Episode Details: Healthcare innovation
What you’ll get from this episode:
- Dr. Liz Kwo’s journey from practicing physician to health tech founder.
- The inspiration behind Dr. Kwo’s career in medicine and healthcare innovation.
- The role of technology and AI in modernizing healthcare practices.
- Dr. Kwo’s personal experiences shaping her professional path.
- The future of personalized medicine and predictive analytics.
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Introduction
In this episode of the Seamless Connection podcast, host Meena Mallipeddi welcomes Dr. Liz Kwo, a multifaceted healthcare professional currently serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at Everly Health. Dr. Kwo is also an author, podcast host, Harvard Medical School lecturer, and member of the Mass General Brigham Innovation Board. Her impressive career spans clinical practice, health tech innovation, and a deep commitment to improving healthcare systems.
The Journey to Healthcare
Dr. Kwo’s path to medicine was not straightforward. Initially interested in business, her fascination with the human body during her studies at Stanford led her to pursue a dual career in medicine and business. This blend of interests was further shaped by her exposure to technology in the Bay Area, highlighting the inefficiencies in traditional healthcare systems and sparking her desire to integrate tech solutions into healthcare.
The Impact of Personal Experience
A pivotal moment in Dr. Kwo’s life was the loss of a child due to a stillbirth. This personal tragedy fueled her determination to prevent such losses for others through better diagnostic tools and remote health monitoring. This led her to start her own company, InfantMD, and delve deeper into the payer side of healthcare to understand and influence how medical decisions are made.
Innovating with Technology
Dr. Kwo has been at the forefront of integrating technology into healthcare. At American Well, she gained experience in telehealth and payer ecosystems. Her work at Everly Health focuses on modernizing care through AI and automation. For instance, using AI for prior authorizations and NLP for pulling medical records to streamline processes, showing the potential for tech to significantly reduce administrative burdens and improve care delivery.
The Future of Personalized Medicine
Dr. Kwo is particularly excited about the potential of personalized medicine. Advances in pharmacogenomics and predictive analytics promise to create more tailored treatment plans based on genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. This not only improves patient outcomes but also aligns with the broader healthcare goals of reducing costs and enhancing efficiency.
Challenges and Solutions in Healthcare
Despite the advancements, Dr. Kwo acknowledges the challenges in healthcare innovation, particularly around payer and provider alignment. She emphasizes the need for a clearer understanding of payer incentives and ROI to drive sustainable change. Her advice to entrepreneurs is to focus on proving the financial benefits of their solutions within the payer’s 12-month ROI window.
Conclusion
Dr. Liz Kwo’s work exemplifies the intersection of medicine, business, and technology. Her dedication to improving healthcare through innovation is inspiring. As she continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible, the future of personalized, efficient, and patient-centered healthcare looks promising.
This episode is presented by AmplifyMD.
“AmplifyMD immediately connects medical facilities to a large network of
physicians in all of the most essential specialties, including Neurology, Cardiology,
Infectious Disease, Pulmonology and Heme/Onc.” Their mission is access, by becoming
the definitive specialty care platform that connects every medical facility to the specialty
care they need to improve patient outcomes. – https://amplifymd.com/
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