Jul 25, 2018 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
While Apple recently debuted features to bring personal health records and protected health information to its mobile devices, Microsoft shuttered HealthVault in favor of focusing on AI-powered healthcare advances
As clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups know, lab testing data comprise more than 70% of the average patient’s health record. Thus, creating a universal platform on which consumers can share or review health information and medical histories with caregivers is a critical, yet elusive goal for most major tech companies, including tech giants Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT).
Apple has big plans for patient health records and is working to bring protected health information (PHI) and healthcare advice to iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watch. Meanwhile, Microsoft is reducing its footprint in the mobile device healthcare market. Instead, it appears to be banking on its Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform. How these two diverging paths play out could have ramifications for the pathology and clinical laboratory industries.
HealthVault Insights versus AI versus Apple Health Mobile Apps
Launched in February 2017, Microsoft’s HealthVault Insights combined machine learning and AI with patients’ PHI and mobile activity tracking. The intent was to create an accessible, interactive platform for patients to monitor important health trends.
However, as of January 2018, Microsoft pulled the mobile app from Android, iOS, and Windows App stores. While summary information that draws on previously collected data is still available from the HealthVault website, new data and detailed insights are no longer available.
“We launched HealthVault Insights as a research project … with the goal of helping patients generate new insights about their health,” states Microsoft’s HealthVault Insights website. “Since then, we’ve learned a lot about how machine learning can be used to increase patient engagement and are now applying that knowledge to other projects.”
According to ZDNet, the closing of HealthVault Insights does not impact the Microsoft Health platform or the HealthVault patient-records system.
However, Microsoft’s shuttering of HealthVault Insights, and Google’s shuttering its Google Health platform in 2012, does seem to make Apple the last major tech company developing apps target at healthcare consumers designed to help them exchange private health information with caregivers through mobile devices. Dark Daily reported on Apple’s update earlier this year. (See, “Apple’s Update of Its Mobile Health App Consolidates Data from Multiple EHRs and Makes It Easier to Push Clinical Laboratory Data to Patients,” March 21, 2018.)
AI Will ‘Dramatically Transform Healthcare’
Shuttering HealthVault highlighted Microsoft’s shift away from consumer-facing health efforts and toward assisting medical laboratories, physicians, and research groups discover and implement treatments driving modern personalized medicine.
In a Microsoft blog post, Peter Lee, Corporate VP of Microsoft Healthcare, stated that Microsoft hopes its Healthcare NeXT platform will “dramatically transform healthcare, will deeply integrate Greenfield research and health technology product development, as well as establish a new model at Microsoft for strategic health industry partnerships.”
HealthVault Insights was one of several projects in Microsoft’s Healthcare NeXT initiative. Run by Microsoft’s AI and Research Group and partnering with major healthcare and research facilities across the country, other projects in the Healthcare NeXT initiative include:
Speaking with Business Insider, Lee noted that healthcare is becoming a “very large business” for Microsoft. “We don’t talk publicly about the dollars, but it’s large,” he concluded.
Microsoft’s EmpowerMD website states the eventual goal is to use the system to connect conversations with the growing trove of healthcare data available. “Our long-term vision is a learning system that incorporates data from longitudinal medical records, medical devices, genomics, population health, research papers, and more.”
AI a ‘Sleeping Giant for Healthcare’
“AI can be viewed as a sleeping giant for healthcare,” Eric Horvitz, PhD, Director of Microsoft Research Labs, told Nasdaq, when discussing Microsoft’s view of technology and healthcare. “AI methods show promise for multiple roles in healthcare. [This includes] inferring and alerting about hidden risks of potential adverse outcomes, selectively guiding attention, care, and interventional programs where [they are] most needed and reducing errors in hospitals.”
One such project involves a strategic partnership with the University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC), which is a “$13-billion Pittsburgh-based system, comprising more than 25 hospitals, a three-million-member health plan, and 3,600 physicians, [that] will be a core partner in our efforts to improve healthcare delivery through a series of projects, beginning with a focus on transforming clinician empowerment and productivity,” according to Microsoft.
“Despite UPMC’s efforts to stay on the leading edge of technology, too often our clinicians and patients feel as though they’re serving the technology rather than the other way around. With Microsoft, we have a shared vision of empowering clinicians by reducing the burden of electronic paperwork and allowing the doctor to focus on the sacred doctor-patient relationship,” Steven D. Shapiro, MD (above), Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of UPMC and President of UPMC’s Health Services division, stated in the Microsoft blog. [Photo copyright: University of Pittsburg Medical Center.]
Medical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups may soon contribute health information to databases that one day will power AI systems. These trends highlight opportunities to both educate physicians on the tools available to utilize patient health data in an effective manner, and on new platforms that clinical laboratories could use to further streamline operations, reduce costs, and boost efficiency.
—Jon Stone
Related Information:
How Microsoft Is Using Advanced Technology in Healthcare
Microsoft Scrapping Personal Health Data App-Based Research Project
An Update on HealthVault Insights
How Microsoft’s Top Scientists Have Built a Big Business in Hacking Healthcare and Helped a Lot of People Along the Way
Microsoft Abandons Its Own HealthVault App: Is This Part of Something Larger?
Here’s How Microsoft Is Investing in AI
Microsoft Rolls Out More AI-Infused Healthcare Services, Software
Microsoft and Partners Combine the Cloud, AI, Research and Industry Expertise to Focus on Transforming Health Care
In Healthcare Push, Microsoft Launches Genomics Service on Azure Cloud
Apple’s Update of Its Mobile Health App Consolidates Data from Multiple EHRs and Makes It Easier to Push Clinical Laboratory Data to Patients
Nov 16, 2016 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Machine learning software may help pathologists make earlier and more accurate diagnoses
In Boston, two major academic centers are teaming up to apply big data and machine learning to the problem of diagnosing cancers earlier and with more accuracy. It is research that might have major implications for the anatomic pathology profession.
A collaborative effort between teams at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) has resulted in an innovation that could result in more accurate diagnoses in the pathology laboratory. The teams have been working on a machine learning software program that will eventually function as an artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the accuracy of diagnostics. They hope to someday build AI-powered computer systems that can accurately and quickly interpret pathology images. (more…)
Nov 4, 2020
COMPANY OVERVIEW
With over 16 years’ experience, JAV Advisors Corp focuses on business & management consulting within the digital pathology and artificial intelligence market in deployment within histology, pathology, and cytology laboratories throughout the world.
KEY AREAS OF SERVICE AND SOLUTIONS
For laboratories
Market review, vendor selection, project management, competitive intelligence, CRO project acquisitions, IT operations
For manufacturers
Product review, product development, market intelligence, market review, marketing launch, personnel education & recruitment.
For application developers
Product review, product development, market intelligence, market review, marketing launch, personnel education & recruitment.
For investors
Market review, competitive intelligence, financial analysis.
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS
• Large National Laboratory (Top 5 in USA) – Market review, vendor selection, project management, competitive intelligence
• Outside of USA manufacturer – Product review, product development, market intelligence, market review, marketing launch, clinical & validation trial recruitment partners
• Venture Capital Investor – Market review, competitive intelligence
COMPANY BIOS
Steven D. Barbee has worked within the pathology industry for over 17+ years. Mr. Barbee is the President of JAV Advisors Corp, which has over 50 pathology clients throughout the world. Mr. Barbee served as President of DigiPath Corp since 2012, a digital slide scanner company. Prior to joining DigiPath, Mr. Barbee was Vice President of Sales, International, and Government Affairs at BioImagene, Inc., a digital pathology firm acquired by Roche Corporation in 2010. https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-barbee-b3baab52/
Richard Faherty is currently consulting primarily with laboratory services, working with JAV Advisors Corp in the field of digital pathology and artificial intelligence. From July 2017 until December 2018, he was Managing Director of The Dark Intelligence Group, a business intelligence service to the laboratory industry located in Spicewood, TX; he continues to work with TDIG while working with JAV Advisors. Prior to TDIG, he was the Executive Vice President, Administration, for BioReference Laboratories, Inc. (BRLI) until his retirement in July 2017. He spent more than 20 years at BRLI overseeing general corporate affairs as well as all technology, including software development; he was President of PSIMedica (the Company’s clinical knowledge management division) and the creator of CareEvolve, the Company’s connectivity solution up until its recent sale to ELLKAY. https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-faherty-988870a/
JAV Advisors Corp.
P.O. Box 693
Andover, KA 67002
Phone: 213-258-6268
Email: javadvisors@gmail.com
May 5, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, TX 78669
512-264-7103 o
512-264-0969 f
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Liz Carey
lcarey@darkreport.com
AUSTIN, Texas (May 5, 2020) – Digital pathology has been positioned as a transformational tool that is enabling anatomic pathology laboratories to effectively address the complex dynamics that threaten their economic viability. A growing base of both partially and fully digitized labs continues to generate evidence in support of this paradigm shift; labs that have adopted digital pathology have seen from 13 to 21% efficiency and productivity gains.
The same story is playing out for labs that have implemented artificial intelligence-enabled digital workflows. As the potential for computational pathology applications has become increasingly clear, leading laboratories are racing to build strategies to realize the positive clinical and economic impacts to even their routine casework—benefits like increased efficiency, improved productivity, better margins, and a consistently higher quality of care.
“In this era of increasingly personalized medicine, understanding the transformational power of digital pathology is critical,” stated Robert L. Michel, Editor-in-Chief of The Dark Report and its sister publication, Dark Daily. “It also couldn’t be timelier as laboratories navigate the global pandemic and look to digitization to support their remote workforces.”
To help laboratory professionals embrace the shift to digital, The Dark Report is offering an insightful webinar, “Streamlined Operations, Increased Revenue, Higher Quality of Care: Conclusive Evidence on the Value of Adopting Digital Pathology in Your Lab.” During the session, leading industry experts and pathologists will share lessons learned and best practices on the meaningful adoption and scale up of digital and computational pathology.
This FREE webinar will take place Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 1 PM EDT.
Attendees of this 60-minute program will:
- Recognize the return of going digital in terms of workflow, outcomes, and cost
- Identify approaches and considerations for digital adoption, including technology requirements
- Understand how early adopters have leveraged digital and AI to address growing pressures on their labs
- Learn best practices for using digital pathology, including Proscia Concentriq, to support a remote workforce during these uncertain times, and more
Interested laboratory professionals and pathologists can register for this incisive webinar here.
About The Dark Report
Established in 1995, The Dark Report is the leading source of exclusive business intelligence for laboratory CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Pathologists and Senior industry executives. It is widely read by leaders in laboratory medicine and diagnostics. The Dark Report produces the famous Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management every spring, which showcases innovations by the nation’s and globe’s leading laboratory organizations. Dark Daily is an Internet-based e-briefing intelligence service, read worldwide by thought leaders in laboratory and pathology management. Other well-known conferences conducted by The Dark Report are Lab Quality Confab (on the use of Lean and Six Sigma methods in labs and hospitals) and Precision Medicine Institute. The Dark Report co-produces Executive Edge bi-annually in Canada and The Business of Pathology bi-annually in Australia.
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Mar 16, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, TX 78669
512-264-7103 o
512-264-0969 f
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Liz Carey
lcarey@darkreport.com
AUSTIN, Texas (March 17, 2020) – As anatomic pathology laboratories struggle to remain profitable while they grapple with increasing workloads and sweeping reimbursement cuts, digital pathology and artificial intelligence (AI) applications have demonstrated their power to tackle these systemic challenges—enabling laboratories to overcome the unprecedented confluence of market pressures and to drive efficiency and quality gains.
Compelled by recent technological advancements and regulatory approvals, academic and commercial laboratories are increasingly going digital to improve the speed and accuracy of case review and diagnosis. These same labs are implementing computational applications that leverage AI to expand on the productivity, quality, and confidence gains they’ve already realized.
“Pathology’s classic economic business model and the rapid change in diagnostic technologies and genetic medicine mean that many pathology laboratories operate on such a thin margin that it may only take one more severe adverse event to put the most financially stressed labs out of business,” explained Robert L. Michel, Editor-in-Chief of The Dark Report and its sister publication, Dark Daily. “Healthcare’s ongoing transformation is another powerful reason to expect that disruption to pathology’s long-standing business and clinical practices will continue.”
To inform laboratory professionals with valuable insights and best practices, and to provide long-awaited evidence needed to justify the decision for laboratories to successfully make the shift to digital, The Dark Report is offering a recently published free White Paper, “Anatomic Pathology at the Tipping Point? The Economic Case for Adopting Digital Technology and AI Applications Now.” Published by Dark Daily, it is available to laboratory professionals as a PDF download.
This White Paper demonstrates how leading anatomic pathology laboratories are regularly realizing the benefits of digitization and AI in practice. The paper includes:
- Case studies on leading institutions, including University of Florida (UF), University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Granada University Hospitals
- New insights and best practices from digital pathology pioneers, including Zoltan Laszik, MD, PhD, Professor of Clinical Pathology, UCSF; Nicolas Cacciabeve, MD, Managing Partner, Advanced Pathology Associates; Kiran Motaparthi, MD, Program Director, Department of Dermatology, UF; and Anthony Magliocco, MD, President and CEO, Protean BioDiagnostics
- Examples of how AI-enabled digital pathology drives diagnostic confidence, increased productivity, and cost savings
- Perspectives on how AI-powered digital pathology systems will drive the future of diagnostics and empower precision medicine
Interested laboratory professionals and pathologists should download this exclusive White Paper for a synopsis of recent research and real-world cases that demonstrate the economic and scientific necessity of adopting digital pathology platforms and AI applications, plus interviews with industry-leading labs that lay out benefits that can be expected from going digital.
“Anatomic Pathology at the Tipping Point? The Economic Case for Adopting Digital Technology and AI Applications Now” is part of the Dark Daily growing library of White Papers and other information resources tailored specifically to the needs of laboratory administrators, lab managers, pathologists, and lab industry consultants.
About The Dark Report
Established in 1995, The Dark Report is the leading source of exclusive business intelligence for laboratory CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Pathologists and Senior industry executives. It is widely read by leaders in laboratory medicine and diagnostics. The Dark Report produces the famous Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management every spring, which showcases innovations by the nation’s and globe’s leading laboratory organizations. Dark Daily is an Internet-based e-briefing intelligence service, read worldwide by thought leaders in laboratory and pathology management. Other well-known conferences conducted by The Dark Report are Lab Quality Confab (on the use of Lean and Six Sigma methods in labs and hospitals) and Precision Medicine Institute. The Dark Report co-produces Executive Edge bi-annually in Canada and The Business of Pathology bi-annually in Australia.
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