One of the ways to solve these challenges is to build solutions that focus on efficiency in the care pathway to ease staff burden, as well as drive automation.” — Sava Marinkovich, Head of Healthtech at HTEC Group??

The Rise of the “Payvider” (Payer + Provider)?

?“An exciting and potentially very impactful trend is the evolution of vertical integrations like those with the likes of Humana (with Centerwell) and Cigna (with Evernorth). This dramatically expands the segmentation from patient-only to larger consumer populations and enables far more wellness and pre-sickness focus than before. Patients spend 99% of their lives outside of a clinic, but typically solutions have been designed only for the 1% they are with a provider. With these integrations, there is a far greater opportunity to provide value and services to the general population to keep them healthy and diagnose any conditions far earlier. Practically, this will accelerate the integration of practices and development of new value propositions using these connected synergies." — Sava Marinkovich, Head of Healthtech at HTEC Group??

Putting Humans at the True Center of Care??

“It is clear that the transformation of health has begun, look no further than the stage of last week’s HLTH conference where we had a chance to witness the companies' need to create a more efficient and effective healthcare system for all. Companies are in constant search of interoperable innovations that will put people and not the bureaucracy at the center of attention. This, in turn, will drive a number of new business models that will fundamentally change health as we know it. And technology is the key innovation enabler.” — Nemanja Kovacev, MedTech Expert at HTEC Group ?

Healthcare Organizations Are “Looking outside the Box” for the Next Big Thing?

“HLTH Conference 2022 made sure no one was boxed in. It all challenged us to think differently about the burning issues and ways how to deliver care for all. From Kaiser Permanente Chair and CEO Greg Adams to 亚马逊 Health Chief Medical Officer Nworah Ayogu, many thought leaders across the industry talked about breaking down barriers and redesigning healthcare. Overall, HLTH confirmed that traditional healthcare is no longer acceptable and that innovation will enable a diversity of thought, participation, and solution.” — Robert Radusinovic, Head of IoT and Telco at HTEC Group??

Why Are Partnerships at the Heart of Healthcare Innovation?

HLTH 2022 has shown that it is time for a meaningful change in the healthcare ecosystem. Patients, providers, payers, and public health officials are all looking for collaboration to drive the industry’s reinvention. Here at HTEC, we have been helping healthcare and life sciences organizations accelerate their digital transformation that would provide better care for all and put people at the center. How can we help you turn your digital health vision into reality? Connect and reach out to our experts Danijela Nestorovic, Sava Marinkovich , Nemanja Kovacev , and Robert Radusinovic to talk about your next project.??