NextShift
Enabling Assistive and Predictive AI-Driven Healthcare

The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve healthcare outcomes is intriguing. Most healthcare executives sense that AI will be a game changer, but they are not sure how. Nevertheless, the healthcare industry’s journey of unleashing the power of artificial intelligence has set off a race to accumulating huge volumes of data. However, there is a hitch. Data relevant to answering specific questions resides in information silos, leaving scientists and other medical professionals at a disadvantage to make their AI-driven solutions ideal. Added to that, “Consuming and deciphering big amounts of data can be a challenge since it is often fragmented and unstructured. Upon digesting the data in a meaningful way, the true power of AI kicks in,” begins Rob Tedesco, CEO, NextShift. With 20 years of experience in healthcare IT strategies and digital marketing, Tedesco knows what it takes to a devise a launch pad for high-quality scalable solutions and exceptional customer service. Governed by a mission of “Creating Better Healthcare™,” Tedesco and his team at NextShift are committed to progressing AI to serve a multitude of areas in the health spectrum for improving patient, provider, and caregiver experience.

As a healthcare technology innovation company, NextShift has made significant strides forward using AI to impact areas such as clinical research, skin condition detection, patient care, medical coaching, while automated sales and medical affairs lifecycle management on the enterprise front. “AI has incredible potential to automate healthcare outcomes smartly, and aligns well with our core mantra of creating better healthcare,” states Tedesco.

NextShift employs a strategic and integrated approach to meet clients’ technology goals. In doing so, the company leverages AI to provide “assistive guidance” for instructing users about ‘what’s next’—with intelligent algorithms at the back-end. “As more data is collected and sorted, healthcare organizations can use AI in a more predictive way, anticipating ‘what’s next’ on even a larger scale, driving even bigger impact,” explains Imran Deshmukh, CTO, NextShift.

Deshmukh reveals that AI implementation is beyond just a series of if/ then rules. A successful AI solution implementation demands talented IT developers, data scientists, DevOps engineers, and UI/UX designers. It requires the consumption of heaps of data to prove end scenarios. With a talented team of industry experts across healthcare, marketing, and technology, NextShift is dedicated to meeting clients’ strategic imperatives. “Artificial intelligence, broadly, but specifically applied to healthcare will need to be delivered with provider-in-loop that allows for leveraging the power and breadth of technology but retains the element of compassion and empathy that are critical to a good patient experience,” adds Deshmukh.

NextShift’s clientele comprises leading pharmaceutical and payer companies, hospital institutions, and non-profit healthcare organizations. In an instance, NextShift engaged with one of its customers to investigate and design a connected health platform (CHP), leveraging big datasets from internal sources, such as claims data while creating APIs for a plethora of IoT connectivity. Furthermore, NextShift’s teams were tasked with developing AI-driven prototypes using the connected health platform. “We created a way to use a phone camera and AI to diagnose skincare. As a precursor to this project, we developed a platform we call AILA (Artificially Intelligent Life Assistant),” says Tedesco. AILA connects to the ever-evolving IoT ecosystem and churns data in real time with its backend AI-engine while offering relevant tips for one’s healthcare such as suggesting an expected outcome. The solution works based on a number of factors, including a user’s past behavior, environmental parameters, and relevant trends and insights throughout a particular health journey.

At NextShift, the team’s other main mantra is “What’s next?” that guides it to stay abreast of the latest trends, technology platforms, and industry challenges, with special consideration to healthcare compliance and regulations. “We believe that AI will have a tremendous impact on the healthcare sector, and we’re ready to lead it,” concludes Tedesco.