1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,279 The Becker's team is excited to announce the 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:06,160 launch of our new CFO and Revenue Cycle 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:06,660 podcast. 4 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,240 Tune in for conversations with finance experts from 5 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,119 the top hospitals and health systems. We'll discuss 6 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,679 key trends and ideas to drive meaningful change 7 00:00:15,679 --> 00:00:18,855 in the industry. Look for Becker's CFO and 8 00:00:18,855 --> 00:00:21,995 revenue cycle podcast wherever you listen to episodes. 9 00:00:24,614 --> 00:00:26,855 This is Laura Dierdo with the Becker's healthcare 10 00:00:26,855 --> 00:00:29,175 podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by 11 00:00:29,175 --> 00:00:32,070 JD Whitlock, chief information officer at Dayton Children's 12 00:00:32,070 --> 00:00:33,829 Hospital. JD, it's a pleasure to have you 13 00:00:33,829 --> 00:00:34,969 on the podcast today. 14 00:00:35,429 --> 00:00:36,969 Thanks, Laura. Great to be here. 15 00:00:37,429 --> 00:00:39,590 Now I'm excited for our conversation because I 16 00:00:39,590 --> 00:00:41,829 know you're doing some amazing things at Dayton 17 00:00:41,829 --> 00:00:43,429 Children's, and so we'll dig into that a 18 00:00:43,429 --> 00:00:45,385 little bit. But before we do, you tell 19 00:00:45,385 --> 00:00:47,304 me a little bit more about Dayton Children's 20 00:00:47,304 --> 00:00:48,365 and what makes it unique? 21 00:00:49,625 --> 00:00:50,125 Certainly. 22 00:00:50,825 --> 00:00:52,045 So Dayton Children's 23 00:00:53,065 --> 00:00:57,005 is a small health system. Our revenue is 24 00:00:57,145 --> 00:00:58,924 about 750,000,000. 25 00:00:59,090 --> 00:01:00,850 And if you know health care, as most 26 00:01:00,850 --> 00:01:03,089 of your listeners do, you know, that is 27 00:01:03,089 --> 00:01:04,549 a small health system, 28 00:01:04,849 --> 00:01:06,290 but that does not mean to say small 29 00:01:06,290 --> 00:01:07,890 organization. Right? 4,300 30 00:01:07,890 --> 00:01:08,390 employees, 31 00:01:08,930 --> 00:01:11,025 and there's a lot of things going on. 32 00:01:11,025 --> 00:01:12,784 What I would say makes us unique, 33 00:01:13,584 --> 00:01:16,325 we are an excess and experience 34 00:01:16,864 --> 00:01:17,364 brand. 35 00:01:17,825 --> 00:01:19,665 We do very well at that. We have 36 00:01:19,665 --> 00:01:21,665 a net promoter score in the low eighties, 37 00:01:21,665 --> 00:01:23,444 which is world class, of course, 38 00:01:24,060 --> 00:01:27,439 And we compete with two of the top 39 00:01:27,659 --> 00:01:30,140 10 ranked children's hospitals in The US, Cincinnati 40 00:01:30,140 --> 00:01:31,680 and and nationwide in Columbus. 41 00:01:32,219 --> 00:01:35,359 And we do that, successfully. Right? So we 42 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:37,979 we we can't compete on academic reputation, but 43 00:01:37,979 --> 00:01:38,640 we do 44 00:01:38,954 --> 00:01:39,454 compete 45 00:01:39,914 --> 00:01:42,075 on on access and experience. So that's, I 46 00:01:42,075 --> 00:01:43,854 guess, that's what I would say makes us 47 00:01:44,234 --> 00:01:46,094 unique. We're blessed to be 48 00:01:46,875 --> 00:01:49,994 in the Children's Hospital Association. The pediatrics community 49 00:01:49,994 --> 00:01:52,474 is really tight. And even though we at 50 00:01:52,474 --> 00:01:54,130 the end of the day, we are we 51 00:01:54,130 --> 00:01:55,810 are competitors, we we do a lot of 52 00:01:55,810 --> 00:01:56,790 really great collaboration, 53 00:01:57,489 --> 00:01:59,489 which, of course, is true generally in health 54 00:01:59,489 --> 00:02:01,250 care, but it's even more true on the 55 00:02:01,250 --> 00:02:02,549 on the pediatric side. 56 00:02:03,090 --> 00:02:04,689 And then one other thing I would say 57 00:02:04,689 --> 00:02:05,430 is that 58 00:02:05,890 --> 00:02:07,890 we are on Epic. We are on Workday 59 00:02:07,890 --> 00:02:09,555 to shift to the IT side of things 60 00:02:09,875 --> 00:02:10,534 for a second. 61 00:02:10,914 --> 00:02:13,155 And, what that means is that so we're 62 00:02:13,155 --> 00:02:15,094 on the best DHR and the best DRP, 63 00:02:15,234 --> 00:02:16,215 and that's great. 64 00:02:16,834 --> 00:02:18,354 It also means there's a lot of care 65 00:02:18,354 --> 00:02:19,014 and feeding, 66 00:02:19,555 --> 00:02:21,555 and we have to do all the same 67 00:02:21,555 --> 00:02:23,655 things that a larger health system, 68 00:02:24,569 --> 00:02:26,810 would do, to keep to keep all that 69 00:02:26,810 --> 00:02:28,730 operating correctly and giving the, you know, the 70 00:02:28,730 --> 00:02:31,129 best experience, the best best quality of care 71 00:02:31,129 --> 00:02:33,129 to our patients, most importantly, and also, of 72 00:02:33,129 --> 00:02:33,629 course, 73 00:02:34,090 --> 00:02:34,909 best experience 74 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:36,430 for all of our caregivers. 75 00:02:39,334 --> 00:02:41,254 That's really great to hear. And, you know, 76 00:02:41,254 --> 00:02:41,754 definitely, 77 00:02:42,055 --> 00:02:43,114 a lot happening, 78 00:02:43,495 --> 00:02:45,914 within the that space and on the technology 79 00:02:45,974 --> 00:02:48,134 side too. I know things move so quickly, 80 00:02:48,294 --> 00:02:50,375 and so it's great to have that kind 81 00:02:50,375 --> 00:02:51,114 of sophistication 82 00:02:51,574 --> 00:02:53,719 behind you. Now when you're looking back in 83 00:02:53,719 --> 00:02:55,400 the last year or so, what accomplishment are 84 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:56,219 you most proud? 85 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,520 The number one thing that I'm most proud 86 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:01,500 of is, 87 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,180 I wanna talk about the Class Arch Collaborative 88 00:03:05,319 --> 00:03:07,260 Pinnacle Award, and I wanna 89 00:03:07,944 --> 00:03:10,365 spend a minute on what that is because 90 00:03:10,665 --> 00:03:13,385 there will be probably a lot of listeners 91 00:03:13,385 --> 00:03:15,064 of this podcast that have been in health 92 00:03:15,064 --> 00:03:16,824 care for a long time and may not 93 00:03:16,824 --> 00:03:18,905 even have heard about this yet because it's 94 00:03:18,905 --> 00:03:20,985 relatively new. It was awarded for the first 95 00:03:20,985 --> 00:03:21,870 time last year. 96 00:03:22,989 --> 00:03:25,870 So what it is is the Class Arch 97 00:03:25,870 --> 00:03:26,370 Collaborative 98 00:03:27,229 --> 00:03:27,729 is, 99 00:03:28,430 --> 00:03:30,209 as the name implies, a collaborative 100 00:03:30,989 --> 00:03:33,409 of health systems that sign up 101 00:03:33,709 --> 00:03:34,209 to 102 00:03:34,989 --> 00:03:35,489 survey 103 00:03:35,789 --> 00:03:36,610 their caregivers 104 00:03:37,485 --> 00:03:38,625 on their experience 105 00:03:39,164 --> 00:03:39,664 with 106 00:03:40,284 --> 00:03:40,864 the EHR. 107 00:03:42,044 --> 00:03:45,324 And so it is a really nice of 108 00:03:45,324 --> 00:03:46,924 course, in health care, we're we're we're very 109 00:03:46,924 --> 00:03:48,144 used to very standardized 110 00:03:48,764 --> 00:03:50,685 surveys that we give to our patients. Right? 111 00:03:50,685 --> 00:03:53,199 That the government tells us how we're gonna 112 00:03:53,340 --> 00:03:54,539 ask a lot of the questions on the 113 00:03:54,539 --> 00:03:56,400 patient survey. So it's so it's benchmarkable. 114 00:03:57,500 --> 00:03:58,459 And so now, 115 00:03:58,780 --> 00:04:00,539 now CLAS is is doing this with the 116 00:04:00,539 --> 00:04:02,780 arch collaborative for EHR experience. So we can 117 00:04:02,780 --> 00:04:03,680 compare ourselves, 118 00:04:04,875 --> 00:04:06,875 to all the other health systems. And, you 119 00:04:06,875 --> 00:04:08,574 know, how are we doing delivering 120 00:04:09,355 --> 00:04:11,455 a good EHR experience 121 00:04:11,835 --> 00:04:15,034 to to our, providers and nurses and and 122 00:04:15,034 --> 00:04:16,410 other clinical staff? 123 00:04:16,970 --> 00:04:18,990 And so I am happy to report 124 00:04:19,449 --> 00:04:22,589 that due due to our really stellar performance 125 00:04:22,649 --> 00:04:25,689 when we look at the percentiles that we 126 00:04:25,689 --> 00:04:27,930 get, the percentile scores compared to everybody else 127 00:04:27,930 --> 00:04:29,230 in the partnership collaborative, 128 00:04:29,964 --> 00:04:32,845 We score in the ninetieth percentiles for both 129 00:04:32,845 --> 00:04:33,985 providers and nurses, 130 00:04:34,444 --> 00:04:34,925 and, 131 00:04:35,564 --> 00:04:36,845 and that that is, 132 00:04:37,485 --> 00:04:39,004 good enough to win us the, 133 00:04:39,564 --> 00:04:41,745 Class Arch Collaborative Pinnacle Award. 134 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,040 And so I would predict that, in coming 135 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,600 years, you know, more you'll see more people 136 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,319 talking about this and and striving to to 137 00:04:51,319 --> 00:04:53,800 win this particular award. So it's a it's 138 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:55,259 a it's a it's a great way, 139 00:04:55,639 --> 00:04:57,740 that we can talk about our dedication 140 00:04:58,245 --> 00:05:00,584 to which we like to talk about the 141 00:05:00,805 --> 00:05:03,365 quadruple aim. Right? The the fourth part being 142 00:05:03,365 --> 00:05:05,384 being the the caregiver experience. 143 00:05:06,485 --> 00:05:08,564 And so we we do a nice job 144 00:05:08,564 --> 00:05:10,805 of that, and we're able to do it, 145 00:05:11,125 --> 00:05:13,285 efficiently. Once again, it's it's a smaller health 146 00:05:13,285 --> 00:05:14,040 system. Right? 147 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:16,920 So that's that's the number one thing I 148 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:17,740 would point to. 149 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:20,120 Got it. No. That's great. And and definitely 150 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:21,960 impressive to see what you've done with the 151 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:24,040 class pinnacle award and and being able to 152 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:24,939 achieve it there. 153 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,084 And I think especially, moving forward and looking 154 00:05:28,084 --> 00:05:31,045 at, you know, standardizing, continuing to find best 155 00:05:31,045 --> 00:05:32,985 practices and making things benchmarkable, 156 00:05:33,605 --> 00:05:36,165 how do you, really change a culture when 157 00:05:36,165 --> 00:05:37,605 that's not something that's been done in the 158 00:05:37,605 --> 00:05:38,884 past? You know, I I know there's a 159 00:05:38,884 --> 00:05:40,404 lot of health systems out there that are 160 00:05:40,404 --> 00:05:42,300 trying to figure out how to wrap their 161 00:05:42,300 --> 00:05:43,980 arms around a lot of the new processes 162 00:05:43,980 --> 00:05:45,980 and systems to become better and better than 163 00:05:45,980 --> 00:05:48,460 ever before, but it's not just the technology. 164 00:05:48,460 --> 00:05:49,899 I know it's the people side of it 165 00:05:49,899 --> 00:05:51,740 and making sure that we're able to go 166 00:05:51,740 --> 00:05:54,240 through the change management processes there as well. 167 00:05:55,305 --> 00:05:57,245 Absolutely. Absolutely. So, 168 00:05:57,944 --> 00:06:00,904 what I would say there is there's this 169 00:06:00,904 --> 00:06:03,645 really boring topic called governance 170 00:06:04,504 --> 00:06:05,645 that we, 171 00:06:06,185 --> 00:06:08,365 I don't think, talk talk about enough. 172 00:06:09,064 --> 00:06:09,564 And 173 00:06:10,069 --> 00:06:12,310 I think that part of our success is 174 00:06:12,310 --> 00:06:14,149 due to that. So we have a really 175 00:06:14,149 --> 00:06:14,649 great, 176 00:06:15,269 --> 00:06:16,889 clinical informatics team, 177 00:06:17,269 --> 00:06:19,750 and we have the committees that we have 178 00:06:19,750 --> 00:06:20,649 put in place 179 00:06:21,029 --> 00:06:23,669 to do the governance on, you know, what 180 00:06:23,669 --> 00:06:26,574 are we building next in our epic EHR? 181 00:06:27,435 --> 00:06:29,455 How are we doing that? How are we 182 00:06:29,995 --> 00:06:31,535 making smart decisions 183 00:06:31,915 --> 00:06:32,415 about, 184 00:06:32,795 --> 00:06:34,875 you know, the opportunity cost? If we decide 185 00:06:34,875 --> 00:06:36,235 to do one thing, that means we're not 186 00:06:36,235 --> 00:06:37,915 doing something else or at least not doing 187 00:06:37,915 --> 00:06:40,014 that other thing in the next couple months. 188 00:06:40,159 --> 00:06:42,159 And so if you do that with good 189 00:06:42,159 --> 00:06:42,659 transparency, 190 00:06:43,919 --> 00:06:45,300 then your caregivers, 191 00:06:46,159 --> 00:06:47,139 have a good understanding 192 00:06:47,519 --> 00:06:50,719 of, well, that thing that, you know, somebody 193 00:06:50,719 --> 00:06:51,459 asked for, 194 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,074 didn't get done by the EPIC team, but 195 00:06:54,154 --> 00:06:55,995 that's okay because we understood that there were 196 00:06:55,995 --> 00:06:58,715 five things, you know, that that were voted 197 00:06:58,715 --> 00:07:01,215 as more important by by the governance committee. 198 00:07:01,355 --> 00:07:02,634 And so the thing we asked for is 199 00:07:02,634 --> 00:07:04,314 gonna have to wait. You know, that can 200 00:07:04,395 --> 00:07:06,795 if there's good transparency around that, then then 201 00:07:06,795 --> 00:07:09,149 it doesn't mean people are they're not they're 202 00:07:09,149 --> 00:07:10,750 not happy that their thing didn't get done, 203 00:07:10,750 --> 00:07:13,629 but they understand the reasons why. So that's 204 00:07:13,629 --> 00:07:15,310 probably the one thing that I would point 205 00:07:15,310 --> 00:07:15,810 to. 206 00:07:16,670 --> 00:07:18,269 And that's really helpful to know. Thank you 207 00:07:18,269 --> 00:07:20,209 for spelling that out for us. Now 208 00:07:20,589 --> 00:07:23,185 I'm I'm curious. In looking ahead to where 209 00:07:23,185 --> 00:07:24,464 do you see some of the biggest growth 210 00:07:24,464 --> 00:07:26,225 opportunities for your team in the next twelve 211 00:07:26,225 --> 00:07:28,544 months or so? So I'm gonna answer this 212 00:07:28,544 --> 00:07:31,345 one not for my team in IT, but 213 00:07:31,345 --> 00:07:32,404 but for the organization 214 00:07:32,944 --> 00:07:34,725 as a whole. So, unfortunately, 215 00:07:35,345 --> 00:07:36,805 we have an epidemic 216 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:39,500 in this country for adolescent, 217 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:40,779 mental health, 218 00:07:41,319 --> 00:07:43,800 and I'm proud of what we at Dayton 219 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:45,259 Children's with with our 220 00:07:45,879 --> 00:07:49,160 executive team and board has, they made it 221 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:51,339 impossible to stay in front of this, 222 00:07:52,105 --> 00:07:53,625 but I would say we've done a good 223 00:07:53,625 --> 00:07:54,125 job, 224 00:07:54,985 --> 00:07:57,564 responding to it as best we can. 225 00:07:58,024 --> 00:08:00,665 And we're we're actually in the next six 226 00:08:00,665 --> 00:08:02,125 months, we're actually opening 227 00:08:02,425 --> 00:08:03,884 two new buildings 228 00:08:04,425 --> 00:08:04,925 dedicated, 229 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:06,860 for mental health, 230 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,899 at a new building on our main campus 231 00:08:09,959 --> 00:08:11,879 that will double the size of our inpatient 232 00:08:11,879 --> 00:08:14,360 behavioral health unit and then a well, not 233 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:16,600 a new building, but a repurposed building at 234 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,540 our at our secondary campus 235 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:20,620 for some intensive outpatient, 236 00:08:21,535 --> 00:08:22,995 mental health treatment. 237 00:08:23,375 --> 00:08:24,835 And so we 238 00:08:25,214 --> 00:08:27,375 are just doing a a a really great 239 00:08:27,375 --> 00:08:28,595 job as an organization 240 00:08:29,214 --> 00:08:31,314 doing the very best we can to meet 241 00:08:31,694 --> 00:08:33,715 the needs of our 242 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:34,940 adolescent community 243 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:36,519 in our market area, 244 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,139 for all their, unfortunately, increasing mental health needs. 245 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:42,920 Got it. That's such an important area to 246 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:44,920 focus in on and really, you know, great 247 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,000 work in that space. I can imagine added 248 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:48,220 capacity will 249 00:08:48,544 --> 00:08:51,264 really help, serve the community better. And I 250 00:08:51,264 --> 00:08:51,924 I know 251 00:08:52,304 --> 00:08:53,745 from your side of things as a CIO, 252 00:08:53,745 --> 00:08:55,105 what does that really mean for you and 253 00:08:55,105 --> 00:08:57,184 how you're needing to move forward in the 254 00:08:57,184 --> 00:08:58,245 next year or so? 255 00:08:59,264 --> 00:09:01,444 What it means from the IT perspective 256 00:09:02,304 --> 00:09:02,964 is that 257 00:09:03,529 --> 00:09:04,429 there's just 258 00:09:05,050 --> 00:09:07,129 so many cycles are taken up by that 259 00:09:07,129 --> 00:09:08,110 as you can imagine 260 00:09:08,730 --> 00:09:11,690 anytime that happens. Right? So there's the there's 261 00:09:11,690 --> 00:09:13,230 the IT provisioning, 262 00:09:13,850 --> 00:09:16,250 with the new buildings and everything that goes 263 00:09:16,250 --> 00:09:18,009 along with that for the for the tech 264 00:09:18,009 --> 00:09:20,495 team side of things. And then there's, as 265 00:09:20,495 --> 00:09:22,735 you can imagine, a whole lot of epic 266 00:09:22,735 --> 00:09:24,595 build that that needs to happen, 267 00:09:24,975 --> 00:09:28,174 to support that. So and project management or, 268 00:09:28,174 --> 00:09:31,154 really, almost almost everybody in the IT team 269 00:09:31,214 --> 00:09:33,309 is contributing in some ways, you know, when 270 00:09:33,309 --> 00:09:35,549 you open a new building. And and what 271 00:09:35,549 --> 00:09:37,409 that means is because we're doing 272 00:09:37,870 --> 00:09:39,889 two of those in the next six months, 273 00:09:40,190 --> 00:09:42,110 it just means that there's less time available 274 00:09:42,110 --> 00:09:43,709 for some other things. So there's a little 275 00:09:43,709 --> 00:09:44,610 bit of a joke, 276 00:09:45,070 --> 00:09:46,894 is going on at children's these days as 277 00:09:46,894 --> 00:09:48,414 well. As soon as we stop building the 278 00:09:48,414 --> 00:09:50,654 buildings, you know, we can we can do 279 00:09:50,654 --> 00:09:51,954 some of the other things we've, 280 00:09:52,334 --> 00:09:53,855 gotten a list to suit. Now for a 281 00:09:53,855 --> 00:09:56,174 large health system, building two buildings, you do 282 00:09:56,174 --> 00:09:58,095 that in your sleep, you know, every month. 283 00:09:58,254 --> 00:09:59,774 For us, that's, like, a really, really big 284 00:09:59,774 --> 00:10:01,794 deal. Right? And so, 285 00:10:02,389 --> 00:10:04,070 so that's that's the challenge at a place 286 00:10:04,070 --> 00:10:05,450 the size of Dave Jordan's. 287 00:10:06,950 --> 00:10:09,610 Absolutely. And that's really helpful context to understand, 288 00:10:09,670 --> 00:10:12,389 especially given, everything that you're undertaking, you know, 289 00:10:12,389 --> 00:10:14,070 on a regular basis meant to add in, 290 00:10:14,070 --> 00:10:15,769 like you mentioned, those two new buildings. 291 00:10:16,524 --> 00:10:19,004 You know, is huge. Now I know a 292 00:10:19,004 --> 00:10:21,004 lot of opportunities, a lot of exciting things 293 00:10:21,004 --> 00:10:23,165 happening, right now, but I know there are 294 00:10:23,165 --> 00:10:25,165 challenges as well. What are some of the 295 00:10:25,165 --> 00:10:26,684 big challenges that you have your eye on 296 00:10:26,684 --> 00:10:28,445 right now, and how are you navigating through 297 00:10:28,445 --> 00:10:28,945 them? 298 00:10:30,899 --> 00:10:32,500 Well, the first thing that pops into mind 299 00:10:32,500 --> 00:10:34,120 with challenges is, of course, 300 00:10:34,660 --> 00:10:35,160 cybersecurity. 301 00:10:36,019 --> 00:10:38,740 Right? If if you talk to, of course, 302 00:10:38,740 --> 00:10:39,240 any 303 00:10:39,700 --> 00:10:41,559 really anybody in health care or leadership 304 00:10:42,195 --> 00:10:44,615 that understands what's going on with cybersecurity. 305 00:10:45,875 --> 00:10:47,975 It's it's a huge worry. You know? 306 00:10:49,075 --> 00:10:52,134 Pretty much every week in in in Becker's 307 00:10:52,195 --> 00:10:54,754 and other trade publications, there's a a sad 308 00:10:54,754 --> 00:10:56,375 story about some health system, 309 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:58,740 that's that's been ransomware. 310 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:00,899 I, for one, you know, 311 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:04,559 with a with an understanding of the threat 312 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:05,379 and understanding 313 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:08,820 of what's required to counter that 314 00:11:09,204 --> 00:11:09,704 threat. 315 00:11:10,725 --> 00:11:12,424 I'm really not sure how 316 00:11:12,964 --> 00:11:15,065 organizations smaller than Dame Children's 317 00:11:15,524 --> 00:11:16,184 do it. 318 00:11:16,804 --> 00:11:17,684 We have a, 319 00:11:18,164 --> 00:11:20,964 small but mighty cybersecurity team. We have a 320 00:11:20,964 --> 00:11:22,985 good toolset in place. We have 321 00:11:23,299 --> 00:11:26,279 a good partner for managed detection and response. 322 00:11:28,339 --> 00:11:30,740 We but there's always more that can be 323 00:11:30,740 --> 00:11:33,159 done for disaster recovery, business continuity, 324 00:11:34,819 --> 00:11:36,845 and that is that is just always gonna 325 00:11:37,004 --> 00:11:39,804 I don't unless the threat changes significantly, which 326 00:11:39,804 --> 00:11:41,264 I don't see that happening, 327 00:11:41,804 --> 00:11:44,204 that's just always gonna be a challenge for 328 00:11:44,204 --> 00:11:45,424 the foreseeable future. 329 00:11:45,804 --> 00:11:48,784 And related to that is the regulatory environment. 330 00:11:48,924 --> 00:11:50,524 And, you know, one thing that we're all 331 00:11:50,524 --> 00:11:51,690 scratching our head about, 332 00:11:52,409 --> 00:11:53,149 right now, 333 00:11:54,169 --> 00:11:56,029 yeah, are the new HIPAA security 334 00:11:56,570 --> 00:11:57,549 proposed regulations, 335 00:11:58,889 --> 00:11:59,529 because they're 336 00:12:00,490 --> 00:12:00,990 if 337 00:12:01,690 --> 00:12:02,190 they 338 00:12:02,570 --> 00:12:03,389 come through, 339 00:12:04,915 --> 00:12:07,335 it's massive change and, 340 00:12:08,514 --> 00:12:09,335 pretty massive 341 00:12:09,715 --> 00:12:11,815 amount of new work that would be required. 342 00:12:12,835 --> 00:12:14,915 Basically, a lot of things that have been 343 00:12:14,915 --> 00:12:17,075 in the past, things you should be doing 344 00:12:17,075 --> 00:12:19,419 are gonna be things you must be doing. 345 00:12:19,879 --> 00:12:22,379 And once again, for smaller organizations, I'm not 346 00:12:22,519 --> 00:12:25,480 quite sure how that would be feasible to 347 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:27,100 do. So I'm on a couple committees. 348 00:12:27,799 --> 00:12:30,679 I'm on the, China policy steering committee. We're 349 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:33,434 trying to figure out how, as an industry, 350 00:12:33,434 --> 00:12:35,115 we we respond to some of these things 351 00:12:35,115 --> 00:12:36,795 and say, hey. There's some really great things 352 00:12:36,795 --> 00:12:38,634 in here, and there's some really there were 353 00:12:38,634 --> 00:12:40,554 some things in here that are probably not 354 00:12:40,554 --> 00:12:42,415 particularly doable. So 355 00:12:42,795 --> 00:12:44,475 how can you know, what can we do 356 00:12:44,475 --> 00:12:45,774 to to to advance 357 00:12:46,639 --> 00:12:48,980 the regulatory environment smartly 358 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:51,299 to that would actually advance 359 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:52,580 cybersecurity 360 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,179 within health care as opposed to perhaps 361 00:12:56,879 --> 00:12:59,440 putting a regulatory framework on things that that 362 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:00,980 have our cybersecurity teams 363 00:13:01,754 --> 00:13:05,195 doing box checking exercises that actually that actually 364 00:13:05,195 --> 00:13:08,654 reduce the cybersecurity posture of most health systems. 365 00:13:08,715 --> 00:13:10,174 So that that's what I would 366 00:13:10,554 --> 00:13:12,335 point as the biggest challenge right now. 367 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,159 Got it. Well, that that's really helpful to 368 00:13:16,159 --> 00:13:19,600 understand. And in particular, knowing, obviously, cybersecurity, like 369 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:21,039 you said, is something on the tip of 370 00:13:21,039 --> 00:13:23,679 everybody's tongue, coming off a really challenging year 371 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:24,639 in 2024. 372 00:13:24,639 --> 00:13:27,460 And then two, looking at the regulatory environment, 373 00:13:27,519 --> 00:13:29,545 I know there's changes every day, in in 374 00:13:29,545 --> 00:13:33,144 in potentially, you know, even bigger shifts ahead. 375 00:13:33,144 --> 00:13:33,804 And so 376 00:13:34,105 --> 00:13:36,585 how do you stay, really focused on the 377 00:13:36,585 --> 00:13:38,825 main thing and being able to, you know, 378 00:13:38,825 --> 00:13:40,825 steadily plan for the future when there's so 379 00:13:40,825 --> 00:13:42,365 many unknowns and and uncontrollables? 380 00:13:44,899 --> 00:13:45,399 Well, 381 00:13:45,700 --> 00:13:47,799 that I guess that's job security. Right? 382 00:13:49,379 --> 00:13:50,919 There's knowables and unknowables. 383 00:13:51,379 --> 00:13:53,000 And related to cybersecurity, 384 00:13:53,940 --> 00:13:55,379 you know, one of the debates, of course, 385 00:13:55,379 --> 00:13:58,339 is all the generative AI going to make 386 00:13:58,339 --> 00:13:59,320 the bad guys 387 00:14:00,475 --> 00:14:02,495 smarter, faster, or the good guys, 388 00:14:02,955 --> 00:14:04,634 you know, smarter, faster? In other words, the 389 00:14:04,634 --> 00:14:06,735 defense is smarter, faster. So, 390 00:14:07,195 --> 00:14:08,254 as we explore 391 00:14:08,955 --> 00:14:10,415 some of the tool some of the cybersecurity 392 00:14:10,554 --> 00:14:11,274 tool sets, 393 00:14:11,675 --> 00:14:13,514 we I don't wanna get into exactly which 394 00:14:13,514 --> 00:14:15,169 ones we're using, but, 395 00:14:15,610 --> 00:14:18,110 we're using some tools within the last 396 00:14:18,570 --> 00:14:20,970 year or so that are are powered by 397 00:14:20,970 --> 00:14:23,070 Generative AI and and and really have, 398 00:14:24,089 --> 00:14:24,589 advanced 399 00:14:25,370 --> 00:14:26,750 our defensive capabilities 400 00:14:27,370 --> 00:14:27,870 and 401 00:14:28,664 --> 00:14:31,245 and and allowed our small cybersecurity team 402 00:14:31,784 --> 00:14:35,404 to do less of the scutt work 403 00:14:35,945 --> 00:14:38,365 that is required for keeping things secure 404 00:14:39,144 --> 00:14:40,445 so that they can address 405 00:14:41,330 --> 00:14:42,149 higher end 406 00:14:42,690 --> 00:14:43,190 defensive 407 00:14:43,730 --> 00:14:44,230 posturing 408 00:14:44,929 --> 00:14:46,870 to to to bolster our cybersecurity 409 00:14:47,490 --> 00:14:49,590 defenses. So I'll I'll leave that one there. 410 00:14:50,129 --> 00:14:52,049 Got it. Thank you so much for digging 411 00:14:52,049 --> 00:14:54,450 a little bit deeper. Now, before we wrap 412 00:14:54,450 --> 00:14:56,230 up our our call, I I'm wondering, 413 00:14:56,664 --> 00:14:58,024 you know, what's the number one thing that 414 00:14:58,024 --> 00:14:59,725 you're doing right now to set your organization 415 00:14:59,945 --> 00:15:01,404 up for long term success? 416 00:15:03,705 --> 00:15:06,764 What I would point to is convenient timing. 417 00:15:06,825 --> 00:15:08,924 We are just literally today, 418 00:15:09,945 --> 00:15:11,164 signing the contract 419 00:15:11,759 --> 00:15:13,060 with a bridge 420 00:15:13,519 --> 00:15:16,420 for our Amien AI Digital Scribe vendor. 421 00:15:16,879 --> 00:15:18,019 We've been piloting 422 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,800 it it successfully for the last couple months, 423 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:22,720 and we are now committing to to an 424 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:24,580 enterprise agreement with a bridge. 425 00:15:26,044 --> 00:15:28,225 It's always nice when the when the plucky 426 00:15:28,365 --> 00:15:28,865 startup 427 00:15:29,325 --> 00:15:32,445 is competing successfully with, with big tech, which 428 00:15:32,445 --> 00:15:34,225 is exactly what Abridge is doing. 429 00:15:34,605 --> 00:15:35,664 We're really happy 430 00:15:35,965 --> 00:15:38,384 with their Epic integration and with the experience 431 00:15:38,445 --> 00:15:40,225 that we've seen in the pilot, which which 432 00:15:40,559 --> 00:15:42,480 mirrors some of the early adopters that have 433 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:44,559 been doing it, you know, before us. We 434 00:15:44,559 --> 00:15:45,620 like to say we're, 435 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,480 we can't really be bleeding edge innovators at 436 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,240 Dave Jordan's because of our size, but we 437 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,160 wanna be fast followers. And I think we're 438 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:53,644 doing a good job at being a fast 439 00:15:53,644 --> 00:15:54,144 follower, 440 00:15:54,845 --> 00:15:56,865 in this case. I would predict 441 00:15:57,325 --> 00:15:57,825 that 442 00:15:58,285 --> 00:16:00,684 in the not very far future, maybe a 443 00:16:00,684 --> 00:16:01,345 year out, 444 00:16:02,205 --> 00:16:05,245 you know, once the, I don't know, half 445 00:16:05,245 --> 00:16:06,465 health systems are 446 00:16:06,845 --> 00:16:08,625 using an ambient tool 447 00:16:10,799 --> 00:16:12,200 from from whichever vendor, 448 00:16:12,639 --> 00:16:14,480 there there there are multiple good tools out 449 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:14,980 there, 450 00:16:15,759 --> 00:16:17,779 that it is going to be a challenge 451 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,720 for health systems to recruit physicians if they 452 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,565 are not using an Ambiad tool because it's 453 00:16:23,565 --> 00:16:24,945 it's just so popular 454 00:16:25,805 --> 00:16:26,305 with, 455 00:16:26,764 --> 00:16:29,485 you know, 90% of providers. I say 90% 456 00:16:29,485 --> 00:16:30,365 because there's there's, 457 00:16:31,004 --> 00:16:33,884 some providers that that just just don't want 458 00:16:33,884 --> 00:16:35,409 to use the tool because they have highly 459 00:16:35,409 --> 00:16:39,250 templated workflows or they are just very particular 460 00:16:39,250 --> 00:16:40,070 about the wording, 461 00:16:41,009 --> 00:16:42,769 of their notes, and they're going to rewrite 462 00:16:42,769 --> 00:16:44,549 everything that the AI generates. 463 00:16:45,570 --> 00:16:47,809 But for 80 to 90% of providers, it's 464 00:16:47,809 --> 00:16:49,590 just such a huge win, 465 00:16:50,225 --> 00:16:51,204 and it improves, 466 00:16:52,384 --> 00:16:54,625 the quality of their life and decreases their 467 00:16:54,625 --> 00:16:55,125 burnout. 468 00:16:55,824 --> 00:16:57,584 And so I think we're going to see 469 00:16:57,584 --> 00:16:59,204 a really rapid adoption, 470 00:16:59,904 --> 00:17:00,964 throughout the industry. 471 00:17:01,745 --> 00:17:03,904 And so I'm I'm I'm proud that we 472 00:17:03,904 --> 00:17:06,710 are moving forward with this, working closely 473 00:17:07,170 --> 00:17:07,910 with our, 474 00:17:08,529 --> 00:17:10,930 CMIO and the rest of our clinical leadership 475 00:17:10,930 --> 00:17:12,690 about how we roll it out, to whom, 476 00:17:12,690 --> 00:17:14,450 when, how we support it, how we train 477 00:17:14,450 --> 00:17:14,950 it. 478 00:17:15,730 --> 00:17:16,850 So it's it's one of those 479 00:17:17,974 --> 00:17:20,555 we don't we don't very often in IT 480 00:17:21,575 --> 00:17:23,894 get to roll out new tools that are 481 00:17:23,894 --> 00:17:25,595 so immediately popular 482 00:17:25,894 --> 00:17:27,515 with the users. Right? Oftentimes, 483 00:17:27,815 --> 00:17:29,494 we're saying, hey. There's this new thing we 484 00:17:29,494 --> 00:17:32,580 gotta do. We understand it impacts your workflow. 485 00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:34,840 Maybe not in a way you really like, 486 00:17:34,980 --> 00:17:36,340 but here's the reason we have to do 487 00:17:36,340 --> 00:17:38,039 it for compliance or whatever. 488 00:17:38,580 --> 00:17:40,180 But in this case, it's a here's a 489 00:17:40,180 --> 00:17:42,440 new tool. It actually makes your life better, 490 00:17:43,045 --> 00:17:43,625 and everybody 491 00:17:44,085 --> 00:17:46,404 wants it. So it's it's it's fun to 492 00:17:46,404 --> 00:17:48,105 be involved in a project like that. 493 00:17:49,525 --> 00:17:52,265 Absolutely. That that sounds amazing and definitely, 494 00:17:52,884 --> 00:17:54,805 good to bring such a relief to the 495 00:17:54,805 --> 00:17:55,785 clinical workforce, 496 00:17:56,190 --> 00:17:58,269 to support them and boost them in everything 497 00:17:58,269 --> 00:17:59,009 you're doing. 498 00:17:59,470 --> 00:18:00,909 JD, thank you so much for joining us 499 00:18:00,909 --> 00:18:02,429 on the podcast today. This has been a 500 00:18:02,429 --> 00:18:04,190 really fun conversation, and I look forward to 501 00:18:04,190 --> 00:18:05,730 connecting with you again soon. 502 00:18:06,109 --> 00:18:06,929 Thanks, Laura.