The second edition of the Manova Summit in Minneapolis October 14-16 will take a wider perspective of healthcare transformation. In a phone interview, Manova Summit CEO and Partner Mark Addicks said the key focus will be identifying game changers in healthcare from AI, breakthroughs in cancer care and cardiology to climate change and healthy communities.
“The mission of Manova is to look across the globe for the most promising ideas, innovations in practice towards improving healthcare across the planet. The U.S. is only one piece of a global perspective. It will also include what have we seen in the way of best practices around healthcare delivery and outcomes.”
So what does climate change have to do with healthcare transformation? Addicks pointed out that it ties into social determinants of health when you consider nutrition and a sustainable diet, which will be part of a talk by Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Doug Baker, CEO of Ecolab, will talk about how the tech-led water conservation and energy business, is making clean water more accessible. Disruptors in the agricultural sector are also expected to add to the conversation.
A new development in the conference this year will be the availability of CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits, with the goal of attracting more physicians. Addicks expects the conference to appeal to people in managerial roles in healthcare to the C-suite level.
“The conference will appeal to people who want to be at the forefront of healthcare innovation.”
Artificial intelligence will of course be a hot topic at the conference. One focus will explore the ethical implications of the technology and how to address them. Another will examine how it can be applied to minimize the impact of pandemics and epidemics.
On the topic of ethics, Tyler Shultz and Erika Cheung, a pair of whistleblowers from Theranos, the blood testing company that went from being the poster child of healthcare disruption to the target of criminal investigations over fraudulent healthcare claims and misleading investors, will share their story and talk about their new organization Ethics in Entrepreneurship to train tech leaders on how to recognize ethical problems and resources they can go to for help..
The format for the conference will also be different this year. Addicks noted that presenters will highlight a source of innovation; address inherent challenges in execution; and make the subject matter accessible to attendees from different perspectives in the healthcare ecosystem. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to get a deeper dive of these topics in the form of breakout sessions.
A global perspective will be a big feature of the conference and will include Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, a former health minister for Rwanda and currently the vice chancellor for the
University of Global Health Equity, who will weigh in on a discussion of how to make healthcare affordable and accessible. Dr Ravi Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology and infectious disease physician with University of Cambridge and founder of Gupta Labs, will discuss how he and his team have successfully treated HIV patients with stem cell therapy. Kanoko Oishi, CEO of Japanese healthcare consulting company Mediva, which is part of Platanus Medical Corp., will take part in a conversation on re-imagining aging with an eye to the demographics of a country where seniors are the dominant age group.
The conference will also explore how advancements in robotics are helping seniors remain in their homes and supporting their caregivers.
Addicks encourages those interested in the conference to check the website for updates that will be coming as the event nears.
For more information and to register, click here.
Picture: Feodora Chiosea, Getty Images
