Introduction To Guest

On this episode of Brains Behind AI, Ari and Natalie met with Bobby Palmer, the President and CEO of PotentiaMetrics, an Austin-based healthcare data and AI company. PotentiaMetrics’ data analytics and artificial intelligence platforms help providers, payers and medical technology companies inform personalized treatment plans by comparing patient-level outcome data related to survival, quality of life and cost of care. These companies use PotentiaMetrics platforms to compare effectiveness, adjust for risk, and track outcomes-based performance metrics.

Bobby has been a business owner and CEO for over 20 years, creating the vision and strategic direction to develop multi-institutional, real-world outcomes registries that enable the creation of unique and personalized AI platforms. Bobby received his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

The Call To Action

Bobby first started to work in healthcare – working with a group of cardiac surgeons, developing predictive analytics for cardiac surgery outcomes. During this time, his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which quickly spread to his liver. With the cancer spreading at an alarming rate, this was a difficult diagnosis, as Bobby’s father was previously active and healthy. It was also challenging for physicians to accurately diagnose and treat his father’s cancer, leaving Bobby and his family very frustrated and helpless.

Bobby quickly learned that every patient with cancer is unique, and it is tough to know exactly the “right” thing to do when caring for a loved one. After the diagnosis, his father suffered from multiple infections and spent half of his time in surgery. Bobby and his family did what they thought was best using the little information they had, which unfortunately resulted in the passing of his father. After Bobby’s father passed away, he started to evaluate what had happened throughout his downfall, and started to piece together multiple gaps. Bobby soon realized that there was a discrepancy between the outcomes of clinical trials with cancer patients, versus cancer patients who are in the real world — older and racially diverse with underlying health conditions. Clinical trial participants are younger, tightly controlled, and less racially and ethnically diverse. They are also healthier in general. The cancer patients in the real world are on a whole different spectrum, older with different stages of diseases. With this newfound information, Bobby wanted to create a way to give patients the best information available, while providing transparency that was specific to their own individual and unique condition.

Coming Up With The Idea

With Bobby’s new discovery and a desire to spend time on impactful work, he saw a massive opportunity, an opportunity that can save the lives of others. After bringing on a team with clinical understanding, PotentiaMetrics was born. The company soon partnered with multiple academic institutions to access more data, while looking at comparative outcomes over time. They also combined these datasets from multiple institutions from three other nations. The team was able to look at the large data sets, multiple stages of the patients, different treatment choices, and from there start comparing their outcomes. PotentiaMetrics spent a lot of time on fundamental questions when determining their approach, while post-developing the tools that tests and validates externally to prevent additional confusion. For Bobby and his team, transparency is key, and trusting the information is critical to this transparency.

Founding A Team

With Bobby’s background in healthcare, he put together a group of very experienced surgeons, clinicians, oncologists, general practitioners, and doctors. He brought on a team with clinical understanding, who can fully help evaluate massive amounts of patient data.

Validating The Market & Testing The Product

In an era of increasing outcomes transparency, Bobby began PotentiaMetrics as a way for providers to define and demonstrate improved clinical and economic outcomes. PotentiaMetrics also enhances medical evidence with PotentiaMED AI platforms supported by real-world clinical and economic outcomes data. PotentiaMetrics develops analytical platforms to support systematic comparisons of results, measure performance, and enhance improvement.

At the beginning stages, PotentiaMetrics started with academic centers, focusing on a certain group of patients. For example: a newly diagnosed African American runner with breast cancer was one patient who used the platform and provided feedback. Through this stage, PotentiaMetrics had to answer many underlying questions found through these particular studies. Within these findings, Bobby was surprised by the information he uncovered. For example, some patients are scared and only want their doctor to tell them what to do. While there is another group of non-English speaking patients that believe the healthcare system is wired against them and only receive suboptimal care. And if you look at the data and the outcome of these patients, they are incredibly weak. PotentiaMetrics saw race as a factor of prognosis — testing the platform not just from a tool perspective, but also from the usability and uptake perspective, was an important component.

From PotentiaMetrics’ findings, market validation, and testing, customers now possess actionable insights that improve patient outcomes, accelerate contribution margins, and decrease healthcare spending. Information is delivered that enhances the current evidence base, revealing new information and contradicting previous findings, all of which is not available from other sources.

Challenges Encountered

To start, change in general is hard, especially when introducing new information that is not available before. Also, patients might not benefit from the cancer treatment, as 30% of people do not fully benefit and react to the treatment/medication they’re receiving.

In the United States, the system is based upon the volume of treatment and the economics are dependent upon more patients coming through the system. When you introduce PotentiaMetrics’ tool, which focuses on transparency and matching the right treatment for each patient based upon their bodies, this can lead to less treatment, and therefore, less revenue, for the hospitals.

The second challenge is how does PotentiaMetrics relay information to patients in a way that they can consume and understand? Multiple studies show that less than 5% of adult patients with cancer can explain what their prognosis is, and normally once they hear cancer, they think they are not going to live. Even though physicians are doing their best to mitigate these factors and explain the prognosis, patients are still left terrified. The challenge is how do you bridge the gap of over providing information that is fundamentally scary, and in a way that cancer patients can relate, understand, and digest. This will also assist the cancer patients in having deeper, more meaningful conversations with loved ones.

An additional challenge to mention is COVID-19. With a huge focus on taking care of the pandemic and Covid patients, many other health issues are ignored, including cancer. With cancer screenings not occurring at the same level and rate, there is a growing concern worldwide. The sad truth is we will unfortunately witness a bump in mortality rates this year.

Applying Machine Learning

PotentiaMetrics has models for 14 different cancer sites, and covers roughly 80% of all adult cancers. Each one of the models are variables specific to each cancer, and the weighings of those variables are very different depending on the type of cancer. For example, if you look at a patient with prostate cancer and take into account the age stages, it’s used from the avidity of the other diseases that the patient has. From there, you combine those with different treatments or a combination thereof. What PotentiaMetrics is relating on a machine learning basis is: “What are the outcomes of similar patients that have received different treatments over time, so that we can accurately predict a five year survival rate?” The machine learning aspect comes into play when you think about the population of patients changing over time with new treatments needed. In general, patients are getting older and are witnessing different stages of diseases. PotentiaMetrics’ AI models are training and updating based on all these factors coinciding and working hand in hand with each other.

Advice for Industry Leaders

For industry leaders, adapting to new technologies faster, especially with the vast changes in technology, processor speed, and data on a monthly basis is key. Technology is usually available a year before it makes the sale cycle within the hospital system. If we can move towards a faster speed of technology application, we can not only save more money, but also save more lives.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

As an aspiring entrepreneur, first look for gaps in the healthcare industry. Second, find areas where gaps are present, yet there is also a clear pathway towards reimbursement. See how you can develop new technology that plays into the existing system where you also generate a return on investment. Many times people are so focused on the clinical need that they gloss over an actual business plan. Make sure you incorporate both the technology and business aspect into your company.

Future Endeavors

PotentiaMetrics is heading in the direction where every patient holding an intricate diagnosis, like cancer, can ask questions and receive credible information, while predicting positive outcomes using different combinations of treatment options. With real world cancer patients possessing additional underlying health conditions and multi-dimensional challenges, many are faced with difficult choices. Where do I live? Can I keep my job? Can I watch my kids and/or grandkids? PotentiaMetrics aims to provide tools that offer answers, not just to survival questions, but answers that take into account one’s values and quality of life. PotentiaMetrics aims to provide deeper information that’s more relevant and critically personalized, especially with new data and technology. Bobby also invisions the company helping people with other complex diagnoses heal and recover.

www.potentiametrics.com

https://www.mycancerjourney.com/