Event Summary | Healthcare funding during the COVID Crisis — Trends & Predictions
Edited by Aditya Raj and Megha Gupta
We have seen the news — repurposing manufacturing for PPE, a rapid shift to virtual appointments, and quick transition of hospital operations. COVID-19 has undeniably changed healthcare in the short term, shifting technologies that would have otherwise taken years to adapt. But will any of this momentum stay?
On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, a few of us from ViTAL were incredibly lucky to attend a Masterclass hosted by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, featuring two impressive female entrepreneurs with decades of experience in healthcare innovation. Nancy Brown (Northeastern D’Amore-McKim School of Business ’86) and Ann Corcoran (Northeastern Bouvé College of Health Sciences ’86) shared their insights and experiences on a panel moderated by Dr. Carmen Sceppa, the Dean of the Bouvé College of Health Sciences. Nancy currently works in investing at the intersection of healthcare and fintech as a General Partner at Oak HC/FT, which manages $1.9 billion. She is a serial healthcare entrepreneur involved in over a dozen companies, including founding part of Athenahealth. Ann is just as impressive — after receiving a Bachelor’s in Nursing, Ann then transitioned to a business role to push the boundaries of healthcare operational excellence, and now leads a healthcare consulting firm.
The short hour in which we were able to hear their experiences emphasized key shifts in the landscape of healthcare. Notably at the forefront was virtualization of health visits. Also known as telehealth, virtual health visits were often pushed aside due to complications with billing and licensing. However, in the wake of a global pandemic, telehealth has become a necessity. The speakers and Dean Sceppa pointed out that telehealth increases accessibility to appointments — patients who hadn’t attended in-person visits in years suddenly began making telehealth appointments. Importantly, the landscape for enabling these services has begun to evolve, too. Within the last few weeks, the Center for Medical Services (CMS), who manages Medicare/Medicaid insurance plans, expressed interest in extending insurance coverage of telehealth. Extending such coverage has enormous potential to open up virtual care and systems of reimbursement. Regulations are also being relaxed on medical licensure, opening cross-border availability of physicians and enabling new ways to deliver care.
As we look ahead, we must reflect not only on the new means of delivering care, but the new perspectives on sustaining current care. Our speakers both pointed out the shortcomings of the current healthcare supply chain, especially in procuring sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE). They explained that this ultimately revealed the shortfalls of inexpensive sourcing and just-in-time (JIT) management for the first surge of the pandemic. On the other hand, companies like Amazon are currently revolutionizing the way supply chains work in healthcare — Amazon has even opened a not-for-profit service specifically aimed at providing supplies for healthcare organizations.
The conversation finally shifted to the long-term future — how can we prepare to contribute to these fields ourselves, as students? 🌟 We might expect an increasing virtualization of care to not only include physicians but also pharmacists and therapists, etc., even to the point where some clinical procedures like chemotherapy could be done in the home with the assistance of a nurse. Nancy summarizes it well: first, we should figure out what topics speak to each of us and keep us motivated — anywhere from primary care to kidney dialysis to opioid use — and second, identify how technology can help alleviate risks and problems. In other words, we shouldn’t necessarily be asking ourselves if we want to invest in an app…but rather, we should ask ourselves what we want to change in healthcare, and how can we use technology to accomplish this?
Equipped with this mindset, the potential for positive change in healthcare is vast.
Access the event recording at this link.
For further reading, Ann and Nancy recommended reading reports from McKinsey, including one specifically addressing the telehealth industry.
Thank you again to Northeastern’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative for the wonderful event, especially Betsy Ludwig for organizing it!
