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This is Scott King with the Becker's Health
Care podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined
by Pamela Landis, senior vice president digital engagement
at Hackensack Meridian Health.
Pamela, thanks so much for joining us. It's
a pleasure to have you on a podcast
today.
Thanks for having me. I'm a avid listener
that's wonderful to hear. We like that. Thank
you so much.
Yeah. I think it's gonna be a an
awesome conversation with you today, Pamela. I think
we're gonna kinda dive into a lot of
the big opportunities and challenges
facing health care today. But before we jump
in, could you please just kinda tell us
a little bit more about yourself and your
background?
Sure. So I'm Pam Landis. I'm the senior
vice president of digital engagement
here at Hackensack Meridian Health, which is New
Jersey's largest health care provider.
We have 18 hospitals. We really hug the
Shore Of New Jersey from Northern New Jersey
to just short of Atlantic City.
So all the best parts of New Jersey
are served by us.
Excellent. Thank you for that information.
And getting
more
to Meridian Health and your work there, what
accomplishment are you most proud of from the
past year?
Oh, wow. What a really good and unexpected
question. I would say,
the fact that the team,
continues to work together
collaboratively
with our clinicians
and our operational folks
in developing some tools that make access to
care easier.
And it's some of it's just small stuff,
but it's important things like making sure that
when a person goes to our chatbot on
our,
website
you know, sometimes how you get in I
call it chatbot jail when you're just like,
I just need to talk to a person.
So we we have that now. And so
if you just type in, I need to
talk to somebody, you'll be connected to our
patient access center and we'll be able to
help you with your needs.
That's outstanding. I wish that, other companies and
industries would follow releasing people from chatbot jail.
I know I don't like to be in
it, so that's wonderful to hear.
What are the big organizational goals you're setting
for 2025
or that you set?
We're gonna continue to do a couple of
things. We're gonna really focus on continuing to
smooth out access.
So for instance, right now,
our team schedules
for all of our hospitals
and schedules for just about two thirds of
our employed medical group. We hope to have
that all complete by the end of the
year. And we do it because,
it gives us this opportunity to
really look at schedules,
making sure that they're optimized well, that
it's easy for patients to get in, but
it also gives the clinicians time to take
a break, read read some journal articles,
document some things, make phone calls. And so
we really look at no matter what you
need from us, when you call us, you're
going to get
the HMH experience.
And that's really important to us. The other
thing that we're really focusing on is really
strengthening
what a lot of people call the digital
front door, and I really
don't like that term,
but I don't have a better one for
it.
Right now, people can interact with us through
online appointment scheduling or a bill pay site
or
a MyChart
site or a this site or a that
site, and it's confusing.
You have to be like, no. And so
we're really working on bringing together all of
those elements into one HMH experience.
That you'll have one account with us for
everything that you need.
Working in a bigger health system, biggest in
your area
Mhmm. As you mentioned, how much tougher is
it for you and your team to kinda
streamline everything and and make everything,
run efficiently?
I wouldn't say it's tougher. What it requires
is an investment
in
listening and understanding
and respect
for the work that's being done by the
clinicians.
And, you know, a lot of people will
be dismissive
of, oh, well, you know, every department says
they're special.
Well, actually, I actually think that's a good
thing when a department says, we don't understand.
Our patients are different and we're special.
And I actually think that's a good thing
because that shows to me that they care
deeply
about their patients and the experience that they
have with the care that they receive.
So,
I actually try to turn that around and
make it useful for us. Let's work together.
Let me take off your hands the administrative
stuff so that you can take care of
the patient in front of you today.
That's what our approach is. We're not here
to take over. We're here to be your
partner and supplement and take off the burdensome
stuff so you can focus on the care
because that's what our clinicians really care about.
What headwinds or challenges do you anticipate
with your work for the next year or
two?
Yeah. I think a couple of things.
The one is going to be the continuing,
challenges in the payer landscape
and understanding
and, you know, as payer contracts come up,
that's gonna be one challenge. The other one
is no matter where you stand,
you know, in your own personal political views,
the uncertainty
about what Congress
is doing
in healthcare
is a challenge for us. And I hate
uncertainty
and it for me, I like look at
that and say
where is the puck gonna go? And, honestly,
I can't tell you what where the puck's
gonna go in in some of these cases.
So that uncertainty
is very challenging.
For instance, you know, until we got the
budget
the continuing resolution passed, what, a week ago
or two weeks ago,
you know, the extensions for telehealth payment parity
were at risk.
And every six months, we go through this.
We really need to
take a bigger approach and more thoughtful approach
around some of this work that we're doing
in telehealth
and talking to our government agencies and partners
and representatives
to explain to them the value of it
and this every six months being on pins
and needles if we can continue, it's tough.
The last question I have for you, Pam,
how are you evolving as a leader?
I what I hope is
that I am
becoming a better listener
and a better supporter.
I really feel
that my job for my team, and I've
I've got a large team,
is to protect and provide.
And so that's really where I focus on,
you know, really, full stop. If I'm not
protecting them and providing for them to be
successful,
then we can't be successful in our work.
So that's really where I kinda try to
focus my efforts. I spend a lot of
time,
and sometimes it's, you know, managing a lot
of people, it's hard.
But it can be rewarding if you focus
on the right stuff, hire the right people
whose own value system aligns with the health
systems.
Pam, thanks so much for joining us on
the podcast today. I I think it was
a great conversation. I look forward to working
with you again soon. And and maybe maybe
because you listened so much, you'll listen to
this one. Go listen to yourself.
Alright.