John Whyte

With the sharp rise in interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its rapid evolution and integration into our everyday practices, tension exists between physicians and consumers regarding the role of AI and digital health tools in healthcare. And while innovation is the key to advancing digital health, and a plethora of new digital health tools have the potential to revolutionize healthcare, we must employ them wisely. In this session, Chief Medical Officer of WebMD Dr. John Whyte invites audiences to discuss the most top-of-mind concerns where AI and healthcare intersect, including the following:

• While physicians think of AI and Digital health tools as mainly serving administrative functions, consumers often use these tools to save them a trip to the doctor's office. Can we strike a balance between these two perspectives and decide on the proper roles of these “smart” tools?
• How do we effectively utilize this collected data to create better health outcomes and inform clinical decision-making to improve patient care?
• What level of collaboration might need to be established between healthcare providers, patients, and technology companies to develop standards and best practices for using this data responsibly and effectively?
• How do we improve or create regulations to foster innovation and ensure patient-centered care?

The last two years has seen an explosion in technologies that allow consumers to take control of their health care. Just as people rebuild their kitchen, they now can remodel their bodies. Internet search engines allow you to curate results based on your personalized symptoms and medical history. It also connects the content you consume to care. Instead of having to wait to call a doctor to get an appointment in a few weeks, you can get a telemedicine visit with one more click. You can now order your own lab tests without a doctor's order and do them in the privacy of your home. Apps can check for skin cancer and determine whether you need new glasses. How exactly does the health community stay engaged with patients when patients increasingly are leading their care management?

As the Chief Medical Officer of WebMD, Dr. Whyte helps audiences identify and understand the latest trends in consumer behavior and explains how developments such as “DIY” in healthcare has many advantages, but it also presents challenges. He describes the convergence of healthcare and retail, and how it impacts quality as well as economic measures. He provides the insights on how to shape the healthcare conversation, especially as it relates to the consumerization that is rapidly occurring.

In this presentation, Dr. Whyte will discuss the trends that will influence digital health as a result of the COVID pandemic and increasingly updated technologies. The COVID pandemic has changed the way we evaluate health technologies in four important and distinct ways:

• There will be a greater focus on practicality and less on glitz
• Prevention will take precedence over therapeutics
• Rigorous results matter more than ever
• The consumer will be the focus of the innovation, rather than physicians

In addition to changes brought on by the COVID pandemic, artificial intelligence takes center stage in the innovations and disruption of traditional healthcare. It is not about robots delivering patient care, but rather represents the advances in machine learning and analysis of big data. From his work at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Whyte explains the latest developments in AI – especially in drug and device development and imaging – and describes how they can succeed by disrupting current workflow and processes but not actually being disruptive to patient care. Through entertaining and educating anecdotes, Dr. Whyte helps audiences discern whether AI actually makes health care more productive – and more human.

COVID is an infectious disease pandemic, but the consequences of the 2+ year ordeal, has left a mental health pandemic that needs to be addressed. We have a tsunami of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. How do we utilize existing resources and innovative technologies to address the growing needs of our society?

Dr. John Whyte, a practicing physician and Chief Medical Officer of WebMD, will discuss the impact of the COVID pandemic on mental health including what people are searching online, and explain what we need to do over the next few years to change burnout to resilience.