A Conversation with Ann Mond Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of ATA
Ann Mond Johnson (@AnnMondJohnson) is the CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), a role she’s held since 2018. Ann is a seasoned senior leader with experience across the healthcare ecosystem who has helped build, launch, and lead client-driven companies using innovation and technology to support consumers. She’s helping drive the expansion and impact of telemedicine policy and performance to increase wellbeing.
Listen to the Conversation
Episode Takeaways
- Before the pandemic, the ATA (@AmericanTelemed) worked to build a broad coalition of provider groups, technology solution providers, and others. That’s only continued to grow and expand since the onset of COVID. The community the ATA helped build was incredibly agile and collaborative in response to help save the US healthcare system from imploding. Telemedicine enabled consumers and patients to stay safe at home, but still get the care they needed – it was omnichannel care meeting people where they are.
- The telemedicine medium is truly a powerful one. From a policy and advocacy standpoint, we need to make sure it’s not treated as a “second class citizen” in the continuum of care, but as a legitimate modality of care. Before the pandemic we had profound problems in the healthcare system –a poor distribution of services, poor distribution of evidence-based care, and more. Telemedicine helps with some of those problems, and we need to continue using technology to help solve the problems of interconnectedness that we face even in today’s increasingly connected world.
- We all have different needs at different moments, and we use technology to meet those needs in all aspects of our lives, but not as much in healthcare. Its not necessarily a challenge of individuals being resistant to change, but its sometimes a regulatory issue. A lot of the regulations that impact telehealth were put in place 14 years before the iPhone was introduced. The necessity born from the pandemic gave telemedicine an opportunity to prove that technology can deliver. That’s continued to an extent, giving things like physical therapy and audio-only services an opportunity to continue and grow. We can’t get complacent and must work to ensure telehealth – all types – become a permanent option.
- Video is what most people think of when they think of telemedicine, but it’s more than that. It’s interactive messaging and assessment. It’s audio-only. Because this is all done virtually, more often than not there’s less slippage and room for error, like forgetting what questions to ask. Artificial intelligence is also going to be critical and it’s exciting to think about where that technology might be integrated to help telemedicine become even more effective and accessible as we look to eliminate disparities and increase access.
Hosts
Gil Bashe
Managing Partner, Chair Global Health, FINN Partners
Twitter: @Gil_Bashe
LinkedIn: Gil Bashe
Gregg Masters
Founder & Managing Director, Health Innovation Media
Twitter: @GreggMastersMPH
LinkedIn: Gregg Masters, MPH
About the Show
Join digital health advocate and author Gil Bashe, on Health Unabashed, as he discusses the power of collaboration and innovation in improving care across the health ecosystem. Sharing stories and insights from a global perspective, Gil looks at the companies and people who are making a difference and offers his opinions on how to connect the dots to transform the industry for good.
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