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Healthcare Podcast. Today, I'm thrilled to be welcome
doctor Jay Pulizzi to the Becker's Podcast to
talk about some of the big things that
he is working on right now, challenges that
he's facing, and how he's thinking about the
next 6 to 12 months or so. Doctor
Pulizzi, it's a pleasure to have you on
the podcast today.
Yeah. Thanks for having me, Laura.
Now first and foremost, how are you today,
and where does this podcast find you?
Yeah. I'm doing well. Today, I'm joining you
from Grand Rapids, Michigan
and very excited to have this conversation about
the evolving landscape of
technology and health care.
That's great to hear. So, to start off,
can you give us a brief overview of
yourself and what a a typical day looks
like for you?
I'm a family physician and clinical informaticist.
I focus on health care transformation
using technology,
mostly at the intersection of how people,
whether clinicians or patients, leverage these solutions within
the health care ecosystem
to optimize care
and the experience of care.
Much of my career centered on implementing
and optimizing
electronic health records,
improving workflows,
which are critical to enhancing the efficiency and
effectiveness of care delivery.
But now I'm more focused on digital health
innovations,
particularly supporting not only traditional health care, but
also value based care opportunities.
A typical day for me involves working with
companies and clinicians to streamline their processes,
exploring new technology solutions,
and ensuring that healthcare teams and patients are
supported in their use of these tools
in understanding the potential of artificial intelligence
to revolutionize how we deliver and access health
care.
That's great to hear. You know? And what
an important link between,
your teams and and patients and companies,
to really make sure that, you know, you're
able to optimize the technologies, processes, and workflows
there. Now what are some of the biggest
challenges you're currently facing in your work, and
how are you addressing those challenges?
Yeah. One of the biggest challenges right now
is clinician burnout.
With increasing administrative tasks, many providers are feeling
overwhelmed,
which certainly can affect both their well-being and
patient care.
This burnout led to some clinicians reducing their
hours or leaving the profession entirely,
making access to care more challenging for patients.
To combat this,
we're working on optimizing EHR systems to make
them more intuitive
and less time consuming to use.
Of course, technologies like ambient documentation
are incredibly promising.
As you know, they use AI to record
patient visits in real time,
reducing the need for clinicians to spend
hours and hours on data entry,
but also other solutions that will automate repetitive
tasks such as managing an EHR's inbox.
Additionally, leveraging both asynchronous and synchronous telehealth solutions
to improve patient access,
Asynchronous tools allow patients to communicate with their
providers
without needing real time interaction,
making care more flexible and convenient for both
clinicians and patients.
The synchronous telehealth,
what we're mostly familiar
with, enables real time connection, expanding access to
care,
especially in underserved areas.
And integrating these technologies into the workflow,
we can reduce the administrative burden on clinicians
but also help to maintain and even improve
patient access to care despite, the workflow challenges
we're facing.
And that's really helpful to understand. And having
that, convenience for patients, I know, is really
important these days as consumerism and health care
is on the rise. And, really, the ability
to choose your providers
is just,
becoming more and more acute for many patients.
And so having the right technologies and workflows
to be efficient and effective and improve that
access to care seems like, you know, as
you mentioned, a big challenge, but, definitely
the the right area of focus,
to create success in the future.
Looking ahead, what are the top priorities for
you and your organizations over the next 6
to 12 months or so? Are there any
upcoming projects or shifts in focus that you're
particularly excited about?
Oh, so many things.
Looking ahead, one of my main priorities is
supporting the continued and growing shift toward more
patient centered cost effective approaches in health care
and how we leverage technology to support that.
I'm currently involved in in several projects that
exemplify this this trend.
The first is My Partner Health.
We launched a membership based practice where we
provide personalized care with an additional focus on
functional
and lifestyle medicine,
serving both individual patients and employers.
We're delivering
high quality primary care services while utilizing innovative
technologies to support a company's employees
and help streamline the health care experience for
them.
A second project is TruLine Health,
which is an innovative primary care model that's
technology driven, value based,
and focused on whole health.
TruLine
will serve seniors 65 and older in senior
living communities with Medicare and Medicare Advantage Plans,
emphasizing preventative care and wellness
in a population that often requires more complex
care management.
I'm also very excited to be working with
Banff Health, which is revolutionizing
health care through AI driven
molecular imaging and precision based diagnostics.
Starting very soon, BAMF will offer amyloid PET
scans and FDA approved therapies for mild cognitive
impairment due to Alzheimer's.
Their focus on precision medicine and AI advancements
is also leading to breakthroughs in cancer treatment,
making personalized and accessible care a reality for
patients with these
complex conditions.
Finally, as a strategist for Mentavy Health,
they focus on providing accessible
mental health virtual solutions.
Initially, they specialize in ADHD evaluations,
but they since have expanded
to include conditions such as anxiety,
depression,
binge eating disorders, social media use, and more.
Their goal remains
to make comprehensive mental health services
accessible to patients,
across the country,
right from their homes.
They've recently released a mental health
wellness snapshot
that provides sort of a self guided questionnaire
for a personalized
mental health well-being report
to to sort of get an understanding of
where where you may land with some of
these conditions
and potentially seek, you know, further diagnosis and
and treatment options.
So those are just a few things I've
been working on recently.
That's fascinating to hear. And you certainly keep
yourself busy. A lot of different projects and
initiatives really,
building upon that,
connection between patients and,
the clinicians, employers, and others to drive value
in health care, which I know is so
important right now. As you mentioned, there's a
lot of, complex care,
being needed and happening, and so it's great
to know that you've got your focus in
there as well as on mental health,
and personalized care in the mental health space
is really, really critical. In your opinion, what
trends or developments in health care should people
be paying more attention to right now?
Yeah. You know, I think
artificial intelligence, without a doubt, is something people
should be watching closely.
We're already seeing its impact
with technologies like
and in documentation,
which I mentioned earlier.
But I think the future is even more
exciting,
as AI
could soon be used for disease prediction,
helping clinicians identify health risks before symptoms even
emerge.
Additionally, AI powered clinical decision
support,
can help assist providers in making more informed
choices,
especially in complex situations and cases.
As these technologies mature, we could see a
fundamental shift in how healthcare is delivered
with AI augmenting human judgment and improving outcomes
for patients.
I think one of the biggest challenges healthcare
organizations
face today is understanding how to effectively integrate
AI into their operations.
It certainly has the potential to transform everything
from administrative workflows to patient outcomes,
but many organizations
I feel struggle with where to even begin.
And but the reality is if you haven't
already started exploring this space, you're likely falling
behind your competitors.
I think a good first step is just
education and awareness,
having
leadership teams and clinicians
understanding
the potential tangible benefits AI can bring.
And it's important to identify specific areas where
AI could have an immediate impact in your
organization,
like automating repetitive tasks
or providing predictive analytics for population health management.
I think for organizations
to truly succeed with AI, they need to
invest in both the technology, but also the
training.
AI tools must be integrated seamlessly into existing
workflows,
and staff need to feel comfortable using them.
It's not just about adopting technology, but it's
about creating a culture of innovation
and ensuring that your team is equipped to
maximize its potential.
That's great to hear. And I love the
focus on innovation, and, certainly, artificial intelligence is
becoming more and more integrated into all aspects
of health care and health care delivery and
to have that kind of focus. And and
now, like you mentioned,
automation as well as predictive analytics, it seems
like a lot of,
tools at our fingertips, but, you know, being
able to actually maximize them, optimize them, and
have the skills to know what to do
with that information, you know, is another story.
And so it's great to have that,
kind of gap closing to some degree.
Before we wrap up here, is there anything
else you'd like to add or any advice
you'd like to leave to our listeners?
Sure. I I'd say as we continue to
embrace technology and health care, we must always
keep the patient at the center of our
efforts.
Technology should enhance
the patient experience,
and not create additional barriers.
Whether we're using AI for clinical decision making
or improving workflows using digital tools,
our focus must remain on providing high quality,
safe, and compassionate care.
And for health care leaders, my advice would
be to engage clinicians in these conversations.
They're the ones at the front lines,
and their insights
are crucial to ensuring that these these tools
truly serve their purpose.
Fantastic. Well, doctor Polizzi, thank you so much
for joining us on the podcast today. This
has been such a fun conversation, and I
look forward to connecting with you again soon.
Thank you, Laura. Yes. It's been, it's been
amazing. Thanks for having me.