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Many patients in the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to have poor health outcomes, or simply avoid treatment, because of fears of bias and discrimination, C.K. Wang says.

He's the chief medical officer of COTA, a tech company that analyzes data to advance cancer care. He talked with 

 about the disparities in care and outcomes in the latest episode of the Data Book podcast. 

Wang talked about the ways that data can be used to achieve health equity, particularly for the  LGBTQ+ community, or the sexual and gender diverse (SGD) population.

He talked about the importance of getting better data to improve outcomes, and the need to build trust. Many in the sexual and gender diverse population “delayed or avoided receiving needed medical care or preventative screenings in the past year, because of disrespect, or discrimination from the doctor, or other health care providers,” Wang says.

SGD patients with cancer often have significantly worse survival rates than other patients. They disproportionately experience certain cancers, such as anal, colorectal, breast, cervical, prostate, and lung cancer, he says.

Wang talked about the importance of building trust with patients from the LGBTQ+ community.

“I have found that when patients trust their clinicians, they will provide them with the accurate and necessary data,” Wang says. “And I always say that the fundamental tenets to building trust are education and transparency.”

“I think that this transparency will help garner trust from the patients that you are doing the right thing for them,” he says, adding that providing their health information “will ultimately lead to their improved experience, and care.”

He also talks about the need for better medical education in treating the SGD community, and the importance of better training in health systems as well.

“Health systems can start by offering training programs to all their staff, you know, on SGD topics,” Wang says.

In addition, health systems and hospitals need to “create a safe place” for SGD patients, he adds.

C.K. Wang of COTA talks about the disparities in outcomes for the sexual and gender diverse population. He talks about the need for more information and improved training for clinicians.

Seeking better data, and better health outcomes, for LGBTQ+ patients | Data Book podcast

Mimi Winsberg says she’s seeing encouraging results in providing mental health services via telehealth.

Winsberg is the chief medical officer and co-founder of Brightside Health, a telehealth company focusing on mental health.

“Our goal is to deliver life-changing mental healthcare to individuals who have everything from mild to severe clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. We are even treating patients who have elevated suicidal risk,” Winsberg says.

Brightside Health is aiming to offer more options to patients as many areas face a shortage of mental health professionals.

“More than half the counties in the United States don't have a single psychiatrist, so we have an access problem,” Winsberg says. “And we have a problem of suicidal patients not being often able to get the appropriate care.”

Where telehealth can help patients and providers avoid in-person care

Some studies have shown telehealth has been successful in 

treating patients with substance use disorder

a high level of accuracy in telehealth diagnoses in psychiatry and other areas

“What we're seeing is that telehealth can actually provide some benefits,” Winsberg says. “Yes, you can't do a physical exam over telehealth. But in behavioral health conditions, that's often not necessary. Most of the time it’s not necessary. What you can do with a telehealth platform is incorporate other features that really can drive great outcomes.”

Winsberg discusses some of the opportunities for telehealth to meet the needs of patients who can’t easily access care.

Telehealth “can take that geography problem out of the equation,” she says.

 offers free, 24/7 support for those in distress. Call or text 988.

DEA allows telehealth flexibilities to continue until at least November

She talks about the opportunities to meet the needs of patients who don't have easy access to mental health services and what must be done to expand telehealth.

Mimi Winsberg of Brightside Health talks about expanding mental health services | Data Book podcast

Chanda Hinton has devoted her life to improving care for individuals with disabilities.

It’s a very personal mission. When she was nine years old, Chanda suffered a spinal injury when she was accidentally shot in the back of the neck.

 in Denver, she spoke about her work in the latest episode of the Data Book podcast from 

. The center works to improve care for those with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries and other injuries and disabilities.

She also wants to counter the narrative that she hears from too many physicians who don’t understand that individuals with disabilities can live productive and healthy lives.

“That's a problem,” she says. “I mean, I'm 41, I've got a spinal cord injury, but I can be healthy, I can be well, I can be productive.”

Hinton says health leaders and systems who want to improve care and treatment for those with disabilities should be “proactive with i.”

“Make it a part of your mission in a true and genuine way. Don't be doing it because you have to based on compliance … do it, because it's the right thing to do,” she says.

Check out a very interesting conversation. 

Reminder: You can subscribe to the Data Book podcast virtually everywhere you get your podcasts.

In this episode, Chanda Hinton, founder of the Chanda Center for Health in Denver, talks about her journey, her center and how the healthcare industry can offer better care.

Data Book podcast: Chanda Hinton and improving care for those with disabilities

Tom Cotter spends time thinking about things that would keep some people up at night.

Cotter is president and executive director of Healthcare Ready, a nonprofit organization that works with the health sector to ensure sufficient supplies of pharmaceuticals and other needed supplies for disasters. He talks about the organization’s work in the latest Data Book podcast.

Healthcare Ready was founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and coordinates information sharing between the healthcare sector and supply chain entities.

In light of shortages of key drugs such as albuterol and children’s ibuprofen in recent months, Cotter says, “We need to understand where's the data that is useful for decision makers to take action.”

“I think people think there's more visibility and transparency than there actually is in the supply chain, especially in the healthcare sector,” Cotter says.

Cotter says the supply chain “is more of a supply web. And there's a lot of interdependencies.”

“I think what we need to now do, in general, you know, at a high level, is make sure we're institutionalizing the lessons learned from the past couple of years, and not just from COVID-19,” he adds.

In our latest episode, Cotter talks about his nonprofit organization that helps the health sector prepare for emergencies, and the need for more data to manage the supply chain.


Data Book podcast: Tom Cotter of Healthcare Ready on preparing for disaster

In our latest episode of the Data Book podcast, Justin Norden talks about the emergence of ChatGPT and what it means for healthcare.

Norden is a physician who teaches about digital health at Stanford Medicine. He’s also a partner at GSR Ventures, an investment firm focusing on early stage digital health companies. In this conversation, he talks about how AI is going to eventually touch every part of the healthcare journey.

Growing up in a family of physicians, he graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine. He became fascinated with the idea of merging technology and healthcare. He helped start the Stanford Center for Digital Health.

As Norden says, “You can’t spend that long in Silicon Valley without starting a few companies of your own.” He was CEO and co-founder of Trustworthy AI, which was acquired by Waymo, Google’s self-driving vehicle company. He also worked on the healthcare team at Apple. He’s been at GSR Ventures for nearly four years.

ChatGPT could be the fastest-growing consumer technology project ever, Norden says.

When asked about ChatGPT’s implication for healthcare, Norden says, “That is the million, if not billion dollar question.”

Justin teaches about digital health at Stanford Medicine and is a partner at GSR Ventures. He talks about the potential of ChatGPT, the ethical questions, and how AI will transform the industry.

Data Book podcast: Justin Norden talks about ChatGPT and AI in healthcare

On this episode of Healthy Bottom Line, Barry Sample, PhD, director of science and technology at Quest Diagnostics, discusses the rise in drug positivity rates among healthcare professionals over the course of 2020 and the consequences of drug use among employees in healthcare settings. He also talks about the role that marijuana legislation has played a role in this increase as well as some solutions to reduce positivity rates.

Barry Sample, PhD, director of science and technology at Quest Diagnostics, discusses the rise in drug positivity rates among healthcare employees, the reasons behind the rise, and what can be done to combat them.

Healthy Bottom Line:  COVID-19 and Marijuana Laws: Why Employee Drug Positivity is on the Rise in Healthcare

On this week's episode of Data Book, Chief Healthcare Executive™ spoke with Peter Urbanowicz, managing director and co-head of Alvarez and Marsal’s Healthcare Industry Group. We discussed the FDA’s recent shift in priorities to address supply chain issues, device shortages, and the backlog of drug approvals as well as how technology can help. We also talked about how hospitals are handling these issues and what they can do as they wait for the FDA to catch up.

Peter Urbanowicz, managing director and co-head of Alvarez and Marsal’s Healthcare Industry Group, discusses the FDA’s new focus in addressing supply chain and device shortages posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and what hospitals should be doing in the meantime to adjust.

Waiting for FDA to Catch Up: What Hospitals Can Do to Address Supply Chain and Device Shortages

 spoke with Kaveh Safavi, MD, JD, global health lead of Accenture Health.We discussed some of the results from Accenture’s 2021 Digital Health Tech Vision Report showing how the COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare organizations to adopt new technologies. We also talked about these technologies are influencing patient care and the role that they can play in a post-pandemic world.

Kaveh Safavi, MD, JD, global health lead of Accenture Health, discusses how the pandemic influenced the speed at which healthcare organizations adopted new technologies and how this adoption is impacting patient care.

Podcast: Adoption of Healthcare Tech in the Age of COVID-19 with Dr Kaveh Safavi

Telehealth services have increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And health systems across the U.S. are taking advantage of the technology’s offerings and leveraging partnerships with digital health companies to improve patient outcomes and experiences.

 spoke with Brian Wayling, assistant vice president of telehealth services at Intermountain Healthcare to discuss a partnership between the health system and Amwell, how Intermountain is leveraging Amwell’s technology along with other digital health tools, and how other healthcare executives can deploy such technologies at their hospital or health system.

Brian Wayling, assistant vice president of telehealth services at Intermountain Healthcare, discusses use of the technology and a partnership with Amwell.

Podcast: Telehealth Partnerships and Offerings with Brian Wayling of Intermountain

He’s formed a task force on gun violence. He talks with Chief Healthcare Executive about the effort and getting more leaders to join him.

Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling leads effort to reduce gun violence: ‘We can make a difference’

Too many in nursing deal with bias and discrimination in the course of their job. A recent survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation offers the latest evidence.

Many nurses deal with racism from patients, colleagues, and management

He talks about the importance of generating optimism and inspiring teams to be a part of something bigger. 

Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling: ‘Leadership is about building hope’ | Lessons for Leaders

Health systems say the legislation would impose burdensome reporting requirements. Critics say the program needs more transparency and reform. 

Hospitals oppose proposed changes to 340B drug discount program | Bills and Laws

AdventHealth has named two new leaders in its Central Florida Division; Kaleida Health hires a chief nurse executive; and Lifepoint Health appoints president of two hospitals.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center gets new COO, and more | MED MOVES

Michael Dowling, the president and CEO of Northwell Health, offers an interesting perspective on the top threat to healthcare organizations.

It isn’t a rival in the market or the changing economic climate.

“The status quo is your biggest competitor,” Dowling says. “Complacency is the biggest danger.”

, Dowling describes what it takes to be a leader that inspires teams to succeed.

Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling: 'Leadership is about building hope'

As head of Northwell Health, Dowling leads an organization with 21 hospitals,  hundreds of sites of care, and annual revenues of $16 billion.

“When I look forward, despite difficulties and financial pressures, et cetera, I see enormous opportunity to improve,” he says.

He’s a big proponent of setting lofty goals.

“It’s a lot better to aim high and miss the mark than to aim low and achieve it,” he says.

“Leadership is about aiming high,” Dowling says. “And when you get to your target, raise the bar. That's what leadership is about: constantly raising the bar. You'll inspire people to go above and beyond what they think is possible.”

“When you push that way, it's amazing what people will find out they can do that they didn't think they could do,” he adds. “COVID proved that. We gotta prove it in non-COVID times.”

Dowling has also taken a leadership role nationally 

in encouraging other health system leaders to join the fight to reduce gun violence

The longtime head of the New York hospital system says leaders should constantly raise the bar. 

Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling: ‘Complacency is the biggest danger’

 - The HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition is taking place in Chicago this week, and as many as 40,000 people will be attending. 

With hundreds of sessions on topics such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, health equity, interoperability, and behavioral health, visitors will find plenty of food for thought.

There's also plenty of great food in the Windy City, and it goes beyond Chicago's famous deep dish pizza.

Christine Buck, chief marketing and communications officer with HIMSS, shares some insights on getting the most out of the healthcare technology conference in this video. She provides some suggestions on getting a taste of Chicago beyond the conference.

With many sessions focused on AI, expect plenty of discussions of ChatGPT. Hint: Don't make a drinking game of ChatGPT mentions. 

The HIMSS 2023 Conference: What you need to know

The HIMSS 2023 Conference is bringing tens of thousands of people to Chicago, and here are a few suggestions on learning, dining, and one mistake to avoid. 

HIMSS 2023: Christine Buck offers tips on making the most of the conference

Jay Bhatt still sees a great deal of inconsistency in efforts to improve health equity.

Bhatt is a managing director of Deloitte and directs Deloitte’s Health Equity Institute. 

 about ways health systems can make real progress on health equity.

“There’s still challenges around organizations seeing how it engages with the business case,” Bhatt says.

In this video, Bhatt describes the potential for digital health and virtual health to close disparities. He talks about how health equity can’t be a “side hustle” but a central part of the health system’s business plans.

“it's got to be part of the business, embedded within your thinking, your strategy, your finance, your operations,” Bhatt says.

Hospital quality and health equity are two sides of the same coin, Bhatt says. “You can’t get to equity without quality,” he says.

As hospitals follow through with virtual care and gain more data on their patient populations, their encounters move from single episodes to “a series, like a Ted Lasso series.”

“You're seeing a holistic view of those digital biomarkers that then help you make decisions,” Bhatt says.

The head of Deloitte’s Health Equity Institute offers guidance on closing gaps in health outcomes in underserved communities.

Jay Bhatt of Deloitte gives guidance on health equity

Doctors and leaders say hospital-at-home programs offer 

David Levine of Mass General Brigham talks about his system’s work to help patients who have challenges in their home environment. He’s the clinical director of research and development for Mass General Brigham’s “Healthcare at Home” program. Mass General Brigham has provided hospital-level care in patient’s homes for more than eight years.

“I think considerations for health equity are paramount in home hospital care,” he says. “And our program, and I know many programs across the country, have taken this very seriously and put in real service offerings to make sure that health equity is top of mind, and being sure that we're able to treat all sorts of patients at home.”

Mass General Brigham has helped patients get enrolled in programs offering assistance with housing needs. For patients in public housing with issues such as leaky windows or holes in the floor, the health system will push the landlord or superintendent to make necessary repairs.

“We bring an element of a power dynamic with us, when there's a doctor or a nurse in somebody's home,” Levine says.

Levine and others say by treating patients in the home, clinicians can see other challenges such as food insecurity, or issues patients may be reluctant to discuss in the hospital.

“I think there's a real opportunity and responsibility to address some of the social determinants of health that we see when we're working closely with our patients in their homes," Levine said.

One of the nation's leading experts on home hospital programs talks about how they can help close health disparities.

David Levine talks about hospital at home and health equity

Across the country, more hospitals are offering acute care at home, and doctors leading those programs say they are impressed by how patients are responding.

They say they are seeing strong clinical outcomes, low readmission rates and high patient satisfaction. 

More than 270 hospitals in 37 states have been authorized to offer acute care at home. As part of our 

, Chief Healthcare Executive® talked to doctors leading programs about how they are helping patients. 

Clinicians and leaders say the programs require a great deal of planning and coordination to ensure patients are cared for safely. But doctors cite several advantages, including reduced risk of infection, better rest, and in some cases, reduced delirium and confusion because patients are in a familiar environment. 

As more health systems are offering acute care at home, doctors say they are seeing good results and high patient satisfaction.

Hospital at home: Leaders describe encouraging outcomes 

 says the future of healthcare isn’t going to be confined to the four walls of the hospital.

“Everyone agrees that part of the future of care is going to be care in the home. So we have to think about that future,” he says.

Current Health, a part of Best Buy Health, is a technology company which helps health systems provide healthcare at home, including hospital-at-home programs. Current Health is working with more than 20 health systems, including Geisinger, Mount Sinai and UMass.

 at the HLTH Conference in Las Vegas, McGhee talked about how healthcare systems need to think about providing home-based options along with inpatient care. And he offered keys to success for hospital-at-home programs.

A big one: Health systems need buy-in across the board, from the C-suite to clinicians, he says.

"It can't just be done as a side project," he says.

Health systems need to think about delivering care outside of the hospital. 

Current Health CEO Christopher McGhee: Keys to success in hospital-at-home

CHE welcomes Joann Anderson, CEO of UNC Health Southeastern, for this week's installment of Turning Points. Anderson has worked with the hospital for 14 years, and has led it through multiple hurricanes, the pandemic, and a recent acquisition with the larger UNC Health system. She says that enduring challenging situations throughout her career has taught her the value of human connection and the importance of managing your emotions. She will retire at the end of this year. 

This transcript is edited lightly for clarity.

You’ve led your health system through recovery from hurricanes and now the pandemic. What lessons did you gain from these experiences?

 The hurricanes have been a very interesting situation for us. Again, hurricanes are often short lived; you know they're coming; you prepare for them. Every hurricane or event like that, we learned something about where we possibly weren't as prepared as we needed to be. So, from those events, we always sit back afterwards and say, “What could we have done better?”

I think with the very first hurricane, Hurricane Matthew, which was one that we didn't necessarily expect, it took a turn at the last minute and came to us instead of going where they originally thought it was going to go. And we were prepared for a much smaller event. But what I learned during that is I have the most wonderful team to work with.

I had individuals that, when they knew the hurricane was coming, they left their homes, their families, unselfishly, and came prepared to stay as long as it took to care for the people who needed them most. They sacrificed their personal lives for the lives of others.

They did it out of the goodness of their heart. They didn't grumble and complain. They were tired during that time. But you know, watching them over particularly that first week—it was an extended timeframe for us—it was heartwarming to see how much they cared about each other and how far they were willing to go very unselfishly to make sure that people had what they needed in a great time of need. I saw people come together and the value of a community, not just individuals, but the community support. I saw doctors that were emptying bedpans or serving food trays. They forgot their title and what their job description was.

So more than anything, I learned the value of human connection, but also the resiliency of humans. You have to bounce back; when you go through situations like that, you have to come back and say, "I could do it over again if I need to." And with the hurricanes, we had them back-to-back within 19 months of each other, two major hurricanes. When the second one came around, there were still people who were still affected from the first one who hadn't fully recovered. And then we went through it again. But again, I saw the same thing: that people unselfishly left their homes again and came back in to do what they needed to do. So more than anything, I learned the value of connection, the value of compassion.

And really just resiliency. I hadn't thought a lot about resiliency in my previous job responsibilities at other organizations because we didn't have a lot of those types of things that occurred. But I've seen that here. You don't know how far you can be tested until you are. It was just really good to see the group come together, do what they needed to do, how much they care about each other, how much they care about their patients.

 What is the most important health delivery lesson from the pandemic that you believe will remain going forward?

There have been a lot of lessons that I've learned from the pandemic, both personally and professionally. I think from a professional perspective, is that when you're faced with something like a pandemic, which is totally new to not only you but to everyone in the environment, that you have to manage emotions.

Over this past year, we in healthcare have had to adjust, change quickly, pick up new ideas, learn new things, implement things, all for the right reason. That's tiring, physically. It's draining, just psychologically. Emotionally, it's taken a toll on the entire team. When you shift things too quickly, for anybody, it's hard to adjust. We as an organization have had to go through a lot of firsts since I've been here in North Carolina, and whether it's hurricanes or other related events, those are usually short lived. This has been such a long-term situation, that people have not had the opportunity to recover. That emotional toll has been a real learning experience. It's been a challenge from a leadership perspective to be able to help people navigate a situation that they just are not emotionally or intellectually prepared for.

The fifth installment of Turning Points, a Chief Healthcare Executive™ video series in which retiring CEOs reflect on changes they've witnessed throughout their career and discuss the future of healthcare for aspiring healthcare professionals. 

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