The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked unfathomable damage on the lives of Americans and the country’s economy. To move forward in the right direction, we must take new and drastic action to address this crisis. This includes employing cutting-edge developments in medical technology to the best of our abilities.

Dogtown Media fully supports the Connected Health Initiative’s request for the Biden-Harris administration to extend the existing declaration of a public health emergency (PHE) so that the use of connected health technology is available to all U.S. citizens during this time of need.

Innovation Can Help Flatten the Infection Curve

It has become painfully clear that we must leverage connected medical technologies such as telehealth if we are to ever beat COVID-19. But antiquated regulations will stand in the way unless the declaration of PHE is extended. The Connected Health Initiative (CHI) aims to make that happen.

An initiative of ACT | The App Association, CHI is a coalition of healthcare industry stakeholders and partners that strives to lead efforts to effect policy changes that allow medical providers to harness the power of technology in order to improve patient engagement and outcomes. Its steering committee consists of the American Medical Association, Apple, Intel Corporation, Microsoft, Dogtown Media, and many other notable figures in the tech and healthcare space.

CHI recently sent a letter to the Biden-Harris administration that not only congratulates them on their victory in the 2020 Presidential Election but also urges them to continue to use digital health technologies such as telemedicine, remote patient monitoring (RPM), artificial intelligence (AI), and other modalities to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. Each of these innovative modalities allow us to implement effective and necessary measures to flatten the infection curve in the United States.

Telehealth Technology Is Key to Managing The COVID-19 Crisis

Alongside CHI, we believe that congressional action focused on permanent telehealth policy changes can help provide immense relief from the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such changes would play an integral role in defeating this crisis. Not only this, but permanent policy changes for connected healthcare tools can also help to modernize American medical laws so that they correctly reflect the value that these paradigms offer. We also think that Congress should prioritize providing all Americans with the high-speed broadband infrastructure needed to use these digital health tools.

Of course, we know that pursuing these congressional efforts can take time. So it’s critical that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) continues to extend the existing declaration of PHE. This provides millions of Americans with the allowance to use connected health technology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth and RPM have been invaluable in preventing, diagnosing, and treating American citizens as we all adhere to social distancing guidelines. These must not only be maintained throughout the entirety of the pandemic but also built upon so that this country is better equipped to handle future health crises.

Should the PHE expire before the Biden-Harris administration is in place, the new HHS Secretary under them should immediately reinstate it.

Actions That Can Help Us Fully Leverage Digital Health Tools

CHI’s letter to the Biden-Harris administration is meticulous in detail and spans several suggestions. Below, we’ve outlined some of the most crucial ones:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should ensure that Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and rural health clinics (RHC) can provide RPM services.

Both FQHCs and RHCs are key actors on the frontlines of America’s medical ecosystem. Thus, they should be able to monitor key patient-generated health data (PGHD) metrics for the populations they are serving on a permanent basis. This includes those receiving treatment for COVID-19.

CMS should provide Anti-Kickback Statute relief for digital health.

Many clinicians are remotely monitoring COVID-19 patients. This has raised concerns that any equipment or access to software platforms provided free of charge could inadvertently trigger Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) liability. The CHI has requested that HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) provide clarity that access to software platforms for PGHD or telehealth at low or no cost doesn’t violate the AKS.

HHS should provide certainty with regard to HIPAA’s application to various remote technologies during the PHE.

The HHS’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced enforcement discretion for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that clarifies that the use of private, secure telehealth tools which aren’t part of the provider’s official offerings will not draw a penalty as long as the provider makes their patients aware of the risks. CHI is urging OCR to issue guidance that certain telehealth tools are merely “conduits” and thus don’t require business associate agreements (BAAs). The guidance should also clarify that the providers of these telehealth services should only store electronic protected health information (ePHI) temporarily.

HHS should leverage AI-enabled technology to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s no doubt that AI has incredible technology to augment healthcare by preventing hospitalizations, reducing complications, and improving patient engagement. Unsurprisingly, public health experts and providers are already using AI to combat COVID-19. This has given rise to a variety of opportunities and challenges for U.S. policymakers to consider (e.g., bias, inclusion, and transparency). As a coalition with many leading developers of AI, CHI urges for the design of healthcare AI systems to be informed by human-centered design, real-world workflow, and end-user needs.

Unrecognizable woman doctor using tablet in office with double exposure of creative ncov coronavirus covid 19 treatment and vaccine search icons. Toned blurry image

COVID-19 Will Come To an End

From New York City to our hometown of Los Angeles, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented tragedy and hardships to many of our lives. The Biden-Harris administration represents an opportunity for America to tackle this problem in a new and better way.

We stand by CHI’s request of the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect to fully leverage telehealth and other emerging technologies to mitigate this crisis. With time, proper guidance, and unity, this too shall pass.

Here are five healthcare applications that emerged before the pandemic but are now being accelerated by the coronavirus.

The Patient Experience

The vast majority (85%) of leaders polled think that technology has become inseparable from the human experience. And they’re correct; patients expect more from digital experiences today across retail, social media, and even healthcare services like online appointment booking and telehealth appointments.

Patients want more personalized experiences from their healthcare providers, and they want to feel important and seen. Not only that, but they also want to feel protected by the healthcare system. 70% of healthcare consumers polled were concerned about commercial tracking and data privacy in their online behaviors, activity, interests, and location. 70% of healthcare consumers polled said they expect their relationship with technology to become more prominent in the next three years.

Dr. Kaveh Safavi, a Chicago-based physician and lawyer, is a senior managing director of Accenture’s Health team. He says that the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the intersection between healthcare experiences and digital technology. According to Dr. Safavi, “Leading the future of care will demand rethinking core assumptions about the intersection of people and technology.”

Because people’s relationship with and perceptions of technology are evolving, the healthcare system must adapt by redesigning digital experiences.

AI in Healthcare

Many leading healthcare organizations are using AI and other algorithmic technology to improve their existing workflows and automate their operations processes. With well-designed human-AI collaboration, the patient and provider experience can blossom into a fruitful and long-term relationship.

Accenture’s research found that 69% of healthcare executives polled are already adopting or piloting artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Patients interfacing with AI will experience fluid interactions between themselves and the machine.

But we must be careful to consciously design AI medical applications with human-centered design principles and easy-to-use features. Indeed, only 39% of executives polled said they’ve included human-centric design principles or inclusive design to support a large variety of patient interactions.

A Growing Internet of Medical Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) encompasses a wide variety of devices, sensors, software, and industries. And now there’s a subset of IoT development that includes the vast amount of equipment, sensors, thresholds, and procedures involved in healthcare and medicine. Industries outside of healthcare are beginning to launch products that can be updated with the ability to expand experiences and services in the future, which affords customers flexibility when their needs, expectations, and demands change.

Healthcare should be the next industry to offer this new type of product to customers, working to offer patients adaptable products and ecosystems that can accommodate ongoing changes and updates. This type of “co-ownership” product, wherein the company and the customer are connected closely throughout the lifetime of the product, is becoming indispensable in the race against the pandemic.

Disruptive DNA Innovation

Innovation DNA differs from regular human DNA in that it has nothing to do with genetics. Instead, innovation DNA refers to an organization as it grows to accommodate the future: scientific advancements that are disruptive but discrete; maturing digital technology that is accessible and more commoditized; and the use of emerging technologies like blockchain, augmented and virtual reality, AI, and quantum computing to scale rapidly.

Helpful Robots

Robots are no longer confined to warehouses and factory floors. They’re a major lifeline for hospital staff these days, offering sanitization, vital measurement, and visitor information for hospital patients and visitors. With the imminent rollout of 5G technology and the ever-decreasing cost of hardware, robotics will become more and more ubiquitous outside of the warehouse and other production facilities.

71% of the executives polled think that robotics will enable the next generation of products and services for patients in the physical world. In healthcare, staff is stretched extremely thin already, so there is no end to the potential for robotics applications. But 54% of executives polled believe that their employees will face challenges in figuring out how to work with them. Dr. Safavi adds, “As robotic capabilities extend beyond controlled environments, healthcare organizations will face new challenges around talent investments, data collection, and human-machine interaction and collaboration.”

Healthcare’s Finally Evolving With the Times

Technology, especially outside of healthcare, is evolving and becoming more necessary for our lives. That’s why it is so impactful when applied to healthcare: it augments and greatly improves a service of which we’re already lifelong customers. 78% of leaders polled said they believe the stakes for innovation are the highest they’ve ever been, and “getting it right” is going to necessitate new innovations with organizations across many industries.

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating technology to break new boundaries more than ever before. To stay in the game, healthcare organizations must explore and apply emerging technologies to their products and services to improve the patient and medical experience.

What do you think of COVID-19’s effect on medical technology? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Finding the Good in the Bad

This endeavor began when Los Angeles was hit with its first cases of COVID-19. Matthew Schildkret, Late Sunday Afternoon’s Founder and CEO, immediately shuttered his clothing shop’s doors in an effort to mitigate health risks to his employees.

As the pandemic crisis unfolded and cases spiked, Matt realized he couldn’t just sit by and watch. It was clear that people, especially our healthcare workers on the frontline, were in need of help. Aware of his extensive experience in medical app development, Matt reached out to Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media’s Co-Founder and CEO.

Together, the two brainstormed a plan to help out: Start a 1-for-1 mask donation campaign. Within one hour of starting the initiative, Matt and Marc received hundreds of orders.

Scaling to Meet the Demand

The sudden surge in demand may have taken Marc and Matt by surprise, but it also confirmed they were on to something special. So the pair leaped into action to scale their operations. While Matt retooled his clothing manufacturing equipment and recruited some of his team members to ramp up production, Marc dealt with the logistics of getting these masks to medical workers.

After one week, the campaign was receiving thousands of orders per day. The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation caught wind of this effort and joined in with a generous micro-grant of $2500!

These funds were used to send protective masks to Columbia University Medical Center in NYC, Columbus Colony Elderly Care in Ohio, Minneapolis-based nonprofit Allina Health, and many other US healthcare facilities.

We Will Beat COVID-19 By Working Together

COVID-19 has infected over 6 million people around the world. In the United States alone, over 100,000 people have lost their lives to this pandemic. As we mentioned before, a PPE shortage shouldn’t be something that medical workers have to deal with.

We hope that this effort helps protect them during this crisis. And we’ll certainly keep them in our thoughts and prayers as we continue Late Sunday Afternoon’s 1-for-1 campaign. Want to contribute? Click here!

Late Sunday Afternoon is an apparel company that hand-crafts functional, comfy clothing. It sources all of its materials locally and employs a zero-waste production process in an effort to promote sustainability.

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation is a worldwide organization that empowers communities and advances equity. It invests in initiatives that improve public education and aid marginalized individuals.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought the world to a grim standstill. More than 200,000 people around the world have succumbed to this illness. And in the United States alone, more than one million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed. That’s roughly one-third of all cases globally.

To help healthcare providers navigate this crisis, we’ve worked with the Minneapolis Heart Institute (MHI) and Allina Health to deploy a COVID-19 emergency protocols app.

Inspiration From a Prior Collaboration

This isn’t our first time working together with these two amazing organizations. Previously, Dogtown Media worked with MHI and Allina Health to develop a cardiovascular (CV) emergency protocols app. It gives healthcare workers up-to-date treatment instructions for patients experiencing cardiac arrest — and it can be accessed anywhere, anytime.

Mark Ebeling is MHI’s Patient Care Manager. He started to see tangible benefits not long after the CV emergency protocols app was released: “A rural physician utilized a protocol within the app (he could not find a paper version at their hospital) and successfully started treatment and transferred the patient (via the app) to us for emergent life-saving surgery.”

Since it made its debut, the CV app has helped doctors and nurses save numerous lives. Inspired by this success and the current pandemic crisis facing humanity, Dogtown Media, MHI, and Allina Health decided to partner again on a COVID-19 emergency protocols app.

A Helping Hand During the COVID-19 Crisis

While the new COVID-19 emergency protocols app builds off the CV app, it’s more than just a redesigned version of its predecessor. It enables physicians and other frontline healthcare workers to efficiently and rapidly triage patients based on relevant symptoms and risk factors. It also gives step-by-step guidance on the best treatment options for a patient suffering from the coronavirus.

For low-risk patients, directives are simple: Stay home and self-isolate. For medium- and high-risk patients, the app offers instructions on how to increase blood-oxygen levels, implement intubation, apply respirators, and much more. Each of these endeavors can make a vital difference between life and death.

In pressurized situations like the ones that many healthcare workers are facing right at this moment, it can be difficult to recall correct procedure protocols. We hope this healthcare app alleviates their stress and helps them save lives.

Let’s Work Together Towards Brighter Days

Started in 1981, the Minneapolis Heart Institute is world-renowned cardiovascular research and care center. Known for being a trailblazer in its field, the facility was recently named one of the best hospitals for cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report.

Allina Health is a not-for-profit medical system that owns and operates 13 hospitals and more than 90 clinics throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. It is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness as well as the enhancement of greater health of communities in the region.

It’s an absolute honor to work with these two organizations again. From Los Angeles to Venice, Italy, COVID-19 has brought unprecedented tragedy to many people’s lives. We hope this app can help put an end to this pandemic.

To download the new COVID-19 emergency protocols app on the App Store, visit here. To get it on Google Play, click here. Please share it with any healthcare workers you know. Together, we’ll overcome COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has wreaked havoc on our world. It’s clear that healthcare workers have enough to contend with at this time. But to make matters worse, many medical facilities are experiencing a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).

We want to help out in any way we can to solve this issue. That’s why we’ve teamed up with apparel company Late Sunday Afternoon and the Schusterman Family Foundation. Together, we’re donating reusable, washable protective masks to hospitals across the United States.

This Crisis Hits Close to Home

Matthew Schildkret, Late Sunday Afternoon’s Founder and CEO, is a dear friend of ours. When Los Angeles was hit with its first few cases of COVID-19, he immediately closed his clothing shop’s doors. Not only was his business considered non-essential, but he didn’t want to risk the health of his employees.

But as the current pandemic crisis unfolded across the US, Matt couldn’t just sit there and watch. Medical facilities are in dire need of help, and a PPE shortage means thousands of healthcare workers and patients are left susceptible to contracting and spreading the coronavirus.

Desperate times call for innovative measures. Aware of his extensive experience as a medical app developer, Matt reached out to Marc Fischer, our Co-Founder and CEO. After discussing the PPE shortage dilemma, they concocted a brilliant plan to help out: Launch a 1-for-1 protective mask donation campaign. Within an hour of commencement, the campaign had received hundreds of orders.

Dealing With the Demand

The sudden demand took Marc and Matt by surprise, but the two quickly leaped into action to deal with it. Matt worked on retooling his clothing company’s equipment and bringing aboard some team members to ramp up production. Marc took on the task of handling the logistics of getting these protective masks into the hands of frontline healthcare workers.

Less than a week later, the campaign had rapidly scaled in scope — thousands of orders are now being placed per day. The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation heard about this endeavor, and they were more than happy to help with a generous micro-grant of $2500!

These funds will be used to send protective masks to many organizations, like Columbia University Medical Center in NYC, Minneapolis-based nonprofit Allina Health, Columbus Colony Elderly Care in Ohio, and other healthcare facilities across the United States.

Together, We’ll Overcome COVID-19

Located in Venice Beach, Late Sunday Afternoon is an apparel company that creates hand-crafted, functional, comfortable clothing. All of its materials are sourced locally, and it uses a zero-waste production process to promote sustainability.

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation is a global organization that works to empower communities and advance equity. It invests in endeavors that help marginalized individuals and improve public education.

We’re extremely honored and humbled to have the opportunity to team up with Late Sunday Afternoon and the Schusterman Family Foundation on this effort. COVID-19 may be keeping everyone physically apart. But we’re all in this together. Want to contribute to Late Sunday Afternoon’s 1-for-1 campaign? Click here!

More than 2 million coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have been reported worldwide as of April 15th. With more than 600,000 confirmed cases nationwide, the United States accounts for a whopping 30% of those patients. In this country alone, over 26,000 people have lost their lives to this pandemic. New York City has borne the brunt of this crisis, with more than 200,000 confirmed cases and 11,000 deaths.

Medical needs have long exceeded what the state’s healthcare system is capable of providing. Drastic measures have been taken to free up critical resources. All elective surgeries have been canceled. And health officials are urging COVID-19 patients who are generally healthy but experiencing mild symptoms to stay home to stop the spread of the virus and free up beds and equipment.

Hospitals around the world face a similar situation. Not only has in-person care become extremely limited but potentially dangerous. Consequently, numerous medical facilities are turning to telehealth to meet and treat patients. But outdated laws are impeding progress with this technological paradigm.

Keeping Patients & Providers in Touch During the Pandemic

For many healthcare tech developers, telemedicine was an inevitability — it wasn’t a question of if but when this way of accessing medical professionals would become ubiquitous. After all, it offers a myriad of benefits. With just a phone, computer, or tablet, providers can diagnose, treat, and educate patients no matter how many miles apart they are. But most industry insiders didn’t think it would take a pandemic to make this option popular.

Prior to COVID-19, telehealth’s traction and growth in the U.S. was frustratingly slow. Many medical institutions reserved its use for select cases. For instance, Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California usually leveraged telemedicine for dermatology and cancer patients. Today, things are quite different. The last week of March saw the USC health system initiate more than 5,000 telehealth appointments, most of which were not for COVID-19.

Similar scenarios are occurring across the U.S. Within 48 hours of launching a telemedicine site, Boston Medical Center booked 1,500 virtual visits. The increase in usage of telehealth services not only frees up crucial resources for patients who need them most but also reduces the risk of spread for the general population. And it’s versatile; a variety of ailments like minor infectious diseases, skin issues, psychiatric problems, and orthopedic maladies can all be dealt with via telemedicine.

Despite the amazing advantages that telehealth offers during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s still being severely underutilized. Few U.S. hospital systems are capable of ramping up to 50% virtual care. To make matters worse, regulatory roadblocks are impeding the usage of telehealth on a mass scale across the country.

The Digital Dilemma

Due to limited healthcare access for rural counties and a huge aging population, California first started considering telemedicine in the early 1990s. This culminated in the state passing the first telehealth regulation in 1996: Only California-licensed providers could treat California residents with the technology. This law is still active; a Los Angeles resident cannot be treated by a New York City doctor via telehealth.

Over the years, more laws and regulations were passed across the U.S. But they seemed to only hurt access to telemedicine. For example, many states required a patient’s written consent, while others required at least one in-person examination before being allowed to book telehealth appointments.

To top it all off, insurers began to refuse reimbursing telehealth providers at the same rates as their in-person counterparts, citing concerns about quality of care. While these developments were intended to protect patients, they’ve been extremely detrimental for the use of telemedicine.

In recent years, state agencies and patient advocacy groups tried addressing these problems by revising or removing restrictive regulations and requiring that telehealth physicians be compensated at the same rate as in-person providers. But 21 states still adhere to the practice of not allowing the usage of telemedicine across state lines. California and New York are two of these states.

Last month, a bill was introduced in New York’s State House to allow for telehealth access across state lines. Considering how badly overburdened New York’s medical resources are at the moment, passing this bill would be invaluable. But old regulations are still standing in the way.

A Necessity During The COVID-19 Crisis

While the utilization of telemedicine services has been low, momentum has been increasing. 2020 marks the first year that 91% of employers will offer telehealth to their workers. The coronavirus has demonstrated that this shift is a necessity. Thankfully, it seems that the crisis has convinced regulators and government officials of this as well — the technology is seeing unprecedented support.

The Federal Communications Commission recently announced $200 million in funding to aid telehealth usage across the country. Mid-March saw both Medicare and Medicaid expand reimbursement rates for a range of telemedicine services. And numerous state governments are requiring insurers to cover these appointments.

It seems that lawmakers have finally woken up and seen the potential value that telehealth offers. We’re moving in the right direction, but we can’t move fast enough. Hard-hit areas like New York City have been begging for the help of doctors from other states for weeks. Telehealth can get them there instantly. And it could certainly help save lives.

Governments and medical facilities around the world are being inundated by an influx of COVID-19 patients. Under these overwhelming circumstances, it’s imperative that these organizations manage their resources carefully; it’s the only way to ensure that people with the highest health risks are prioritized and that the spread of the novel coronavirus slows down.

Luckily, artificial intelligence (AI) development can help.

A Proactive Approach to Managing COVID-19 Patients

Jvion is a medical tech developer that specializes in clinical AI. The Georgia-based company is running a data analysis initiative to help improve COVID-19 strategies and aid hospitals in taking a more proactive approach in managing patient populations.

Thanks to machine learning algorithms, Jvion is able to elucidate social risk factors that make it more likely for people to contract and spread the coronavirus. This data even shines a light on the possibility of someone getting an infection that would require hospitalization.

John Frownfelter, MD, is the Chief Medical Information Officer of Jvion. In an interview with TechTalks, he explained the need for AI during this pandemic:

“We know two things today: First, projections are that at some point hospital resources and capacity will be outstripped by the demand, and second, clinical data (vital signs, x-rays, etc.) are poor indicators for a patient’s ultimate outcome. Which patient could do well at home, and which patient is likely to not survive no matter what therapy is offered is one of the more difficult clinical challenges.  AI can definitely help in this space.”

Jvion’s AI helps identify uninfected individuals who are at high risk for contracting a serious case of COVID-19. Healthcare organizations can then alert these people to practice proper self-isolating precautions. The AI system is a sorely needed tool during this crisis. Not only does it help protect those most at risk of experiencing grave COVID-19 symptoms, but it can also save supplies for those who need it most — and that could save numerous lives.

Analyzing Social Risk Factors

This isn’t AI’s first encounter with the coronavirus. AI firm BlueDot actually used the technology to detect and warn about the pandemic a full nine days before the World Health Organization’s (WHO) official alert. And researchers are currently using AI to screen thousands of existing drugs for effectiveness against COVID-19. Beyond these endeavors, AI’s also being used to measure people’s temperatures in public and identify COVID-19 infections in chest x-rays.

Jvion’s system bolsters these efforts by determining individual risk levels. The most impressive part is that it does this with little to no clinical data and limited patient information. Social determinants of health (SDOH) are far easier to obtain than individual patient data; there aren’t nearly as many rules and regulations in the way. This versatility makes it possible to apply Jvion’s AI to large populations and find high-risk patients.

“We have developed methods and resources to rapidly gather all the data on any individual. In addition, we have developed methods and technology to analyze communities, without having data on individual patients,” Frownfelter explains.

For a preliminary analysis, the system gleaned over data from 2 million patients. Out of thousands of factors, it then determined which ones carry a high risk for infections that lead to severe outcomes, like respiratory failure. Unsurprisingly, the system flagged both old age and chronic conditions as pivotal risk factors.

The machine learning application also detected a variety of social factors as risky, like living in densely populated areas, taking long commutes, attending public events, and shopping in person. Discovering and taking proper measures against these factors can make a monumental difference. Studies of the previous 2009 H1N1 pandemic show that social factors played an integral role in the worse outcomes of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.

Machine Learning + Public Data = Predictive Potential

In January, Jvion’s team introduced their methodology in a research paper published in The American Journal of Managed Care. The main takeaway? Publicly available socioeconomic determinant data and purchased behavioral information make it possible for machine learning models to predict hospital and ER utilization — no clinical risk factors needed.

Frownfelter says, “Even when data on the health event in question isn’t readily available there are surrogates that can be leveraged to identify likely outcomes to inform strategies proactively.”

Besides their system, Jvion has also launched a COVID Community Vulnerability Map. This free tool identifies populations at risk of experiencing high numbers of severe COVID-19 cases. It takes socioeconomic and environmental factors into account that place regions at higher risk.

Both Jvion’s AI system and its map give communities and organizations essential tools we must leverage in our fight against the coronavirus. By using them, we can buy healthcare facilities more time to properly plan for influxes of patients and ultimately save lives.

From New York City, New York to Venice, Italy, the coronavirus has already taken away too much from humanity. To stop it from wreaking more havoc, we must all do our part to flatten the curve. Practice social distancing. Wash your hands often. And help others in need. Together, we’ll overcome this pandemic.

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to wreak havoc around the world, doctors and medical researchers are desperately looking for medications to combat the illness effectively. And artificial intelligence (AI) development may help point them in the right direction.

Deep neural networks could help healthcare providers identify the right antivirals to fight COVID-19. And they’re not just looking at experimental drugs for a solution — the algorithms behind these networks are also considering already-existing compounds.

The Frantic Search for a Solution to COVID-19

If you’ve been following the news about coronavirus, you’ve probably heard of chloroquine by now. Based on a naturally-occurring compound found in certain South African trees, this anti-malaria drug was created by German medical developers in the 1930s. Since then, it has been saving lives across the globe.

As a last resort, Chinese physicians tried using chloroquine (along with numerous other drugs) on patients with severe COVID-19 cases. Some of them recovered. Many of them didn’t. Basically, nobody is sure if it really helped. And we won’t be able to confirm so without clinical trials, which are ongoing.

Alongside chloroquine, several other existing drugs are being investigated for potential efficacy in combating the coronavirus. Currently, “there are no definitively effective drugs,” according to Dr. Li Haichao, a respiratory and critical care doctor at Peking University First Hospital. Dr. Haichao is also a member of China’s emergency medical rescue team which was sent to Wuhan.

While these drug candidates may range in application, they do share one common characteristic: None of them are new. None of them were developed specifically to treat coronavirus patients. But they each have traits that could potentially combat the illness.

Repurposing already available drugs is one of the quickest ways to treat an outbreak. Developing new drugs is not only daunting but time-consuming — the process can take a decade. Existing drugs that have already been approved by regulatory agencies can spring into action much faster and start saving lives.

Before AI, scientists would be left to make educated guesses as to what works in crises like this. But a recently released preprint research paper looks at how deep neural networks could help. Not only do their algorithms scan new compounds, but they also consider already-approved medications for effectiveness.

Drug Repurposing May Be Our Best Shot

The preprint is one effort of many that are using AI tools and machine learning applications for drug discovery. AI can help this process in numerous ways; identifying new targets, searching for novel molecules and finding compounds with potential to pass through clinical trials and make it to market name just a few avenues.

Most AI-fueled drug discovery endeavors concentrate on new compounds. But COVID-19’s rapid damage to global health and economies has urged researchers to consider drug repurposing as a promising option.

The concept of applying a drug for one illness to another sounds strange and nonsensical on the surface level. After all, if it took a decade to develop that drug to work against one sickness, why would it be effective for something else? Two words: Biological similarity.

COVID-19 may be new to humans, but it’s not exactly unique to evolution. Because COVID-19 is a type of coronavirus (and virus in general), we have some idea of how it infects cells and transmits based on our dealings with similar viruses like SARS and MERS. Going deeper, we can essentially match up how our bodies respond to this illness on a molecular level by comparing it to the precedent of these other viruses.

In more technical terms, if a drug has a similar effect on gene expression profiles between two different circumstances (two infections, in this case), then perhaps the drug can be applied to the new infection. At least, that’s the logic here. But from a practicing physician’s perspective, this logic may not carry as much merit.

Chloroquine may have exhibited antiviral properties on cells in an isolated lab experiment, but “no acute virus infection has been successfully treated by chloroquine in humans.” Its use on COVID-19 patients was really a desperate attempt to save them. In the past, it seemed to help against SARS. But this was never truly confirmed.

Besides this, familiarity can backfire. A drug that was approved for one reason may not be questioned in terms of safety when it’s applied for another reason. But that can be dangerous. For example, the difference between a therapeutic dose of chloroquine and a toxic, potentially life-threatening dose is extremely narrow.

AI’s Role in All of This

It’s worth noting that AI does have the capability to explore drug effects on the molecular or genetic level much better than a human doctor can. And if the puzzle pieces align, there may be promise there. If an HIV drug triggers the same gene expression changes in COVID-19 patients as it does with HIV, perhaps it could work.

In the preprint’s case, the researchers based their hypothesis on SARS, a virus that carries many similarities to COVID-19 — genetically speaking, they have an 86% similarity. So, in theory, a drug that successfully works against SARS could be promising for combating COVID-19.

This is where AI comes in. A gene called COPB2 was found to be essential in helping SARS proliferate in the human body. The research team examined the genetic profile of cells without this gene; they are at least partially SARS-resistant and could be COVID-19-resistant. The team then screened through various chemical libraries to identify compounds that would basically eliminate the COPB2 gene in cells.

The researchers’ neural network ended up with a list of both experimental and approved compounds that matched this profile. For example, one chemical on the list was indeed previously found to reduce SARS replication in cells.

Not a Panacea, but a Useful Tool in Our Fight Against COVID-19

If all of this has left you with more questions than answers, you’re not alone. We’re just beginning to understand COVID-19. That means there’s little data on it to train AI with. The research team used SARS as a proxy, which, when considering its similarity to COVID-19, is logical. But vital questions, like if COPB2 is actually necessary for COVID-19 to proliferate, still need to be answered.

Everyone is eager to find a solution to COVID-19. Who wouldn’t be? From our home in Los Angeles to Venice, Italy, this illness has taken away too much from us already.

But letting hope outweigh truth and data could be detrimental in our progress. We must remember that AI is a tool, not a panacea. And just because a drug has been approved for one disorder doesn’t mean it will be effective against another similar one. We can’t let scientific objectivity take a backseat — not if we want to solve this crisis properly.

AI can help us immensely. But it’s ultimately up to clinical trials to validate a drug’s effectiveness against COVID-19.

Like any tool, technology can be used for both good and bad. And sometimes, that bad is inadvertent; tech in the form of airplanes helped expedite the spread of the coronavirus around the world. But fortunately, technology will also aid in stopping this pandemic crisis.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how the San Francisco-based company BlueDot utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to warn the general public about the dangers of COVID-19 well ahead of health officials. In case you missed it, you can read it here.

Examples like BlueDot give us hope that emerging tools like AI can help humanity tackle problems like the coronavirus in unprecedented ways. Critics of the technology often say it’s only tested in “sandbox scenarios” that offer limited significance for the real world. But that’s clearly not the case.

In this post, we’ll take a look at how two major AI organizations, DeepMind and IBM, are leveraging the smart technology to fight against the coronavirus.

IBM Strikes Back at the Coronavirus With Summit

The speed at which the novel coronavirus spreads presents an unprecedented challenge for the world. Consequently, researchers must accelerate their work in order to stymy this pandemic. Fortunately, Summit, the world’s fastest supercomputer, is here to help.

Solving the World’s Biggest Problems Is Summit’s Purpose

In 2014, New York-based developer IBM was commissioned by the US Department of Energy to build a supercomputer for a unique reason — to solve the most impactful problems facing the world. With the power of 200 petaflops and the capability to perform 200 quadrillion calculations per second, Summit is 1 million times more powerful than the fastest laptop in existence today.

At its home in Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Summit has already helped tackle various monumental issues. The supercomputer has identified common cellular system patterns that precede Alzheimer’s disease, predicted extreme weather events via climate simulations, and analyzed contributory genes for traits like opioid addiction.

Identifying Crucial Chemical Compounds

Equipped with cutting-edge developments in artificial intelligence (AI), Summit was able to run thousands of simulations to elucidate which drug compounds have a good chance of stopping the coronavirus from infecting host cells.

To infect and compromise host cells, viruses inject them with a “spike” of genetic material. Finding chemicals that bind to this spike could potentially help stop the spread of the coronavirus. After creating a model of the coronavirus spike based on research published in January, Oak Ridge Lab research Micholas Smith then simulated how its particles would react to a myriad of compounds.

After over 8,000 simulations, Summit identified 77 promising compounds and even ranked them on likeliness to bind to the virus’ spike. Since more information on the coronavirus is coming out every day, the team will run simulations with Summit again to improve accuracy.

Still, the work that Oak Ridge Lab and Summit have accomplished so far is a great start. The next step would be to conduct experimental studies to validate the performance of these chemicals. This work could eventually lead to a greater understanding of how to improve our treatment of COVID-19.

How DeepMind Is Striving to Slow the Spread of Coronavirus

Perhaps known best for beating human players at a variety of games like Go and DOTA, London-based developer DeepMind is also working on solutions in the field of drug discovery. The Alphabet-owned company has been working on AlphaFold, a deep learning system that attempts to accurately predict protein structures — even when no similar ones exist.

Visualizing Solutions in 3D

The 3D structure of proteins is essential for crafting new medications, especially for new viruses. As we’ve alluded to, COVID-19 has spikey proteins jutting out from its surface; these are the spikes that compromise host cells. Lung cells contain an abundance of factors that allow these spikes to attach to them, which is why the coronavirus causes respiratory problems.

DeepMind’s AlphaFold is on a mission to figure out which proteins can thwart COVID-19’s attachment to host cells. As Summit did, AlphaFold is tapping into all of the newly available information about the coronavirus to do this. But rather than simulating thousands of different chemical compounds, AlphaFold is applying machine learning to focus on a few understudied proteins that carry immense potential for becoming drug or vaccine targets.

A Fundamental Problem In Drug Discovery

Protein folding is an enigmatic, decades-old issue in the fields of biochemistry and drug discovery. Nearly all our existing drug solutions latch onto certain proteins to function; identifying new protein structures for our fight against the coronavirus is much more complex.

But why is understanding how proteins fold so complex? Well, genetic code doesn’t seamlessly translate to how proteins look. And when it comes to new viruses, we’re basically fighting them blindfolded without predicting protein structures.

AlphaFold combines decades of deep learning advancements with pertinent information available from public domain protein structure databases. By using genome sequences, it can predict the properties of particular proteins. But it’s not like it can concoct specific sequences with special powers; it’s more like AlphaFold can offer us a quick police sketch of the “perpetrator.”

DeepMind emphasizes that “these structure predictions have not been experimentally verified.” It’s difficult to evaluate how and what AlphaFold will be able to contribute to helping humanity during this current pandemic. But it’s certainly en route towards aiding us in tackling future health crises.

AI’s Still No Substitute for Social Distancing

The coronavirus is bringing countries and economies to a standstill. So any help we can get is welcomed. It’s unlikely that AI will be the panacea we need to address this pandemic. Similar to the 2003 SARS crisis, our best defense against illnesses like these is one that we can each do without any newfangled technology: social distancing.

As with many other aspects of our society, COVID-19 is putting AI to the test. But with some hope, empathy, and teamwork, humanity will overcome this pandemic. For now, be safe, stay informed, and remember to wash your hands often.

Lawmakers have reached an agreement to provide an emergency funding package of $8.3 billion to aid the United States’ response to the coronavirus crisis. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law last Friday. The funds will go towards treating and preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Telehealth capabilities like remote patient monitoring (RPM), voice calls, and video conferencing offer an efficient, effective way for healthcare providers to combat pandemics like the coronavirus. The Connected Health Initiative (CHI) recently sent letters to U.S. House and Senate leadership requesting that federal law be amended to ease the use of telehealth technology during this emergency.

Dogtown Media is proud to sign and support this letter.

Striving to Make Telehealth Available for Everyone

CHI is an initiative of ACT | The App Association. It’s a coalition of medical and digital health ecosystem partners seeking policy changes that allow providers to harness the power of technology to improve patient engagement and outcomes. Members of the committee include tech titans like Apple and Microsoft, pharmaceutical companies such as Roche Holding AG, numerous healthcare centers, and medical tech developers like Dogtown Media.

The global coronavirus outbreak has been undeniably tragic to watch unfold. Members of CHI also see it as a warning that we must rectify current telehealth usage capabilities before other health emergencies occur. Because the coronavirus spreads via face-to-face contact, academic institutions, companies like Twitter, and even government organizations like the SEC have now urged their members to stay home and work there if possible.

This poses a problem for healthcare providers; not only are they tasked with treating patients, but they are also focused on stymying the spread of the virus by encouraging those affected to stay home. Telehealth like voice and video communication are indispensable in helping these efforts. But the laws governing these technologies for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) make it cumbersome to leverage telehealth capabilities.

In its regulations, the CMS does provide an incentive mechanism for payment to clinicians using telehealth. But a number of substantial barriers impede its use. For example, CMS usually requires a 20% copay on monthly RPM services, which a patient must pay. In its letter, CHI has urged Congress to waive this copay requirement during the COVID-19 crisis so that RPM systems can be deployed as quickly as possible.

People over 65 years of age (the main category of Medicare patients) carry a high risk of contracting the coronavirus. Clearly, voice and video tech, as well as RPM capabilities, offer clinicians an avenue to stay up-to-date on patient status and treat them safely.

When asked about the response from Congress, Morgan Reed, CHI’s Executive Director, says the group has received “uniformly positive feedback.”

Preparing for Future Health Emergencies

Besides waiving the copay requirement during the coronavirus pandemic, CHI has also asked Congress to incorporate legislation that waives telehealth reimbursement restrictions during future national emergencies. Rather than revisit these barriers during the next crisis, Congress should completely remove these restrictions. It would be in the best interests of public health.

“We got into the situation because we didn’t solve this over the years that we have been asking Congress to solve this problem of preventing telemedicine from being reimbursed,” Reed explains. “Our response today is two-fold: One, solve the immediate problem to help with the coronavirus, and that is with real-time voice and video and remote patient monitoring. Two, how do we solve for the next crisis?”

Sources close to the negotiations say that lawmakers have agreed to include a provision that enables the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department to waive certain telehealth restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak. This would let Medicare providers give telehealth services to beneficiaries, regardless of if they’re located in a rural area. This provision is estimated to cost $500 million.

We hope to see more positive change enacted soon. Medical emergencies like COVID-19 must be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. When public health is on the line, there is no time for debate. Action must be taken so that everyone from Los Angeles to New York City can receive the proper care and treatment they need during a crisis like the coronavirus.

Stay safe, everyone.