What's Up with Tech?
Tech Transformation with Evan Kirstel: A podcast exploring the latest trends and innovations in the tech industry, and how businesses can leverage them for growth, diving into the world of B2B, discussing strategies, trends, and sharing insights from industry leaders!
With over three decades in telecom and IT, I've mastered the art of transforming social media into a dynamic platform for audience engagement, community building, and establishing thought leadership. My approach isn't about personal brand promotion but about delivering educational and informative content to cultivate a sustainable, long-term business presence. I am the leading content creator in areas like Enterprise AI, UCaaS, CPaaS, CCaaS, Telecom/5G and more!
What's Up with Tech?
Revolutionizing Healthcare Communication: QuickBlox' Real-Time Platform, AI Integration, and Future Innovations with Nate
Interested in being a guest? Email us at admin@evankirstel.com
Unlock the future of healthcare communication with Nate from QuickBlox as he takes us through his groundbreaking journey from SMS services to creating a real-time communication platform tailored specifically for healthcare. Discover how QuickBlox has transformed to offer HIPAA-compliant messaging, video calling, and file sharing, all enhanced by cutting-edge AI. Nate shares the intricate mechanisms that ensure stringent data security, privacy, and control for healthcare organizations, including the significance of non-retention agreements and encrypted connections.
Explore the transformative power of AI in healthcare communication—think AI-mediated interactions, seamless translation services, and automated note-taking during telehealth visits. Nate delves into how QuickBlox makes the adoption of these advanced technologies straightforward with downloadable resources and user-friendly widgets. Don't miss the opportunity to network with industry insiders and startups at the upcoming NextMed.Health event in San Diego this December. We're excited to connect with you there and continue this important conversation on the future of healthcare communication!
More at https://linktr.ee/EvanKirstel
Hello everyone and welcome to the Severe Health Series. We are excited to have Nate from QuickBlocks with us. Nate, hello to you and welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Hi, yes, Thanks for having me. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to learn a little bit about what we're doing in healthcare innovation and I appreciate the opportunity to share with you and your audience.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. This is a great place to start. I don't quote, QuickBlocks does a lot of things, but we're specifically interested in all your efforts in healthcare. How do you fit in the health tech space? And, yeah, introduce yourself please, with your background perhaps, and how you came to be at QuickFox and how it fits into the health tech space.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, so I guess I'm a bit of a repeat entrepreneur.
Speaker 2:So my background was originally in the SMS space and mobile content, like in the days when we still had feature phones and the smartphones came on through, and then also in media before that.
Speaker 2:So early days of my career I was helping deliver SMS services to a variety of different companies throughout Europe for carriers to do value-added services for anything from, you know, java games to chat services to informational services, and then got the entrepreneurial bug and kind of created some direct consumer mobile content businesses in Europe and then, after kind of exiting that business, became a bit involved in trying to figure out what was next and we kind of saw how basically so many services were needing things like APIs for communication and for digital communication type services.
Speaker 2:And so then that's how I started QuickBlocks, where we look to offer real-time communication services and platforms for a variety of different industries and specifically with healthcare it's kind of something that developed over time because, effectively, organizations would need things like secure their own secure WhatsApp internally to allow doctors and patients to communicate or have some internal collaboration, and because obviously we're offering tools like messaging, video calling, file sharing, then obviously that led to a number of different telehealth applications that would use our services to power, and with the advent of AI, basically generative AI, is kind of changing the game again. So communication isn't just with one another, it's also potentially with machines and agents. So we've also woven in a generative of AI and then in a kind of intelligence into the communication platform to cover a variety of different healthcare use cases. My background was more on the business side than the technical side, but kind of delivering product and services for customers.
Speaker 3:Fantastic. I also started my career in messaging, actually in paging 30 or so years ago and, believe it or not, we still have pagers in hospitals, some hospitals around the world. Very sad data affairs, but fast forward to your-.
Speaker 2:No that was my business. Sorry not to interrupt, but there was one person in that business who was still selling pager services, even though we're doing all the SMS confirmations, for exactly that reason, right, it's like, hey, people still need to get that number and call back, right? But yeah, totally understand that.
Speaker 3:But fast forward to today. You have a smart chat assistant, but there are a lot of solutions in this space that are also HIPAA compliant, like Microsoft Teams. So you know what sets yourself apart from other sort of communication and collaboration tools that are out there.
Speaker 2:Yes, I mean that's a great question. Effectively, because we've come out of this providing for a variety of different customers, their ability to do HIPAA-compliant messaging and communication video calling. Our view is that you had to integrate the AI technology directly in those communication workflows and enable kind of seamless interaction between humans and AI. So that could mean things like the AI is going to have its own knowledge base, you're going to be able to have things like some sort of programmable smart intake, have some sort of logic where that can go to like a RAG or a copilot, and then the ability to kind of figure out with a human handover. So I mean Microsoft does great tools. You know we also use OpenAI, which is effectively, you know some of their underlying technology. But what we're trying to do is make sure that our healthcare customers can tie, you know, within their own workflows and also they want to have control of the data so we enable also the solutions to be hosted within their own environment.
Speaker 1:So that's kind of, I guess, one of the distinctions. Yeah, speaking of AI integration, I'd like to know more about how you're integrating AI in a way that enhances communication while staying within the boundaries of various regulations. It's very important in health care and, as a patient advocate, of course, I'm also very interested in patient data remaining secure and private. So tell us more about that integration.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, like our health data is some of the most personal data that we have as individuals. So I don't think you can do business with health organizations without having that be like front and center of you know the importance of maintaining personal data. So with our LLM providers, openai, we have a BA with them for non-retention. And what does non-retention mean? It means you don't want to pass that data back to the model from you know the user's own direct communication. In addition, obviously, if people are sharing information with you through some sort of chat or real-time communication use cases, you need to make sure those connections are encrypted. And they also need to make sure that you know effectively those databases are as well, in case someone wants to hack in there and like try and pull off some information about the user that you know is going to be, you know, encrypted within the database so they can't do anything with that.
Speaker 2:And then, because the healthcare organizations also the data has a proprietary element to it as well I mean the data is also IP. Also, the data has a proprietary element to it as well. I mean the data is also IP have some agreement of data residency in terms of that data can be hosted within their own organization or with their own cloud. So that's kind of the big distinction that the customer actually has control of their data with our software, because we deploy our software in the environment. And you know, speaking of kind of like international things, I mean we are seeing requirements in a number of different countries now where they also want to have that data resident within. You know their own geographic areas, you know whether it be Germany or whether it be, you know, saudi Arabia or other markets.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I mean you have to start with, you know, privacy and security of data is kind of the first step really.
Speaker 1:Well, that's great. That's fundamental, and it sounds like you're starting with that in mind as you design various services. So, speaking of which, let's talk about another offering you have, which is a Q consultation. So can you walk us through how Q consultation helps healthcare providers specifically, what its standout features, and is it potentially a game changer in healthcare? Does it help providers and therefore improves patient care? Any specific features you're particularly proud of?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2:So I guess if we kind of break down our products at the base level, we've got a platform which enables people to add, you know, the real time communication and the AI assistance, the HIPAA compliant way.
Speaker 2:And then we have this smart chat assistant which you can kind of train up on your own knowledge base and then have that do things like smart intake, intelligent human handover, and then you have the ability to then tie to the virtual consultation and that's where the Q Consultation product comes in, is basically we've tied in telemedicine, telehealth, kind of a CRM interface together with an AI assistant capability, so effectively you can manage kind of an end-to-end process of here let's take some intake information in a safe and secure way, let's have the AI assistant summarize that information because AI is absolutely great at that, allowing that information then to be passed to a knowledge base like a RAG, if you're familiar with AI related terms, so the user can interact and get kind of good answers to questions.
Speaker 2:And then, when you hit the limit of the RAG or you need to have human oversight then to be able to basically have the context known so you can hand it over to the professional, and that could be a provider, could be a nurse, could be an admin staff. So we've kind of built this workflow to make that happen. So we do think it's a game changer, because right now there's a lot of these functionalities which are kind of in their own little silos. So we're basically looking to make a workflow that people can take, integrate in their own apps and some ready solutions that they can plug off the shelf. So, yeah, we're proud of it actually. So, thank you, I appreciate the question.
Speaker 3:Wow, fantastic. Well, can we get rid of the clipboards in the intake process? Maybe that's we can. I'm kidding, we're never going to get rid of the clipboards.
Speaker 2:No, so like I mean literally that's a use case we've been discussing with some customers right now is, instead of having the clipboard, have it be a combination of an AI generated form plus AI assistant, which can either allow people to type in the answers or have the assistant gently prompt kind of responses that they need and you can also do that by voice and then have that information to hopefully summarize so that you know by the time they come and see a provider, that information is already done. So we're doing this kind of virtually at the moment, but we're also exploring some use cases with some partners about actually doing that you know in office. So then you know, even to get that big old fat clipboard and like it's the same thing over and over tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Oh shoot, I clicked the tick that yes, when I meant to tick a no or whatever, to have a better way to do that right.
Speaker 3:Brilliant.
Speaker 2:Well, I was just kidding, so it's great to see that's actually happening.
Speaker 3:So maybe fax machines will be next, who knows? But I guess the point is there's a massive upgrade to our infrastructure for healthcare that's needed in terms of IT and patient experience. How is the market looking in terms of adoption? Are you seeing a big appetite out there for these kind of solutions and maybe talk about your go-to-market?
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, I mean, I think AI, as far as transforming two major industries I would say the two that's going to make the biggest impact on will be healthcare and education, I think in very positive ways, because the shorting staff ages in healthcare, the high administrative burden, the kind of disparate kind of networks of kind of communication all know all those are areas of efficiency that need to be improved.
Speaker 2:So, in terms of our go-to-market, we're finding adoption from a variety of kind of physician entrepreneurs who want to kind of take a look at their particular use cases, whether that be around behavioral health or musculoskeletal, or in terms of on the practice level of, you know, these use cases around better patient intake to larger kind of health organizations that are looking to make their communication smarter with the addition of AI into those kind of communications. So you know, right now most of our customers are more in the health tech rather than the healthcare side, but with some kind of ready solutions that we're pushing on out which are more low code and easily integrated, we're looking to go directly to providers and practices to integrate these technologies to kind of really remove some of their administrative burdens. And so, yeah, part of it is just finding the right connections and contacts in the organizations who want to take advantage of AI and innovation to improve their existing workflows.
Speaker 1:Yeah, great, great points. And here you mentioned the workflow again, which I was going to bring up and go back to Evan's comment on clipboard. Well, if the clipboard really works, let's keep the clipboard, because maybe we can fit into the existing workflow by not taking things away, but making things easier. So let's take the administrative burden in other areas, and the clipboard is something that they still need.
Speaker 2:Well, we're not necessarily replacing the clipboard. Right, you're bringing the clipboard to 2.0,. Right, and you're using tools that are there, that you know. Those clipboards are there for a reason. Right, the providers don't want to miss some important information about your health history or health context, and so we're able to capture that information by the chat or the communication. But I think, as you say, it's about modernizing the patient experience across different channels and different ways they interact. So I completely agree with you. Definitely, you know, we don't want to get rid of what they're trying to achieve with that clipboard. We just want to figure out how we improve that process, right?
Speaker 1:Right, and if that's the element of human in a loop, then we want to keep that, you know. And then breaking the silos you mentioned I want to go back to that. And then breaking the silos you mentioned I want to go back to that. So let's talk about AI and communication in particular. You mentioned healthcare and education. Obviously, communication is paramount in both of those verticals. Now we're focused on healthcare and improving patient outcomes, so what other ways do you see AI improving communication aspect of health care? So you talked about health tech. We need to build the infrastructure better and then eventually that could be brought into the health care. Tell us more about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I mean, I think you know, because AI, when people say AI, that means a lot of different things, right. Right, what kind of AI are you talking about? So, like in terms of like, when humans communicate with machines, or when machines kind of impart kind of intelligence on human conversations. That's kind of called AI mediated communication, right, and that could be anything from from you know people chatting with a chat bot to like an AI suggesting the answers to a conversation that you might be having with someone. Right, that the AI could be a listener in the background. We all are note takers or scribes to what we do. And then the other thing is you know AI speaks a lot more languages than I do or you do. So if someone sends you a message in Spanish or someone sends you a message in Swiss, german, then you know you're going to be able to click on a button, have that brought back to your native language. So, in terms of how we're weaving it into our own products is exactly that. So allow AI to kind of do translation of the messages when it comes across, so that people can see it within their native language through AI translation.
Speaker 2:We also AI is a great editor and a great writer, so, effectively, if you're not great at writing responses, you can kind of put in, you know blow points or what you want.
Speaker 2:You can ask AI to edit the response you know as you see fit, maybe put it in a more professional manner. Ai can also not forget things, so you can also have the AI provide, you know, some sort of suggested questions to you as well as part of that process. And then, because we're doing the virtual consultation too, with the telehealth visit, the video call, we also now have some AI that can, you know, read that transcript, provide a soap note which is obviously the details of the visit, and then some ICD-10 and CPT codes so that to save the provider some time and have that information available, and then the ability to have that sent across to the patient so they get a summary of their call as well, because they might go hey, I went to the doctor, what did he tell me to do, and then, oh, you know. So this way, you know, there's a bunch of different areas there. I mean, ai is great, as we know, summarizing, suggesting answers, working from knowledge base, translating, so we want to kind of just weave.
Speaker 3:Wonderful, great mission. You know, if there's a company in our space listening, whether they're a provider or maybe a health insurance company or a practice, I mean, how do you get started down this road using AI, using tools like yours, when there's so much legacy infrastructure out there? There's lack of a lot of IT resources to help. What are the first kind of baby steps that a company needs to think about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean. So on the platform side, we use things like APIs, SDKs and UI kits. These are like some packages of code that allow developers to kind of easily integrate these capabilities into their existing websites or applications. And then, on the end user side, like the actual provider who might log in or the patient who might interact, we provide some widgets you know AI bots and some kind of you know, admin interfaces, you know website interfaces where people can log into, that they can white label and customize for what they want to do, and so that way we're trying to lower the barriers that you know you can have more providers use those type of tools rather than have to have a whole development team who is going to put the solution in place Right.
Speaker 2:And I think that's one of the key changes that AI actually brings is, you know, people are now expecting to type something into some command line. They ask the AI to do something and it does it like hey, go book me an appointment, hey, tell me what are the side effects of this, that or the other. So we also want to provide some good, you know customer facing, provider facing interfaces that people can interact with easily, and then you know so some of these tools we have available for just download off our website, or we've got some widgets that they can plug into their own services with very little development resource. So, yeah, we're looking to accommodate both of those things, but it's a challenge, right? There's lots of different systems and lots of different use cases, so trying to figure out the ones that can add the most value the most easily.
Speaker 1:Very good, very interesting. So you're saying people who want to get started with QuickBlocks can go and find you where exactly? Yeah, we love it.
Speaker 2:They visit our website, QuickBlocks BLLXcom. Yeah, they can get in touch with our commercial team and we can provide some demos of either SmartJet, Assistant, QConsultation or our platform. We have some sources on GitHub of some ready apps that people can download and play with and yeah, so we have a variety of different channels they can come across and look to access our technology.
Speaker 1:Well, that sounds really great If people want to get started. You gave them ways to make some first steps. So great conversation. In conclusion, I wanted to ask you what's specifically next on your personal radar and then, what are kind of the next things you're looking to tackle with QuickBooks Any events, conferences, anything you're particularly excited about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm trying to determine whether or not to go to health in Vegas this next month because that's obviously a big IT health conference as well. I'm based in Silicon Valley, so there's all sorts of AI events kind of always going on there and it's trying to find the balance of meeting the right connections at events versus kind of going out there and running your business and, you know, working with customers to help them solve use cases. And we've got some pretty interesting use cases with you know physicians who are looking to implement these technologies into you know just their own practice website or within you know use cases for their customers. So it's always kind of a bit of a balance to you know do those two things and have them book your appointment. You know, do your trial right All these kind of additional capabilities to make them more autonomous, and so we're looking to also add that within our workflow builders.
Speaker 2:So then you know not only take in taking the patient and the rest of it, but actually you know dynamically kind of you know taking actions on behalf of that person. You know to kind of help aid the administrative burden. So that could be a provider where they might ask the AI to go gather the patient records, put them a nice summary for them. Or it could be a use case where you know you have automatic appointment booking or kind of insurance verification processes which happen in real time to save you, to save these fax machines or these calls that are all going on in healthcare constantly, right, Wow, what a wonderful opportunity and mission to simplify the consumer and patient and provider experience.
Speaker 3:We're all rooting for you as patients. So good luck for that and, yeah, thanks for the time and the insight. Speaking of events, come meet us at an event that we're excited about in December down in San Diego at the Dell Coronado NextMed A great get-together of industry insiders and physician entrepreneurs and startups and others. It'd be a great community to check out and you know you can't beat San Diego.
Speaker 2:No, I'm actually in San Diego and and late November I'll have to look at the dates, cause maybe I can. Oh yeah, another excuse. Oh yeah, so yeah, it's like absolutely so.
Speaker 3:Maybe we'll see you there. Thanks everyone. Thanks for listening.