John Bertrand Of Digital Diagnostics On the Future of Artificial Intelligence

An Interview With David Leichner

I don’t spend much time being concerned about the AI industry. I believe that AI is here to stay, and our job now is to be good stewards as we guide this industry into the future.

As a part of our series about the future of Artificial Intelligence, I had the pleasure of interviewing John Bertrand.

John brings over a decade of healthcare technology experience to Digital Diagnostics, a health technology company doing “AI the right way.” He previously held a variety of executive roles at Epic Systems and most recently served as Executive in Residence at 8VC, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm focused on healthcare technology.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you share with us the ‘backstory” of how you decided to pursue this career path in AI?

My career in healthcare technology began at Epic Systems long before Electronic Medical Records were commonplace in physician offices. I was there for over 12 years where I had the opportunity to play many roles, each providing new lessons and insights on healthcare innovation. From leading cross-functional teams, to managing products, to identifying emerging market opportunities, I was able to absorb every experience, developing a well-rounded understanding of the healthcare technology landscape and how innovation makes its way into workflow. From there I worked in venture capital for the firm 8VC, helping them develop and expand their healthcare practice. My experience within the healthcare system puts me in a unique position to deploy artificial intelligence at the point-of-care.

What lessons can others learn from your story?

Don’t fear being on the leading edge of innovation and technology but recognize that the position brings with it a lot of responsibility to make sure the innovation entering the market is actually improving patient lives, not just a flashy new technology. Putting patient outcomes first should always be the north star in healthcare technology development.

Can you tell our readers about the most interesting projects you are working on now?

One of the most interesting projects the team at Digital Diagnostics is working on is the clinical study to put our autonomous AI diagnostic system on a handheld imager from Baxter International. This partnership has the ability to expand the reach of autonomous diagnosis meeting patients where they are. This is a huge step forward to address equity and access issues in the system and is a great example of where the technology of the moment is making an impact for patient outcomes.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I grew up I health-tech household with parents that care deeply about patient outcomes. I am grateful that I was able to learn early that patients are at the heart of all the decisions we make in healthcare. With that foundation, I knew from an early age that I wanted to go into healthcare in some capacity. Now, later in my career, the most recent person I can think of would have to be the first investor that took a chance on me and the vision I had for how innovation could change healthcare. Having someone understand and trust my vision for the future enough to invest was a huge confidence boost that helped propel me forward, eventually landing me where I am today.

What are the 5 things that most excite you about the AI industry? Why?

1. The concept of using AI in many industries is now mainstream. Even five years ago we had to take the time to explain the safety of AI systems and why they can be trusted in every conversation and with every stakeholder. As AI continues to be designed, validated and implemented with patient benefit in mind, that conversation is becoming increasingly less common.
2. Seeing real-world evidence coming to life. We aren’t only seeing anecdotal stories of AI’s success in healthcare we are starting to see studies and publications that are proving the effectiveness of AI. There are also studies showing that AI can help improve physician productivity, which is huge. I am excited to have validation that AI in healthcare is making a difference for both patients and physicians. Personally, I’m really proud of a recent publication in the New England Journal of Medicine about Characterizing the Clinical Adoption of Medical AI Devices through U.S. Insurance Claims. The study shows that AI usage is not only being used in the industry but is also growing and becoming more mainstream.
3. Beginning to see workable regulator pathways and business models for AI in healthcare. This allows AI to drive incremental advancements in patient outcomes and incentivizes those who are innovating in the space to continue. It’s also great to be in a space where FDA and CMS are helping push healthcare further ahead than other industries in this regard.
4. Physician interest in AI that is built the right way and has demonstrated positive impacts is at an all-time high and continues to rise. This is true of individual providers, health system, and organizations like the American Medical Association. That interest goes a long way in advancing the positive impact of AI in healthcare.
5. The continued evolution of patient education around AI, shows that patients are more comfortable with AI than a lot of people expected, yet they are still asking good questions and seeking to understand the implications of this sizable shift in the industry.

What are the 5 things that concern you about the AI industry? Why?

1. There is still a need to educate every stakeholder in the industry on what sufficiently validated and regulated AI looks like, and how to compare similar AI products. For example, there’s nuance in studying and understanding different FDA studies for similar algorithms, so continued education is key.
2. Not everyone that’s impacted by healthcare AI understands difference between “glamour AI” and “impact AI”. Technology can do a lot of amazing things, but if the technology that is being introduced, specifically to healthcare, doesn’t address a specific and clearly defined need it can turn into “glamour AI” that is cool tech, but doesn’t provide a positive impact for patients or the healthcare industry. “Impact AI” on the other hand is designed with patient and provider benefit in mind to fill a specific need that is uniquely suited to what AI can do.
3. The misunderstanding that AI is trying to replace healthcare providers. The intent of introducing AI in healthcare is to enhance the provider’s experience and improve the patient’s experience, not to replace the provider. Healthcare is, and will remain, an industry focused on humans helping humans. AI and other technologies being developed in healthcare may help augment that reality, but I don’t believe it will alter it.
4. Things are trending in the right direction regarding AI regulation, but we need to be very mindful of the differences in varying industries as things progress. Patient safety is, and always will be the top priority, and regulation can and should help facilitate that. However, healthcare is one of the only industries where AI is already regulated, and we need to be careful not to introduce conflicting regulations from other industries that could effectively halts the good that is already being done by highly regulated AI applications in healthcare.
5. Overall, I don’t spend much time being concerned about the AI industry. I believe that AI is here to stay, and our job now is to be good stewards as we guide this industry into the future.

As you know, there is an ongoing debate between prominent scientists, (personified as a debate between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg,) about whether advanced AI poses an existential danger to humanity. What is your position about this?

There are new AI applications rolling off the shelves all the time, and in unregulated industries that can be a definite concern. Especially when we don’t have enough real-world data to know what the long-term impact could be. There is a need to validate every single product before it gets into the hands of consumers. That being said, I’m less concerned about it in healthcare because of the existing regulatory framework that is in place. Since healthcare is my specialty, I don’t want to comment too much on other industries where I have less working experience.

What can be done to prevent such concerns from materializing? And what can be done to assure the public that there is nothing to be concerned about?

It all comes back to education and industry specific regulations. AI developers need to educate themselves about the specific regulations of their industry, and if necessary, lead the way in developing those regulations when they might be lacking. AI regulators need to carefully consider the AI application in the context of the intended industry and end users and uphold or develop regulations appropriately. And the public should be educated about the benefits and dangers of AI solutions and how to know if an AI solution is regulated, such as gaining FDA clearance for healthcare AI applications.

As you know, there are not that many women in your industry. Can you advise what is needed to engage more women into the AI industry?

I am proud to lead a team that is incredibly talented and very well balanced. I attribute a lot of that to the culture that we have worked hard to create that focuses on our core behaviors and well-established values, which allows us to find the very best people for all the roles in our company. To that end, as we are looking for talent, we need to continue to educate around the positive impact that AI can have on patients. One of the best places to do that is with care providers who already understand the need. Healthcare already tends to have the highest number of females in any industry, so leveraging that group of people to have them cross into the AI industry and bring their immense knowledge would be a great start.

What is your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that had relevance to your own life?

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. — Epictetus

Working on new technology to build innovative products comes with a multitude of challenges, pitfalls, and even successes you have no control over. When things don’t go as planned, there are lessons to be learned, and the same goes for when things are going well. It’s important not to let the highs and lows dictate the future, but rather use what you have learned, good and bad, to choose a new direction and persevere over the long run.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share a story?

The Digital Diagnostics team has brought a bunch of goodness to the world through its success commercializing LumineticsCore. Through our technology tens of thousands of patients are being tested each year who may not have otherwise gotten care. Being a part of that is my definition of success. We are also making a significant impact to prevent blindness around the world, and a great example of that is the work that the Orbis International Flying Eye Hospital executed in Bangladesh while using LumineticsCore. Over a five-month period more than 2,000 people were tested for diabetic retinopathy using LumineticsCore’s autonomous AI at Deep Eye Care Foundation’s retina specialist clinic. With only 1,200 ophthalmologists and a population of 164 million in Bangladesh, it’s encouraging to see how AI tools like LumineticsCore can effectively improve eye care, and specifically measure how AI can increase provider productivity (in this case by 40%). It is an honor to lead such an amazing team of people who are dedicated to improving patient lives through the creation of technology that enables early disease detection.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I were a person of great influence, I would be doing the exact same thing. I would be following the same passion I am currently following, which is educating people about the opportunities that this new technology brings to patients, providers, and the entire healthcare ecosystem.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can find me on LinkedIn or by visiting the Digital Diagnostics website.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is the Chairman of the Friends of Israel and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.