E24: Healthcare's New Era: AI Insights with Jacob Effron (Redpoint)

The podcast episode features Jacob Efron, a partner at Redpoint Ventures, who discusses his journey from McKinsey to venture capital, highlighting his passion for healthcare and AI. Efron emphasizes the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, particularly in automating clinical documentation and enhancing drug discovery. He explains the concept of value-based care, which shifts the focus from fee-for-service to holistic patient management, and its impact on healthcare practices. Efron also shares insights on the role of media in venture capital, the evolving landscape of AI applications, and the qualities he values in startup founders.

• AI technologies are increasingly being used to enhance healthcare services, including summarizing patient visits to allow doctors to focus more on patients rather than administrative tasks.
• The integration of AI in healthcare is seen as a way to improve efficiency and patient care.

"I think what's really cool about these describe technology is where they basically listen in on the visits and then use these AI models to summarize those visits and write the notes."

• AI models are being utilized to transcribe and summarize medical visits, reducing the administrative burden on healthcare providers.

• Jacob Efron has a diverse career background, including roles at McKenzie, a startup in East Africa, Flatiron Health, and Red Point Ventures.
• His experiences in economic development, product management, and venture capital have shaped his expertise in healthcare and AI.

"When I was at Mackenzie I got really interested in Economic Development and actually did a bunch of work in East Africa."

• Efron's interest in economic development led him to work in East Africa, where he focused on off-grid solar technology.

• As a product manager at Flatiron Health, Efron learned to identify customer needs and work with teams to develop solutions.
• His experience in product management provided him with empathy for product developers, which is beneficial in his venture capital role.

"First and foremost it just gave me a lot of empathy for folks who are Building Products in companies."

• Experience in product management has given Efron a deep understanding of the challenges faced by product developers, enhancing his capabilities as an investor.

• Red Point Ventures focuses on investing in transformative companies across various sectors, including B2B software, data infrastructure, fintech, healthcare, and consumer markets.
• The firm is committed to partnering with companies that have the potential to change the world.

"Redpoint really invests in generational companies across a bunch of spaces."

• Red Point Ventures aims to invest in companies with the potential to have a significant and lasting impact on their respective industries.

• Red Point Ventures maintains a strong media presence through podcasts, written content, and public appearances to increase brand awareness and attract potential investment opportunities.
• Media activities help the firm communicate its areas of interest and expertise to a broader audience.

"What it does for us is a few things one it definitely just helps kind of get our name out there."

• A strong media presence helps Red Point Ventures remain top of mind for founders and entrepreneurs seeking investment.

• Hosting podcasts allows venture capitalists like Efron to learn from industry leaders and stay informed about the latest trends in AI and healthcare.
• Engaging with experts through media platforms enhances knowledge and provides opportunities for networking.

"What I love about doing the podcasts is I find I just learn a ton."

• Podcasting serves as a learning tool and facilitates connections with top professionals in AI and healthcare, enriching Efron's expertise.

• AI is poised to revolutionize healthcare by improving diagnostic accuracy, personalizing treatment plans, and streamlining administrative tasks.
• The ongoing development and integration of AI technologies in healthcare present both opportunities and challenges for the industry.

"I think Laura and I are very excited to hear your thoughts on Healthcare and Ai and learn from you kind of on the flip side here."

• There is a keen interest in exploring the potential of AI to transform healthcare, highlighting the importance of continued dialogue and research in this field.

• The integration of AI into healthcare is transforming various aspects, including patient care, diagnosis, and healthcare operations.
• AI scribe technology is revolutionizing the way doctors interact with patients by automating the note-taking process, allowing doctors to focus more on patient care.
• AI is also being used in diagnosis and treatment planning, providing tools for clinicians to determine appropriate treatments and identify diseases.
• Automation of healthcare operations through AI is helping reduce costs and improve efficiency, making healthcare delivery more effective.

"One space that has just really been taking off is the AI scribe space... this is the idea that you can have a patient visit a physician, record that visit, and then generate a note from that visit so that saves the doctor time."

• AI scribe technology is enhancing the efficiency of medical documentation, freeing doctors from administrative tasks and improving patient interaction.

"There's really cool technology on like diagnosis and things that clinicians use to figure out what types of treatments to give patients."

• AI is providing sophisticated tools to assist clinicians in diagnosing conditions and planning treatments, improving patient outcomes.

• AI is significantly impacting drug discovery, with potential to accelerate the development of new drugs and shorten the time from discovery to market.
• The use of diffusion models in exploring new types of proteins is a key advancement, allowing for the discovery of novel compounds that could be effective as drugs.
• AI is helping to improve the efficiency of drug trials by providing early indications of a drug's efficacy and potential issues, optimizing the trial process.

"Instead of taking a year, two years, three years, it can theoretically be done in days."

• AI has the potential to drastically reduce the time required for drug development and approval, accelerating the availability of new treatments.

"The kinds of compounds we try as drugs is kind of limited by what compounds have worked before... these diffusion models... give a ton of different ideas of what might be possible."

• AI models are expanding the possibilities for drug development by identifying new compounds that were previously unexplored, enhancing the potential for effective therapies.

• AI is transforming clinical trials, particularly in patient recruitment and trial management, though the space remains competitive and saturated.
• Companies like Unlearn AI are innovating in the trial space by using AI to streamline processes and improve trial outcomes.
• AI's role in clinical trials includes improving patient matching and reducing the time required for trial completion, increasing the efficiency of bringing new drugs to market.

"The hardest part is recruiting patients... that's what takes the longest."

• AI is addressing one of the major challenges in clinical trials by improving patient recruitment processes, thereby speeding up trials and reducing costs.

• Traditional clinical trials often involve a control arm where half of the participants receive standard care, which can be resource-intensive.
• Onlearn is developing a technology to simulate control arms using existing patient data to model expected outcomes for standard care.
• This approach could reduce the number of participants needed in trials, potentially accelerating the trial process and focusing resources on treatment groups.
• The concept of "digital twins" allows for simulations of different treatment outcomes for individual patients, offering personalized insights into treatment decisions.

"Instead of having to recruit an entire group of people just to get what the normal standard of care that patients get, we have tons of data about how patients perform in getting the standard of care treatments they get. What if we use that data to build models and then use those models to essentially simulate what the control group would do?"

• This quote highlights the innovative approach of using existing patient data to simulate control arms, aiming to streamline clinical trials.

• The adoption of AI in healthcare is still in its early stages, with some companies successfully integrating AI solutions into clinical workflows.
• Effective AI healthcare solutions must benefit all stakeholders: health systems, clinicians, and patients.
• Successful market adoption of AI technologies depends on demonstrating significant patient and clinical impact, along with a strategic go-to-market approach.

"The best AI and Healthcare companies provide incredible patient impact and clinical impact, but they also are able to marry that with a go to market that kind of benefits the different stakeholders in the system."

• The quote emphasizes the necessity for AI solutions to deliver tangible benefits across the healthcare ecosystem to achieve widespread adoption.

• Value-based care contrasts with the traditional fee-for-service model by focusing on overall patient outcomes rather than individual services.
• In value-based care, providers receive a fixed amount per patient, incentivizing cost-effective and preventive care.
• The model encourages reducing unnecessary tests and interventions, promoting preventive care to avoid more severe health issues.

"Instead of paying for each thing that happens to Jacob, we're going to give you $5,000 to take care of Jacob, and if you're able to save money from that, great, you'll make money."

• This quote illustrates the core principle of value-based care, where providers are financially incentivized to manage patient care efficiently.

• Government policy, especially through Medicare and Medicaid, plays a crucial role in promoting value-based care models.
• Programs like Medicare Advantage and ACO REACH are examples of government-driven initiatives supporting this transition.
• Successful businesses and models in value-based care, such as Agilon and Oak Street Health, demonstrate the viability and benefits of this approach.

"Government policy really drives a lot in healthcare, and the government has been leaning into through the center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation as well as just broader center for Medicare and Medicaid services."

• The quote underscores the significant impact of government policies in shaping healthcare models and encouraging the adoption of value-based care.

• Value-based care necessitates managing entire patient populations, identifying at-risk individuals, and intervening early, which technology can facilitate.
• There is a growing opportunity for technology in remote patient monitoring and frequent patient engagement to support value-based models.
• The financial benefits of value-based care are clear for employers and payers, but transitioning health systems from fee-for-service poses challenges.

"If I think about the fundamental thing that makes a value-based care company successful, it's just having more touch points with patients and being able to build trust with those patients, engage those patients, and intervene early before health problems get worse."

• This quote highlights the importance of patient engagement and early intervention in the success of value-based care models, supported by technological advancements.

• Healthcare systems are transitioning towards value-based care, but not all medical practices are adopting it, posing policy and startup challenges.
• Incentives are needed to encourage the switch to value-based models, including technology to aid success.
• Policy levers could involve requiring some level of risk adoption by medical practices.

"It's a policy challenge, it's a startup challenge: how do you make it so there's more and more incentives for folks to switch?"

• The speaker highlights the dual nature of challenges faced in promoting value-based care, emphasizing both policy and startup perspectives.

• Hospital systems are facing significant labor shortages, particularly among nurses, doctors, and administrators.
• Burnout among physicians and clinicians is a major concern, impacting healthcare delivery.
• Technology has the potential to augment labor forces and improve working conditions.

"There is huge staff shortages for nurses, for doctors right now, for just administrators, and obviously, there's been a tremendous problem with physician and clinician burnout."

• The quote underscores the critical labor issues in healthcare, emphasizing the severity of shortages and burnout.

• AGI is defined as a model capable of performing tasks at the level of a median human across a broad range of activities.
• Achieving AGI involves developing models that can handle new situations with human-like adaptability.
• Current AI models show generalizability but still have limitations and require further development.

"AGI is when we have a model that can do everything a human can do at the quality of the median human."

• This quote provides a clear definition of AGI, focusing on the breadth and human-equivalent capabilities of the model.

• AGI holds promise for revolutionizing drug discovery and education, offering personalized and democratized learning experiences.
• The potential for AGI in mental health and generative media is also highlighted.
• The rapid advancement of AI models is creating exciting opportunities for innovation.

"The ones that get me most excited from a mission perspective are what we'll be able to do with drug discovery and the amount of progress we'll make there, as well as education."

• The speaker expresses enthusiasm for AGI's transformative potential in critical areas like healthcare and education.

• There is no stage too early for investment in AI startups, with a focus on founder-market fit and team quality.
• Passion, resilience, storytelling, and deep market understanding are key attributes for successful founders.
• Early-stage investments are driven by the potential and vision of the founding teams.

"Nothing is too early. We invested in people that are just thinking about an idea."

• This quote highlights the openness to investing at the earliest stages, emphasizing the importance of the founder's vision and potential.

• Enjoyment and belief in the mission of companies are major motivators for working hard in venture capital.
• Identifying activities that provide energy and align with career goals is crucial for success.
• Engaging in enjoyable activities, such as running a podcast, can lead to career satisfaction and effectiveness.

"Paying attention to what gives you energy... finding the intersection of things that are helpful to your career but also the things that you really enjoy doing."

• The advice centers on aligning personal interests with career objectives to achieve long-term success and fulfillment.