North of Patient (Puneet Seth)

The perils of assumptions, when a film takes flight and bringing patients into the clinical classroom Welcome to the North of Patient podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠. I had a wonderful conversation with Teri Price. In the more than 10 years since her brother Greg's death due to cracks in the functioning of the healthcare system, Teri Price has been advocating for change in #healthcare.  She is currently the Executive Director of Greg’s Wings Projects, a not-for-profit organization created to honour Greg. The first project developed by Greg’s Wings was the Falling Through the Cracks: Greg’s Story film and they have done more than 600 screenings of the film. Teri and I have been guest co-facilitators of a lecture series at the University of Toronto School of Medicine for several years, where we discuss the importance of collaboration and systems in ensuring #patientsafety to students entering #clerkship 0:00 Episode 3 - Teri Price - North of Patient 03:02 What is Greg's Wings? 09:00 Bringing patients into the clinical classroom 12:36 The film doing better than was expected 16:24 Comparing European and Canadian health systems 19:35 Ambient scribes 24:53 Safety is paramount 30:00 Blind trust and assumptions 37:04 On the evolving role of healthcare professionals 40:05 Patients, data sharing and financial benefit 45:34 Change as a skillset and mindset 47:34 Changes to medical education More about Teri: Greg's Wings Projects: https://gregswings.ca LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greg-s-wings-projects/ X: https://twitter.com/gregswings Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregswings/

Curitiba, film making and an undiagnosed cough Welcome to the ⁠⁠⁠North of Patient⁠⁠⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient: https://open.substack.com/pub/northofpatient/p/episode-9-diogo-gameiro-instant-doctor and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠: https://northofpatient.substack.com/ This week's guest is Diogo Gameiro. Diogo is an award-winning director, visual effects supervisor and creative based in Brazil. He’s been making short-films and commercials over the last 20 years, and I was first introduced to his work when I came across his 2020 short-film, “Instant Doctor”. The movie is a dystopian look at what healthcare could look like in the future if we fail to protect our own humanity. I won’t give away much more beyond that, because as a special bonus, we will be including the film in this episode, along with getting Diogo’s inside scoop on the making of the film. In this episode, we talk about life and healthcare in Brazil, we talk about growing up around the creative and film industry, about how the pandemic had both negative and positive impacts on the making of “Instant Doctor” and of course his reflections on the role technology has to play in healthcare.

Key stamps from our conversation are below:

02:42 Life and Culture in Brazil

04:31 Diogo's Journey in the Film Industry

11:53 Impact of AI on the Film Industry

21:17 Challenges in Film Distribution

25:05 "Instant Doctor" - The short film

32:06 The Making of "Instant Doctor"

35:22 Casting Fernando Pinto

40:27 Layers in Short Films

42:46 Healthcare Commentary in "Instant Doctor"

45:54 AI and Empathy

56:43 Healthcare in Brazil

01:05:25 Future Projects and Closing Remarks Make sure to subscribe on Substack and follow along. As always, I feel comments and ideas, as well as suggestions for future guests.

The adaptable health force, prosthetic human augmentation and the Ship of Theseus Welcome to the ⁠⁠⁠North of Patient⁠⁠⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient. and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠.

https://puneetseth.substack.com/ This week’s guest is the incredible Zayna Khayat, a health futurist with Deloitte Canada and a renowned go-to person for #healthcareinnovation. Among her many roles, she also teaches at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and advises several health startups. I've been lucky to know Zayna for over a decade. She was a key advisor during my first startup, InputHealth, helping me navigate the startup building ecosystem, connecting me to key resources and just being an honest mentor. Anyone who knows Zayna knows that she has a bold voice and she says it as it is. So it shouldn't be a surprise that this episode is really about challenging dogmatic thinking in healthcare. We dive into some pretty big and provocative questions that many of us think about but few dare to say out loud - like for example, is the traditional doctor-patient relationship sustainable for the future? In the wake of AI, will we really need discrete roles of different healthcare providers in the way we define them today - such as docs, nurses, and pharmacists and so on - or do we need to start thinking about a more fluid and.adaptable health workforce? And lastly, can current healthcare systems really be salvaged, or do we need to build pieces from scratch? It’s not about right or wrong with these questions, but instead giving ourselves a moment of pause and asking ourselves with honestly. So hang tight for an animated episode - The links to the full episode can be found in the comments below. North of Patient is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Substack. Make sure to subscribe on Substack and follow along. As always, I feel comments and ideas, as well as suggestions for future guests. 0:00 Episode 7 - Zayna Khayat - North of Patient 04:17 The road to becoming a health futurist 09:01 Unpacking the word "futurist" 14:57 Sources of inspiration 16:43 Moral injury and it's impact on the healthcare workforce 21:08 Who will build the future of healthcare? 25:28 Human prosthetic augmentation 28:06 Ship of Theseus 34:12 Can medical schools evolve fast enough? 36:20 Advice to medical school program directors 38:48 The adaptable health workforce 45:07 Building a health system from scratch in Saudi Arabia 50:13 What role will humans have in an AI driven future of healthcare 51:47 Health vs. Healthcare vs. Medicine 01:05:41 How to hang out in the future

PatientsLikeMe, the limitations of reductionism in Western medicine and how sharing augments healing

Welcome to the North of Patient podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world.

For a summary of the episode, visit the blog post on North of Patient and subscribe to North of Patient on Substack.

Today’s guest is Benjamin Heywood. Ben is General Partner in the early stage deep tech and digital health focused venture fund SkyRiver Ventures. He prides himself on being a tech geek, mentor, and investor. He is a recovering entrepreneur after co-founding PatientsLikeMe in 2004. He is a proud #GirlDad and hails from the Boston area.

In our conversation, we chat about what it was like to start and lead PatientsLikeMe in their 15 year journey, the power of sharing in the healing process, what he has learned about secrets of success in healthcare innovation, and of course, what he sees in store for the future.

Outline:

02:17 The story behind "PatientsLikeMe" 09:58 What engineering and farming have in common 11:59 They said we were crazy 14:25 What medicine is missing today 17:11 Convergence of Western and Eastern medicine 20:50 Life after PatientsLikeMe 24:01 Exploring deep tech and optimism 25:38 Top areas of healthcare investment in Boston 30:30 Role of the hospital in care delivery 31:59 My recent run in with acute care and a shout out to SickKids Hospital 33:31 What it's like to get healthcare in Boston today 41:02 While traditional healthcare be able to go along for the ride as innovation accelerates 46:51 What does Ben think the healthcare system will look like in the next 3-5 years? 50:56 Role of patient care communities

More about Ben:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminheywood/

https://twitter.com/bheywood

Camus, cosmic dust and crossing the uncanny valley

Welcome to the ⁠⁠⁠North of Patient⁠⁠⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient:

https://open.substack.com/pub/puneetseth/p/episode-8-evan-lu-the-road-to-better

and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠: https://puneetseth.substack.com/

This week's guest is Evan Hu. Evan is successful and storied Canadian entrepreneur, having worked in numerous industries, ranging from telecommunications, to high tech, to the music industry, and of course, digital health. Presently, he is the founder of Alto Sante, a digital health venture studio that creates technology products and provides services to empower people to live their best and longest lives.

Evan is a great storyteller and has lived a fascinating life. We spent some time digging into his origin story, talking about healthcare in communist China in the mid 20th century, the good, the bad and ugly of his years working in the music industry, and of course, his motivations and musings on all things relating to the future of healthcare.

01:23 Evan's Origin Story and Early Life
03:52 Healthcare in Communist China
09:46 Evan's Career Journey: From Engineering to Music Industry
27:21 Challenges and Lessons in the Music Industry
31:42 Transition to Ideaca and Professional Services
35:45 Reflections on Success and Future Ventures
37:25 Challenging the Myth of the Eureka Moment
38:07 Reflecting on Life and Career Choices
39:56 Discovering the Potential of Machine Learning in Health
40:59 Navigating the Complexities of Public Health
42:01 The Role of AI in Healthcare Transformation
42:47 Adapting to Remote Work and Telemedicine
44:33 Supporting Startups in Digital Health
50:37 The Future of EMR and Data Integration
01:06:49 Generative AI: The Next Major Revolution
01:17:36 Final Thoughts and Reflections

Loneliness in the elderly, why we don't play chess with AI and what digital memories can teach us about ourselves Welcome to the North of Patient podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient: https://open.substack.com/pub/puneetseth/p/episode-4-david-usher-reimagining and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠: https://puneetseth.substack.com/ This week’s episode features music legend and creative AI visionary, David Usher. David is an artist, best-selling author and entrepreneur. As a musician, he has sold more than 1.4 million albums, won 5 Junos and has had #1 singles singing in English, French, and Thai. He is also the CEO and founder of Reimagine AI, an artificial intelligence company building AI-powered virtual beings and virtual being technology in entertainment, retail and healthcare. David has a degree in political science from Simon Fraser University and his book on creativity and innovation, Let the Elephants Run • Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything, is out now. As you can expect, this was an animated conversation touching on many subjects. We talk about augmented reality, Apple Vision Pro and creating our digital representations, and in fact what it would be like to interact with the memories and likeness of our loved ones, as David created with his LucyAI collaboration. We talk about the generative AI gold rush, what we can learn from our mistakes in social media and how to steer our efforts towards positive outcomes. And of course, we talk about Reimagine AI and David’s personal story for wanting to tackle isolation and loneliness in the elderly. Key stamps from our conversation are below: 00:21 Intro Monologue - David Usher 02:16 Transitioning from music to entrepreneurship 06:19 ReimagineAI 08:58 Loneliness in the elderly 11:42 Drawing lines between digital and human being 13:20 Empathy in AI vs humans 16:33 AGI and human abilities 18:53 Looking at change from micro and macro perspective 24:11 On social media 26:20 Can human imagination help us navigate what's next? 27:26 Lucy AI 30:39 Exploring what it means to be a person 32:23 On Apple Vision Pro and memories 37:24 How LLMs will influence how we see the world 41:14 Why we only want to play chess with humans

Welcome to the ⁠⁠⁠North of Patient⁠⁠⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient:

https://open.substack.com/pub/northofpatient/p/episode-11-kim-bellard-deeply-curious

If you have been following insightful and intersectional writing on healthcare in the United States in the last 10-15 years, it’s likely you’ve come across the work of Kim Bellard. Kim is a former health insurance executive, who, amongst many other things, pioneered one of the first fully online health insurance products in the US in the 90s, and went on to become the editor of Tincture Health, a bold online publication discussing critical conversations around improving healthcare in the US.

Kim’s career journey was not traditional by any means. From math graduate to healthcare policy leader, his bold ideas and curiosity led him to propose healthcare reforms at Prudential and Blue Cross Blue Shield, setting the tone for a lifelong pursuit of innovation. Our conversations covers everything from life in Cincinnati to the peculiar decisions that locals seem to make regarding where they get their health, to exploring the origins of complexity in healthcare delivery in the US, to talking about the incredible potential of the microbiome.

Key stamps from our conversation are below:

01:38 Healthcare in Cincinnati
04:46 Challenges in American Healthcare
06:21 Innovations in Health Insurance
12:10 Digital Healthcare Revolution
14:13 Tincture Health and Writing
20:14 Barriers to Healthcare Transformation
29:08 Future of Healthcare with AI
31:45 The Future of AI in Healthcare Licensing
32:48 AI's Role in Reducing Healthcare Bloat
34:28 Virtual Care and AI Doctors
37:08 AI in Medical Documentation and Empathy
39:29 The Role of Physical Exams and AI
41:26 The Impact of AI on Medical Treatments
50:43 The Microbiome and Future Medical Revolutions
54:15 The Problem with Prescription Benefit Managers (PBMs)
59:45 The Future of Healthcare and AI

Challenging culture, how knowing can heal and using LLMs to unlock the David Attenborough of healthcare

Welcome to the ⁠⁠North of Patient⁠⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world.

For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient: https://open.substack.com/pub/puneetseth/p/episode-6-cait-desroches-the-opennotes and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠: https://puneetseth.substack.com/

This week’s guest is Catherine M. DesRoches, DrPH (Cait). Cait is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a health policy and data nerd with expertise in emerging trends in health care delivery. Cait noticed early in her career that the concerns of patients and their families are often not the same as those of clinicians and policymakers. Bringing this patient and family voice into the world of health services research led directly to her current role as the Director of OpenNotes. She is also the Program Director for the Keane OpenNotes Fellowship in Patient Engagement and Transparency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

I have been a long time fan of OpenNotes, both as a practicing physician and a healthcare software entrepreneur. I have worked on the belief that better informed patients have better outcomes, and OpenNotes has always been an inspiration for this.

In this conversation, we talk about Cait’s fascinating career that brought her to the front and centre of the health information technology revolution in the United States. We discuss what evidence supports the effectiveness of OpenNotes and also some personal stories about real-life benefits from this program. We also talk about where generative AI fits into the picture of the engaged patient, and where OpenNotes is headed in the future.

00:21 Introduction
02:49 Cait's Journey: From Public Health to Pioneering OpenNotes
04:07 Defining the standards of Electronic Health Records
11:56 What is OpenNotes?
16:27 Emergence of generative AI
20:02 Navigating the Challenges of Sharing Sensitive Health Information
22:59 Reflecting on the Cultural Shift Towards Patient Empowerment
29:37 Exploring the Future of Healthcare Documentation and AI
31:21 Cait shares a personal story about the benefits of OpenNotes
36:29 How knowing more helps patients prepare
41:10 How might David Attenborough explain chronic disease - the generative AI experience
48:10 OpenNotes: Expanding Partnerships and Exploring New Frontiers
53:07 Future Vision - better understanding and access to health information
56:40 What data supports OpenNotes being effective?

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the North of Patient podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world.

My first guest is Julian Bleecker. Julian is a leading researcher, designer, and entrepreneur in the fields of technology and innovation. He founded Near Future Laboratory and OMATA, and is the originator of the concept of Design Fiction. Bleecker has published extensively on design, technology, and the future, and his book "The Manual of Design Fiction" is widely recognized as a pioneering work on the subject.

Needless to say, it’s incredibly exciting to have him help open this podcast series, where we explore the concept of design fiction, how people can practically learn to think more deeply about the future, and various lessons for the healthcare system in embracing imaginative thinking.

If you’re interested in learning more about Julian’s work, check out the following:

https://nearfuturelaboratory.com

https://julianbleecker.com

You can visit the North of Patient blog on Substack for episode summaries and additional conversations the future of healthcare.

(And a thank you to Svaneborg Kardyb for allowing the sampling of their magical track, "Orbit")

The art of "Impossible Journey", AI as a creative partner, and the power of analog in a digital age

Welcome to the ⁠⁠⁠North of Patient⁠⁠⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world.

For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient.

This episode’s guest is Daniella Schuarts, a nutritionist turned visionary storyteller and one half of the Brazilian creative duo, “Yuca”. Danielle's work draws from a life lived adventurously, shaped by travels to the furthest corners of the globe and a passion for the visual arts. Whether through live action, animation or photography her storytelling is fresh, evocative and deeply rooted in themes of social engagement, culture, and human experience.

In this episode, we'll actually get to showcase one of her recent projects, one called "Impossible Journey", a short film that explores racial inequality in the healthcare system of the United State through metaphorical storytelling. Our conversation also involves Daniela sharing her thoughts on AI's growing role in storytelling and filmmaking in general. For her AI is both a tool and a challenge, a way to expand creative possibilities while also asking questions about authenticity, emotion, and human agency in the art of storytelling, and how this can be use to help our understanding of the varied narratives around our health.

Key stamps from our conversation are below:

02:40 Transition from Nutrition to Filmmaking
08:15 The Journey Through Africa
10:25 Founding YUCA and Early Projects
11:35 Healthcare and Filmmaking Intersection
16:03 Impossible Journey: Concept and Execution
18:46 Short Film: "Impossible Journey"
29:26 AI in Storytelling and Filmmaking
39:38 Future of Filmmaking and Healthcare
47:43 Upcoming Projects

Virality of another kind, whiteboarding prevention and life at One Infinite Loop Welcome to the ⁠⁠⁠North of Patient⁠⁠⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world. For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient: https://open.substack.com/pub/northofpatient/p/episode-10-doc-mike-evans-nudging and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠: https://northofpatient.substack.com/ If you think back to the early days of videos going viral on  @YouTube  you might recall a 2011 video called “23 and a half hours”, a video that talked about exercise, the single best thing you can do for your health, through a catchy whiteboarding drawing video, well before that became a thing. That video garnered over 6M views and was one of the most watched public health videos of it’s time, and was the brainchild of Doc Mike Evans who went on to build a med school for the public on YouTube with over 30M “students”. What you might not know is that Doc Mike Evans spent the last 8 years working at Apple in Cupertino on Special Projects on their Health team, designing and running experiments on how to improve life and health for their 1 billion users across the world. Doc Evans is now on a gap year and I’m honoured that North of Patient is one of the first places where he has gotten a chance to discuss his career and his thoughts about the future of #healthcare. In this episode, we unpack the storied career and incredible range of experiences he’s had, from running an environmental consulting company in the 1980s in the first green wave to working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta long before he was in medicine, to being a doctor at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, to founding a health media lab and a film company, he was really embodied the idea of working at the intersection of many different disciplines to advance healthcare forward. Key stamps from our conversation are below: 02:02 Background and Early Life 03:46 The High Arctic and environmental pioneering 15:59 Founding a Health Media Lab and YouTube Success 18:17 Impact of 23 and a Half Hours Video going viral 21:27 Challenges in Health Communication and Education 27:03 The Role of Generative AI in Healthcare 29:50 Working at Apple 32:33 The Power of Daily Health Interactions 32:54 The Scale and Influence of #BigTech in Health 34:52 Challenges and Lessons from Working at Apple 40:51 The Future of Wearables in Health 49:23 Preventative Health x Behavioral Economics 52:28 How #singapore became an ideal health innovation partner 55:09 Exciting Trends in Health Technology 01:01:02 Advice for Healthcare Providers and System Leaders 01:05:24 What's Next for the Doc Make sure to subscribe on Substack and follow along. As always, I welcome comments and ideas, as well as suggestions for future guests. #healthcareai #siliconvalley #wearables #preventativehealth #generativeai #llm #digitalhealth #startups #universityoftoronto

A case for machine-generated empathy, musings on homeschooling and why it's important to first figure out what doctors are meant to do

Welcome to the ⁠North of Patient⁠ podcast - conversations on health[beyond]care - where we paint an inspired landscape of healthcare's future through dialogues with creative and unconventional thinkers from around the world.

For a summary of the episode, visit the ⁠blog post⁠ on North of Patient: https://open.substack.com/pub/puneetseth/p/episode-5-ken-liu-the-humanistic and subscribe to ⁠North of Patient on Substack⁠: https://puneetseth.substack.com/

This week’s guest is Ken Liu. Ken is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards, he wrote the Dandelion Dynasty, a silkpunk epic fantasy series (starting with The Grace of Kings), as well as short story collections The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. He also penned the Star Wars novel The Legends of Luke Skywalker.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. Liu frequently speaks at conferences and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, history of technology, bookmaking, and the mathematics of origami.

I was first introduced to Ken’s writing through a short story he wrote called “Good Stories”, which explores creativity in a world where AI generates most of the content, and the highlights the struggle of an author who feels that humans crave human-generated art and writing. This piece made me think about how we might feel in the future about empathy coming from AI and machines vs. human clinicians, and I explored this in another blog post.

I was thrilled that Ken agreed to join as a guest on the podcast, and the conversation did not disappoint. It expectedly took a more philosophical tone than previous episodes and covered a range of topics around the intersection of AI and the human condition.

Ken’s insights remind us that as we integrate more AI into healthcare, we must revisit and realign with our fundamental goals—not just to adapt to new technologies but to ensure they enhance our human values and improve care outcomes. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future intersections of technology, storytelling, and human-centered care. Tune in to unpack these complex but critical dialogues.

Key stamps from our conversation are below:

02:34 Journey to Becoming a Speculative Fiction Author
05:27 The Shift to Homeschooling and Parenting Philosophy
09:33 Exploring the Value of Education and Individuality
11:31 The Role of Higher Education and the Quest for Meaning
12:41 Paternalism in healthcare
14:23 Personal Reflections on Career Paths and Storytelling
15:31 On meandering and purpose
21:52 Redefining Passion and Career in a Changing World
25:01 The Future of Work and Inventing New Roles
27:39 Healthcare, AI, and the Human Element
29:39 Why do we have doctors to begin with?
32:51 How do we value human creation?
34:51 The Value of Creativity: Human vs. Machine
37:27 Exploring Empathy: Human Touch vs. Machine Efficiency
41:11 The Role of Empathy in Healthcare: A Deep Dive
49:55 AI and Creativity: Can Machines Surpass Human Artistry?
01:05:41 The Future of Healthcare: AI's Role in Prevention and Care
01:10:26 Closing Thoughts on Healthcare and Technology