At athenahealth,
we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier, a
healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier patients.
But the complexities of modern health care tech
make it hard for you and your care
teams to focus on what matters
most? That's where athenahealth can help. Our AI
native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens,
streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights
when clinicians need it most. That means fewer
clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom
lines.
Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice
can be that much simpler with athenahealth.
See how simpler is healthier@athenahealth.com.
This is Laura Dierdo with the Becker's Healthcare
podcast.
I'm thrilled today to be joined by Diane
Constantine,
senior director of enterprise health informatics at Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia. Diane, it's a pleasure to
have you on the podcast today. Thank you.
Yeah. I'm glad to be here.
Absolutely. Now I'm excited to learn a little
bit more about, some of the cool things
that you're doing there at CHOP and then,
you know, your perspective on the future. But
before we dive in, can you tell us
a little bit more about yourself and your
background?
Yeah. Of course. So,
I'm currently the senior director of enterprise health
informatics as as you, shared.
I've literally been in this position for four
weeks, so brand new to to the children's
hospital.
But my background spans more than three decades
in health care.
I began as a critical care transplant pediatric
nurse
and really evolved into leadership roles,
in informatics,
you know, those roles that bridge technology operations
and patient care.
Before joining
CHOP,
I served as director of clinical informatics and
interim chief of informatics at the University of
Maryland,
medical system.
And in those roles, I oversaw,
enterprise epic implementations at 11 different hospitals.
We did a lot of,
work through advancing efficiency per for providers and
nurses,
and then also led a lot of well-being,
initiatives there.
I'm board certified in nursing informatics
as well as,
nurse executive advance
and have served as adjunct faculty for the
University of Maryland School of Nursing. So my
career is really centered around
creating a bridge between people, process, and technology.
Well, that's great to hear. And it's an
important place to sit in because I I
know it sounds simple,
to integrate those altogether, but very much easier
said than done.
So from your vantage point, what are some
of the opportunities and headwinds you have your
eye on right now?
So I think informatics sits at a fascinating
crossroads right now.
One major opportunity,
and I think probably everyone mentions this,
is the evolution of artificial intelligence or augmented
intelligence and ambient technologies.
You know, the the tools that truly give
back time to clinicians and,
you know, we are looking at really how
to integrate those solutions
safely and responsibly,
because ultimately, we wanna reduce cognitive load. We
wanna improve documentation.
And, ultimately, I think strengthen clinician and patient
connection.
But with that, with those opportunities, I think
there are some headwinds.
We, you know, we need to ensure that
we maintain strong data governance,
interoperability,
and really trust
in how the data and AI are used.
You know, I think for health care,
those considerations
are really magnified
because, you know, we have to protect
privacy. We have to ensure ethical use of
of the data
and then
maintain transparency
really with every digital decision we make.
I think the other thing that I would
add
is I see a continued need to,
to address digital fatigue.
It's that growing sense among the clinicians that
technology is adding more friction than it removes.
And,
you know, we have,
health care has, in general, given care teams
an incredible amount of digital tools,
but too often they operate in silos or
they add steps.
And I think the goal right now isn't
necessarily more technology. I think it's better technology,
like integrating it more seamlessly into the natural
rhythm of care.
And that means designing workflows that truly fit
how clinicians
think and work,
you know, whether it's documentation
or alerts or
trying to surface information
when it's needed most.
I think it's,
you know, we have to pay close attention
to the relationship
between how we're designing the technology
and then clinician well-being.
And,
I know at, the children's hospital,
you know, we're tracking usability, time and chart,
you know, cognitive load along with safety and
quality outcomes.
So I think informatics leaders have a unique
role in balancing that innovation with empathy. Right?
Making sure that
we are advancing,
digitally, but that it's enhancing,
the human side of care, not encumbering it.
So
I I'd like to think that,
when technology becomes a true partner in care,
not a obstacle,
we can improve efficiency, but also bring still
that sense of purpose and joy back to
practice. It's why people go into health care,
and I think that's where informatics can have
its greatest and really most lasting impact.
I love that. I think it makes a
lot of sense and certainly has a very,
very important role in maintaining that, provider satisfaction
given time back in the day and, having
that ability,
to work wonders within the documentation
space.
Now how are you looking at growth and
adding value to the organization overall in the
future? I think hearing very strongly, obviously, that
AI,
augmented,
intelligence as well as some of the ambient
technologies,
you know, will be super important for providers
heading into the future. But what else do
you see as being top of mind or
or exciting opportunities,
going forward?
Yeah. For me,
growth and value are, I think, are really
around measurable impact,
improving outcomes for patients, efficiency
for our health care providers and clinicians,
and then sustainability
for the organization.
So that means, using informatics as a strategic
enabler,
you know, for operational performance.
I think we really need to and we,
as in health care, we need to align
our digital strategies directly with the clinical and
operational priorities.
I think every initiative, whether you're redesigning a
workflow,
creating data visualization, or optimizing epic or the
EHR, it should be grounded in a clear
purpose and outcome.
For example,
where I had worked previously, we had
implemented
a workload scoring tool
with, assignment nursing assignment functionality.
And, you know, we were able to demonstrate
that we could balance,
you know, the the nurses' workload really effectively.
And at the same time, the tools gave
leaders better insight into, like, workload trends and
into capacity.
So I think
by marrying those things together,
I think that really
adds value to the organization.
The other thing and maybe even more important
is, the about growth is developing our people.
So,
informatics
thrives on collaboration, whether it's between nurses, physicians,
you have your technology
team, you have your vendors.
You know, I'm really invested in building teams
that are high performing and purpose driven.
And that means mentoring, like, that next generation
of informatics leader, really promoting learning and fostering
a culture where
people have the opportunity to be curious and
be innovative,
like, where we can encourage that.
So,
so in the end, I guess, I think
value comes from the impact.
And I think anytime we can help the
clinicians work more efficiently,
patients and families can have smoother care.
You know, I think that's where the value
comes in. I think growth,
should be defined not only by the projects
we complete,
but by the difference that we make
in implementing them.
Absolutely.
You know, and that value is so critical
right now, especially
thinking through some of the challenges that are
coming ahead, for health care and hospitals and
systems across the country. I think one of
the things we hear often from leaders is
talking through just the financial stress that many
organizations are under right now. Even if they
their balance sheet looks good now, they foresee
with some of the policy changes coming up,
just a little bit more margin compression than
they had anticipated out in the beginning of
the year. So, you know, when you think
about resources and health care, especially financial resources
being precious,
what are some of the best,
investments or risks that are still worth making
over the next twelve months or so, even
knowing, you know, just how challenging it could
be for some organizations to prioritize the right
things for their dollars and cents?
Yeah. So I think
from from my standpoint in informatics, I think
one of the most worthwhile investments right now
is is really focusing on people centered innovation,
you know, specifically
investing in clinical clinician engagement
and workflow
redesign, like, along with the technology
adoption.
I think it's easy to focus on software
and platform,
but the real transformation
happens
when clinicians are are part of the design
and in the decision making.
So I think investing time and resources and
change management and
usability
and training, I think it that ensures that
technology becomes an enabler and not a barrier.
I think we, need to be really intentional
about piloting technologies
that support,
clinical decision making and documentation reduction
while measuring that impact on burnout and satisfaction.
I think,
those investments in both technology and the people
who use it are the ones I think
that are gonna pay off in the long
run.
Absolutely. I I I love that, and I
think having that type of critical eye in
terms of selecting the right technologies to invest
in and then bringing the team on board
to make that change, and have it be
easy and simple for the, clinicians who are
using it makes a lot of sense. Now
before we wrap up here, I'm curious, where
do you see some of the best opportunities
for growth in the future?
So looking ahead, I see the greatest opportunity
in technology adoption and optimization,
like, ensuring that what we've invested in,
that we are full fully realizing it and
continuously improving it, like, within our digital ecosystem.
I think the focus needs to be on
maximizing
adoption,
really across all disciplines,
helping teams to leverage the tools to their
fullest potential,
and then creating a feedback loop between users
and the developers, right, so you can drive
meaningful change.
I I just don't think growth is
all about introducing new tech.
I think it's ensuring that the existing systems
that we're using are refined, that people are
embracing them, and that they're embedded in in
daily practice.
The other opportunity,
we are really looking at, our cross organizational
collaboration,
partnering with other pediatric
academic centers to share best practices,
design standards, and innovation, you know, frameworks, and,
even the technology that we use.
So I think when we work collectively,
we can move faster and achieve better outcomes
for the the communities that we serve.
I think the,
future of informatics really lies in sustainable adoption.
You know, when the technology becomes intuitive, supportive,
it's integrated,
we're not just modernizing,
you know, health care. We can transform it
and we can elevate it.
I love it. Diane, thank you so much
for joining us on the podcast today. This
has been a really fun conversation,
inspirational to see what you're really looking at
in the future, and I am excited to
connect with you again in the next year.
Yeah. Thank you for having me.
At athenahealth,
we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier,
a healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier
patients.
But the complexities of modern health care tech
make it hard for you and your care
teams to focus on what matters
most? That's where athenahealth can help.
Our AI native all in one solutions reduce
administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver
critical insights when clinicians need it most. That
means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and
stronger bottom lines.
Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice
can be that much simpler with athenahealth.
See how simpler is healthier at athenahealth.com.