1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,159 Hello, everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the 2 00:00:02,159 --> 00:00:03,620 Becker's Healthcare Podcast. 3 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,919 Thanks so much for tuning in today where 4 00:00:05,919 --> 00:00:08,400 we're gonna be talking about how MedStar Health 5 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:12,179 is transforming care with artificial intelligence and telehealth. 6 00:00:12,494 --> 00:00:14,574 So to dive into some pretty big topics, 7 00:00:14,574 --> 00:00:17,054 I'm joined today by Bill Sheehan, who is 8 00:00:17,054 --> 00:00:20,094 the chief innovation officer at MedStar Health. Bill, 9 00:00:20,094 --> 00:00:21,614 thanks so much for taking the time to 10 00:00:21,614 --> 00:00:23,214 sit down with us. Oh, thank you. Thanks 11 00:00:23,214 --> 00:00:25,214 for having me, Jacob. Absolutely. And before we 12 00:00:25,214 --> 00:00:26,574 dive into everything we wanna talk with you 13 00:00:26,574 --> 00:00:27,929 about, can you tell us a little bit 14 00:00:27,929 --> 00:00:30,089 more about yourself, your background in health care, 15 00:00:30,089 --> 00:00:31,529 and what it is that you do today 16 00:00:31,529 --> 00:00:32,189 at MedStar? 17 00:00:32,570 --> 00:00:33,229 Yeah. It's 18 00:00:33,850 --> 00:00:36,170 been a really interesting journey. So I started 19 00:00:36,170 --> 00:00:38,030 my career in health care as a firefighter 20 00:00:38,090 --> 00:00:38,984 paramedic in New York. 21 00:00:39,784 --> 00:00:42,924 York, spent about fifteen years in public safety, 22 00:00:43,385 --> 00:00:45,865 leading to about a decade led leading a 23 00:00:45,865 --> 00:00:48,104 county based emergency services system up there in 24 00:00:48,104 --> 00:00:50,424 New York. So I have a provider background 25 00:00:50,424 --> 00:00:52,185 in that sense and then came down to 26 00:00:52,185 --> 00:00:54,780 MedStar about twelve years ago, all in our 27 00:00:54,780 --> 00:00:57,259 innovation pillar, but leading different things like learning, 28 00:00:57,259 --> 00:00:58,159 training, education, 29 00:00:58,539 --> 00:00:59,039 simulation, 30 00:01:00,059 --> 00:01:01,979 digital care delivery, and now I serve as 31 00:01:01,979 --> 00:01:04,399 the chief innovation officer for the system. Fantastic. 32 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:05,200 So, 33 00:01:05,659 --> 00:01:07,260 let's get to the heart of what you 34 00:01:07,260 --> 00:01:08,879 do in the day to day at MedStar. 35 00:01:10,094 --> 00:01:11,694 We hear from health systems all the time 36 00:01:11,694 --> 00:01:14,355 about their struggles with fragmented digital tools, 37 00:01:14,734 --> 00:01:15,234 underperforming 38 00:01:15,615 --> 00:01:16,515 patient portals. 39 00:01:17,055 --> 00:01:19,135 So from where you sit at the health 40 00:01:19,135 --> 00:01:21,055 system, what are some of the biggest missing 41 00:01:21,055 --> 00:01:23,969 pieces and how most systems are approaching innovation 42 00:01:23,969 --> 00:01:26,290 and how MedStar specifically is working to fill 43 00:01:26,290 --> 00:01:27,890 some of those gaps? Yeah. It's such an 44 00:01:27,890 --> 00:01:30,049 interesting question. As we look back at the 45 00:01:30,049 --> 00:01:32,950 experience of the pandemic and the rapid adoption 46 00:01:33,010 --> 00:01:34,849 we saw in digital tools, both on the 47 00:01:34,849 --> 00:01:35,829 consumer side, 48 00:01:36,435 --> 00:01:38,855 and on the provider and health system side. 49 00:01:39,155 --> 00:01:40,594 What was missing, and I think this is 50 00:01:40,594 --> 00:01:42,034 a bit of the the secret sauce to 51 00:01:42,034 --> 00:01:43,015 answer your question, 52 00:01:43,474 --> 00:01:44,775 is a a purposeful 53 00:01:45,155 --> 00:01:47,555 an opportunity to step back. Right? In that 54 00:01:47,555 --> 00:01:49,334 crisis moment, we had to change. 55 00:01:49,890 --> 00:01:51,409 But I think coming out of the pandemic, 56 00:01:51,409 --> 00:01:53,829 there's this imperative on us as health systems 57 00:01:54,370 --> 00:01:56,209 to really take a step back and and 58 00:01:56,209 --> 00:01:58,609 rationalize our care model, truly go through a 59 00:01:58,609 --> 00:01:59,670 care model redesign 60 00:02:00,290 --> 00:02:03,109 that is in service of patients and access 61 00:02:03,405 --> 00:02:03,905 and, 62 00:02:04,284 --> 00:02:06,765 making health care easier to navigate and higher 63 00:02:06,765 --> 00:02:09,645 quality and and safer, using digital tools, which 64 00:02:09,645 --> 00:02:11,645 have all kinds of capabilities that can help 65 00:02:11,645 --> 00:02:12,705 us with those things. 66 00:02:13,085 --> 00:02:15,085 And then on the health system side, really 67 00:02:15,085 --> 00:02:17,849 thinking about the processes and how we use 68 00:02:17,849 --> 00:02:20,189 people and and processes differently, 69 00:02:20,729 --> 00:02:23,049 in the ambulatory setting, in the acute care 70 00:02:23,049 --> 00:02:23,549 setting, 71 00:02:23,930 --> 00:02:25,949 to leverage the power of those technologies. 72 00:02:26,569 --> 00:02:27,930 But at the end of the day, I 73 00:02:27,930 --> 00:02:29,310 think the key here is 74 00:02:29,685 --> 00:02:32,325 technology is just technology. Right? And unless you 75 00:02:32,325 --> 00:02:35,125 can really take that step back and focus 76 00:02:35,125 --> 00:02:36,905 on the people and process changes, 77 00:02:37,365 --> 00:02:38,105 it's difficult 78 00:02:38,405 --> 00:02:41,224 to realize all of that opportunity and value 79 00:02:41,284 --> 00:02:42,885 that that we all know exists in in 80 00:02:42,885 --> 00:02:44,490 digital care. Yeah. And it really gets to 81 00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:46,810 the heart of what we hear from individuals 82 00:02:46,810 --> 00:02:48,729 like yourself all the time of always keeping 83 00:02:48,729 --> 00:02:50,250 the patient that's at the end of this 84 00:02:50,250 --> 00:02:52,270 in mind. In terms of challenges, 85 00:02:52,810 --> 00:02:54,650 around what we're talking about, we've heard you 86 00:02:54,650 --> 00:02:57,229 speak publicly about balancing innovation with 87 00:02:57,555 --> 00:02:58,375 legacy infrastructure, 88 00:02:59,235 --> 00:03:01,635 technical debt, things like that. So how do 89 00:03:01,635 --> 00:03:04,055 you ensure that these new initiatives like AI, 90 00:03:04,194 --> 00:03:06,675 telehealth, digital tools in general, those are not 91 00:03:06,675 --> 00:03:09,254 just layering on more complexity, but actually driving 92 00:03:09,314 --> 00:03:10,455 scalable transformation? 93 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:12,400 Yeah. And I think this is what we 94 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,159 spend a lot of our time thinking about. 95 00:03:14,159 --> 00:03:16,319 Because if you ignore the context that we 96 00:03:16,319 --> 00:03:18,639 operate within today, which has all of those 97 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:20,500 pieces you just mentioned, it has, 98 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:22,500 legacy hardware infrastructure. 99 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,580 Health care is a very fixed, 100 00:03:24,879 --> 00:03:26,745 you know, kind of real estate based, 101 00:03:27,224 --> 00:03:28,764 you know, for for many years. 102 00:03:29,144 --> 00:03:31,625 And so layering technology on top of that 103 00:03:31,625 --> 00:03:33,544 tends to find cracks that you didn't know 104 00:03:33,544 --> 00:03:36,044 existed in that infrastructure and that foundation. 105 00:03:36,504 --> 00:03:38,664 And similarly, I think our our people in 106 00:03:38,664 --> 00:03:42,284 process has long been highly manual and, 107 00:03:42,620 --> 00:03:44,540 not as digitized as we would all want 108 00:03:44,540 --> 00:03:46,699 despite the introduction of things like electronic health 109 00:03:46,699 --> 00:03:49,180 records and meaningful use. Sure. And so I 110 00:03:49,180 --> 00:03:51,280 think, again, coming back to the point of 111 00:03:51,659 --> 00:03:55,155 really thinking deeply about what's possible with current 112 00:03:55,155 --> 00:03:55,655 infrastructure, 113 00:03:55,955 --> 00:03:56,455 current 114 00:03:56,754 --> 00:03:59,555 limitations in that, and then really going at 115 00:03:59,555 --> 00:04:01,635 those edges of where we can make the 116 00:04:01,635 --> 00:04:04,115 movement fastest and have the greatest impact on 117 00:04:04,115 --> 00:04:07,254 patients or on clinician well-being, etcetera, 118 00:04:08,019 --> 00:04:10,900 by by just with context of all of 119 00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:13,139 that, finding the right places. Yeah. And and 120 00:04:13,139 --> 00:04:14,500 I think we've we've spent a lot of 121 00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:17,800 time at MedStar Health focused on ambulatory transformation. 122 00:04:18,180 --> 00:04:20,439 Mhmm. It's a little easier from that infrastructure 123 00:04:20,579 --> 00:04:22,519 component than big legacy hospitals. 124 00:04:22,915 --> 00:04:24,754 But the truth is our hospitals need it 125 00:04:24,754 --> 00:04:26,855 desperately too. So that fixed infrastructure, 126 00:04:27,634 --> 00:04:29,074 you know, we need to make it more 127 00:04:29,074 --> 00:04:32,435 efficient, easier to navigate, and, really help, help 128 00:04:32,435 --> 00:04:35,475 distribute expertise differently with these incredible new tools 129 00:04:35,475 --> 00:04:37,395 that are at our disposal. No. Absolutely. It 130 00:04:37,395 --> 00:04:39,210 makes a lot of sense. And in terms 131 00:04:39,210 --> 00:04:42,410 of, navigating some of these challenges, we hear 132 00:04:42,410 --> 00:04:44,330 pretty much every week, if not daily at 133 00:04:44,330 --> 00:04:46,730 this point about health systems across the country 134 00:04:46,730 --> 00:04:49,529 accelerating partnerships with tech companies that can often 135 00:04:49,529 --> 00:04:51,629 be more nimble than the health care sector. 136 00:04:51,850 --> 00:04:53,774 So what role do you think that these 137 00:04:53,774 --> 00:04:56,175 partnerships, both at MedStar, but also, you know, 138 00:04:56,175 --> 00:04:58,495 the industry level, how are they playing a 139 00:04:58,495 --> 00:05:00,974 role in promoting this innovation you're talking about? 140 00:05:00,974 --> 00:05:02,435 How can they help to operationalize 141 00:05:03,055 --> 00:05:04,675 digital care at scale? 142 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:06,839 Yeah. And it's really important, and I think 143 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,079 our our partners are essential to our success 144 00:05:09,079 --> 00:05:11,259 here. There is no doubt about that. 145 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,039 In that same moment, there are too many 146 00:05:14,039 --> 00:05:16,279 point solutions out there. Right? As we think 147 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:18,060 about the the landscape of, 148 00:05:18,605 --> 00:05:21,444 of, digital technology. I mean, there's thousands of 149 00:05:21,444 --> 00:05:24,024 companies solving, you know, hundreds of problems. 150 00:05:24,485 --> 00:05:26,404 And I think the the most important thing 151 00:05:26,404 --> 00:05:28,564 I would say is it's really important to 152 00:05:28,564 --> 00:05:31,764 understand how the solutions that you're the partners, 153 00:05:31,764 --> 00:05:34,160 the solutions you're working with solve more than 154 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,319 just one problem. Yeah. Right? And, you know, 155 00:05:36,319 --> 00:05:38,000 you can call this lots of different things. 156 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,560 People call them platform plays, etcetera. But it's 157 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,839 it's really, to me, about thoughtful partnership between 158 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:45,139 the technology companies 159 00:05:45,634 --> 00:05:48,115 and us as health care providers to have 160 00:05:48,115 --> 00:05:51,154 them know us, right, and really understand the 161 00:05:51,154 --> 00:05:53,475 challenges and the opportunities in this digital care 162 00:05:53,475 --> 00:05:56,675 transformation space in our journey of care model 163 00:05:56,675 --> 00:05:59,670 redesign and the people and process components here. 164 00:05:59,830 --> 00:06:01,350 And I've said this many times, but I'll 165 00:06:01,350 --> 00:06:03,430 say it again here. I really wanna hear 166 00:06:03,430 --> 00:06:06,470 from those partners how hard this is. Because 167 00:06:06,470 --> 00:06:08,790 the truth is it is very hard work 168 00:06:08,790 --> 00:06:09,529 to change 169 00:06:09,990 --> 00:06:13,110 what our large ingrained processes and the way 170 00:06:13,110 --> 00:06:15,694 we've operated health care for so long, And 171 00:06:15,694 --> 00:06:18,014 the right partners get that and dig into 172 00:06:18,014 --> 00:06:20,014 that work with you Yeah. And and really 173 00:06:20,014 --> 00:06:22,574 help make sure that the technology isn't layering 174 00:06:22,574 --> 00:06:25,214 that burden that you referenced. Right? It's really 175 00:06:25,214 --> 00:06:25,714 layering 176 00:06:26,095 --> 00:06:28,495 the support for the move from our current 177 00:06:28,495 --> 00:06:30,574 operating model to the to the new operating 178 00:06:30,574 --> 00:06:31,074 model. 179 00:06:31,399 --> 00:06:33,240 And it's it's about more than just that 180 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,319 button push. Right? It's so much harder than 181 00:06:35,319 --> 00:06:37,800 that. Sure. No. It's, it's great advice for 182 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,480 all the other systems listening and, 183 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,439 in getting very similar partnerships and and really 184 00:06:42,439 --> 00:06:43,500 wanting that acknowledgment, 185 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,620 that this is a difficult sector to change. 186 00:06:47,455 --> 00:06:49,375 Bill, before we go, what else are we 187 00:06:49,375 --> 00:06:51,375 missing? You've got the ears of a lot 188 00:06:51,375 --> 00:06:53,055 of other health system leaders from all over 189 00:06:53,055 --> 00:06:54,654 the country right now. What else do you 190 00:06:54,654 --> 00:06:56,595 wanna share with them from where you sit? 191 00:06:56,735 --> 00:06:59,555 Yeah. I think it's, you know, in that 192 00:06:59,579 --> 00:07:01,500 spirit that I've already been speaking about and 193 00:07:01,500 --> 00:07:04,079 true taking a step back and and redesigning 194 00:07:04,139 --> 00:07:06,300 our care model, I think there's a moment 195 00:07:06,300 --> 00:07:08,379 for us as health system leaders and our 196 00:07:08,379 --> 00:07:09,519 technology partners, 197 00:07:10,379 --> 00:07:11,120 to really 198 00:07:11,500 --> 00:07:13,824 find the the kind of parts of our 199 00:07:13,824 --> 00:07:16,324 organization, substantive parts of our organization 200 00:07:16,785 --> 00:07:18,245 that are ready for transformation 201 00:07:19,024 --> 00:07:23,044 and bring not one, two, three, four solutions 202 00:07:23,105 --> 00:07:25,044 to that, but really holistically 203 00:07:25,425 --> 00:07:27,365 redesign those processes with 204 00:07:27,810 --> 00:07:30,370 principles in mind that work will be more 205 00:07:30,370 --> 00:07:32,529 automated in parts of our business as we 206 00:07:32,529 --> 00:07:35,410 go forward. Artificial intelligence or, you know, even 207 00:07:35,410 --> 00:07:38,790 robotic process automation or other aspects of automation 208 00:07:38,930 --> 00:07:40,770 will play a larger role in how we 209 00:07:40,770 --> 00:07:42,790 take care of patients as we go forward. 210 00:07:43,415 --> 00:07:45,115 Digital technologies, telehealth, 211 00:07:45,415 --> 00:07:47,675 you know, remote care delivery, remote monitoring, 212 00:07:48,295 --> 00:07:51,014 these pieces are not singular things. What they 213 00:07:51,014 --> 00:07:53,435 are are pieces of the larger puzzle 214 00:07:53,814 --> 00:07:55,814 of what the care model of tomorrow in 215 00:07:55,814 --> 00:07:57,810 three, five, ten years looks like. 216 00:07:58,290 --> 00:08:00,290 And if we don't have clarity of that 217 00:08:00,290 --> 00:08:02,149 vision and that point on the horizon, 218 00:08:02,689 --> 00:08:05,329 we run the risk in any individual project 219 00:08:05,329 --> 00:08:06,069 or implementation 220 00:08:06,930 --> 00:08:10,370 of not serving that purpose, appropriately or or 221 00:08:10,370 --> 00:08:11,029 well enough. 222 00:08:11,485 --> 00:08:13,965 And so that requires you know, I often 223 00:08:13,965 --> 00:08:16,605 say you can't do innovation and transformation to 224 00:08:16,605 --> 00:08:18,525 the business in health care. You have to 225 00:08:18,525 --> 00:08:19,665 do it with the business. 226 00:08:19,965 --> 00:08:22,205 We need the operators of those parts of 227 00:08:22,205 --> 00:08:24,944 the business, whether it's ambulatory, acute care, nursing, 228 00:08:25,269 --> 00:08:25,769 physician 229 00:08:26,469 --> 00:08:28,709 enterprise, to be at the table understanding that 230 00:08:28,709 --> 00:08:30,729 vision at the endpoint very clearly 231 00:08:31,029 --> 00:08:32,870 and working with us to get from here 232 00:08:32,870 --> 00:08:34,889 to there with our technology partners, 233 00:08:35,350 --> 00:08:38,089 and with our patients, quite honestly. Yeah. Absolutely. 234 00:08:38,149 --> 00:08:40,245 No. It's it's great last piece of advice. 235 00:08:40,245 --> 00:08:42,725 Really appreciate you taking the time to share 236 00:08:42,725 --> 00:08:44,884 those with us, sit down with us, and 237 00:08:44,884 --> 00:08:46,725 and sharing insights about what's going on under 238 00:08:46,725 --> 00:08:48,404 your leadership at MedStar. So thank you, Bill. 239 00:08:48,404 --> 00:08:50,725 Thanks, Jacob. Thanks for having me. And we'd 240 00:08:50,725 --> 00:08:53,225 also like to thank our podcast sponsor, Evisit. 241 00:08:53,610 --> 00:08:55,450 You can tune in to more podcasts from 242 00:08:55,450 --> 00:08:58,490 Becker's Healthcare by visiting our podcast page at 243 00:08:58,490 --> 00:09:00,669 beckershospitalreview.com.