Tory Cenaj, Founder of Converge2Xcelerate/Partners in Digital Health at Converge2Xcelerate Conference (Boston, MA)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Blockchain in Healthcare today has over 100,000 views and downloads in first year of publishing
• Blockchain technology in healthcare market expected to reach $42.1 million by 2023
• Blockchain in Healthcare Today is the first international peer-review journal for strategic thought leaders

FULL COVERAGE

• Watch complete coverage of the Converge2Xcelerate Conference

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS: Tory Cenaj, Founder of Converge2Xcelerate

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 00:00

Welcome back. We’re here with Tory Cenaj, founder of Partners in Digital Health, a forward-reaching publishing, and communications company. Tory is the publisher of the first international peer-reviewed journal Blockchain in Healthcare Today as well as Telehealth and Medicine Today journal. Tory, thank you for spending time with us.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 00:19

It’s a pleasure being here. Thank you.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 00:22

In speaking earlier before we got on camera, you said you referred to this year as your year of traction.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 00:28

It is.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 00:28

Tell me about how much progress you’ve made this year.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 00:30

We have most definitely turned the corner. As a startup it can be very, very difficult indeed. However, this year has felt like we have just exploded with we just brought on and announced a new editor in chief, Dr. Amar Gupta from MIT. Very blessed indeed, both a disruptor and humanitarian, extremely talented man. And he joins Dr. John Halamka over at Harvard, absolutely fabulous blockbuster team. We have an internationally renowned board editorial board on both journals, supposed for blockchain and the telehealth journal. And we also actually have now the endorsement of the American telemedicine association. The ATA and we carry their logo quite proudly. On both our homepages. We are now collaborating with HIMS and their blockchain task force on the blockchain journal. And we’re introducing a editorial column. That’s hymns and Oh, of course, the IEEE.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 01:48

And we just announced earlier this month a new ICade. It’s a work group that we have begun international work group and that’s on the harmonization of technology for remote clinical trials and that has many, many people around the globe actually very, very excited because this is something that we have all been waiting for quite a long time now. And we’re looking at using technology very prudently but in injecting this new technology into traditional clinical trials. And so we’re expecting that it’ll really shorten the progression of the trials if you will lower the costs, bring new drugs to market quicker. And it just, all sorts of fantastic things will happen and we’re all looking truly very forward to it.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 02:49

Well you help companies realize when they’re not going down the right path

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 02:53

Faster, yes.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 02:54

They use their resources much more…

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 02:57

Wiser. Most definitely. Yes.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 03:00

Pretty good. That’d be a pretty good five years for most people. That’s a good year for you.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 03:05

Yes.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 03:06

Tell us about your passions. You’ve had so much experience across publishing, across clinical trials, management what drives you?

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 03:17

All in healthcare. What drives me is the horizon line. What’s next? What we should expect, what’s going to impact the marketplace? What is going to affect patients? Me personally, I don’t have health insurance. I am not an N of one. I know that I am an N of millions and more and more patients are becoming non-insurance card carriers. And my pharmacist tells me this every time I go into that big box pharmacy and he’s not at all surprised anymore. He was when I first told him, Oh no, I don’t have insurance. This is out of pocket. And now when I come in, Oh Tori, you know what? More and more people are coming in now. Yeah, no kidding. So it’s far beyond an epidemic and we’re all finally on the same team now. And so we’re all gunning toward the same end game. And I think technology and innovation plays a huge role in that. But my horizon line ends with the patient. How is the patient impacted financially? Because that really is what’s most important to them. Their decisions are based on can I afford this or not? Just as I base my decision on can I afford this or not? Everyone’s circumstance is different and healthcare has heart. And we need to show ours.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 04:58

Is that perhaps why if you go back a couple of years, the only tangible use case for blockchain that most people were aware of was cryptocurrency.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 05:08

Oh yeah. I wouldn’t use that as a case use at all.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 05:13

It had fits and starts. Obviously I’m still, people are still thinking about it. The sec is still trying to figure out whether those offerings are securities or not. Healthcare seems to be an avenue that optimizes multiple industry expertise needs. We spoken today with healthcare professionals. We’ve spoken today with technologists, we’ve spoken today with economists, we’ve spoken about incentives and about aligning incentives. So does that make you optimistic about what we can do in healthcare with blockchain?

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 05:49

Oh, no doubt whatsoever. That’s why I launched the journal. And believe I was told I was out of my mind and that I would fail not so much. And we continue to prove them wrong. And now it’s you know, still we’re in our infancy with over 100,000, abstract views and downloads and literally we just launched the journal yesterday. If you look at the timeline with well over 70 citations and that’s rather unheard of for a journal just out of the gate, a peer review journal, mind you, an academic journal just out of the gate. So our standard is far higher than others. So really the trajectory and the, the track record is quite remarkable.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 06:50

Well, that’s terrific. The word trailblazer is thrown around rather loosely, but you are a trailblazer.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 06:58

We like to walk our talk and I think you’ve seen that at the conference today. You’ve seen that with our speakers today. You’ve seen that with the content today. And this is the standard that we set and what our reputation is built upon and what we are recognized for.

Ed Kim – Host, Traders Network Show: 07:24

Well, may the year ahead be as wonderful as this past one.

Tory Cenaj – Founder/Publisher, Partners in Digital Health: 07:27

Thank you so very much.