1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,120 This is the Becker's Healthcare podcast created by 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,279 the team of Becker's Healthcare, a multimedia company 3 00:00:09,279 --> 00:00:11,460 devoted to the people who power US Healthcare. 4 00:00:11,599 --> 00:00:13,919 Four new 15 minute episodes are released daily 5 00:00:13,919 --> 00:00:16,795 containing industry news, analysis, and thought leadership from 6 00:00:16,795 --> 00:00:19,434 powerful health care decision makers. Support our show 7 00:00:19,434 --> 00:00:21,035 by leaving it a 5 star rating and 8 00:00:21,035 --> 00:00:23,434 review on Apple Podcasts or other platforms you 9 00:00:23,434 --> 00:00:24,795 use. It's a chance to tell us what 10 00:00:24,795 --> 00:00:26,314 you like about the show and act on 11 00:00:26,314 --> 00:00:28,649 your feedback. Thanks for listening. Now here's the 12 00:00:28,730 --> 00:00:29,230 episode. 13 00:00:30,890 --> 00:00:32,409 This is Kate Cruz, and I am at 14 00:00:32,409 --> 00:00:35,049 the 8th annual Becker's HIT and Digital Health 15 00:00:35,049 --> 00:00:36,590 Conference recording live. 16 00:00:37,129 --> 00:00:39,289 I am with Isaiah and Nathaniel. And to 17 00:00:39,289 --> 00:00:40,809 get us started, Isaiah, can you share a 18 00:00:40,809 --> 00:00:42,329 little bit about yourself and your role at 19 00:00:42,329 --> 00:00:43,070 your organization? 20 00:00:43,905 --> 00:00:45,585 Well, first, it's a pleasure to be here. 21 00:00:45,585 --> 00:00:48,385 I wanna thank Becker's for this podcast. I 22 00:00:48,385 --> 00:00:50,784 wanna thank everyone that's here this year at 23 00:00:50,784 --> 00:00:53,844 the conference for HIT revenue cycle and management, 24 00:00:54,385 --> 00:00:55,905 and I think this is one of the 25 00:00:55,905 --> 00:00:58,005 best conferences that I come to all year. 26 00:00:58,065 --> 00:00:59,530 So a little bit about me, my name 27 00:00:59,530 --> 00:01:01,769 is Isaiah Nathaniel. I just happen to be, 28 00:01:01,769 --> 00:01:03,929 by day, the vice president and chief information 29 00:01:03,929 --> 00:01:06,670 officer for Delaware Valley Community Health in Philadelphia, 30 00:01:06,810 --> 00:01:07,310 Pennsylvania. 31 00:01:07,689 --> 00:01:08,989 And we're a local FQHC 32 00:01:09,609 --> 00:01:12,569 that serves about 50,000 patients in an urban 33 00:01:12,569 --> 00:01:13,069 market. 34 00:01:14,075 --> 00:01:15,915 When you think of digital innovation in health 35 00:01:15,915 --> 00:01:17,755 care right now, what excites you the most 36 00:01:17,755 --> 00:01:18,415 and why? 37 00:01:18,954 --> 00:01:21,674 That's an interesting question. And the way that 38 00:01:21,674 --> 00:01:23,534 I like to tackle that is 39 00:01:23,835 --> 00:01:26,155 technology in general is exciting, or I wouldn't 40 00:01:26,155 --> 00:01:27,375 be a CIO. Right? 41 00:01:27,829 --> 00:01:29,689 But I think that digital innovation 42 00:01:31,030 --> 00:01:32,969 is great for health care, specifically 43 00:01:33,909 --> 00:01:35,129 as we talk about 44 00:01:35,430 --> 00:01:37,590 what has just transpired in terms of a 45 00:01:37,590 --> 00:01:40,010 global pandemic and what we're on the precipice 46 00:01:40,069 --> 00:01:43,055 with with artificial intelligence and machine learning and 47 00:01:43,055 --> 00:01:45,375 all the things that we wanna learn at 48 00:01:45,375 --> 00:01:47,075 conferences like this. Right? 49 00:01:47,615 --> 00:01:50,594 So for me, what's exciting is the infusion 50 00:01:51,055 --> 00:01:53,635 of all of these things that actually exist 51 00:01:53,939 --> 00:01:55,939 into the way that we operate our business, 52 00:01:55,939 --> 00:01:58,439 into the way that we try to deliver 53 00:01:58,500 --> 00:01:59,879 quality patient care 54 00:02:00,180 --> 00:02:02,819 by way of technology. So for me, the 55 00:02:02,819 --> 00:02:05,079 excitement is at that infusion 56 00:02:05,459 --> 00:02:06,280 of innovation 57 00:02:06,659 --> 00:02:09,944 and that infusion of what is quality patient 58 00:02:09,944 --> 00:02:10,844 care now 59 00:02:11,305 --> 00:02:13,625 that we're outside of the global pandemic. So 60 00:02:13,625 --> 00:02:15,165 when we think about instituting 61 00:02:16,264 --> 00:02:17,645 these levels of technology, 62 00:02:18,105 --> 00:02:20,905 health care has always been traditionally behind in 63 00:02:20,905 --> 00:02:23,500 that innovation curve. And now we're starting to 64 00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:25,500 see that curve dip a little bit because 65 00:02:25,500 --> 00:02:26,960 of all the things that have happened. 66 00:02:27,419 --> 00:02:27,919 Absolutely. 67 00:02:28,540 --> 00:02:30,800 At your organization, what are your top priorities 68 00:02:30,860 --> 00:02:32,939 for technology, and what are big issues that 69 00:02:32,939 --> 00:02:34,000 you're trying to solve? 70 00:02:34,635 --> 00:02:37,034 The top priority for us the best way 71 00:02:37,034 --> 00:02:38,555 I like to state it is in terms 72 00:02:38,555 --> 00:02:40,555 of what my mission is for my department, 73 00:02:40,555 --> 00:02:42,715 and that is to remove access barriers by 74 00:02:42,715 --> 00:02:43,534 way of technology. 75 00:02:44,235 --> 00:02:45,915 And so some of the top priorities for 76 00:02:45,915 --> 00:02:46,415 us 77 00:02:46,875 --> 00:02:49,675 is to do just that, is making sure 78 00:02:49,675 --> 00:02:50,175 that 79 00:02:51,009 --> 00:02:51,509 preregistration 80 00:02:52,049 --> 00:02:53,269 all the way to postregistration 81 00:02:53,729 --> 00:02:55,750 that you have an excellent experience 82 00:02:56,289 --> 00:02:58,930 with the technology that we offer. That could 83 00:02:58,930 --> 00:03:00,629 be digital. That could be 84 00:03:01,009 --> 00:03:03,569 traditional computing, and that can just be for 85 00:03:03,569 --> 00:03:05,509 staff just to log in in the morning. 86 00:03:05,794 --> 00:03:08,534 So by making sure that access is reduced 87 00:03:08,675 --> 00:03:09,735 by way of technology, 88 00:03:10,194 --> 00:03:12,375 we're really trying to make sure that 89 00:03:12,914 --> 00:03:15,955 everyone is experiencing health care in a way 90 00:03:15,955 --> 00:03:19,394 that they want to, similar to an experience 91 00:03:19,394 --> 00:03:21,819 with Amazon, similar to an experience with some 92 00:03:21,819 --> 00:03:24,560 of the consumerisms that we see in traditional 93 00:03:24,620 --> 00:03:25,439 market share 94 00:03:25,819 --> 00:03:29,439 outside of health care, particularly today. Yeah. Absolutely. 95 00:03:30,060 --> 00:03:31,979 What's one piece of advice you would give 96 00:03:31,979 --> 00:03:34,960 to health care leaders today regarding digital innovation? 97 00:03:36,185 --> 00:03:37,705 The one piece of advice I would give 98 00:03:37,705 --> 00:03:39,805 to leaders about digital transformation 99 00:03:40,585 --> 00:03:42,365 in health care is to 100 00:03:42,665 --> 00:03:45,385 not be afraid. I think sometimes we're so 101 00:03:45,385 --> 00:03:48,504 fearful of making a mistake because we understand 102 00:03:48,504 --> 00:03:50,605 that that mistake could cause 103 00:03:51,699 --> 00:03:52,360 a life 104 00:03:52,739 --> 00:03:55,239 or at the very extreme nature of it. 105 00:03:55,780 --> 00:03:58,819 Or in addition, that that mistake can degradate 106 00:03:58,819 --> 00:04:01,219 a business outcome that you're really looking forward 107 00:04:01,219 --> 00:04:02,979 to. So the first thing is not to 108 00:04:02,979 --> 00:04:05,299 be fearful. I tend to live by this 109 00:04:05,299 --> 00:04:06,599 Kobe mama mentality 110 00:04:07,455 --> 00:04:09,375 where you just gotta put the extra effort 111 00:04:09,375 --> 00:04:11,455 into it, basically. And the same thing is 112 00:04:11,455 --> 00:04:13,935 in business is put the extra effort into 113 00:04:13,935 --> 00:04:16,115 making sure that you are really truly 114 00:04:16,495 --> 00:04:17,794 putting your patients first. 115 00:04:18,095 --> 00:04:20,669 Our patients, our patient experience scores are telling 116 00:04:20,669 --> 00:04:23,329 us really driving our strategies today 117 00:04:23,709 --> 00:04:25,709 in IT, and we need to listen to 118 00:04:25,709 --> 00:04:27,789 that and not be fearful about that. So 119 00:04:27,789 --> 00:04:29,149 some of the things I would tell leaders 120 00:04:29,149 --> 00:04:30,930 is 1, not be fearful, 2, 121 00:04:31,470 --> 00:04:33,964 be aggressive enough that you have a strong 122 00:04:33,964 --> 00:04:35,745 research and development opportunity 123 00:04:36,125 --> 00:04:37,884 that you're looking at that, and then you 124 00:04:37,884 --> 00:04:38,704 actually implement. 125 00:04:39,004 --> 00:04:41,024 And then last and finally, I would tell 126 00:04:41,245 --> 00:04:44,064 leaders to have a strong PDSA cycle 127 00:04:44,524 --> 00:04:47,310 where we're planning, we're doing, we're studying, we're 128 00:04:47,550 --> 00:04:50,509 acting on what we're implementing so that if 129 00:04:50,509 --> 00:04:53,069 something needs to change, we have a process 130 00:04:53,069 --> 00:04:54,829 by the way it can change. That's some 131 00:04:54,829 --> 00:04:56,529 really great advice. Thanks for sharing. 132 00:04:57,069 --> 00:05:00,110 Could you provide examples of specific instances where 133 00:05:00,110 --> 00:05:03,024 the integration of informatics solutions led to improve 134 00:05:03,024 --> 00:05:05,845 patient outcomes or enhance patient provider communication? 135 00:05:06,625 --> 00:05:09,504 Yeah. That informatics is, for me, top of 136 00:05:09,504 --> 00:05:11,824 priority and where a lot of development from 137 00:05:11,824 --> 00:05:13,365 my team goes into play. 138 00:05:13,745 --> 00:05:16,860 Specifically, when we're talking about introducing anything new, 139 00:05:16,939 --> 00:05:18,639 the role of informatics is 140 00:05:19,339 --> 00:05:22,159 so paramount to anything that happens with 141 00:05:22,459 --> 00:05:25,019 IS and IT and healthcare that you can't 142 00:05:25,019 --> 00:05:27,919 do it. Some specific examples is introducing telehealth 143 00:05:27,979 --> 00:05:28,479 applications, 144 00:05:29,435 --> 00:05:33,354 introducing new workflows, and introducing clinical quality outcomes 145 00:05:33,354 --> 00:05:34,814 that you're trying to attach. 146 00:05:35,274 --> 00:05:37,435 Informaticis play a strong role for that. So 147 00:05:37,435 --> 00:05:40,154 when we were launching a telehealth application where 148 00:05:40,154 --> 00:05:41,214 we had none, 149 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:43,539 our informatics has played a great role. 150 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,019 In addition to that, the advice that informaticists 151 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:47,139 gives. Traditionally, 152 00:05:47,759 --> 00:05:51,279 IS people were technologists. We don't really know 153 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:51,939 the clinical 154 00:05:52,479 --> 00:05:55,039 background, but having an informaticists with that clinical 155 00:05:55,039 --> 00:05:57,805 background, bringing that advice, that that strong advice 156 00:05:57,805 --> 00:05:59,645 about what is actually happening at the point 157 00:05:59,645 --> 00:06:01,324 of care because we just put the solutions 158 00:06:01,324 --> 00:06:03,324 out, and we say go use it. So 159 00:06:03,324 --> 00:06:05,884 making sure that the clicks are possible, the 160 00:06:05,884 --> 00:06:08,949 meaningful use objectives are are here too. But 161 00:06:08,949 --> 00:06:11,269 then also you have the collaboration. So specific 162 00:06:11,269 --> 00:06:14,149 examples of that are telehealth applications. Specific examples 163 00:06:14,149 --> 00:06:14,810 of that 164 00:06:15,189 --> 00:06:18,550 are meaningful use objectives going up. Specific examples 165 00:06:18,550 --> 00:06:22,245 are our clinical informaticist team deploying workflows that 166 00:06:22,245 --> 00:06:25,685 actually change outcomes in hypertension or diabetes or 167 00:06:25,685 --> 00:06:27,685 HIV care. So these are some of the 168 00:06:27,685 --> 00:06:30,745 specific examples that informaticist has played a strong 169 00:06:30,964 --> 00:06:31,464 role 170 00:06:31,764 --> 00:06:33,545 in understanding, and it's bidirectional. 171 00:06:34,259 --> 00:06:36,259 What I mean by bidirectional is while they 172 00:06:36,259 --> 00:06:40,019 are introducing clinical outcomes, we're also, by them, 173 00:06:40,019 --> 00:06:41,560 be able to introduce technology 174 00:06:41,939 --> 00:06:43,939 in an adoption phase when I talked about 175 00:06:43,939 --> 00:06:47,115 earlier that curve actually going down. So that's 176 00:06:47,115 --> 00:06:48,975 where my role, as CIO 177 00:06:49,754 --> 00:06:52,154 is making sure that our informaticist team has 178 00:06:52,154 --> 00:06:52,735 a vision, 179 00:06:53,035 --> 00:06:54,495 and it's a triad partnership, 180 00:06:54,875 --> 00:06:57,435 between myself and our chief medical officer so 181 00:06:57,435 --> 00:06:59,595 that they understand what the vision is between 182 00:06:59,595 --> 00:07:01,519 both of us and then implement that in 183 00:07:01,519 --> 00:07:03,759 a tactical day to day stage. Yeah. That 184 00:07:03,759 --> 00:07:06,479 sounds like a really powerful collaboration that can 185 00:07:06,479 --> 00:07:09,039 really, provide a lot. 5 years from now, 186 00:07:09,039 --> 00:07:10,399 what do you think will be the most 187 00:07:10,399 --> 00:07:13,060 significant change in health care delivery and operations, 188 00:07:13,925 --> 00:07:16,245 And how can leaders prepare for this? That's 189 00:07:16,245 --> 00:07:18,324 a funny question. And as I'm thinking about 190 00:07:18,324 --> 00:07:20,485 it, a little funny to me is 5 191 00:07:20,485 --> 00:07:22,324 years now, what I think will be most 192 00:07:22,324 --> 00:07:24,004 impactful is that if we had no fax 193 00:07:24,004 --> 00:07:26,644 machines. Okay. I think that would be a 194 00:07:26,644 --> 00:07:27,625 very significant 195 00:07:28,019 --> 00:07:30,339 change in health care delivery if we don't 196 00:07:30,339 --> 00:07:31,480 have fax machines. 197 00:07:33,220 --> 00:07:35,779 But taking the funny aside, what I actually 198 00:07:35,779 --> 00:07:36,279 believe 199 00:07:36,980 --> 00:07:38,899 second to the fax machines, I'm gonna stick 200 00:07:38,899 --> 00:07:40,040 to my guns here, 201 00:07:40,345 --> 00:07:41,084 is that 202 00:07:41,384 --> 00:07:42,764 AI. I think 203 00:07:43,225 --> 00:07:44,845 AI is really gonna revolutionize 204 00:07:45,384 --> 00:07:46,764 what we do. Ethically 205 00:07:47,064 --> 00:07:48,125 is obviously 206 00:07:48,665 --> 00:07:50,845 a top of mind ethically and the security 207 00:07:50,904 --> 00:07:53,225 of it, but I think AI can really 208 00:07:53,225 --> 00:07:55,305 revolutionize what we're doing in terms of health 209 00:07:55,305 --> 00:07:56,044 care delivery 210 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,240 because what it has the ability to do 211 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,319 is bring consumerism into health care. And I 212 00:08:00,319 --> 00:08:02,339 think that's what patients are asking us for. 213 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,959 It it's interesting that you use the oldest 214 00:08:04,959 --> 00:08:07,279 technology that there is and bringing up the 215 00:08:07,279 --> 00:08:08,019 new technology. 216 00:08:08,814 --> 00:08:11,454 Interesting perspective, and I love it. Isaiah, thank 217 00:08:11,454 --> 00:08:12,974 you so much for spending some time with 218 00:08:12,974 --> 00:08:14,814 us today. Is there anything else our listeners 219 00:08:14,814 --> 00:08:15,555 should know? 220 00:08:16,254 --> 00:08:17,615 I thank you for having me. I think 221 00:08:17,615 --> 00:08:19,214 this was a great conversation. I think it's 222 00:08:19,214 --> 00:08:22,290 a timely conversation to have. And last but 223 00:08:22,290 --> 00:08:24,050 not least, I I just think that this 224 00:08:24,050 --> 00:08:25,730 is a great time for health care. I 225 00:08:25,730 --> 00:08:28,069 think all CIOs should be reinvigorated 226 00:08:28,529 --> 00:08:31,169 with their day to day job strategically and 227 00:08:31,169 --> 00:08:32,549 from a tactical perspective. 228 00:08:32,929 --> 00:08:34,735 So last thing I would just say is 229 00:08:34,735 --> 00:08:36,914 just double down on what you do best, 230 00:08:37,134 --> 00:08:39,375 and let's watch our organizations grow because of 231 00:08:39,375 --> 00:08:41,134 it. Awesome. Well, it was a pleasure talking 232 00:08:41,134 --> 00:08:42,735 to you today. Thank you so much. Thank 233 00:08:42,735 --> 00:08:43,235 you. 234 00:08:45,615 --> 00:08:47,455 It's so important for leaders at the top 235 00:08:47,455 --> 00:08:50,100 of organizations to keep learning, stay sharp, grow 236 00:08:50,100 --> 00:08:50,840 their networks. 237 00:08:51,220 --> 00:08:52,820 To help our audience better do this in 238 00:08:52,820 --> 00:08:56,179 a more simplified, personalized, and meaningful way, Becker's 239 00:08:56,179 --> 00:08:57,879 Healthcare has launched MyBHC. 240 00:08:58,740 --> 00:09:01,379 It's your trusted Becker's Healthcare experience and more 241 00:09:01,379 --> 00:09:04,120 with content, connections, events, and learning opportunities. 242 00:09:04,845 --> 00:09:07,345 Join the community free of charge at www.my.beggarshospitalreview.com, 243 00:09:10,845 --> 00:09:11,985 and we'll see you there.