EMC Healthcare: Designing The Future of Patient Care with Technology
Friday, July 19, 2024
Vision of a CEO: Interview with Mr. Yoshito Date
[Edited: August 2, 2024]
Izanau had the opportunity to sit down with the CEO of EMC Healthcare, Mr. Yoshito Date. He spoke about how the tech startup was established, his vision for how technology can exponentially improve patient care, and the company's greater vision for how they believe technology can impact human health in the future.
EMC Healthcare is looking for talented and dedicated engineers to contribute to their vision of using technology to transform healthcare for patients and caregivers.
Interviewer: Can you please tell us about your background before you started EMC Healthcare?
Y. Date: I have a long history interacting with medical systems, starting with my own experience as a patient. I was born in New York at the Weill Cornell Medical Center (previously known as New York Hospital) and was hospitalized several times as a newborn. I continued to frequent hospitals over the years in several countries, so I know what it is like to be a patient.
I became interested in medicine and medical systems because of their constant presence in my life and I gradually began to realize the constraints and limitations of patient care.
Fast-forward to now, and we finally have the technology to overcome some of the challenges I noticed years ago. Advancements across the medical field—like genome sequencing, microbiome understanding, IoT devices, and in silico analysis—are pushing us forward. I believe we've reached a turning point in medicine, especially in recent years and I know there are countless ways to integrate technology into healthcare.
Interviewer: EMC Healthcare was established in 2017, can you tell me about why you started the company?
Y. Date: Before starting EMC Healthcare, I was a consultant in the healthcare industry primarily evaluating medical programs and supporting multinational corporations and governments in Japan and abroad.
However, consulting services have its limits. Providing advice is one thing, but actual implementation depends on others. We realized we could have a greater impact by taking on the responsibility and building something as we imagined. Our commitment to integrating technology into healthcare led us to start EMC Healthcare and we believe our expertise can truly move the needle in the industry.
Interviewer: Who are the founding members of EMC Healthcare?
Y. Date: The core members who started the company are Satoru Urakami, Steven Zhang, and myself. Satoru mostly handles the business strategy and planning, Steven is the tech lead and has a background in both hardware and software and I have knowledge of both IT and the healthcare industry. We all have our own specialties and strengths, so together I think we make a well-rounded team.
Interviewer: Can you please tell me about the products that your company is developing and how you came up with the concepts for these products?
Y. Date: Our long-term objective is to use technology to help develop better forms of preventative medicine to increase health span. In the short term, we are focused on improving the quality of patient care and medical practices while at the same time gathering and building a data infrastructure.
The first product we developed was a wearable electrocardiogram called CALM. The idea was to create a device capable of detecting cardiac events or cerebrovascular accidents in their early stages. Currently, we are focused on a product called OwlCare, which is designed for nursing homes and hospitals. We also have a similar product called ベビモニ (Bebi-moni) that monitors infants in daycares.
About OwlCare
OwlCare is an integrated solution developed by EMC Healthcare that combines nurse call systems with monitoring devices, that were previously separated, providing caregivers with timely patient information, and reducing infrastructure costs. By utilizing AI for behavior detection, OwlCare enables efficient remote monitoring and two-way communication, allowing caregivers to supervise multiple patients simultaneously and quickly prioritize emergency responses. Additionally, it uses medical data analysis to monitor patients' vitals and implement proactive care measures, enhancing patient safety and quality of care.
OwlCare has received an Excellence Award at the "AgeTech 2021 Awards" for its innovative approach to reducing the workload of caregiving staff. OwlCare is also exploring the development of home care monitoring systems and the utilization of health data for preventive medicine, ensuring continuous improvement in patient care and safety.
Interviewer: What has been the biggest challenge in developing new products?
Y. Date: Early on, we recognized a significant gap between the transformative technologies we envisioned and the current needs of the healthcare industry. Presently, the industry cannot afford the luxury of long-term planning and must focus on pressing issues like staffing shortages. For example, our first product CALM (the wearable ECG) was constantly monitoring the patient’s vitals, which is great for detecting irregularities and collecting patient data, however, the benefits end there. We learned that the focus on the product was too narrow.
We realized we have to do both at the same time; address the challenges on the ground for patients and care workers, while also collecting health data that will give us a greater understanding of health and what patient care should look like in the future.
Below: Wearable ECG, CALM
Interviewer: Can you tell me about the development of OwlCare?
Y. Date: The first thing we noticed was that monitoring systems in medical facilities are not integrated. For example, machines that monitor patient’s vitals are not connected to the hospital call system. What this means is that, if a patient calls for a nurse, the nurse doesn’t know if the patient needs assistance because they are having difficulty breathing or is uncomfortable because their pillow needs adjusting. This leads to many inefficiencies because care staff cannot prioritize who needs immediate attention. The second thing was that hospitals and nursing homes have similar needs, so we could develop a product that can be used by a wider client base.
When we developed OwlCare we not only focused on data collection but we tried to address current inefficiencies. We still monitor patients’ vitals with bed sensors and cameras for data collection, but by sharing this information with care staff in real-time, they can detect emergencies much faster and with an integrated call system and live video feeds, care staff can address patient concerns from a distance if necessary. Additionally, by reviewing video recordings, we can better understand patient behavior, leading to improved nursing and care quality. In essence, OwlCare enhances patient safety while reducing the burden on care workers.
Interviewer: What’s the next phase for OwlCare?
Y. Date: We have gotten a lot of positive feedback for OwlCare in its testing phase. However, the current version of OwlCare is a hardware-driven product. As we aim to take OwlCare to the next level, it has become clear that strengthening our development structure is essential. We need to address the feedback and requests from the caregivers, facility operators, and residents who are using the product, and translate these into functional developments. To provide what is necessary swiftly, we need to solidify our development organization.
Interviewer: Do you have a vision for how your products will evolve in the future?
Y. Date: We are first and foremost a tech company. We can see that digital medicine has so much potential to transform the way we think about health and how we treat disease. There are so many potential avenues where we can grow. We plan to work with researchers and the medical industry at large to address the issue of health; how we extend the span of human health and how that gets integrated into everyone's life, this will lead to business development. It really is a revolutionary time in the healthcare industry.
Interviewer: Can your products be used abroad?
Y. Date: Absolutely. Our goal has always been for our technology to be used globally. We're currently honing the product and technology in Japan, but we plan to adapt it to different medical and caregiving systems, and lifestyles worldwide.
Just as we've expanded the use of our current products from hospitals to nursing homes and daycares, we anticipate the scenarios in which our products can be used will change. The need for integrating technology with healthcare exists anywhere there are people; it’s not a "Japan-only" problem. We understand that medical, legal, insurance systems and cultural practices may differ, but we're confident that our current and future products can benefit people everywhere.
Open Positions at EMC Healthcare
About the Company
Interviewer: How would you describe the company culture at EMC Healthcare?
Y. Date: Hmmm… if I had to describe our company culture in one word, it would be "自由 (jiyū - freedom)." I see it like each person is responsible for their own growth. We don’t have strict rules about how people work, it's just more important that each person is committed to striving for improvement, for themselves and the company. Then, we come together and see how our individual growth fits together as a bigger whole. I think we take a lot of care in fostering growth in our company.
Additionally, we are cognizant of how different generations (X, Y, Z) each have unique perspectives and strengths. We try to utilize these strengths and make them work for the company. We also have people of different nationalities, so we aim to create an environment where individual talents are naturally being utilized for everyone’s benefit. I would say we don’t have a strong monoculture, rather our culture is fluid and adapts to all the members of the company.
Interviewer: Do you have a vision of how you want the culture to develop as the company grows?
Y. Date: I don't want our people to feel like there is a divide between their work and life. I want them to have a genuine interest in what they are doing, as this makes work more enjoyable and fuels one’s passion. Ideally, if our team loves what they do and believes in the product they are building, being at work won't feel like “work.”
Having said that, we are also considering how a work-life balance can naturally be achieved. We want to be the kind of company that supports this balance.
Interviewer: What kinds of qualities do you want new team members to have?
Y. Date: Most importantly, we want people who work with us to genuinely care about the company’s product and its social impact and take ownership of the development process. Listening to user feedback is crucial for improving the product, but we also believe that simply implementing every request can lead to failure. It is essential to maintain a clear vision of what the product should be, prioritize effectively, and make discerning choices.
It’s crucial that individuals recognize their own potential and see how working with us can help them realize it. But of course, it is not just about the individual but about developing a product as a team, so we are hoping to find individuals who find it rewarding to nurture others and improve as a team.
We are committed to fostering our employees’ growth and success, with the knowledge that this will ultimately lead to the company's growth and success as well.
Interviewer: Can you tell me about your vision for the company and for your products in the next 5 years to 10 years?
Y. Date: For starters, we are committed to continuously elevating the quality and capabilities of our product. Data collection will be a key focus for us, as it will provide valuable insights to develop future technologies that support healthcare workers and caregivers while accelerating the potential of digital healthcare.
We're also considering how to localize our product to integrate with various cultural, systemic, financial, and regulatory environments when we take it abroad. We want to build long-term partnerships with local players to have the greatest amount of social impact. Building trust and understanding will take time, but we are in it for the long run.
Ultimately, we want to be a company that embraces challenges and keeps evolving together.
Interviewer: Thank you for your time today. Do you have any final thoughts you want to leave with the readers?
Y. Date: If I had to sum up our work in one word, it's safety. We put safety and smiles first in the medical and caregiving settings. Most of us are fortunate to have elderly loved ones, and they deserve to live with some semblance of safety, this is also true for parents and infants. Our purpose is to raise the collective safety we feel in society. By fostering safety, we create a foundation where facing new challenges becomes possible. It's not just about buying safety with money; it's about understanding the broader societal benefits that come with increased safety, kindness, and smiles.
I see it as creating balance within society in a way that everyone can benefit, not just those who are financially privileged. While we are a business and seek financial success, our ultimate goal is not merely to make money…maybe just a little (laughs), but to drive positive social change. We are a company for people who want to leave a positive legacy for future generations and make a comfortable living doing it. I hope people like that will come knocking at our door.
