Category: European

IT’S HOLIDAY TIME – ON A BIG BOAT!

As gaps are starting to appear in the COVID stranglehold – we look at the background to getting back on the water, with a visit to the CRUISE SHIP INTERIORS EXPO in London Excel, – and what we can expect when we travel.


If you are going to have a Conference about Cruise Liners, then basing yourself by the side of the Thames, and just two tube stops down from the O2 Arena, is not a bad place to start. Adjacent also to City Airport, and equally close to Tower Bridge and some of the richest mooring spots in an already wealthy city financial area – it’s not hard to see why the organisers of this new Event, chose the Excel as their stopping off point.


They all had a party, the night before. If they say that every vertical market is like a small village – everybody knows everybody – then this was the ambience as you walk through the frankly deserted hallways of Excel until you come across Hall 3, and step inside the Trade Show area.


Perhaps the exhibitors and organisers, were expecting more? It didn’t help that just two days earlier, the UK went into a new series of COVID travel restrictions. More than one exhibitor confided that they had to fork out more than £100.00 on a sudden PCR test, that had not been made apparent before travel.


The chaotic travel scenario alas extended into the event itself. And this was a pity. Because CRUISE SHIP INTERIORS EXPO 21 – was actually rather good! There were some very, very inventive new products in the space-saving category, clever hospitality devices rubbed shoulders with travel agencies – and every Stand had at least one major decision-maker resident. Every conversation, was a productive experience.


I loved the Nautilus bedroom pod from Matalika; and the rather interesting invention from Icecooldesign, The nice lady at Franz Fertig showed me how to create a sofa-bed, without pretty much lifting a finger.


People come to Trade Fairs, to do business. There were far more European vendors, than British, and they had travelled there for a reason. There were more conversations in Italian – than English. Everybody was happy to have a chat.


The comparative lack of people created an intimacy – you could progress in a conversation beyond the usual “meet and greet”.


For that reason, although the Fair was not large in size, by comparison to others at Excel – this was a more worthwhile experience.


There was enough space not to need absolutely a mask, all the time. Just to be on the safe side, I put mine on, when re-emerging onto the Excel hallway. I think we are in for the long haul with COVID into 2022, but hopefully long gone by the time we all get back for the same event in 2022. I’ll be among friends.

CAN NEW ENERGY THINKING, SAVE THE WORLD?


We interview Paddy Young, Director of Enlit Europe in Milan this November 21, and ask – if Energy has had a bad press from Global Warming, who will listen to its voices now?

Paddy Young sits back, across the screen from me. He is wearing a blue sweater, very relaxed in what appears to be an office environment, the image is a mix of social cool but also business mode. We are all chilled now.

As the “bringer to the market” of the first major event for the energy industry since European Utility Week & Powergen Europe rebranded into Enlit Europe and COVID planning took over – this is a milestone, that, following on the footsteps of COP26, are we going to see big announcements, big differences?

“No – this is an energy transition event”, he says. The big misconception of you and I, say, is that we want everything all at once”. Paddy continues; “Big gestures, grand concepts, will not themselves be necessary. But what we are looking for, is targeted integration from old to new”.

It is a valid point. This Enlit new-brand of event, is bringing together a segregated group of specialists, ranging from start-ups, through to established voices, each given their “area” or “hub” so to say, to talk about, guide, and show, where an energy future can go.

It is a practical meeting point. And Paddy himself is no specialist. He is a realist, He delivers events in vertical markets, where he can make a difference. His background, from studying in Bucks in the UK, to a global journey of delivering for large corporates, including being the messenger for a global water crisis for so many countries, his remit is to bring to our attention those aspects that we have passed over, but need to change.

The difference, between now – and former years – Paddy explains, “is that we are now entering an age of consumer empowerment. You and I do not have to buy this energy brand or that one. The success of which energy process succeeds will depend on the brand and its ability to engage with its market.”
“People may well choose to pay a bit more” he continues, “if we can start to “love our energy company”.

The fact that people can now make choices, “is that we are all together on the same journey, instead of being a supplier and a reluctant consumer”.

Enlit Europe is spread over three days. It is enough time for people to meet and link with the partners of their choice. We have finished our 30 minutes together – but could have gone on for much longer. “Very stimulating discussion”, he says.

DIABETES MANAGEMENT FOR ALL PEOPLE WITH DIABETES

As part of our series of Case Studies for The HETT Show (www.hettshow.co.Uk) – we look at the rise of the Nipro Diagnostics company in Diabetes healthcare and ask, – from a standing start (with the new 4SURE portfolio), in just a few years, has their time come to be a major UK player?

For many people like you and I, the realisation that many people with diabetes do not have their condition out of choice, is a hard one to accept.  And yet its management requires a complex understanding.  

Let’s try and set the scene. In the last 10 years, the cost of treating Diabetes in the UK, has almost doubled. Looking at it another way – some 13% of all the NHS spending, is diabetes related. It is the largest slice of spending in the NHS cake.  And for type 2 diabetes there is no shortage of blame. Everything from the UK government’s lack of practical steps – through to you and I for eating the wrong food and an ever increasing sedentary lifestyle . 

Or maybe, there is no blame? Maybe, despite the fact that 10 years is a long time, and long enough to change both personal and NHS day-to-day processes, is it only now that we need to take a deeper look?

Is it therefore time? Time to reassess, and look again at what do we really need, now, to bring the diabetes epidemic under control and into the 21st century with technological advancements?

10 years ago, and with a Nipro global headcount of some 29,000 people – the NiproDIAGNOSTICS company was not a known player in the UK. Two years ago, they set out to furtherfocus their attention to help people living with Type 1 diabetes, by launching the 4SURE range of glucose meters and partnered with the revolutionary Diabetes:M App. With the aim of being the single one stop shop for every person requiring blood glucose monitoring, Nipro set about bringing into a needy market, a combined process that was affordable for the NHS, and easy to understand for you and I.

Tom Atkinson, Country Manager of Nipro Diagnostics UK, looks corporate cool – with a fashionable soft northern accent, dressed in an open white shirt, he leans into his screen and talks fluidly about his Insulin Pharma background, and the wish to be part of a complete solution. 

“What we understood from day one, was that we have to work the same way as our patients. They don’t want a meter that the NHS cannot afford; they want one with Bluetooth connectivity.And they want an App, which has got to be their Dashboard – everybody wants an App. Our big plus is that access to our new innovative technology, is obviously free, along with the Starter Pack from their diabetes clinic – which includes their initial consumables.”

We talk about the pandemic. It is an irony that, at a time when the NHS and health service provision has been desperate for so many – the essential acceptance overnight of remote diagnostics and monitoring by NHS nurses, has been a game changer for the better, for Nipro. 

“Clearly, we had not forecast a pandemic”, continues Tom, “but it was obvious that it was only a matter of time before common acceptance and a desire for remote diabetes monitoring. What has helped, is that our meters have an accuracy rate of 99.3%, and we are the fastest growing provider of diabetes solutions”.

The corporate ethos of a sales pitch is creeping into the discussion, and I don’t have a problem with that. What is equally evident is the pride of helping the ordinary person with diabetes, just being available, at the end of a phone line if a patient needs help or advice.  But that does not address the basic issue of human behavior. A diabetes meter can only be reactive to a patient’s condition.

Not necessarily. By giving the patient an affordable, information-driven, platform to manage their condition, patients themselves can change their lifestyles armed with the facts and see the benefits of their condition improving by relating to their life choices.

Tom interrupts; “yes, this is true – we are “part” of the solution – but for the patient, we are the major part – as it’s our technology they are using every day and we are the link between them and their own clinic or doctor, as we are providing the vital remote monitoring bridge to keep a patient in touch with their HCP so they can monitor their glucose levels remotely in real time and change their medication and other variables, there and then, if needs be”.

The focus of the discussion goes back to that of patient-provider relationship. “We don’t want diabetes to be the affliction for everyone – but we do want to provide the all-embracing solution for those that need it”. Tom looks at his watch. We have been engaged in academic discussion for nearly an hour, and it is Friday afternoon, end of July. He is taking his family on holiday. 

I closed my screen and take a moment of reflection. Innovation is not necessarily about technology. The patient also has a role to play. The Innovation at Nipro is the approach, taking the fear-factor, the newness, and combining it to tech that simply delivers, and communicating that to the person in the street.

HAS HEALTHCARE CHANGED FOR EVER, BECAUSE OUR LIFESTYLES HAVE CHANGED FOR EVER?

We chat with HIMSS Global Clinical Director, Charles Alessi, about where healthcare is going for all of us, and what will be the key changes. It’s a wide ranging discussion…

It’s an obvious question with no obvious answer, because our original assessments of just 10 months ago, may well be incorrect.

Charles Alessi looks intently at me across the screen, we are on FaceTime, – he is dressed casually in a pastel coloured polo shirt, sitting in his relaxed lounge area of his home in south west London, there are rows of books behind, a sort of academic university professor ambience and it reminds me of my own one/one sessions all those years ago. As a former Chair of the UK’s National Association of Primary Care, and as an advisor to WHO – Charles is well placed to be talking about the problems of our time.

And COVID per se, may not be one of them. “There have always been pandemics,” he says. This particular COVID-19 is really a child of the 21st century, perfectly suited to our super connected societies where global travel between dense population centres  is as common as a daily commute” Charles is more referring to our personal ability to survive and manage ourselves in lockdown, or rather – survive the absence of face/face proper contact, and the distance management that is the glue that holds us all together and allows us to cope.

“Starting the day at 08.00am, from my living room, with a call to Tokyo – and then a 10.00 call to Berlin – with London time zone calls in between – and then the 17.00 call with California – all whilst sitting in my own arm chair and not having moved an inch – is not what our bodies and brains are designed for. We as humans, need the travel time, to adjust, to refocus, to wind down between sessions, so to say.”

So no – our Lifestyles have not changed for ever. We will inevitably return to the travel to meetings, as soon as it is safe to so do – because we are becoming disorientated without doing so.

Healthcare on the other hand, has indeed changed, and we cannot put the genie back in the bottle. It is obvious that telehealth, or telemedicine, and the remote monitoring of our conditions by clinicians, makes sense, and reduces costs. And where all of us are moving towards a single version of truth of our own health. And yet, this democratising of healthcare – Charles argues – has not happened. And so we have systems and processes designed to fix individual instances, but where in times of a pandemic, are forcing whole decades of instances into just a few months or even weeks. How can we possibly cope?

The key to where our health processes should be going, is at the beginning, where we stop being a binary society, – assuming we are all “well” – until we flick the switch one random day and find we are sick, we have a lump, a pain, whatever. And then we go to places called hospitals to fix the issue.

Our focus now should be the age of precision early management of our individual health. At a time when you and I as individuals already know from the data on our wrist, what is wrong with us even before the doctor ever speaks to us, we are now in a position to manage where our own health data and symptoms, and what Charles calls “non communicable diseases” , can take us, for our own good.

I was expecting somehow a medical discussion and yet this was not it. This was a look at where society is going, and what are we doing as society. But you and I as individuals, are society.

I always remember being late substantially for a meeting. I called ahead, as if my excuse – “I am in traffic!” – was good enough.

“But you are the traffic”, was the response.

WHAT NOW, FOR HEALTHCARE IN EUROPE?

We interview the VP of HIMSS EMEA, Sean Roberts, newly moved to the UK from his native California, for his plans for HIMSS over the next twelve months – and his view of healthcare on this side of the Atlantic. HIMSS is the largest healthcare trade association in the world. Its annual Global Conference resonates around the world; European healthcare vendors, particularly from Scandinavia, use the USA as their launch pad for their European and even domestic healthcare promotion.

It is not the first time that Sean and I have met. Sean is an anglophile. The last time of any significance, that we met, we went to a rather bijou little restaurant somewhere in south west London on one of his frequent stop-offs. It is rare to find an American with such a detailed knowledge of eating places in London where tourists don’t go.

This time it is different. We are in Zoom territory now. Sean has much shorter dark hair this time – he is wearing a dark blue t-shirt, the background in his home office is bare white, and he looks quizzically at the PC screen;

“Can you hear me now?

I get up and move around my own office.

“Yep! I’ve got a better connection if I stand just here….”

And this is no stop-off. Sean has moved his whole family, wife, and dog – across the Atlantic, to use London as the base so to say, for promoting better clinical management and outreach, in Europe. It is an irony compounded by the fact that the HIMSS Global Chief Clinical Director, who advises the PHE – is also already UK based.

Obviously, COVID dominates the first part of the conversation. And I ask; “So, at a time when each European country is fending for itself, why choose the UK?”

Sean hesitates and replies; “it is because English is de facto the international language, but above all, because your frontline NHS worker bees, are so “resilient”.” It is a word Sean uses several times in our conversation.

And it is not because the UK has best healthcare COVID outcomes. That accolade goes to Denmark. They plan on doing 5.5 million vaccinations, by July 2021 and everyone’s bet is that they will do this. I concur; my last time running through CPH just a few months ago, my passport control took just a few seconds and even before getting my bag, there was a nice young Danish girl in blue uniform asking me “would I like a COVID test? It’s free of charge for all visitors”. I was directed through the arrivals area, up some steps and into a covered area, and within twenty minutes tops, I had my first COVID test. “Yes, we will call you at your Hoel in day or two of there are any probs”, the nice nurse said.

What Sean is able to do, is make comparisons between one country and another, and make suggestions to each government, each hospital -“Look, have you thought about mirroring how these other people do it? Their outcomes are better”.

Looking outside one’s own internal bubble, and learning from others, is a key message that Sean is trying to promote in the UK. And the delivery of this message is not without its problems. It may not all be to do with technology, but more about national culture. Those countries that do best in containing COVID, are those who have an implicit trust in their governments. If the government says this is the right road, then this is what we will do.

Despite the fact that we are a Telehealth society now, we are hampered by the lowest common denominator in terms of wifi connectivity. The growth of Telehealth, of video conferencing, has not been because surgeries and hospitals want to go down that road, it is because they have had to take that avenue. The success of Telehealth and remote consultation at surgery and hospital vet, is directly related to each individual organisation’s willingness to adopt these new processes.

But having said that, Sean continues, these messages are getting through. IHE and HL7 and links with the WHO, are the new common standards, and HIMSS has a programme for 2021, for increasing its pan Europe roll out. The next Conference, which may well be hybrid, will be again based around Finland and their new initiatives, – it is scheduled for 7th-10th June.

Scandinavia remains a natural point of departure for HIMSS EMEA, and there is a sadness that only 5% of visitors to HIMSS events are from the UK. In the same way that just a year ago, nobody had heard of COVID – so life and healthcare is a different process now. Let’s see in June if the message has got through.

COVID; Analysis of Key Commercial Benchmarks

We look at the past twelve months and ask – if everything has gone wrong, was that simply because of COVID, or were the downsides always there, it’s  just that Covid was the excuse  of choice? Or are there new trends and behaviours come to the surface that we never considered until now?

Looking at the obvious – you can  say that 2020 was the death knell of Events and Conferences. Major companies globally are in trouble and have not been able to rediscover a new secret sauce as to why you and should even  bother to attend an online event. As long as COVID continues, it is doubtful whether many will still be around with their current offering, thru to the end of 2021. In our discussions with vendors, we have yet to find any vendor that is satisfied that being part of a virtual event has has offered them any benefit at all. Criticisms range from “ this is a scam”, to the more polite “ it’s not the fault of the organiser, they are doing their best”  etc.

It is made doubly worse  by the lack of interest from so many delegates.  Worst in our discussions, were anything to do with the UK NHS. Even those that attend workshops have almost nil interest in pursuing a discussion after they have gone offline and  in almost all cases there is no way for a vendor to progress a discussion. Much better are the Financial events; there is a clear monetary and commercial objective  – but even then – online workshops that we looked at – were sparsely attended, the vendors themselves outnumbering the delegates.

This situation is made worse alas by the naivety and astonishing optimism of the conference organisers themselves, who routinely do not bother to answer emails from apparent interested parties, preferring to have a voicemail, saying “we are working from home”.  Or those who publish and write to us with sentences such as:”We bring people together and excite them with truly life-changing experiences. Creating the ideal environment for doing business, learning about new trends and innovations, and cementing relationships. Discover our unique mission, vision and values.”

This is not what people are saying to us.

At least some organisers are trying tho. This one in Liverpool, sent us a nice paragraph:

It is all down to simplicity and not trying to recreate a inperson conference. It is impossible to recreate an inperson event so why not shake things up and cater for what you have in hand. By having more focused sessions and pre arranged 1-2-1’s rather than a networking area sponsors, delegates and speakers have a much more comprehensive experience’
The trouble is – this  is alas not our experience, as well intentioned as it may be.
In short – the market exists on two levels; established vendors who just want to support their brand. They are not so dependent on  people coming to see them. Or at a deeper level – the vendor who has something new to say – in which case, the conference has work to do to keep the delegate focussed and  on-message. One thing is clear; the lack of face to face contact will continue for longer than we care to admit.
Looking  at our work habits, what is clear is that we all accept, employers and employees, that work is a thing we do, rather than a place we go. The problem is, that the novelty has worn off. What started as a great experiment, working from home – an increasing number of people have told us that six months in, they are much less focussed, and that work expands to fill the entire day. There is no “me” time.  We frequently receive emails at 23.00, from companies and even prospects, wanting our attention.  This is damaging to both our work performance and our personal health.
The good people at the property rental specialists Knotel company in London, who we have spoken to,  tell  us that corporates are looking in increasing numbers for short term flexible packages and locations.
All of which is good, for them, but we expect to see as the vaccine kicks in, a gradual return to the heady days of returning to an office to work. It has to be like this, for reasons of sharper contact with one’s colleagues, as well as the dependence on infrastructure, theatres, social gathering, that we all need as human beings. The only question is one of size; just how many people will indeed retreat from corporate values, and decide they actually like to earn less but are happier in themselves.
Moving on…..as of today (at time of writing I have just received a News Item that we have a Brexit deal, that will deliver us more or less half of what we already had anyway – clearly good news….) – this is a good moment to take stock and see which markets are now relevant, or have changed.
Talking to my colleagues in La Rochelle and Toulouse, and Paris, France; this is not a market that is worth exploring for the time being. The South West France in particular is in deep depression. The empty streets, the 20.00 curfew, has demoralised the french psyche.
Similarly, the failure of COVID free expression in Sweden, has created a sense of uncertainty among an increasing number of areas of Sweden, particularly around the Goteborg area. There are no such hesitations from the south of Sweden, or Norway.
Two things are of interest; there is a new vigour in the UK, to going and doing things. What was unmitigated disaster some nine months ago, has now manifested into something more positive. Similarly, my colleagues in Switzerland are saying “2020 was our best year”, from technology services to  consumer drinks. However – this growth has all been domestic. We would like to see more outreach from Swiss companies internationally.
Ultimately, it will in both  the consumer/delegate, as well as vendor and organiser, to increase their appetite for being serious and implemting change. That thread is the common denominator  of both avenues.  It will be interesting to see in twelve months time, which industries and geo areas have risen to the challenge.,

 

 

Introducing A New Innovative, Incision-Free Treatment from Gynesonics.

MedStar Health is the first health system to provide Sonata, an incision-free, uterus-preserving, outpatient treatment option for women  with symptomatic Uterine Fibroids

Gynesonics®, a women’s healthcare company focused on the development of minimally invasive solutions for symptomatic uterine fibroids, announced today that MedStar Health, a not-for-profit health system of 4,300 affiliated physicians and 10 hospitals, ambulatory care and urgent care centers, has introduced the Sonata® Procedure in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area. The first case at MedStar Health was performed by Vadim Morozov, M.D., the Director of the American Academy of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL) Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

Fibroids are benign growths in or around the uterus, with about 70 percent of white women and more than 80 percent of black women having uterine fibroids before the age of 50. Uterine fibroids may cause significant and debilitating symptoms, including heavy menstrual bleeding. Symptoms may worsen over time if fibroids are left untreated, which leads to more than two million women in the U.S. undergoing treatment for uterine fibroids each year.

“Invasive surgery can be a major deterrent to women who would otherwise seek treatment,” said Chris Owens, President and CEO of Gynesonics. “We are committed to making Sonata available to all women who suffer from symptomatic uterine fibroids. This acknowledgment of the clinical importance of Sonata by Dr. Morozov and MedStar Health is important for patients in the Washington D.C./Maryland area. We are excited to be accelerating our commercial efforts and launch of the Sonata System across the United States and globally.”

The Sonata procedure offers women with symptomatic uterine fibroids an option that is incision-free, has a quick recovery with excellent reduction in heavy menstrual bleeding symptoms, and provides an option to avoid invasive surgery. Sonata uses a unique intrauterine ultrasound handpiece to locate and target the individual fibroids. Radiofrequency energy is delivered to shrink the fibroid and reduce symptoms. The Sonata Treatment is a breakthrough alternative to hysterectomy and myomectomy, and can treat a wide range of fibroid types, sizes, and locations. The fibroids are treated from inside the uterus, so the Sonata Treatment requires no incisions, no tissue is surgically removed, and the uterus is preserved. Clinical studies demonstrate that nearly 90 percent of women showed a reduction in menstrual bleeding at three months and 95 percent had a reduction in bleeding at 12 months. Additionally, 50 percent of women returned to normal activities the next day.

The Sonata System uses radiofrequency energy to ablate fibroids under real time sonography guidance from within the uterine cavity, utilizing the first and only intrauterine ultrasound transducer. The System includes a proprietary graphical user interface (SMART Guide), enabling the operator to target fibroids and optimize treatment. The Sonata system provides incision-free transcervical access for a uterus-preserving fibroid treatment. This intrauterine approach is designed to avoid the peritoneal cavity. The Sonata System is CE marked and is approved for sale in the European Union and the United States.

For more information on the Sonata Treatment and to watch patient testimonials, please visit http://www.sonatatreatment.com.

WHAT NEXT FOR UK EXPATS AND BUSINESSES?

We look at the current Brexit paralysis and its affect on Uk and EU financial organisations

Whilst the recent dispensing of several of its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement by the UK Government has caused Uk business tremendous damage to its reputation and ability to get new business – a couple of key announcements published in the “L’Agefi” online newsletter in France, have crept under the radar unnoticed.

They should not have done so, as they are likely to have the more profound affect to the ordinary person and to pretty much every size of UK business.

It may come as no surprise that the giant AVIVA Insurance company in the UK has sold off its filiale in Paris AVIVA France. These things come and go. What is interesting is the timing, In the same French publication just a few days before, there was a larger discussion about the exit of UK financial firms generally from the EU.

It seems that UK companies, for so long holding out for a continuation of things as they are – which benefits the UK – have decided enough is enough. They are coming home.

On a purely domestic level, this coincides with announcements elsewhere that UK expats, will not be able to continue their UK bank accounts, if they live in EU. It is however – Ok in reverse. If you happen to live in the UK, but have your bank account in Paris – well, that will seem to work fine. I know that because LCL have just sent me a new Bank Card, complete with a personalised photo on the  front of the card, of some flowers in my garden. How nice.

My friend Victoria who lives in a flat in Paris, is very worried. The lack of financial passporting mentioned above, whilst inconvenient, is nowhere near as high an issue as the need to transfer qualifications – which threatens job viability – and quite apart from the shut down of ferry companies, who will no longer operate. And who can blame them? With some 7000 trucks planned to be parked up in fields in Kent, pending customs clearance – we are at the point of having customs-points next to Bromley South train station. More serious, is the lack of any physical card, that confirms residency and country rights. It is another Windrush in the making. In twenty years time, UK expats will not be able to physically prove, that they have UK rights, because the online IT Systems currently used, will be long gone. All of the above facilities that were free before, will now cost you and I money to get back to where we were, and with greater hassle.

As concerning as that is, UK businesses are in an even worse situation. We are now regularly seeing EU companies not wanting to enter into contractual terms with UK companies, because of concerns of contractual behaviour. And in order to efficiently handle financial simple tasks abroad, such as a simple clearance payment for good received or supplied – UK companies are being advised to set up their own EU office. Add to that the lack of mobility of long haul travel for the next six months or so, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see where UK companies are going to expand their business.

According to the newspapers in the UK, we are due for an increased unemployment phase, and there is a need for additional social security support. This is not the time for employees to lose jobs.

One would like to think that some sort of common sense will prevail, but our suspicion in the UK at least is that there are too many large corporate interests that are in direct opposition to the views and needs of the general public, who are both their employees and customers.

Perhaps we are too close to the action, here in the UK. Maybe it takes a French newspaper, to tell us what we should have seen from the beginning.

AHIMA launch new EU collaboration in AI and Telehealth.

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and Frontiers Health, along with  the Healthware Group, recently agreed to a content collaboration that will serve health care professionals in both Europe and the United States.

It comes just prior to the launch of the annual AHIMA Conference, this time Virtual, in just 10 days time. (We will be talking with Michael Bittner, AHIMA Media Director, early next week, on  the key notes to be covered)  In meantime – What they say is this:

“Frontiers Health is recognized across Europe as a transformative organization with a long history of promoting innovation in health care,” said AHIMA CEO Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE. “Like AHIMA, they see the human behind health information and health policy, making our collaboration a natural fit.”

Frontiers Health, in cooperation with Healthware Group, is hosting two education sessions, focusing on telehealth and artificial intelligence in health care, at the AHIMA20 Virtual Conference taking place October 14-17. The sessions will feature speakers from companies like CarePredict, Intouch Group, Kaia Health, Vitality, and Wysa, as well as other global players from the digital health space.

In addition, both organizations will collaborate on sessions at the Frontiers Health Hybrid Conference this November. AHIMA’s international team will host several sessions within an overarching theme of “Data Driving the Future of Health.” AHIMA experts will discuss data consent, privacy, interoperability, patient access to their health information, and more.

“This collaboration serves AHIMA members and health care professionals in Europe, as both groups will have access to new content and resources with a global perspective,” Harris said. “It will also help AHIMA increase its international footprint and reach health care audiences around the world.”

“I am pleased to expand our collaboration with AHIMA and look forward to hosting two dedicated Frontiers Health sessions at the AHIMA20 Virtual Conference,” said Roberto Ascione, conference chairman of Frontiers Health and CEO & founder at Healthware Group. “Frontiers Health will share its extensive knowledge and first-hand experience in strategic spaces like telehealth and artificial intelligence. Through its cooperation with AHIMA, Frontiers Health will promote and contribute to the pivotal role of digital health innovation in the new normal.”