Five Good Things with Janae Sharp and Megan Antonelli: A rapid-fire segment highlighting positive developments in digital health. Janae and Megan share insights on recent innovations, successful implementations, and emerging trends that are driving progress in healthcare technology.
Welcome 0:01 Welcome to Digital Health talks. Each week we meet with healthcare leaders making an immeasurable difference in equity, access and quality. Hear about what tech is worth investing in and what isn't. As we focus on the innovations that deliver. Join Megan Antonelli, Janae sharp and Shahid Shah for a weekly no BS, deep dive on what's really making an impact in healthcare.
Megan Antonelli 0:30 Hi everybody. Welcome to Digital Health talks. This is Megan Antonelli here with Janae sharp, founder of the sharp index, and today we're going to talk about five good things. Hi Janae, how are you?
Janae Sharp 0:40 I'm doing great. It's the month of love. So we get to talk about things we love
Megan Antonelli 0:46 and five good things. Yes, happy Valentine's day
Janae Sharp 0:49 Today's Valentine's Day, and Happy Valentine's Day yesterday. And happy American Heart Month. And happy what other months are they? Women's Health? There are a lot of months. There are a lot of things to celebrate this month. So
Megan Antonelli 1:03 are but you're giving our you're giving away my thing, yeah, but football is over. I don't know who won, but it's over. And now we have, you know, other things to watch on TV, which is one of our first five good things because Noah Wiley, we love Noah Wiley because we're that old and we loved, er, it might be why we liked, I didn't watch that show. That's because you're not old,
Janae Sharp 1:35 but yeah. Well,
Megan Antonelli 1:38 Noah Wiley is back on TV and back on an ER, medical drama, and it's good, and it's really talking about what's real in healthcare. So some very hard hitting issues around, you know, quality improvement scores, certainly physician PTSD and trauma, you know, coming out of the pandemic, you know, and we aren't. I'm not finished with it, so I won't give any spoilers. It's still being released. I I tend to not watch TV until I can watch all the episodes. But this one is so good, Spence, I know this one is so good I started. So we'll start there with my, my, I don't know. I guess it was, it was high school, right? It was high school crush, Noah Wiley, and now here we are. He's back on TV, and he's still cute, and it's, I'm glad, I'm glad they're covering things in a more realistic way. That's what I've heard. I haven't watched it. And also talking about some of the ethical dilemmas that healthcare workers and physicians face. Those are important, and they are and what it's incredible, because it's actually like 24 so it's going one hour at a time. Every
Janae Sharp 2:45 they have, do they have the jack like, voice? I hope they get that voice. I'm sure someone from the show will watch this and just so you know, you can have that voice in your show going forward, talking about medical
Megan Antonelli 3:01 Well, here's the thing, they are actually already being sued, I think because it is so similar to ER and while being called an ER reboot was not technically an ER reboot reboot, so I think there is a little there's already a little illegal issue. So they may not want to rip off 24 as well, but
Janae Sharp 3:21 you're already in trouble. Just go for it, you know,
Megan Antonelli 3:24 an hour at a time, and it is exhausting, and I'm only a few hours in. But what people, what these physicians and nurses have to deal with on a day to day basis, and they are hitting, you know, from an event, yes, fentanyl deaths to, I
Janae Sharp 3:38 hope they show someone in the waiting room, just throughout the season, throughout the show, just sitting there, the whole time,
Megan Antonelli 3:46 the waiting room is incredibly full. I do hope that there is no Pittsburgh hospital that it fully represents, because the situation in the waiting room is desperate. So but it is. It's good, and it is good because it's talking about the real things in healthcare. So so love that good stuff. Our other thing that we had talked about is that February is American Heart Month, and what could be more relevant and important than American Heart Month and on Valentine's Day? But they also had wear red dicks. So we're wearing red. We're wearing red and support in support, and our friends at the American Heart Association do such great things for women and cardiac health. I know Lisa Sunan has got a webinar coming up. I'm sure they'll be at five and HIMS. That webinar is on Tuesday, February 25 around you know, groundbreaking research and in heart health. One of our, one of the women who competed from, I think it was bloom health, who competed in the heart competition, is going to be participating. So check that out. I know if you follow Lisa, you can find the link to the webinar on her LinkedIn.
Janae Sharp 4:59 Yeah. But and we can also share it with our social I think it's great when we're investing more in women's health, and heart disease is the leading cause of death for many women. No one in my family has died of heart disease, but I really like wearing red, and I like the group and the people. So yeah,
Megan Antonelli 5:19 well, they also, it's, they throw amazing events and and I think, you know, they do such a great job kind of activating both the scientific and research community as well as the kind of celebrity and entertainment side. So bringing that together really creates this, this force that people really do. They get good work done. And as a private organization can't, you know, no one can. Can Stop it right now, at least. So that's good, too soon. Sorry,
Janae Sharp 5:52 there are people out there funding things so important work of nonprofits and research can continue it. Yes, and
Megan Antonelli 6:00 in Canada, right? So a lot of our good things this month are for out of other countries. And you know, we won't say why that seems it's and relevant, but coral, which is a women's digital health startup out of Canada, secured $4.1 million Canadian dollars for their virtual care platform around women's health and menopause. And we don't love menopause, but we love funding menopause health and women's health, so we're excited to see that. Congratulations to them, and excited to see what that brings. I
Janae Sharp 6:36 love that they're doing things about this. And, you know, I'm not in menopause, but all my friends talk about it, so I care about it, and those conversations matter. People know more what to expect. Coral health is covering things like detailed health assessments, personalized care plans and integrated support. So next time you're having a hot flash, you can find out about it on your phone instead of thinking you're crazy. That's great. This is great news.
Megan Antonelli 7:02 It is, and it's, you know, it's just incredible how women are going to their traditional physicians and doctors and not hearing, you know, not getting the care that they need. They're just saying, Yeah, that's it, you know, but we're not doing anything about it. So going to some of these alternative, virtual care platforms, where they may be more holistic or progressive is super important. So it's just great that that access is being, you know, made available. So in addition to women's health and heart health, there was a new partnership announced out of out of France, Google and the Institute of women's cancers. You know, have spearheaded a Initiative to Combat women's cancer, and they are going to be using AI based tools. So again, private funding going to women's health research. We love to see it. Yes,
Janae Sharp 7:53 and the Women's Cancer Institute Curie is that from Madam Curie, they announced this research. I wonder. It probably French. Is France's Institute of Health, which has always been so good to women. And they haven't. They haven't, they haven't canceled their institute of health this year. So that's something to celebrate. And and really, in France, there are 60,000 cases annually, and 2 million people globally are diagnosed with breast cancer, and it's one of the most common cancers for women worldwide, and early detection diagnosis matters for Everyone. So having artificial intelligence and using all the tools available to us to make those things better for women. That's great, yeah. And,
Megan Antonelli 8:49 of course, it's, you know, using AI and healthcare, which we also really like to see, and in terms of just really, you know, at that research level. I mean, Google's really been at the forefront of that. So good to see you know that work being done and excited to see what comes of it. Another study I announced this week, I think, was the the apple. Apple has a collaboration with Brigham Women's around the Apple Health Study. I think that it's open to, pretty much, you know, folks with an Apple Watch, but really to explore connections between physical and mental health. And they're looking to enroll, you know, some crazy number, I think was like 250 or whatever, to really, you know, be able to look at that and look at health and well being again, you know, kind of holistically, across across specialties. So that'll be exciting to see what comes of of that. And it's always just good to see more focus on women's health from from people with lots of money
Janae Sharp 9:49 like I think it's also important that Google is getting involved with a lot of these things and other places where people can get accurate info. Information, there really is a dearth of understanding and of great access to information. Some people, you know when you when you look at things, you don't always know if it's relevant to your health, if it's from a great source. So I'm proud of groups that are that recognize that as the public health threat that it is,
Megan Antonelli 10:22 yeah, yeah, no, that these are real research studies being done by real scientists, while it's, you know, coming from, you know, big technology companies,
Janae Sharp 10:31 not that your aunt on Facebook isn't a real scientist when she looks something up in a random mom group. I'm not saying that. I'm
Megan Antonelli 10:39 just saying HHS, you know, real scientists.
Janae Sharp 10:43 My aunt isn't the head of HHS, but she is an ER nurse, so,
Megan Antonelli 10:50 but it is good to see. And then, you know, an interesting, I saw an interesting thing around healthcare AI, which we talk about a lot, on health impact, but the American Medical Association did a survey, not a full study, but like a survey around physicians attitudes towards AI. And I think we've seen it certainly in, you know, our events and the folks that we talked to and the research that we've done that, you know, while there was a lot of hesitation towards the applications of AI, and, you know, healthcare and clinical decision making, that the growing attitude, or the changing attitudes and growing enthusiasm, has started to shift, and that as they see AI as a tool that can actually, you know, really help with the things that they don't want to do. So I think it, you know, kind of the survey really showed that there's still some concerns around like privacy and regulatory oversight, you know, of which there will be none in the coming years, but you know, it will be good to have AI and technology to help physicians move through Yes.
Janae Sharp 11:59 So for those of you who are celebrating American Heart Month, they have challenges to do a lot of steps. I don't know if that's them. Actually, somebody does anyway. The point is you need to exercise. And what better way to exercise than to get really obsessive about tracking your steps and your health in your fitness watch or on your phone. Apple's here for that,
Megan Antonelli 12:25 right? Well, you should definitely look up the Apple Health Study, because I think you can join, and then you can be part of this research.
Janae Sharp 12:33 Yes, I usually opt out of all of those things, but that's that for a thing. Maybe this is what I will actually do. I think, I think it's interesting that they're doing it with Brigham, Brigham Women's right, and taking a different approach to how we understand our health. And they're looking at longitudinal data, because a lot of studies about you know about your heart, they don't have enough people that are involved. And this one will have like 350,000 participants in the US, or maybe even more. So the amount of data and the quality of data that they're going to get is way better,
Megan Antonelli 13:18 yeah, or we, we hope at least it'll be interesting. Does it say in there? What the, what are the points that they're you know, what are they measuring? What are they looking at? Is it just steps and, you know, attitude? I think it. I read that it was no available through like the research app, so it's not just monitoring you. I think there must be some element of survey, of self reported data,
Janae Sharp 13:42 yes, yes. It's a virtual study. And the sum of its self reported data, it says, including Apple and third party devices. So I'm guessing, you know, maybe like a watch, like I have a Garmin, a lot of people have a Fitbit, you know, or an aura ring. The thing that they're going to predict, according to the Apple newsroom, is, like different areas of health, changes in health activity, aging, cardiovascular health, circulatory health, cognition, hearing, menstrual health, mental health, metabolic health, Mobility, neurologic health, respiratory health, sleep and more. So finally, they're going to do something with all that data we've been tracking for years in your little app. And they're good. I don't know if I'd want to see that though. Like, do you want to see them being like, Hey, if you keep this up so you know, here's what's going to happen. In five years, you'll be a disaster. In 10 years, you'll be dead, you know, like, just like that would be, like, the predictive thing, you know?
Megan Antonelli 14:45 Yeah, well, that is always that sort of balance or that question, right? I mean, I remember getting my genome, genomic test with 23andme and wondering, Wait, do I really want this? And it really never provided that much information that made me either. Change my behavior and or, you know, even really understand my health that much better. It just sort of said, okay, yeah, okay, that makes sense, you know, but, but there wasn't much, but, like now with things like peruvo and the full body scan, which I haven't gotten yet, but for anyone who's listening, I would like to do that, because I'm not afraid. I want to know. I think it is better,
Janae Sharp 15:24 what this full body scan? What is that? So it basically
Megan Antonelli 15:26 does a full body scan, and there's a and, you know, to some degree, it's, it's, it's a little controversial in that well, one, it's, of course, not covered by insurance. And why isn't it covered by insurance? Because it, you know, can potentially, because we don't do whole person care. We only do disparate parts, not specialized enough to have an ICD code associated with it. So therefore, you know, it's some skepticism around it, also in terms of what, you know, what does it see, and what does it do? And they don't want people getting unnecessary tests, which I understand, but I like unnecessary tests, and if I'm paying for it, I
Janae Sharp 16:05 did personality tests on even, like on Buzzfeed. So, like, we know, I'm in unnecessary tests, but health tests, is it like your blood work? Is it, you know? Well,
Megan Antonelli 16:16 pronovo is really just a full body scan. It's okay, MRI type thing. But then I a lot of the places offering it, of course, do, do the full body work, you know, blood work up and things like that. So you're seeing those pop up. I mean, it's, it's sort of what, like, what we were talking about a little bit when we were at Health Impact last month, around these, like, holistic clinic type, you know, ideas where you would get, you know, multiple things done. And you know, gives you more of a reason to go than just, you know, your flu shot or what have,
Janae Sharp 16:49 you could get your flu shot and your hair done at the same time. I just wish our healthcare organization saw us as people more. You know, you shouldn't have to go to like, five different places for everything. And I think there's an increasing need for things that are better.
Megan Antonelli 17:09 I do too. And you know, as we look at like health care, kind of moving out of the four walls of the hospital and into the home, where, of course, we do see ourselves as people, and we do look at, you know, not only you know what impacts our health when we are at home, but all of the sort of elements of that, I do feel like it's going to happen, you know, I feel like I'm hearing it, not just from healthcare professionals who are working in the space, who see the need for it, but even consumers who are just kind of demanded, right? So friends who are saying, you know, why can't I get all of these things in one place? So I think it's coming. I think there's, you know, there's certainly a shift happening. And as some of this technology becomes, you know, easier, hopefully it becomes cheaper. I mean, I think what we saw, you know, what we see is primary care is not financially viable business model. So when something, when an organization is just working on primary care, they end up going belly up, right? We saw that like a few months ago, that these or they
Janae Sharp 18:11 get bought by something giant, and then people divest it and buy the practices. You know, it's, it's, it's a difficult model, and I'm glad that there are opportunities to do more there, because I really think it's a need that people will work on meeting, you know, yeah,
Megan Antonelli 18:30 well, and I'm sure we'll be talking about it a lot at five next week in Nashville. So we're, I'm excited to head down there. Everybody will be sure in their coolest cowgirl year at Music City, you know? And that's it'll be my first vibe in Nashville, not my first five, but my first vibe in Nashville. Yeah, I know. I mean, I'm excited. It'll be fun. It's a great location. They have a lot of amazing speakers, certainly the who's who of digital health that's going to be down there. So it'll be fun,
Janae Sharp 19:07 just something we love. I'm glad I love that you'll miss me as well. I'll be here kicking it with my kids.
Megan Antonelli 19:15 When is your book club? Is your book club next week? My Book Club is
Janae Sharp 19:18 next week, and you should come take a break, we can read the purpose code. Oh, which I think my thing. I didn't set it to make it fuzzy in the background, but it is. It's the purpose code from Jordan Grumman, and he's a physician. But I love this book, sort of about just like taking, like, taking looking at yourself like, clear your schedule for an hour or two, turn off your phone, write down the communities that you chose and the communities that you didn't choose. And I really think when you take stock of your life, when you take that time to i. Think about if, if the things you're doing are aligned with your values. It makes your decisions so much easier, and it makes your life happier. You know you don't you don't get to complain anymore. Either. Imagine if everyone you knew that was like whining about things, they were just like not doing that anymore.
Megan Antonelli 20:20 Would we have a show.
Janae Sharp 20:22 We talk about five good things, Megan,
Megan Antonelli 20:27 I know, but inside I just,
Janae Sharp 20:29 I mean, inside, there's a lot but, but I do think it's nice, like when I think about the event we just had in January, it was aligned with people who have good values and and want to do good things, one, have an impact in healthcare, do good things and and support each other, and that's something I think that your community is good with. I've done these before, where you look at your values and you do an analysis. I've done it even with like every partnership and every person I've worked with, just to have people that you have similar values with. Anyway, this book, he's coming, he's coming virtually. And I think he was the author, Jordan, groom it. Jordan, yeah, he's kind of a big deal, like all these fancy authors come to our book club, and it kind of makes me
Megan Antonelli 21:18 happy, like, Well, that's certainly, you know, a purpose driven, you know, purpose events. We've always been about purpose. I think it's, you know, incredibly important. And of course, that's why we're in healthcare, you know, because, and I think that that that's true of everyone that who is in healthcare. So, yeah, I can't wait to read it, and we will when is the book
Janae Sharp 21:38 club? When is the virtual book club? It is the 18th at noon, and everyone is invited to come, bring their bring your drink. You know, usually something from Starbucks or another shop that you support. Snacks are welcome. Ideas are welcome. You're welcome, even if you haven't finished the book. Just come with your questions for the author. And it's really nice to be able to hear so many people that have done that work, to to share their expertise and just to be with people who care about improving their own mental health and improving their community. Yeah,
Megan Antonelli 22:16 absolutely. I don't think I've ever finished a book when I've gone to a book club.
Janae Sharp 22:20 So you know what? I've explained this to people like random, like one of my friends who was a man on LinkedIn. He's like, Wait, what's this book club about? I'm like, Well, you don't have to finish the book. He's like, wait. I'm like, I don't think you understand how book clubs work. My only like, my only regret, is there's not some lady like with their Martini at my book club, you know. And you know, they could have a lunchtime try
Megan Antonelli 22:47 to be that one, although I will be at Vive, and I think it'll be midday, but, you know, maybe could happen five day. I feel like it could happen. Well, everybody should tune in. Anyone who's is not at vibe, or even if you are, maybe we'll have a book club meetup at vibe, and we'll tune in. I love it. Awesome. Well, that is a wrap. That's a lot, you know, that's a lot of good things for a month. That one is only halfway through, and there's been a lot of maybe not so good things happening. So that was our Valentine's Day edition of five good things in digital health, from Noah Wiley's return to hospital drama in the pit to groundbreaking women's health initiatives, corals, impressive funding for menopause care and innovative cancer research partnerships. Don't forget, vibe kicks off next week in Nashville, and we'll be there bringing you the latest in digital health innovation. This is Megan Antonelli and Janae sharp. Join us next time for more good things happening in healthcare technology, and remember we heart digital health. Subscribe to digital health talks wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on LinkedIn for more updates.
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