On Wed Sept 12th, the Berkeley Haas MBA Association's Alumni Relations group hosted their final planned event in their Student/Alumni "Summer Series". The event was intended for Haas alumni and current students who are working or interested in the cross-section of Healthcare and Technology to network and discuss current issues in the field. Verily Life Sciences generously provided a room for the event at their South San Francisco headquarters.
The event was a hit, with 5 alumni panelists and around 70 attendees made up of current students and alumni. People mingled over food and wine, and then had an engaging discussion around the latest trends and challenges in the healthcare tech space.
The panel discussion drove a thoughtful conversation on questions like:
- What was it like serving as the Director of Innovations for the Department of Health and Human Services during the time that Obamacare passed in 2010?
- How would you compare how the more traditional firms (e.g., Abbott and BCBS) to the more tech-driven organizations (e.g., Verily) in the way they are approaching innovation and problem-solving in healthcare?
- What’s your advice for anyone looking to join an early stage startup? What are the things to look for?
- What do you see as the biggest challenges or barriers to innovation? And as a followup, what is the right pace for innovation in healthcare?
- AI and machine learning are buzz words across many industries now a days; what do you think the role of AI is in the broader healthcare landscape?
- What are your thoughts on how precision medicine and genetic data can be applied on a broader scale to manage disease? How do behavioral and environmental correlates of health play into this?
- Applying technology to the healthcare system is complex. What do you think is most important when designing business models in digital health?
- Joel Davis - MBA/MPH '12 - SVP of Growth & Operations at Doximity
- Rebecca Messing Haigler - MBA/MPH ‘09 - Payor/Provider Strategy at Verily
- Hope Kragh - BA ‘85 - Vice President of Client Success at Collective Health
- Kim MacPherson - MBA/MPH ‘94 - Executive Director of Health Management at Haas
- Wil Yu - MPH - Head of BD and Partnerships at Concerto Health AI