In his interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Michael Millar, CEO and Founder of Verto Health, elaborates on the transformative potential of digital twins in healthcare. Michael explains that digital twins are virtual replicas of real-world entities that can simulate future conditions to improve patient outcomes. This innovative technology is central to Verto Health’s approach, enabling healthcare providers to predict and address potential care gaps. Comparing Canada’s digital health ecosystem with international counterparts, Michael notes that Canada faces fragmentation issues, particularly in care transitions, unlike the more integrated systems seen in countries like Korea. Despite these challenges, Michael is optimistic about the integration of AI in healthcare, though he remarks on its cautious adoption to date. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Verto Health was pivotal in optimizing vaccine distribution, demonstrating the critical role of digital solutions in managing public health crises. Looking ahead, Michael is enthusiastic about upcoming collaborations, such as those with Deloitte and the Fraser Health Authority, aimed at revolutionizing healthcare delivery through enhanced access and population health management.
Michael Millar is the CEO and Founder of Verto Health and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. As a computer scientist and a Master of Health Informatics, Michael combines his deep understanding of modern technology with a system-level understanding of the complexities of healthcare management to create innovative solutions for long standing problems in care coordination. Michael’s experience in health administration at the Ministry of Health, AVP of Business Intelligence in finance, and 14+ years of software development helps him navigate the complicated world of digital health with confidence and clarity as he works to transform healthcare.
Michael, could you explain the concept of ‘digital twins’ in healthcare and how Verto Health’s technology uses them to improve patient outcomes?
Digital Twins are copies of things in the real world that are complex and deep enough that you can run them through simulations to predict what will happen to them in the future. At Verto we make Digital Twins of patients to help healthcare providers predict and detect gaps in their care which could lead to negative future outcomes.
How does Canada’s digital health ecosystem compare to other international models like those in the US or Korea, particularly in terms of innovation and adoption of new technologies?
Canada’s digital health ecosystem, outside a few exceptions, is largely fragmented, especially between the hospital, primary care and community care sector. For this reason, we especially have trouble when it comes to transitions of care. The US sector is fragmented as well, however, new value-based care initiatives have attached incentives to integrated care, leading to demand for solutions like ours to digitally integrate fragmented systems.
Korea and the asian market largely have very sophisticated digital platforms, but they are very proprietary and vertically integrated around hospital systems or academic networks. Although this lets them innovate in a masive way when it comes to AI, research and digital therapeutics, it also creates a challenge when their tools look to expand beyond local markets. That’s where we come in to partner with them by using the digital twin to allow their solution to support global interoperability.
Since the rise of technologies like ChatGPT, how have you seen artificial intelligence impact healthcare practices, especially regarding care coordination and patient management?
Artificial Intelligence has created shockwaves across digital health, and executives have all prioritized plans on how to manage its expected disruption, notably in ambient technologies and patient management. Despite the significant hype and industry response, however, I have only seen limited deployments of truly transformative AI in healthcare, especially at the frontline. We know it’s coming, but I think the industry is now at the point where it will only deploy where the value it provides makes a significant impact.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, how did Verto Health adapt its technologies to meet the changing needs of the healthcare sector, particularly around vaccine rollout?
During the pandemic, many of the Canadian hospital and public health systems had the unique challenge of distributing early vaccines to those who would benefit from it the most. We were able to support over 100+ vaccine clinic sites in creating automations and triage systems that identified the most vulnerable citizens and ensured they could receive priority vaccinations, while making sure the residual doses were quickly made available to the public near-realtime.
Looking forward, what new developments can we expect from Verto Health, particularly any upcoming projects or partnerships that aim to address current challenges in healthcare delivery?
We are obsessed with population health; that is the more holistic view of how a society manages regular and chronic healthcare in a way that is highest quality for the patient, while also being the most cost effective for the system. We are especially excited about the work we are undertaking with Deloitte and the Fraser Health Authority as they are one of the first health systems to truly take on the mandate of population health. While initial phases will look to provide better access to citizens to services in the community to avoid unnecessary emergency visits, their mandate has the potential to completely change what healthcare looks like for their citizen using their leading virtual care and digital programs. There are few things more exciting for us than a healthcare partner who truly looks to transform patients and help them get to their best health outcome.
