Latest thinking
We’re pleased to present the latest perspectives from SameSky Health and our industry experts on the state of healthcare and health equity. Through webinars, playbooks, case studies, blog posts, and more, explore our perspectives on healthcare trends.
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Under the Same Sky with Tracy Watts of Mercer
As we continue to face complex challenges like health disparities and climate change, the role of employers in shaping the future of healthcare is more critical than ever. In preparation for the 2024 Climate Week, we invited Tracy Watts, senior partner and US leader for healthcare policy at Mercer, to be our guest speaker for this Under the Same Sky discussion. This conversation explored the intersection of employer benefit programs, health equity, and climate change. Tracy shared insights and strategies that Mercer is using to help employers better protect their employees as they commit to building healthier and more resilient futures for clients and communities.
Under the Same Sky with David Michaels, PhD, MPH
Abner Mason was joined by Dr. David Michaels, epidemiologist, professor, and former Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Their conversation focused on the National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health in light of the pressing issues of worker safety amidst climate change, specifically the new OSHA initiative recently announced by President Biden. This episode of Under the Same Sky explored the intersection of public health, occupational safety, and health equity.
Under the Same Sky with Mark Savage, JD
Abner Mason was joined by Mark Savage, JD, managing director of digital health strategy and policy at Savage & Savage LLC, for this episode of Under the Same Sky. The dialogue illuminated Mark’s journey leading to the development and implementation of electronic health information technology to impacting health equity and community populations. Mark shared insights from his role as the SDOH policy advisor for the Gravity Project, and he emphasized the importance of involving the community while using data to bridge the clinical and social aspects of healthcare.
Under the Same Sky with GroundGame.Health
This Under the Same Sky episode featured Susan Rawlings Molina, CEO, and Chris Burrows, community engagement manager, for GroundGame.Health. During this discussion, we shared more details about our merger with GroundGame.Health and also how we (as a newly combined organization) are helping people overcome health-related social needs. Susan and Chris shared real-world examples about how they are working to close the loop on the last mile in healthcare and significantly impact people’s lives.
How health information exchange and interoperability can help drive health equity
To kick off the new year, Abner Mason met with Erica Galvez, CEO of Manifest MedEx, for our ongoing discussion series, Under the Same Sky. During this conversation, they discussed initiatives by the organization to address health equity challenges to make healthcare data sharing work for everyone. They also focused on the new California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework and how it facilitates the secure and appropriate exchange of health and social services information to drive whole-person care.
Health equity: Predictions for 2024
At SameSky Health, we’re pleased to present a collection of health equity predictions from industry colleagues for the second year. For the 2024 predictions, we spoke with influential health equity leaders, asking for their thoughts about the year ahead. Their predictions serve as both an inspiration and a reality check for all of us who strive to ensure everyone has access to the quality care and outcomes they deserve.
Health Equity Predictions: 2023 Year in Review
At the beginning of 2023, we highlighted health equity predictions for the year provided by more than a dozen influential health equity leaders. For the final Under the Same Sky discussion of 2023, Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, met with Chris Gibbons, MD, MPH, founder and CEO of The Greystone Group, Inc. During this event, Abner and Chris reviewed the 2023 predictions, broke them into five different categories, and discussed where the industry is at, as well as where it needs to go to advance health equity.
Understanding oral health disparities and the link to overall health
Abner Mason met with Myechia Minter-Jordan (MD, MBA), president and CEO, and Kaz Rafia (DDS, MBA, MPH), chief health equity officer of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. This conversation focused on the connection between oral health, behavioral health, and overall health, and the impact of oral health disparities.
Case study: Supporting the SDOH needs of members improves outcomes
Unidentified needs within the social determinants of health (SDOH) can easily create a myriad of barriers to care for members. Our newest case study offers compelling results, showing that members are more likely to take action — both in attempting to access needed resources, as well as attending an Annual Wellness Visit — when their SDOH needs are identified.
Bringing genomic medicine to underrepresented populations
Abner Mason met with Yusuf N. Henriques, founder and CEO of IndyGeneUS AI and IndyGeneUS Global. This conversation focused on how IndyGeneUS AI is using their combined experience from the FDA, the military, and in academia, to lead change and deliver high-quality, reliable disease insights that are inclusive of populations underrepresented in genetic research, while also building trust among these communities.
Closing the loop on the last mile in healthcare to improve health outcomes
SameSky Health hosted a webinar, Closing the loop on the last mile in healthcare to improve health outcomes, to discuss how we’ve enhanced member experiences, improved health outcomes, and guided members to the care, tools, and resources they need using our CultureGuide® solution. Abner Mason, founder and CEO, and Meredith Welsh, senior vice president of health operations for SameSky Health, presented strategies and tactics to effectively engage members in their health journey.
Developing health equity strategies rooted in data and insights
Abner Mason met with Dr. J Nwando Olayiwola, the inaugural chief health equity officer and senior vice president of Humana. The conversation was focused on Dr. Olayiwola’s priorities, experiences, and key initiatives to advance health equity. She discussed the importance of developing health equity strategies rooted in data and insights and also emphasized the need for cross-functional collaboration to address health disparities and barriers to care.
White paper: AI: An accelerated path to health equity
Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are providing new opportunities to advance health equity among health plan members. For example, one promising application of AI is the ability to scale personalized, culturally tailored content for diverse communities across the country. This new capability expands access to information and resources that support better health outcomes. Throughout this paper, we offer several additional examples of the potential of AI to advance health equity.
Ensuring AI is developed without bias in healthcare
Abner Mason met with met with Kevin Dedner, MPH, author, entrepreneur, and thought leader. Kevin described his experience and lessons learned in solving complex public health problems. He also discussed his current project, where he is challenging the bias in healthcare as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to rise.
The role of AI in healthcare
Abner Mason met with Dr. Leo Anthony Celi who is the Clinical Research Director and Principal Research Scientist at the Laboratory for Computational Physiology at MIT and a practicing intensivist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The conversation was centered around the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, and the opportunities and challenges that Dr. Celi is concerned about as the healthcare industry moves full speed ahead with AI investments and initiatives.
Strategies to address new TCPA rules for interactive voice response (IVR) solutions
Effective July 20, 2023, health plans must obtain prior express consent for artificial or prerecorded voice calls made to residential telephone lines. Our CultureGuide® solution addresses TCPA rules and abides by the current standards in place.
AI: The health equity advocate I never expected
When I conceived of SameSky Health, I didn’t think twice about artificial intelligence (AI). My only goal was to improve experiences, access, and outcomes for communities that healthcare had long overlooked. But along the way, AI became essential to our health equity mission.
The future of healthcare
Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, met with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, health economist, communicator, and “trend weaver” for THINK-Health and Health Populi. The conversation focused on the future of healthcare and innovative approaches to expanding access to care through the intersection of health, technology, and people.
Case study: Motivating Medicaid members to complete Annual Wellness Visits
A large multi-state health plan partnered with SameSky Health to leverage our CultureGuide® solution to engage a subset of its Medicaid members. The plan had multiple objectives, including a focus on Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs), for which they wanted to achieve a 6% success rate. They also wanted to ensure that members were educated on prenatal care, while improving HEDIS® measures and advancing health equity. The results with CultureGuide over a twelve-month period are compelling.
Case study: Addressing social and behavioral health needs in Managed Medicaid populations
A large multi-state health plan providing managed healthcare services under multiple lines of business partnered with SameSky Health to leverage our CultureGuide® solutions to engage a subset of its Medicaid members. The plan had multiple objectives, including surfacing needs within the social determinants of health. Taking a culturally tailored approach to member outreach enabled the plan to achieve compelling results.