The new American Medical Association (AMA) Interaction Studio allows entrepreneurs to connect with a broad range of physicians, in person and virtually, to gain a deeper understanding of the key challenges in patient care that can be resolved with advances in new technology.
The goal of the AMA Interaction Studio is to bring together entrepreneurs -- as they are building their products, technologies and businesses -- with AMA's expanding network of physicians to collaborate with each other in a real-world, technology-enabled environment to accelerate the development of new solutions to improve health care, said James Madara, CEO and executive vice president of AMA.
“When physician expertise is partnered with input from partners on the leading edge of health technology, we can expect meaningful results,” Madara told Patient Daily News. “Physicians can provide the best possible care for patients when their clinical tools support that goal in every aspect of care.”
The magic happens in Chicago where the AMA Interaction Studio was recently launched at MATTER, a health care technology incubator located there. MATTER is a community of entrepreneurs, innovators and industry leaders working together to harness technology to improve health and health care.
Specifically, Madara explained, the AMA Interaction Studio acts a test bed to simulate telehealth scenarios and opportunities, explore workflow optimization, present current challenges in health care and invite ideas for improvements.
“The studio is primarily designed to create unique learning experiences and simulations using cutting-edge technology, including advanced video and audio technologies, next-generation exam room equipment, immersive 3D projections and virtual holographic displays,” he told Patient Daily News.
Additionally, the studio will host upcoming events with thought leaders and recently live-streamed the TedMed presentations.
“In this space, physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and developers will collaboratively test new products as they progress through development,” Madara said. “This will occur in the studio’s exam room setting so that we can avoid future situations where technology has hindered rather than supported clinical care.”
By partnering with MATTER and industry leaders, Madara said the AMA is bridging the gap to ensure technology drives health and allows for synergy.
“We are reordering the process, demanding physician input to the front end, instead of the back end, or never, within the development process,” he said.
“As technology brings ideas to life in every aspect of our lives, it’s natural that physicians would think about how they can use these advances to better serve our patients, their loved ones, the medical teams we lead and our profession,” Madara said.
And if technology can connect physicians to other physicians -- to share patients’ stats, diagnoses and prescriptions -- then this is a process that supports the work of health care and patients, Madara told Patient Daily News.
“Too often, what promised to save time for physicians has had the opposite effect,” he explained, and instead has compromised and divided their attention.
In fact, when asked by AMA, physicians said that when technology makes the care environment more complex, it actually creates less professional satisfaction by taking time that could be used interacting with patients.
“But, if it could streamline the burdensome administration physicians face each day, that’s a healthier, happier physician, who can clearly focus on what’s important: the care of patients,” Madara said.
“For the promise of these possibilities to come alive, the physician voice -- and perspective on the realities of the modern medical care environment -- must be not only considered but incorporated at the ground level of design,” he added.
Thus, MATTER brings together entrepreneurs and physicians at the very point of the “idea conception” to develop new technologies, services and products that also better serve physicians and patients.
“The opening of the AMA Interaction Studio at MATTER provides opportunities for physicians to directly connect with entrepreneurs to ensure health care innovation is positively influenced,” Madara said.
