Latest news
See our recent activity in industry publications and media. We regularly share expertise and insights focused on topics around health equity, the social determinants of health (SDOH), and related topics. Check out our latest news below.
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SameSky Health CTO Josh Siegel Named to Top 25 CTO List
SameSky Health Chief Technology Officer Josh Siegel has been named one of the Top 25 Healthcare Technology CTOs of 2022 by Healthcare Technology Report.
Fierce Healthcare: How one community health plan increased COVID vaccinations by 40% using HIE data
One health plan in California was able to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates by 40%, showing us that the right health data can be a powerful ally in population health, providing granular insights to identify and build trust with individuals and communities that in turn help increase vaccination among those most vulnerable as quickly as possible.
In Full Health: Medicaid innovators: Abner Mason and SameSky Health
Abner Mason (he/him) is the founder and CEO of SameSky Health, a cultural experience company, that uses technology and a human touch to help health plans connect with their members and advance their health equity initiatives. With an extensive professional history focused on health equity, Abner brings knowledge from multiple sectors into his work with Medicare and Medicaid members. Here, he shares his insights on working with this particularly vulnerable and underserved population — and what health solution innovators should keep in mind.
Healthcare IT Today: Steadfast commitment to HIE opens the door for health equity
Collaboration in healthcare delivers remarkable outcomes. Such was the case at the first ever collaborative conference for health information exchange (HIE), interoperability, public health, and health equity. The Civitas Networks for Health 2022 Annual Conference, a Collaboration with the DirectTrust Summit, brought together HIEs, state agencies and interoperability experts nationwide.
Healthy Brands with Howie Chan: Built to Serve: How to align belief and business to make the biggest impact
In a recent episode of the Healthy Brands with Howie Chan podcast, our Founder and CEO, Abner Mason, discusses his career path and what ultimately led him to start SameSky Health. From working for the governor of Massachusetts, to his work as part of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS, to founding the AIDS Responsibility Project, Abner recounts the highlights and lowlights of his journey.
HIT Consultant: AWS names 10 startups for 2022 AWS Healthcare Accelerator cohort
SameSky Health is among the 10 startups selected for the AWS Healthcare Accelerator cohort, focused on health equity. With the aim of reducing health disparities, these startups are increasing access to health services, addressing social determinants of health, and leveraging data to promote equitable and inclusive systems of care.
Onboard Health: “How I’m building” with Abner Mason of SameSky Health
Abner Mason, Founder and CEO of SameSky Health, talks with Onboard Health about the ever changing field of health equity spanning his decades in the field.
McKinsey & Company: Digital Health: An opportunity to advance health equity
Considering patients’ backgrounds can improve their experience with and the efficacy of a digital product, whether it’s a medical device or an interactive platform. While many digital tools integrate various language options, failing to address cultural context remains a barrier to adoption. SameSky Health of North Hollywood, California, partners with health plans to create messages customized for each patient based on their cultural background, language, and preferred mode of communication.
Becker’s Health IT: How California is building the nation’s largest healthcare data exchange
The state of California recently embarked on an ambitious endeavor. Using hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding, the nation's largest state plans to connect its hospitals and healthcare providers through a statewide health information exchange. “We should have a healthcare system in this country that works for everyone regardless of what they look like, what they talk like, where they come from, or how much money they make,” said Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health.
Blue Shield of California: 15 languages, 9,000 phone calls and more: How Blue Shield worked to get people vaccinated
Amid a critical time in the pandemic, Blue Shield of California conducted an intensive outreach effort to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates in communities that were hardest to reach during the early stages of the vaccine rollout.
Inside Health Care #82: Abner Mason, LGBTQ+ equity, and the value of “cultural experience”
This episode of Inside Health Care, continues their celebration of Pride month with Abner Mason, the Founder and CEO of SameSky Health. Abner, who is African-American and Gay, says he proudly represents all aspects of himself in his work. He says it was empathy that led him to create SameSky Health, his company that works with health plans to change their approach to patients.
WTF Health: Can SameSky Health fix the ‘trust issues’ minority populations have with big healthcare?
“Healthcare needs to move into 2022 and get away from the one-size-fits-all approach that healthcare takes almost everywhere and, instead, treat people like who they are matters.”
That’s the challenge coming from SameSky Health’s founder & CEO Abner Mason whose business is helping some of healthcare’s most notorious “one-size-fits-all-ers” (health plans) improve the way they engage with diverse populations.
Capitol Weekly: California setting up statewide medical data-exchange grid
California is developing a long-sought statewide health information exchange for providers and payers to deliver better care for patients. The health information exchange, or HIE, has received little public attention. But it would cover 40 million people in California’s 58 counties, and would in part quickly inform emergency room doctors and nurses of a patient’s medical history.
ViVE: They can’t get no satisfaction: rethinking care for disaffected patients
Consider opportunities to enhance care delivery for the least well-served patients in the nation. From the first to the last touchpoint, our panel will break down the patient journey and provide guidance on making care more accessible and appropriate for patients disenfranchised by inequities in healthcare. Hear when to use digital or in-person interactions to engender trust, improve cultural competence, inject personalization, and drive provider accountability for equitable care delivery.
McKinsey & Company: The people behind healthcare innovation: interview with Abner Mason, CEO of SameSky Health
In the latest People Behind Healthcare Innovation interview, Amy Hung of McKinsey & Company speaks with Abner Mason, CEO and Founder of SameSky Health. In this interview, Abner shares his decade-long public sector experience which led him to realize the gap in healthcare for multi-cultural communities and ultimately led him to create SameSky Health.
AHIP webinar: A pragmatic approach to addressing health equity
Health equity begins with understanding the unique beliefs and behaviors of individuals to build trusted, culturally relevant connections. Listen as Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, and Dr. Pooja Mittal, Medical Director of Health Equity for HealthNet share a pragmatic approach to addressing health equity, focused on helping members more effectively engage within the healthcare system.
Ahead in Health: Digital equity in the shadow of digital health with John A. Powell and Abner Mason
Virtual health care boomed in the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s undoubtedly a huge part of the future of medicine. But is that good news for everyone? Underserved communities are at risk of being left even further behind as the most affordable, timely, convenient care increasingly happens online. Digital care actually has the potential to do the opposite—to improve access, personalize care, and reduce historic health inequities—but only if we design it right, and do so right now.
ScaleHealth: 5 Minutes with Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health
In this conversation, Abner shares the backstory behind the company's rebrand from ConsejoSano and what each of us can to do have a greater impact on health equity in 2022 and beyond.
SmartBrief: Improving health equity through a culturally and linguistically intelligent approach
While health care has made significant advances over the years, many populations continue to be marginalized due to a lack of knowledge about their specific needs. SmartBrief spoke with Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, to find out what health plans are doing to improve equity for their members.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Supporting health equity for all through leadership, action and partnership
Alnylam's third Global Patient Advocacy Leadership Summit focused significantly on topics of diversity, equity and inclusion in the rare disease space. Advocates discussed barriers that affect quality of, and access to, care among certain groups, as well as ways in which they can improve the outreach, information and services they provide to their constituents to foster better health equity and outcomes. During the summit, SameSky Health's Founder and CEO Abner Mason said, “We need to get serious about collecting race, ethnicity and language data. We know we have health disparities, but we have not done a good job of putting metrics around that."