This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
Sandra Powell Elliott, vice president and chief innovation
and commercialization officer at Hackensack Meridian Health. Sandra,
it's a pleasure to have you on the
podcast today. Oh, it's a pleasure to be
here, Laura.
Now I'm looking forward to our conversation because
I know you're doing some really innovative things
at Hackensack Meridian and certainly have, an eye
towards innovation for the future. But before we
dive in, I'm wondering, can you tell us
a little bit more about the health system
and what makes it unique?
Sure. So the health system is an 18
hospital network that's based in New Jersey.
We cover about half of the state.
We not only have 18 hospitals, but we
have a medical school. We have a center
for translational research. We have
virtually every element of the continuum you can
imagine from home care and hospice to DME
to physician practices,
surgery centers, etcetera. So I think one of
the things that does make I I'm gonna
highlight two things, I think, that make us
extremely unique is, first and foremost, that continuum
because we can really understand
the connection points,
in a care continuum and how we as
an organization can
really strive to,
make changes at every element
to really facilitate a transformation of care and
services for the future for our patients. So
I think that's one of the things that's
extremely unique about us.
The second thing is I think that,
our Center for Discovery and Innovation, which is
our translational,
research,
arm,
is very unique because it allows us to
really connect our
basic scientists with our clinicians to really drive
from discovery
to the clinic much faster,
for new innovative technologies, whether it be diagnostics,
therapeutics,
even some medical devices in in certain situations.
But I think having researchers and clinicians work
together to solve clinical problems
has been
both exciting and,
really
helping us understand how we can better position
ourselves for the future of health care and
and services are gonna change and also understand
operationally
how new therapies and new diagnostics
may change how we have to operate as
a network.
That's amazing to hear. You know? And certainly,
just very cool that you've got the ability,
the Center for Discovery and Innovation set up,
so you can have that kind of discovery,
in the kind of innovation
alongside health care providers understanding exactly what,
the clinicians need in order to be successful.
I'm curious. Zooming just into this last year
or so, what accomplishment are you most proud
of?
You know, it's it's hard to say, but
I think one of the first things that
immediately comes to mind is,
we have spun out a new company that's
a early stage diagnostic that will use XLBreath
to diagnose,
cancer, lung cancer in particular,
not through,
gases, but literally being able to
slept off in the lung, if you will.
So we're super excited about that because it
really is kinda setting the foundation for where
early diagnostics
can go,
and really make a difference in certain kinds
of, cancer diagnosis.
Yeah. That's great to hear. You know, I'm
curious,
in looking at being able to,
have that kind of project,
going on at at the Center for Discovery
and Innovation. You know, what does it take
to,
really tackle some of these big issues in
health care? And how are I guess, what
is the potential outcome as you continue on
with your work there?
I think the the critical
component is really,
kind
of, esoteric for some people, but it truly
is the the connection and that intellectual curiosity
on both the clinician side
as well as the scientist side. So,
so for example,
we've got we've got, two areas or three
areas in particular at the Center for Discovery
and Innovation that we focus in on,
oncology,
obviously. A lot of opportunity there as well
as infectious disease and,
applied immunology. And I think infectious disease is
an interesting one because,
as you as we're all experiencing, there are
a lot of new viruses that we need
to be prepped for. But I think one
of the things that's,
super unique is is when you have,
those those clinical
translational
sciences who are truly trying to drive and
understand
those areas of opportunity, and I'll use immunology
as an example,
the the it crosses over into a lot
of different therapies. So when you have physicians
who are trying to identify patients who
need,
a better management
of a,
immunotherapy
for oncology,
but they need the ability to manage,
the side effects and the toxicity of those
new cell therapies, for example. Our immunologists
and clinicians
both are trying to solve that problem,
and trying to understand how to make that
connection.
But it you you have to have that
level of intellectual curiosity on both sides. And
I think, you know, interestingly enough, you know,
I know a lot of folks think that
physicians are not necessarily
always interested in in going to that next
level, but they're they're scientists at heart. Right?
So it's about finding the ones that,
you have a really good connection with or
can have a good connection who are also
you know, I hate hate to say it
this way, but kinda hitting their head up
against the wall to try and treat some
of these patients that may be very difficult
to treat. And our scientists love those kind
of challenges. So it's about the connections.
That makes a lot of sense and, you
know, really, really helpful to understand a little
bit deeper into all of the things that
you're doing and and how you're bridging those
two worlds together in a meaningful way. Now
looking ahead, where do you see some of
the big growth opportunities for your team in
the next twelve months or so?
I think, you know, it's interesting because I
think with a lot of uncertainty in the
marketplace as it relates to developing new technologies,
particularly, you know, when we're seeing a lot
of things with the new administration, there's a
lot of question as to where some of
these discoveries are gonna be funded from. It
creates unique unique opportunities for us to connect
with some of these, both the medical device
companies,
pharmaceutical companies who have relied on a lot
of funding,
being put into the discovery
of new innovative solutions. And so for us,
I think while it is is,
unsettling in some respects because we're not exactly
sure, you know, how to fund some of
the development that needs to occur in some
of these areas,
It also creates an opportunity for us to
rethink how we look at discovering new,
innovative technologies
and translating them into,
potential solutions for our patient population. So I
think it's it it actually will create unique
opportunities to have different kinds of discussions with
pharma, medtech, etcetera. So I think that's kind
of a,
a kind of an opportunity,
for us in a in a growth space
that we haven't really,
dived into as much as we could. I
think the other areas,
obviously, is is artificial intelligence,
but I think that that, the growth in
that space is gonna need to be,
modulated in some respects. I think for us,
we're we've been doing a lot of work
in creating the governance,
for artificial intelligence, which companies we wanna work
with, what what's gonna be important to us.
But I think,
there are two aspects
to artificial intelligence that some of the, innovation
and and opportunity comes from. One is, I'll
call it in the operational efficiency arena. How
do we leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning
to really drive more efficient operations,
from automatic coding to, you know,
really,
automating some of the processes that are done
manually today.
So that's a a great growth area. And
I think for us, the other area of
opportunity,
is really leveraging AI
to in the clinical space. How can we
leverage
the the the that huge computing component,
to really better understand
our patients,
not only in in groups
and diagnoses, but even at an individual level?
So I think, for us, that's gonna be
a huge growth opportunity, particularly in the clinical
space.
I love that. That's, really great to hear.
And, especially, I like your ruminations on some
of the AI and automation opportunities because I
know, you know, there there's a a very,
great time and place for it, but at
the same time, you have to be thoughtful
about implementing it and understanding exactly what's happening
and and have the right expertise around it.
So, I think your approach, it sounds like
it's very,
targeted. It it makes a lot of sense
in where things are at today and how
they could potentially be beneficial,
in in moving forward.
I think one of the and I'll I'll
make one more additional comment in that space
that I think we've done a good job.
And, actually, I think it's one of the
areas that that really gets over
overlooked to some degree. But
we we bring our bioethicist
in in the process for clinical,
AI solution development
or even evaluation because,
you know, artificial intelligence creates very unique,
opportunities for us to do
better things and bigger things, but it also
raises a lot of questions.
And even for our own clinicians, trying to
kinda walk through what change that means in
how they diagnose, how they treat, how they
oversee,
the care, and service delivery and what how
it changes, how they make decisions
also have ethical implications.
And so getting through that process at the
same time and really raising good questions and
answer making sure we know the answer to
them before we start implementing solutions that we're
not sure you know, that raise questions or
raise challenges that we didn't anticipate.
So I think it's, it's something that
I would highly recommend,
people
engage, their, ethics team in that process as
well.
That's such a good point. Thank you for
for raising that and certainly keeping that ethical
context and and mindset,
front and center is so important.
Now we've talked a lot about some big
opportunities for growth and development, but I know
there are challenges out there as well. What
are some of the roadblocks or potential headwinds
that you have your eye on today?
You know, I mentioned the, current administration earlier.
I would say that that is truly one
of the,
areas that that is a potential challenge for
us, and it's a big challenge because particularly
because some of our scientists are also,
relying on some of the funding that that
comes from the NIH and NSF.
So that's a big challenge because if you
wanna really say you're a research organization and
you wanna translate,
science into care,
you've gotta be able to fund that development.
You've gotta be able to fund that transition.
And so,
we as an organization,
will have to make some critical decisions,
if the funding, sources change. So for us,
it's about, you know, how do we continue
to,
find the resources
to to
put our money where our mouth is from
an innovation perspective. And so we will be
driving to,
identify,
and really start to implement different types of
services and opportunities that really will create a
much more diversified,
revenue stream that will enable us to to
continue to to meet that mission on the
research and innovation side of things.
That that's fascinating to hear. And, you know,
I know,
the situation is changing daily, but especially given
the uncertainty and then, as you mentioned, reliance
on funding from NIH and and other grant
sources.
What do you do,
is kind of in in the planning stages
now to be ready for the eventuality of
less funding or, you know, trying to figure
out how to navigate,
you know, the the potential future while also
keeping your eye on what you can do
today, to maximize the resources that you do
have?
I think there's obviously, there's a a role
for philanthropy, and we have to kinda change
how we've
what we've raised funds for in the past
versus what we may wanna need what we
may need to raise funds for in the
future. So that's definitely,
an area. I think for us is really
understanding the assets that we have at our
hands and the value
opportunities that we have,
or the opportunities that we have to create
more value,
and and how to create business structures or
revenue streams around what we have already that
we haven't really maximized. And I'll use an
example. You know, and data is a great
example. Right? How do we how do we
leverage all the information that we have? How
do we leverage all of the, clinical expertise
that we have differently to create new
funding,
strategies. So we do,
we do some accelerator programs now. We do,
for our early stage companies.
I I would say that we're gonna see
a lot more of that that creates opportunities
for us to create a a new IP
that we can license and or potentially have
equity in other companies
that, we jointly develop solutions around. So I
think there are a lot of different ways
for us to do that, but I think
we wouldn't
how do I phrase it? I think we
we are gonna do those things now more
and focus our efforts on doing those and
hope that the funding doesn't change,
but go ahead and start to work on
diversifying that revenue stream.
Got it. I I think that's a really
solid, and smart way to look at the
present as well as planning for the future.
I I appreciate the extra additional,
outlining
strategy there. It's it's extremely beneficial.
Now before we wrap up here, I'm wondering,
what is the number one thing that you're
doing right now to set, Hackensack Meridian up
for long term success?
The number one thing we're doing right now
is really focusing on
developing that innovative culture and entrepreneurial culture within
the organization. So we have 37,000
team members, another eight to 9,000
physicians.
I think that, you know, really trying to
drive,
the the culture to understand,
and also embrace
that we need new solutions. We want ideas.
We want people to innovate.
We want them to try new things,
and how we can support them. And I
think developing that support structure to keep maintaining
that that drive and that energy to do
things differently,
I think is is really it's a big
challenge, but I do think that
it's going to set the organization up, for
the long term in a in a much
better,
way.
We are innovation
is really all about problem solving. Right? So
in our our clinicians and our our team
members are at the front line. They know
the problems. They know they probably have solutions
to the to the challenges,
today. We wanna be able to make sure
that they understand that that is something we
wanna hear. We wanna help support because
we are going to need a workforce that
can problem solve on the fly in a
very different way for the future. So building
that level of culture and that understanding, and
I'll call it a fearlessness, though it's it's
probably too much of an aggressive word, but
a fearlessness to try new things,
because that's really where we're gonna need to
have most of our,
staff
really feel comfortable,
in the in the near term.
Absolutely. I I think that is amazing insight
and foresight. Sandra, thank you so much for
joining us on the podcast today. This has
been an amazing discussion, and I look forward
to connecting with you again soon. Thanks for
having me. Absolutely. And then we're also looking
forward to seeing you at the health IT
digital health and revenue cycle event, this fall.
I know you're speaking, on one of our
panels, which will be fantastic, and we're just
looking forward to having you there as well.
I'm gonna be happy to be there.