Bobby Ghoshal puts HMEs on front lines of digital health

SAN DIEGO - ResMed already has more than 5 million medical devices connected to the cloud, but the company's plans for digital health don't stop there. Here's what Bobby Ghoshal, who ResMed recently tapped as its first ever CTO, had to say about where the company plans to take it next. Here's a hint: artificial intelligence and machine learning.

HME News: Why does ResMed need a dedicated CTO?

Bobby Ghoshal: ResMed's technology needs and opportunities are rapidly expanding—as is true across medtech and other healthcare industries. To ensure that ResMed is innovating its technologies and investing in new ones to yield optimal benefits for consumers and other stakeholders, it's advantageous to have a CTO at the executive table who can guide these strategies.

HME: What about your experience at Brightree (and ResMed before that) sets the stage for you to take this expanded role at ResMed?

Ghoshal: As Brightree's COO, I gained valuable insight into HME providers' daily and long-term needs, knowledge that will prove critical as I help lead efforts to further innovate and scale the solutions we offer to HMEs, clinicians and consumers. Before Brightree, I served as ResMed's vice president of IT, helping strengthen the infrastructure that supports the delivery of HI, SaaS, and all other functions of the organization—plus building great relationships with many of the developers and leaders whom I'm fortunate to work with once again. I'm excited to apply this combined knowledge of IT, HI and SaaS to help lead ResMed's tech priorities and investments.

HME: Why is healthcare informatics an expanding focus for the company?

Ghoshal: Two reasons: HI helps drive better compliance (and in turn, health outcomes) and business efficiencies. User compliance when self- and remotely monitored is 87%, versus 50%-60% without that technology. And clinicians save nearly 60% of their time spent on patient management with remote monitoring solutions, particularly with features like automated text messages to patients and grouping them by therapy issue so clinicians can quickly identify who needs what type of support. ResMed has more than 4 million cloud-connected medical devices and we're just getting started. Part of my work is determining how artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technologies can unlock new benefits for consumers, clinicians, and whole healthcare systems.

HME: How do you see the two companies more aggressively exploring emerging technologies like AI and machine learning?

Ghoshal: The focus of these new efforts will be about delivering quality actionable insights to HMEs where it would make the biggest impact: at the point of care. In addition, AI and machine learning have the potential to automate the application of these insights, enabling HMEs to more efficiently improve their patients' therapy experience and health outcomes.

HME: We hear buzzwords like digital health and AI and machine learning related to health care at large. How is HME contributing to the movement?

Ghoshal: Today's buzzwords are tomorrow's advanced solutions, helping unlock ways to provide more personalized care to whole consumer populations. As frontline providers, HMEs are critical to the adoption and use of digital health. Their contribution is already clear to see in the 4 million cloud-connected ResMed devices in use today—and the 87% of total users who've achieved compliance when self- and remotely monitored on them.