by Elton Gomes
Divya Nag, Dr Raj Panjabi, and Atul Gawande have been named in Time magazine’s 2018 list of the 50 most influential people in the health care sector. The list includes those whose work is transforming healthcare in the US.
Time said that the American healthcare system has been plagued by several problems. Though some issues remain, the healthcare sector has seen the rise of extraordinary innovation.
Time said that it decided to launch the Health Care 50 to shed some light on the people behind those extraordinary ideas. The list includes physicians, scientists, and business and political leaders whose work is transforming health care right now.
How was the list compiled
To compile its first annual list, Time asked its health editors and reporters to nominate people who have played a significant role in changing the state of health care in the US. After that, Time evaluated the nominees’ work based on key factors, including originality, impact, and quality. Here’s a little more on the three Indian-Americans who have been named in the list.
Divya Nag is spearheading the Series 4 Apple Watch
Divya Nag is leading Apple’s special projects, which are focussed on health. Nag’s team developed ResearchKit, an open-source app developer where doctors and researchers can share patient results and clinical data.
This fall, Nag’s team announced groundbreaking new tools for the Apple Watch: the Series 4 includes an emergency response system, in case the wearer falls and is unable to respond. The watch also has a medical-grade EKG heart-rate monitor.
Raj Panjabi organisation was critical in the fight against Ebola
Panjabi was a Harvard Medical School professor who came to the US as a refugee from Liberia. He co-founded Last Mile Health to recruit and train community health workers in areas that lack local health services.
Last Mile’s efforts were critical in fighting ebola from 2014 to 2016. Panjabi is currently working on Community Health Academy, a mobile platform where health care workers can receive training remotely through video and audio instruction.
Atul Gawande leads the ABC-nonprofit
Gawande was recently chosen to lead a new nonprofit health care venture that will cover the more than one million employees of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase. Gawande’s venture is said to focus on transparent, low-cost corporate health care.
Other notable people on the list
Other notable names on the list include the new president of Planned Parenthood, Leana Wen, MD, MSc, who was previously the health commissioner of Baltimore. Wen was also at the forefront of the city’s public health plan to tackle overdose deaths due to opioids.
Senator Tammy Duckworth found her name on the list for her recent breastfeeding legislation that would require all medium and large airports to offer a lactation room for mothers.
Bill and Melinda Gates and David Sinclair are other notable names on the list.
Joshua Kushner, younger brother to President Trump’s advisor Jared Kushner, and Mario Schlosser were also recognized for their health insurance startup company Oscar. The startup has garnered hundreds of millions in funding from Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius
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