Kevin Campbell, M.D.

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 to address health data privacy concerns. Through the bill, the senators hope to protect consumers’ personal health data by requiring a new privacy regulation that targets health data collected by health tracking applications, wearables and direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits.

However, with patients’ health data at constant risk, we as healthcare executives and physicians must do our part to make sure we are protecting our patients’ privacy.

Welcome to The Clinical Divide. I’m Dr. Kevin Campbell. I’m a Duke-trained cardiologist and the chief innovation officer of the health data startup PaceMate and its parent company, biocynetic. Every week, this 

 video series examines healthcare technology and medicine’s top news. I bring you the views that help physicians and healthcare executives bridge the clinical divide.

Last week, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Lisa Murkowski introduced the Protecting Personal Health Data Act. The bill would require the secretary of HHS to implement regulations for new health tech like wearables, mHealth apps and direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits which are currently not covered by existing laws.

This proposed bill is a long time coming. Data breaches are happening all over our country — in small practices and in large, multi-hospital health systems. With all of the new technologies out there, these privacy and security issues will only continue to grow and likely affect more and more people.

While this legislation is a step in the right direction, more must be done. We need to take action as physicians and healthcare executives — and all healthcare workers &mdash; independent of a bill like this. We must ensure that when we handle our patients’ data, that they are always secure and encrypted. In addition, we must make sure our patients are educated on how their data can be used by wearable device companies, mHealth app developers or genetic testing companies &mdash; because knowledge is power.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The Clinical Divide. Until next week, I’m Dr. Kevin Campbell, for 

Navigate the digital transformation with confidence. 

Leveraging AI Technologies to Improve Efficiency in Healthcare

Videos

Physicians and healthcare executives need to take action independent of a bill to protect patients' health data. 

The Clinical Divide: Protecting Patients' Health Data

virtual reality (VR) tool identified Alzheimer’s disease

 more accurately than existing cognitive tests.

While virtual and augmented reality technologies are still not widely accepted in healthcare, clinical trials have shown that these tools can have a 

So what can we as healthcare executives and physicians do to promote VR technology in the healthcare community and potentially implement these technologies into more health systems and practices?

In the Alzheimer’s study, researchers from the University of Cambridge found that a VR navigation task had a higher sensitivity and specificity for differentiating those who are biomarker positive with Alzheimer’s, compared to those who were negative.

This study is just the latest to show how the technology can be used in healthcare to improve accuracy and efficiency in diagnosis, which is important for our patients.

VR has also been proven to be helpful for non-opioid-related pain management and to relieve patients with 

Another startup, Arena Laboratories, is using VR to train students, residents and staff, helping them prove their performance in stressful operating room clinical situations and in other challenging scenarios in order to provide better care.

As the market for VR in medicine is heating up, we must continue to test the efficacy of these technologies. We must participate in and support trials. As physicians and healthcare executives, we need to be aware of these available tools that can enhance our ability to help patients better than traditional tried and true practices. VR has great potential to be used as a motion management system, for therapy, for surgical planning, navigation training and treatment.

This technology is no longer just for video games. It’s time to continue to evaluate these systems and, when appropriate, implement these systems to manage our patients in new and innovative ways.

Leveraging Tech to Influence Drug Pricing Policy Change

Virtual reality technology is no longer just for video games.

The Clinical Divide: Using VR for More Accurate Diagnoses

A Canadian software company has recently developed and deployed an application that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based technologies to help clinicians make and confirm their clinical diagnosis when it comes to cardiac auscultation.  

Health technologies like this one have great potential to improve efficiency, accuracy and outcomes in medicine. So what can we as physicians and healthcare executives do to leverage these types of technologies to enhance our workflows and the patient experience, while at the same time providing high quality care?

Welcome to The Clinical Divide. I’m Dr. Kevin Campbell. I’m a Duke-trained cardiologist and chief innovation officer of the health data startup PaceMate and its parent company, biocynetic. Every week, this 

The eMurmur ID system is a technology that can analyze and classify human heart sounds and acoustic abnormalities such as heart murmurs. The technology relies on sounds that are recorded using a third-party electronic stethoscope.

Recently, eMurmur has been granted FDA clearance for this application and as a medical device.

This is how it works: The physician or healthcare provider pairs a Bluetooth-capable stethoscope to a smartphone that is running the eMurmur ID application. They then perform an auscultation exam. The app takes the sound from the stethoscope and passes them to a series of algorithms that are applied on the cloud to the recording. The algorithms perform a signal analysis that results in a diagnosis that is provided quickly to the clinician.

As healthcare executives and physicians, we must continue to support the development of technology that can improve patient outcomes and improve our ability to expedite care. We must back clinical trials of these types of technologies and urge our health systems to implement them when proven safe and effective. Most importantly, we must educate ourselves and our colleagues on the potential of AI in medicine and how this technology can complement, but not replace, the role of the physician in healthcare.

It’s up to us to speak up about the way technologies like this can make our work easier and make our patients’ lives better. 

How can physicians leverage AI technologies to enhance their workflows and the patient experience?

The Clinical Divide: Leveraging AI Technologies to Improve Efficiency in Healthcare

Earlier this month, reports revealed that leading drug companies allegedly colluded to inflate generic drug prices by as much as 1,000%. A lawsuit filed by 43 states named 15 individual senior pharmaceutical executives responsible for sales. This behavior hurts everyone: hospitals, doctors and — most significantly &mdash; patients.

As you know, I’ve been a longtime advocate for leveraging technology for drug price transparency in order to provide consumers, or patients, with insight into how they are being charged with the hopes of ultimately getting them better deals on pharmaceutical purchases. Now, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing a new drug pricing transparency tool for Medicare Part D plans. So what is this rule and how can technology like this benefit our patients?

Welcome to The Clinical Divide. I’m Dr. Kevin Campbell. I’m a Duke-trained cardiologist and CEO of the health data startup PaceMate. Every week, this 

The new CMS rule we talked about would require Part D plans to adopt tools that provide clinicians with information they can use to discuss out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs with patients. Part D plans would be required to provide access to a price transparency tool that is integrated into the electronic health record system. This is very ambitious, but the rule also requires that the Explanation of Benefits document that Part D enrollees receive each month includes information on drug price increases and on lower-cost therapeutic alternatives that work just as well.

The rule implements Part D legislation signed by President Trump to prohibit these “gag clauses” that you hear about. In the past, these shady backroom deals kept pharmacists from telling their patients and customers about lower-cost ways to obtain prescription drugs. This simply is not fair.

The hope is that patients and their physicians will better understand the cost of drugs and seek out high-value options to increase adherence and improve outcomes. When efficacy is equivalent, why should patients pay more just to fill the pockets of pharmaceutical executives?

As physicians and healthcare executives, we must push for more price transparency tools such as this one. We must urge our health systems to implement the technology to better our patients. It is essential that we give our patients all the tools they need so that they can make informed healthcare decisions. Those that abuse the system, such as those involved in this latest scandal, must be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Driving Organizational Change to Create Better Patient Experiences

The tech gives patients more options when purchasing medications.

Kevin Campbell, M.D.

Articles

The Clinical Divide: Protecting Patients' Health Data

The Clinical Divide: Using VR for More Accurate Diagnoses

The Clinical Divide: Leveraging AI Technologies to Improve Efficiency in Healthcare

The Clinical Divide: Promoting Drug Price Transparency Tools