SXSW Panel on Healthcare Deserts Explores Innovative Solutions

In the Global Innovation Center’s most recent Futurist Report, The Future of Healthcare Desert Solutions, the Global Innovation Center examines the trends, technologies, and startups transforming how people in healthcare deserts receive care. And to bring the report to life and amplify its insights, the Global Innovation Center hosted an official panel at SXSW 2023, Scaling Access: Innovations in Healthcare Deserts, featuring healthcare entrepreneurs and experts from companies highlighted in the report.  

As Ruth Yomtoubian, Head of the Global Innovation Center, said in her introduction as the panel’s moderator, "The pandemic accelerated investment in and the adoption of various digital health solutions and it's critical to discuss how these new innovations can be leveraged to scale access to care." 

Healthcare access is an ongoing crisis for millions of Americans. According to the Chartis Center for Rural Health, over 140 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, with healthcare deserts experiencing a massive shortage of primary care physicians. Patients are forced to make difficult choices, such as driving an hour each way to see a specialist and rationing prescription medications when the pharmacy closest to them is out of stock.  

This also applies to vision care as inadequate access to an optometrist can result in an eye care desert. 

“Uncorrected refractive errors—not having the glasses and eyewear you need—is a rising global challenge,” said Shivang Dave, CEO and Co-Founder of handheld autorefractor Plenoptika, during the session. “Vision care affects seven of the 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Care needs to be accessible to all.”    

Howard Gruverman, COO at OnMed, an interactive telemedicine station that diagnoses patients and dispenses prescriptions in real time, said that the key access through innovation is human-centered design. “Scaling these products depends on user experience – making them work for someone who doesn’t think about tech the way you do,” he said.  

Amanda Nguyen, PhD, Health Economist with GoodRx, which tracks prescription drug prices in the United States and provides discounts on medications for users, pointed out that over 60% of Americans think that a medical bill is more complex than a mortgage. “To scale care in health deserts, we need to present clear information,” she said. “And we need to improve health financial literacy, so people aren’t surprised by costs.”  

From direct-to-consumer and on-demand, the panel shared models and technologies that are expanding access. They also shared challenges from price transparency and regulatory hurdles to earning consumer trust, which can be a barrier to uptake of new technologies.  

“The pandemic helped bring new solutions forward and created an opportunity to address care in health deserts,” Yomtoubian said. “As adoption and development of new approaches accelerates, we’re starting to see the future of care for areas that for too long have lacked access.” 

So, what does that future look like? Each panelist shared their vision.  

“The future of care in health deserts is new technology,” Shivang said. “Because they’re new, they’re going to take a little longer. But the place we’re headed is having a range of technologies—from hardware and software to AI— that don’t sacrifice clinical quality because they are being used outside the clinic.”  

Nguyen pointed out that healthcare deserts are a multifaceted problem. “The future is about understanding the needs of the people you’re trying to help and coming up with a unique solution for those people specifically,” she said. 

Gruverman shared that he thinks the future is collaboration. “It’s the community getting involved in health and meeting people where they live, work and play,” he said. “One company, one employer, one government, one university, one nonprofit can’t do it alone.”  

Each of these views comes back to one theme: because healthcare deserts are so different, so too are the solutions that will increase access to care. Stakeholders across all arenas must think creatively and work together to create access to the healthcare that millions need.  

“VSP’s purpose is to empower human potential through sight,” Yomtoubian said. “That includes increasing equitable access to vision care across the country, no matter where or who you are. We’re already making strides in this space through programs like VSP Eyes of Hope and our mobile clinics, but we’re also looking at new and innovative ways to tackle this issue.”  

You can listen to the entire session here.  

For more vision innovation news and updates, check out the Global Innovation Center's LinkedIn page.