Originally published by Authority Magazine on March 30, 2021.
Knowledge is power and data enables power. The same issues that impact the overarching healthcare system impact the mental/behavioral health specialty. How can we better share data? How can we facilitate communication amongst communities? As Bill Gates has aptly noted, healthcare should not be an island. How do we break those silos or connect those islands? I think it is really important to facilitate the primary objective, which is providing the best treatment and information to the individual. We need to empower people to reach greater specialists, thought leaders and be able to leverage the technology for information and for critical communication.
As a part of my interview series with leaders in healthcare, I had the pleasure to interview John Falk.
Mr. Falk serves as Vigilent Labs President and Founder and President of Vigilent Inc. He is a proven expert in bio-terrorism and bio-surveillance.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Like so much of life, it has been an intersection with great people that led me to where I am today. It was through a collaboration with a former assistant surgeon general of the Air Force that I first learned about the criticality of bio and health surveillance and the innovative technology that the U.S. Air Force had developed in the mid-90s to provide early warning alerts relative to bio-threats and health issues. I became passionate about the importance of fast, accurate and geographically correct context information for critical decision making. That was the driver for creating the company I lead today and for its name — the word “Vigilent” not only describes our technology but also our corporate mission!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
I remember driving down to Charleston, South Carolina last year from Washington DC to explore sites for Vigilent Labs headquarters when I was introduced to Gen. T. Michael (“Buzz”) Moseley, the 18th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force.
He shared a story of having to sign orders to send our brave young men and women in the military into harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan, knowing that they were going to face biological and chemical threats without the proper tools to protect themselves. He saw the potential for Vigilent Labs to develop these tools and decided to join our board of advisors.
His comments really inspired me, as did his feedback on the location we were scouting for our headquarters. Charleston is such a great intermodal transportation hub for the military and commercial. It all clicked that day as he pointed out the placement of the fleet of C-17s at Charleston Air Force Base. He knows how critical having those heavy lift cargo aircraft can be in the future as Vigilent Labs is able to produce these products and tools that can be used for the air force or military. And a hub for commerce as we ship our COVID test products all over the world.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Not as much of a funny mistake, but an important lesson I learned came from my father: to treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they are…..as he said “I want you to be as respectful to the janitor or waitress as you would be to the President of the United States!”
That lesson has played out over and over in my career. I had the honor of developing relationships with Congressman James Clyburn and Congressman Joe Wilson during my volunteer work with the Congressional Award Program, not realizing they would eventually be a supportive force in bringing Vigilent Labs to South Carolina.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Vigilant Labs addresses an urgent need for point-of-care testing, initially focused on COVID-19, but with plans to expand beyond that. We do this by focusing on the individual and how we can leverage technology to support individuals’ need to protect themselves and be in charge of their own healthcare and testing. We’ve developed the first digital health credential connecting a real person to test results, and we offer powerful health surveillance solutions for near real-time tracking of bio-threats and outbreaks. We are providing point-of-care, direct access testing with the goal of bringing our solutions to the home to truly empower the individual and the family.
What advice would you give to other healthcare leaders to help their team to thrive?
Healthcare leaders should focus on who they are trying to serve and provide a maximum benefit. In our case, it’s empowering that individual to not only have the tools that they can deploy for their own health and safety, but to also be in charge of their own health data. As an industry, we need to reorient to be client-driven.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. According to this study cited by Newsweek, the US healthcare system is ranked as the worst among high income nations. This seems shocking. Can you share with us 3–5 reasons why you think the US is ranked so poorly?
The greatest health system has not yet been developed nor delivered, especially in the United States. The issue is not technology, the issue stems from legal, and policy strictures that inhibit the ability to enable an individual to be in charge of their own healthcare and health information. It’s all about the data. Ironically, the way in which these medical associations keep the individual underserved is through licensing and regulation. Because of licensing limitations, I am limited as to which healthcare providers I have access to. That is an example of how regulations are obstacles to the future of telemedicine and telehealth. COVID-19 has knocked down a lot of those issues, but there is much more to be done.
You are a “healthcare insider”. If you had the power to make a change, can you share 5 changes that need to be made to improve the overall US healthcare system? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Empower the Individual
2. Empower the Individual
3. Empower the Individual
4. Empower the Individual
5. Empower the Individual
It’s as simple as that. By taking a customer, or in this case, a patient-centric approach to healthcare, the US healthcare system could deploy its abundant resources in a way that provides the most benefit to the individual, not the corporation.
Ok, it’s very nice to suggest changes, but what concrete steps would have to be done to actually manifest these changes? What can a) individuals, b) corporations, c) communities and d) leaders do to help?
Individuals can demand more, better. Corporations can rethink who their customers are and how to best serve them. Communities can invest and attract companies that are striving to disrupt the healthcare norms and leaders can drive innovation and rethink archaic practices.
I’m interested in the interplay between the general healthcare system and the mental health system. Right now, we have two parallel tracks, mental/behavioral health and general health. What are your thoughts about this status quo? What would you suggest to improve this?
Knowledge is power and data enables power. The same issues that impact the overarching healthcare system impact the mental/behavioral health specialty. How can we better share data? How can we facilitate communication amongst communities? As Bill Gates has aptly noted, healthcare should not be an island. How do we break those silos or connect those islands? I think it is really important to facilitate the primary objective, which is providing the best treatment and information to the individual. We need to empower people to reach greater specialists, thought leaders and be able to leverage the technology for information and for critical communication.
How would you define an “excellent healthcare provider”?
An excellent health care provider is one that remembers that the patient comes first and empowers that patient with as much timely and accurate information and access as possible. We’re in this bizarre time warp that has impaired humans to do the thing that is most compelling to humans, that is to be with other humans. Whatever we can do with technology to facilitate human to human engagement in this COVID period, I think is important.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Here is a quote that I have always viewed as a rallying cry:
“Life is action and passion. I think it is required of a man that he should share the action and passion of his time at peril of being judged not to have lived.” — Oliver Wendall Holmes
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We recently worked with the King of Hammers rally race event in California to deploy COVID pre-screening for event attendees, and have been engaged with the Human Baton team, the folks that created American Ninja Warrior, to utilize our technology for tracking the individual participants as well as embracing our COVID screening and health situational awareness technology. Our work with these organizations will define how future events and gatherings can be safely executed.
What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that inspire you to be a better healthcare leader? Can you explain why you like them?
A couple that stand out include Crowded Years by William Gibbs McAdoo and Yankee from Olympus by Oliver Wendell Holmes. And of course, the works of Lincoln Steffens, a great muckraker from the turn of the century who aptly noted that “Nothing is done. Everything in the world remains to be done or done over.”
These authors have inspired me to look beyond my current environs and dream really really big. The greatest healthcare system has not yet been delivered. Vigilent Labs will be a part of that.
