The Digital Patient Ep. 72: Dr. David Houghton: Using Digital Health to Deliver a Better Consumer Experience than Amazon, Achieve Parity of Care and Reach Vulnerable Populations

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On this episode of "The Digital Patient" podcast, hosts Alan Sardana & Dr. Joshua Liu speak with Dr. David Houghton, Medical Director, Digital Medicine & Chief, Division of Movement and Memory Disorders, Department of Neurology at Ochsner Health, about "Using Digital Health to Deliver a Better Consumer Experience than Amazon, Achieve Parity of Care and Reach Vulnerable Populations" Click the play button to listen or read the show notes below.
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Audio:

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Video:

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Guest(s):

• Dr. David Houghton (@David_Houghton), Medical Director, Digital Medicine & Chief, Division of Movement and Memory Disorders, Department of Neurology at Ochsner Health
• Dr. Joshua Liu (@joshuapliu), Co-founder & CEO at SeamlessMD

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‍Episode 72 - Show Notes:

[0:00] Introducing Dr. David Houghton, Medical Director, Digital Medicine & Chief, Division of Movement and Memory Disorders, Department of Neurology at Ochsner Health;

[2:15] How Dr. Houghton got involved with Digital Health fortuitously over 15 years ago with “accidental mentorship” throughout his education, which paved the way for him to expand Ochsner’s digital health offerings when he joined in 2012;

[5:44] Why Dr. Houghton believes neurology was a perfect setting for digital health because neurology is the endpoint for a lot of the problems with chronic disease management as the population is often older with mobility challenges;

[7:50] Why Dr. Houghton believes virtual care actually improves physician empathy with their patients since the technology enables the physician to be invited into the patient’s home on their time as opposed to forcing a patient to visit the traditionally sterile environment at the clinic;

[11:07] How Ochsner’s digital programs grew from the Innovation Ochsner Suite with support by a fantastic team of clinicians who were focused on going beyond traditional remote monitoring to proactively manage chronic disease with personalized health coaches for patients who emphasize compliance and can assist at home and provide the right medicine at the right time using data;

[13:00] How Dr. Houghton prioritizes new digital health initiatives through a framework he calls the 5 A’s, which was taught to him by Dr. Brian McCarthy while working at the CDC on new health initiatives. The 5 A’s are:

1. ‍Appropriate: Should we be doing this? Will it offer something better for the patient & provider?‍
2. Accessible: What sort of digital tools are we using?‍
3. Available: What are the hours of operation? Are there geographic limitations?‍
4. Affordable: How can we make it affordable for patients, providers and payers?‍
5. Acceptable: Will this be acceptable?

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[15:15] How Ochsner partnered with payers and other health systems to build a virtual provider network across the nation to provide services to patients regardless of geography;

[20:20] How Dr. Houghton proactively works to prevent a “digital divide” between patients and their care by utilizing the technology that is ubiquitous for each patient–for e.g. having a combination of modalities available such as audio-only, two-way text messaging, video visits, or extending hours of operation;

[22:30] Why Ochsner Health is hyper-focused on reaching vulnerable populations and achieving parity of care in order to improve on all health metrics over the next decade;

[24:30] How Ochsner Health’s focus on digital health has attracted talent from across the country and has helped the organization retain employees especially in a post-COVID environment where remote work is possible;

[29:45] How Ochsner’s digital health programs grew from supporting roughly 300 patients per month pre-COVID to well over 27,000 patients per month at the height of the pandemic, and how the team(s) came together to strategize and implement systems to accommodate emergent needs, urgent needs, and chronic care;

[32:30] How Ochsner Health overcame significant hurdles during their digital health expansion through team ingenuity–for e.g. Using 3D printers to build iPad holders for the patient beds;

[38:45] Why Dr. Houghton and the Ochsner Health digital team decided to expand their digital program to support medicaid patients despite financial barriers to do so because they knew it was the right thing to do, and how medicaid patients were objectively more empowered and more engaged than other patients, achieving a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 91–higher than Apple, Amazon and Uber;

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Fast 5 / Lightning Round:

1. What is your favorite book or book you’ve gifted the most?
   “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger – I think I appreciated it because it was once banned by the school board.
   “Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results” by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton
   
   

2. Are you still doodling/drawing?
   Yes–it’s a running joke here that I can’t not draw something. Usually venn diagrams or other charts. I’m a very visual learner.
   
   
3. Would you rather have Super strength, super speed, or the ability to read people’s minds?
   “Super speed–applies to telemedicine as well.”
   
   

4. What is something in healthcare you believe that others might find insane?
   “Doctors google things… I google things that I know my patients will google so that I know what they will know. For e.g. They might google ‘How to cure Parkinson’s Disease’ even though I know there is no cure currently.”
   
   

5. COVID-19 lockdown related – what is 1 hobby or activity you’ve gotten into since the pandemic?
   “Birding!”