In April, Professor Chow and the WARC team held a showcase event at Google HQ demonstrating their innovative heart disease solutions. The showcase event provided a space for the exploration of ways to transform digital health through collaborations with Google, the government, consumers and clinicians.
The showcase attracted leading decision-makers in healthcare, including Graeme Loy, Chief Executive of the Western Sydney Local Health District, Professor Andrew Wilson, Director of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Carrie Hayter, Consumer Engagement Manager from Health Consumers NSW.
The event comprised presentations from WARC researchers which was opened by the University of Sydney’s Professor Richard Lindley, facilitated by Associate Professor Sarah Zaman, and three WARC researchers including Professor Chow as well as Dr Liliana Laranjo and Sonali Munot. Anita Kaye from Google Cloud closing the presentations.
Panel and audience members discussed the suitability of the current health system, the barriers to change and the potential value of digital health in providing equity of access to healthcare. There was also discussion as to how to scale digital health interventions and how to identify the useful from commercial digital health interventions.
A subsequent panel discussion was chaired by Professor Tim Shaw, and included Elizabeth Koff AM, Managing Director of Telstra Health and former Secretary of NSW Health, Ray Messom, CEO of Wentwest (Western Sydney Primary Health Network), and Michael Kielty, a consumer representative.