FHL Weekly: Investors, Health Policy, & Society
by Robert James Horne & Margaret Wherenberg / Published April 24, 2024
Spotlight Issue: CVS Health Continues to Lead Health Market Disruption
Fierce Healthcare published an article yesterday announcing a deal between CVS Health that caught my eye.
CVS Accountable Care and inVio Health Network, a collection of more than 5,600 providers in South Carolina, are partnering to improve care outcomes for 60,000 Medicare beneficiaries.
The two partners will create a new accountable care organization under the ACO REACH program. CVS will provide the resources and analytical know-how necessary to scale inVio, the groups told Fierce Healthcare.
CVS Health isn’t typically in the business of helping other businesses “scale.” Prescriptions, health insurance, and groceries…sure. But not scaling physician-owned businesses. This work is more in line with Amazon’s analytic and cloud computing business units.
So what gives?
CVS Business Model: Transform Healthcare with Technology
I listened to a recent podcast called “Transforming Healthcare with Technology: CVS Health’s Tilak Mandadi on Developing a Consistent Omnichannel Customer Experience.”
I found the podcast fascinating for a few reasons. First was the prioritization of technology-enabled services. Second, and this is broader point, it is clear the company has big designs on digital technology and artificial intelligence under its new retail care model. Recent publishing by the company in fact is beginning to use the phrase “artificial intelligence.”
Maybe most important, the podcast helped make some sense of the ACO announcement.
Market Implications
The future of the healthcare market will be heavily influenced by digital. Artificial Intelligence is a new medical workforce that enables much of the digital ecosystem. Data processing and digital infrastructures including cloud computing will be needed to enable it.
Amazon’s advantage over CVS in the battle to build a retail medical care model, as we wrote back in September 2022, includes the companies analytic and cloud computing businesses.
“What Amazon lacks in other key areas (compared to CVS) is an insurance offering and pharmacy presence for the 100s of millions of patients working with pharmacy benefit managers. Amazon can make up for a late start with vast amounts of resources and competitive advantages in the technology space with its cloud computing and affiliated business units — units well designed to support virtual and digital medical service offerings.”
Could CVS be seeking its own digital services business unit to advance its own model, and counter Amazon’s computing advantages for the coming digital healthcare ecosystem? It makes sense. CVS has more history and patient-data from its insurance and pharmacy offerings than Amazon can provide. The data and analytics businesses are lucrative, and key business relationships with A.I. healthcare companies like Dario Health suggest the offering may be best-in-class. Time will tell.
The question for analysts: what comes next? If you have thoughts on what this might mean for the future of healthcare, please reach out to me directly at: robert@hillhealth.net.
Mental Health & Artificial Technology: Recent Developments
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been making significant strides in the fields of mental health and healthcare in the United States. Let’s explore some of its impacts:
1. Enhancing Patient Care
Automating Routine Tasks: AI can handle administrative tasks, freeing up mental health professionals to focus on direct patient care. By automating routine tasks, therapists can allocate more time to building meaningful relationships with their patients.
Improving Diagnostic Accuracy: AI algorithms can analyze large datasets and assist in diagnosing mental health conditions. They can identify patterns and risk factors that might be missed by human clinicians.
Predictive Insights: Machine learning models can predict patient behavior and health outcomes based on historical data. This helps tailor treatment plans and interventions.
2. Accessibility and Reach
Mobile Platforms: AI-powered mobile apps and platforms are becoming popular for mental health support. They provide accessible resources, self-help tools, and even virtual therapy sessions.
Cost-Effectiveness: AI can reach a large number of people cost-effectively. It bridges gaps in mental healthcare by making services available to underserved communities.
3. Reducing Therapist Burnout
Workload Assistance: AI tools can assist therapists by handling repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more complex aspects of patient care.
Alleviating Stress: By automating administrative work, AI reduces therapist burnout and stress levels.
4. Challenges and Ethical Considerations
Privacy and Data Security: Handling sensitive patient data requires robust security measures to protect privacy.
Bias and Fairness: AI algorithms must be trained on diverse datasets to avoid bias and ensure equitable outcomes.
Human-AI Collaboration: Mental health professionals need to collaborate with AI systems effectively, understanding their limitations and potential benefits.
In summary, AI is revolutionizing mental healthcare by making it more efficient, accessible, and human-centered. As technology continues to evolve, we can expect further advancements in this critical field.
Articles We Are Reading: Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health
AI Will Make Mental Healthcare More Human | Psychology Today
Five Ways AI Can Help Revolutionize Mental Healthcare (forbes.com)
How AI Is Advancing Psychiatry Medicine to Tackle Mental Illness (businessinsider.com)
The Incredible Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Now Used In Mental Health (forbes.com)
Can AI Fix America’s Mental Health? (msn.com)
AI chatbots can help with your mental health but aren't therapy (fastcompany.com)
More Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Articles
5 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Healthcare (forbes.com)
Conversational AI improves 'fourth trimester' maternal care at Penn Medicine | Healthcare IT News
Doctors are getting on board with genAI, survey shows | Healthcare IT News
Shifting The Healthcare AI Discourse: Embracing Intelligence Assistance (forbes.com)
AdventHealth plays pivotal role in use of artificial intelligence in health care (msn.com)
Where Artificial Intelligence Is Making a Difference in Healthcare - insideBIGDATA
‘Hype and Magical Thinking': The AI Healthcare Boom Is Here (msn.com)
Margaret’s Minute
Humanity. What does the word mean to you? For me, it means grace and love and support for the strangers around us.
I experienced two beautiful moments of humanity this week and wanted to share them with you:
Bernard Carey carries 15 dollars in cash every day and gives the money out to homeless Americans he encounters. He said it was an opportunity for him to “honor their humanity.” What a beautiful way to live life. P.S. Good luck on your book Bernard!
A Starbucks barista in my area has a habit of welcoming strangers as they walk in the door. Says she gets it from an old soul and the state of Florida. It reminds me of the humanity of Chicago sometimes. Makes the coffee taste better too.
Be good to each other this weekend. We are all human.