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Related Conference
The Future of Healthcare, Wireless and Consumer Healthcare – September 15, 2010
Duke Health Sector Management Second Annual Medical Innovations and Strategies Conference 2010 Podcast Preview Series
An Interview with James Glasheen
Listen to the Interview:
Read the Transcript:
PARTICIPANTS
James (Jim) Glasheen, PhD
General Partner, Technology Partners
Aaron B. Joslow
Duke Health Sector Management MBA Program
PODCAST
Aaron Joslow
Hello, everyone. The Duke Health Sector Management Program is on the cutting edge of new wireless in healthcare technology. Its upcoming conference on consumer healthcare and wireless technologies is bringing together the best minds in business, education and information systems to discuss one of the most pressing concerns in public policy.
Joining us to preview the conference is James Glasheen, a general partner at Technology Partners and one of the event's featured speakers. Welcome, Jim.
My first question to you is: what makes wireless technology a compelling issue to the health management community?
James Glasheen
I believe that wireless medical technologies represent a real key for addressing many of the issues in health intervention.
And it really addresses one of the Holy Grail's, which is to effect behavior modification and whether that behavior modification manifests itself, in enabling greater clinician insight into a patient's status, or enables better patient adherence with their medication, or it just provides ubiquitous coaching. And that can allow a patient to achieve some lifestyle changes. And all of those sorts of interventions at the end of the day result in behavior modification, which can, as we all know, have profound health impacts.
Aaron Joslow
Very good. And my next question for you is this: Can you give a specific example or two of how wireless technology is used in the marketplace today?
James Glasheen
Well, I think there's a variety.
Perhaps, my favorite ones are still in the hopper in terms of prospective investments. So, I won't be able to speak about those, but there's any number of MEMS technologies that are either in the cardiovascular arena, or the orthopedic arena where it provides monitoring the body status and a variety of different disease conditions, and allows clinicians insight into that disease condition. So, that's perhaps the most traditional medical manifestation of some of these wireless technologies.
I think a more consumer facing opportunity lies more in the apps for the iPhones, which can allow consumers to monitor their own adherence to whatever lifestyle modification they're trying to achieve, whether that be diet, exercise, puzzles… As we all know around some of these brain trainers and what's being enabled now is to do actually real clinical studies using these modest interventions in behavior modification that can have quite profound effects.
Aaron Joslow
Great. And what do you think is the biggest misperception or blind spot people have when joining the wireless conversation?
James Glasheen
Well, I think a blind spot that is definitely there in the wireless, wireless medical world, isn't necessarily it turns out to be a misperception. And the blind spot that I think many of us feel is there is a great deal of uncertainty as it relates to the regulatory environment, and what the FDA is required--is going to require - and what other potential federal regulatory agencies might require of technologies in order to bring them to market, and potentially to get some of them reimbursed as well.
And so it is a huge blind spot for many of us on the investment side, but I'm not sure that's because it's a misperception. I think there's true lack of clarity out there, and it's something that may be very helpful to get cleared up over time.
Aaron Joslow
When you come to the Duke conference, Jim, what's the one thing you are really looking forward to sharing with participants?
James Glasheen
This approach, using wireless communication technologies in the healthcare setting, is an arena that is tremendously under-innovated.
As we all know, the healthcare arena is a real laggard integrating a lot of these technologies into workflows and patient management. And so the degree of under-innovation to date represents a real opportunity for new entrepreneurs and investors to help try and build some of the great companies of tomorrow.
Not only that, but I think it has profound implications for the healthcare system. I think unlike many areas of healthcare innovation which may or may not, at the end of the day, make the overall system more efficient and more cost effective, I think many of the wireless health technologies really could deliver on creating more cost-effective solutions for patients in the healthcare system.
Aaron Joslow
All right. And the final question is: what makes the Duke Health Sector Management Program's Consumer Healthcare and Wireless Technologies Conference appealing?
James Glasheen
You know, perhaps first and foremost, I'm a Duke alum. I have tremendous affection for the university and always look for opportunities to maintain my contact with the university at large.
And it's in part because of some of those contacts that I learned about the conference and the group of folks that are going to be at this conference. It's going to be a mix of folks that I'd love to foster those connections and insights from over time.
Aaron Joslow
Thank you so much, Jim, for that insight.
This concludes our podcast preview of The Duke Health Sector Management Program's conference. To register or learn more, please visit us online. Thank you for listening, and we hope to see you September 15th on the Duke campus at the Second Annual Medical Innovation and Strategies Conference on Consumer Healthcare & Wireless Technologies.
Upcoming conferences
Previous conferences
- Delivering on the Value Proposition for Connectivity and Health IT – April 23, 2009
This conference focused on connectivity and industry strategies for health information technology in response to related provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Discussions helped raise the awareness and the need for a clinical informatics management program. Participants included informaticists, healthcare providers, vendors, payers, policymakers, and educators. Among the companies represented were IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences, McKesson, Perot Systems, and Siemens Medical Solutions.
- Medical Innovation and Strategies Conference, Wireless and Consumer Healthcare – September 23, 2009
This meeting focused on identifying and discussing fundamental drivers of connectivity in healthcare IT and ways the Fuqua community can participate in the development and implementation of wireless and consumer healthcare. Participants included healthcare providers, members of the medical device industry, innovators in wireless healthcare, and venture/investment professionals and students of Fuqua’s Health Sector Management program. Among the companies represented were IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences, Microsoft Corporation, General Electric/NBC Universal, and Medtronic.
For more information, please contact:
Ana Quinn
Associate Director, Business Development
Health Sector Management
Phone: 919‐660‐7900
ana.quinn@duke.edu