Interviews

Technology connects every element of the modern health system

In the recent years, the integration of health care and technology is accelerating at a pace we’ve never experienced before. There is increasing focus on data and AI, drug discovery, clinical trials, digital wellness, telemedicine to reach underserved segments, tech for diagnostics and imaging etc. The healthcare ecosystem has also expanded beyond the traditional healthcare providers with innovative health tech providers and big tech companies. This conversation with Sampath Gandhi, Vice President, Optum Health & Enterprise Clinical Technology, Optum Global Solutions (India) Pvt. Ltd. explores the power of ecosystems and how they are driving the next wave of healthcare innovation.

 

  1. What is the most important thing people should know about Optum? Share an overview about the focus areas that Optum is working in.

At Optum, we are dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping make the health system work better for everyone. Optum is a health services innovation company pushing the boundaries of what health care can be. We place the people that we serve, at the centre of everything we do.  We are focused on giving all the participants in the health care system great experiences, lower costs and the best possible results. We do this by connecting people, technology, clinical insights, data and analytics to find a smarter way for people to live their healthiest life.

We serve 125 million individual consumers, 9 out of 10 U.S. hospitals and 9 out of 10 Fortune 100 employers. We are widely recognized for leveraging technological advances to solve the toughest challenges in health care.

Optum opened offices in India in 2002 and is one of the fastest growing digital health technology employers in the country. We provide distinct global operations and technology capabilities that span the entire health care value chain and are complemented by advanced analytics and automation. Our team of 30K+ experienced health care professionals including technologists, health care data scientists, doctors and surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, medical coders etc. working across 10 state-of-the-art global delivery centers deliver value through distinctive quality, innovation, and operational performance.

 

  1. Post Covid, we’ve seen a rising trend in adoption of digital health solutions and health care has shifted from a reactive to a more proactive and predictive care. How is technology playing a crucial role in this transformational journey and how has Optum evolved during this period?

Every individual deserves a personalized health experience supported by clinicians, data and technology whenever and wherever they need it. Such experiences are possible only when we bring the various aspects of health together. When care is connected, health becomes wholistic and the system is easier to navigate. Technology can move us forward. Systems can change. And individuals can thrive. To achieve connected health, we are designing care experiences around the person. By putting people at the center of everything we do, whole-person health becomes a reality. Digital tools become more intuitive. Wellness programs become more personal, and care becomes more efficient and effective. Better care is made possible when health decisions are backed by insight. By supporting health decisions through personalized insights, the health system becomes smarter. Connecting people, data and clinical excellence in the moments that matter drives more informed care that yields better outcomes.

Our approach to technology isn’t about designing yet another app to fix health care. It’s about connecting people to their care teams, payers to providers, and ultimately connecting a disconnected health system so that it works better for the people it was created to serve.

Technology helps us pursue innovations that make health care simpler and more effective.

  • For physicians, technology enables value-based care by giving them the tools, insights, and actionable knowledge to help their patients live healthier and more independent lives, while improving health outcomes and lowering costs.
  • For local health systems looking to strengthen clinical expertise, eliminate waste, and take friction out of their administrative systems, technology, data, and analytic solutions make care delivery more efficient and effective while improving how it’s paid for.
  • For patients, members and customers, technology brings transparency, personalization, and empowerment to the way they find, experience, and pay for care.

At Optum, we are at the forefront of this ‘digital health care’ revolution and we are always looking for more product thinkers and engineers to help accelerate our journey.

 

  1. Health care is seen to be complex and fragmented, making it difficult to navigate for both consumers and the entities that serve them. What role can emerging technologies play in streamlining the entire care process?

Technology enables us to take the noise out of an overly complicated health system and connect patients and providers to the information they need – and to each other. It helps build new ways to listen and respond to our customers – from integrated platforms and data that help physicians deliver more personalized, outcome-driven care, to an ecosystem of virtual care and services that wrap around the needs of our patients.

The future of health care will be characterized by the interplay between people, environments, and the tools of technology. Towards that end, I think there are several threads that are all very important:

  • A patient-centric approach to health care, that anticipates the patients need, involves the patient in their health care journey and provides the best care at the most convenient location
  • At the same time, we want to focus on the provider experience – We envision a future where doctors can spend time on what is most important – patient interaction, and digital health solutions act as enablers providing suggestions on next best action.
  • Finally, we want to do all this in a way that makes health care much more affordable. For example, if we are able to steer our members towards more affordable generic medications, we can save them money; if we are able to provide clinicians with state-of-the-art decision support that pulls in historical data and all the research and advise them on the next best course of actions, we can improve clinical outcomes; if we can equip the elderly with the right sensors in their homes, they can live more comfortably and independently – there are many more examples of how we can help regular patients everywhere and at Optum, we are involved in every single example that I have mentioned

 

  1. How are analytics enabled IoT solutions in health care helping make health care more accessible to the vulnerable population?

IoT-based health care solutions have the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of treatments and accordingly improve the health of patients.

With real-time monitoring of health conditions via smart medical devices connected to a smartphone app, health data can be collected to perform analytics-driven information extraction, which can then be shared with physicians. IoT devices can gather, analyze and communicate data in real time and reduce the need to store raw data. Moreover, health care operations allow organizations to get vital health care analytics and data-driven insights, which speed up decision-making and are less prone to errors.

Connected health care solutions, leveraging IoT and analytics, have a profound impact on the patient experience. Transitioning from reactive, provider-driven, and largely episodic care delivery models that are increasingly costly and inefficient to operate, connected health care will lead the way for a model that is proactive, digitally-enabled, and patient-centric.

 

  1. What potential does India have to reach the global health care goals and what role can it play in the future of health care?

In the future, health care will be defined by the interplay between people and the systems, applications and tools created by software engineers and developers. Engineers, developers will be ones to create ecosystems that connect people, technology, data and clinical expertise.

India has vast technology talent and we have the opportunity to transform an entire sector of the economy at scale by using advanced AI, and other advancing digital technologies and put them to work for people by leveraging this talent pool.

We have an incredible opportunity to spend our time and talents pursuing an ambitious yet humbling mission – to make health care better for everyone. This I think is the big opportunity.

There is also a vibrant startup ecosystem in India developing numerous innovations in health tech domain. At Optum, we are supporting this ecosystem through our Optum Startup Studio program which has recently been launched in India in partnership with International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH).

This partnership will entail research on specific challenges in the health care sector with a focus on applying learnings and distinct capabilities to provide people an opportunity to live healthier lives.

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