In the realm of digital innovation, particularly in healthcare, having a scalable, secure, and interoperable technological foundation is essential for transforming and standardizing care and research practices.
Dr. Mert Aral, Chief Medical Officer at Huma, discussed with PYMNTS’ CEO Karen Webster the significant disparity in healthcare delivery across different regions. He raised a thought-provoking question: if technology can standardize experiences in navigation through tools like Google Maps, why can’t it do the same for healthcare?
Huma was established in 2011 to address this challenge. Dr. Aral highlighted that healthcare and life sciences, due to their deep-rooted traditional practices, require a substantial shift in mindset for effective transformation.
Despite the evident advantages, widespread adoption of digital health solutions has been slow, hindered by the complexity and fragmentation of current systems. Issues such as a lack of interoperability, insufficient data, and resistance from clinical teams and researchers impede the integration of new technologies. Dr. Aral compared this challenge to rebuilding a house while still living in it, emphasizing that the core infrastructure needed for large-scale digitalization is still lacking.
Transforming Care Delivery and Research
Huma is focused on accelerating digitalization within healthcare, aiming to bridge the gap between in-hospital and out-of-hospital care. Dr. Aral pointed out the importance of gaining better visibility into patient health outside the hospital to enable proactive interventions and timely care.
Over the past decade, Huma has developed a foundational layer of technology to support a variety of digital health solutions, including population health screening, remote patient monitoring, and digital clinical trials. Their platform is now implemented in over 3,000 hospitals, serving millions of active patients. Demonstrating improved outcomes and increased capacity helps drive the adoption of these technologies.
A significant milestone for Huma was the launch of the Huma Cloud platform, designed to provide a robust foundation for other stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem to develop and deploy digital health solutions. This platform, which took years and considerable resources to build, allows for scalability and flexibility in addressing diverse healthcare needs.
Dr. Aral emphasized the necessity of collaboration among all stakeholders—patients, providers, payers, pharmaceutical companies, and governments—to achieve substantial impact. Huma’s FDA-approved, disease-agnostic platform enables the development of a broad range of health solutions using a unified technological base.
Innovative Solutions and Future Vision
One notable example of Huma’s innovation is their asthma disease management solution developed with AstraZeneca. This solution aims to identify patients who could benefit from advanced treatments more quickly and efficiently by leveraging continuous remote monitoring through spirometry devices, wearables, and an intuitive app. This approach has significantly expedited treatment optimization, benefiting patients, providers, and pharmaceutical companies alike.
Huma envisions a future where their platform supports a global network of healthcare applications, continuously enhanced through new diagnostic tools and data-driven insights. This vision aligns with the broader trend towards personalized, proactive healthcare, where technology empowers both patients and providers.
By addressing systemic challenges and building a robust technological foundation, Huma is paving the way for a transformative era in healthcare delivery and research.
