1 00:00:01,919 --> 00:00:04,500 This is where health care leadership comes together. 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,679 Becker's sixteenth annual meeting brings more than 3,500 3 00:00:07,679 --> 00:00:10,880 hospital and health system executives and nearly 800 4 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:12,019 speakers to Chicago 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,259 April. 6 00:00:14,615 --> 00:00:17,335 This year's event includes keynote conversations with Dallas 7 00:00:17,335 --> 00:00:20,214 Cowboys legend Troy Aikman and former president George 8 00:00:20,214 --> 00:00:22,934 w Bush. For the agenda and event details, 9 00:00:22,934 --> 00:00:25,175 visit beckershospitalreview.com 10 00:00:25,175 --> 00:00:26,855 and click on the events tab in the 11 00:00:26,855 --> 00:00:29,494 upper right. We're looking forward to hosting you 12 00:00:29,494 --> 00:00:30,449 in Chicago. 13 00:00:31,710 --> 00:00:34,030 This is Laura Dirda with the Becker's Healthcare 14 00:00:34,030 --> 00:00:36,109 podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by 15 00:00:36,109 --> 00:00:39,149 Steve Smith, assistant vice president of enterprise contact 16 00:00:39,149 --> 00:00:41,950 center and access at Inova Health System. Steve, 17 00:00:41,950 --> 00:00:43,149 it's a pleasure to have you on the 18 00:00:43,149 --> 00:00:45,335 podcast today. Thanks for having me. 19 00:00:46,034 --> 00:00:47,875 Now I'm excited for our conversation. I know 20 00:00:47,875 --> 00:00:49,395 we'll be spotlighting some of the cool things 21 00:00:49,395 --> 00:00:51,315 you're doing at Inova as well as getting 22 00:00:51,315 --> 00:00:53,075 your perspective on the future. But before we 23 00:00:53,075 --> 00:00:54,355 dive in, can you tell me a little 24 00:00:54,355 --> 00:00:56,695 bit more about yourself and Inova Health System? 25 00:00:57,670 --> 00:00:59,909 Well, sure. Absolutely. As you mentioned, I'm Steve 26 00:00:59,909 --> 00:01:02,710 Smith, assistant vice president of enterprise contact center 27 00:01:02,710 --> 00:01:05,109 and access added on Inova Health here in 28 00:01:05,109 --> 00:01:07,530 Fairfax, Virginia, right outside of Washington, DC. 29 00:01:07,909 --> 00:01:09,209 We are a five hospital 30 00:01:09,670 --> 00:01:10,730 magnet accredited 31 00:01:11,245 --> 00:01:11,725 system, 32 00:01:12,204 --> 00:01:15,165 with over 3,000,000 patients served every year. 33 00:01:15,805 --> 00:01:17,265 Last year, we were 34 00:01:17,885 --> 00:01:20,765 acknowledged as the 2025, 35 00:01:21,084 --> 00:01:23,405 Prest Gainey Hospital of the Year in large 36 00:01:23,405 --> 00:01:25,390 part to our relationship with our patients and 37 00:01:25,390 --> 00:01:27,409 under the leadership of doctor Steven Jones. 38 00:01:28,109 --> 00:01:30,129 That's fascinating to hear and, you know, truly 39 00:01:30,189 --> 00:01:31,869 a a great honor. Now when you think 40 00:01:31,869 --> 00:01:33,709 about the last year or so, what was 41 00:01:33,709 --> 00:01:35,549 the most important initiative that you led? What 42 00:01:35,549 --> 00:01:37,090 did you do, and what were the results? 43 00:01:38,064 --> 00:01:40,805 Sure. In the last year, we have changed 44 00:01:41,185 --> 00:01:43,665 to a cloud based phone system that's powered 45 00:01:43,665 --> 00:01:45,045 by a digital assistant. 46 00:01:45,745 --> 00:01:48,005 We really needed to take our technology, 47 00:01:49,105 --> 00:01:49,765 up again 48 00:01:50,079 --> 00:01:52,099 and really provide our patients, 49 00:01:52,479 --> 00:01:54,579 seamless access to our system 50 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,219 and provide self-service when applicable. 51 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,619 You know, with the digital assistant, 52 00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:01,780 the digital assistant integrates 53 00:02:02,165 --> 00:02:04,084 and interacts with the patient to route them 54 00:02:04,084 --> 00:02:04,984 to their preferred, 55 00:02:05,444 --> 00:02:07,704 destination to kinda get away from 56 00:02:08,164 --> 00:02:10,965 multiple transfers and gets them to their preferred 57 00:02:10,965 --> 00:02:11,465 destination. 58 00:02:11,844 --> 00:02:14,245 In instances where we can provide self-service to 59 00:02:14,245 --> 00:02:16,584 the patient, whether it's scheduling, rescheduling, 60 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:18,419 medication refills, 61 00:02:18,799 --> 00:02:20,479 things of that nature. We try to provide 62 00:02:20,479 --> 00:02:21,219 that integration 63 00:02:21,519 --> 00:02:23,459 so they don't necessarily need to speak, 64 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:24,979 to a live, 65 00:02:25,759 --> 00:02:27,680 operator. However, if they wanna speak to an 66 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,314 agent, they're certainly available. You know, what the 67 00:02:30,314 --> 00:02:32,414 goal is to self contain, 68 00:02:33,914 --> 00:02:36,794 those interactions where we're not entirely dependent on 69 00:02:36,794 --> 00:02:38,794 waiting in a call queue or speak to 70 00:02:38,794 --> 00:02:41,114 a live person. And within the last year, 71 00:02:41,114 --> 00:02:42,155 we've been able to, 72 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,219 capture about 25% of the interactions 73 00:02:45,759 --> 00:02:47,840 with the digital assistant have been self contained, 74 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,740 meaning that they've been resolved within the digital 75 00:02:50,879 --> 00:02:52,960 assistant space, and they haven't had to go 76 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:54,560 into a call queue or speak to a 77 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:56,819 live person. So that's really exciting. 78 00:02:57,944 --> 00:02:59,224 That's great to hear. And, you know, 79 00:02:59,784 --> 00:03:01,305 a a fascinating way to tackle, I know 80 00:03:01,305 --> 00:03:03,545 what it is, some big challenges in health 81 00:03:03,545 --> 00:03:04,985 care in terms of making sure you have 82 00:03:04,985 --> 00:03:06,045 access and scheduling 83 00:03:06,425 --> 00:03:08,105 and patients are able to get where they 84 00:03:08,105 --> 00:03:09,705 need to go. And so a a great 85 00:03:09,705 --> 00:03:11,849 use of technology, and it looks like great 86 00:03:11,849 --> 00:03:14,090 results. Now looking ahead, what are some of 87 00:03:14,090 --> 00:03:15,930 the big priorities and headwinds that you're focused 88 00:03:15,930 --> 00:03:17,310 on for 2026? 89 00:03:18,169 --> 00:03:20,650 I would say we're not to the end 90 00:03:20,650 --> 00:03:22,650 of the journey yet in terms of our 91 00:03:22,650 --> 00:03:24,090 access with our, 92 00:03:24,569 --> 00:03:25,550 with our automation. 93 00:03:26,325 --> 00:03:27,705 We still need to 94 00:03:28,004 --> 00:03:28,504 continue 95 00:03:29,284 --> 00:03:29,925 to build, 96 00:03:30,325 --> 00:03:32,985 automation with our phone system, provide more self-service 97 00:03:33,525 --> 00:03:34,905 across all our specialties. 98 00:03:35,605 --> 00:03:36,885 Right now, we have, 99 00:03:37,605 --> 00:03:40,645 scheduling self-service for primary care, which has gone 100 00:03:40,645 --> 00:03:42,530 really, really well. We're in the process of 101 00:03:42,530 --> 00:03:44,270 building that that out for our women's, 102 00:03:44,810 --> 00:03:46,490 service line, but we need to build that 103 00:03:46,490 --> 00:03:48,090 out for all our specialties. So we need 104 00:03:48,090 --> 00:03:48,750 to continue 105 00:03:49,050 --> 00:03:50,030 to build that infrastructure 106 00:03:50,569 --> 00:03:51,069 to, 107 00:03:51,689 --> 00:03:53,789 provide her patients more seamless access, 108 00:03:54,284 --> 00:03:55,724 to our system and to be able to 109 00:03:55,724 --> 00:03:57,485 do it, you know, even at off hours 110 00:03:57,485 --> 00:03:59,164 when they call the digital assistant, they're able 111 00:03:59,164 --> 00:04:01,245 to interact with the digital assistant and in 112 00:04:01,245 --> 00:04:01,985 many instances, 113 00:04:02,444 --> 00:04:05,724 resolve their concerns. In terms of headwinds, I 114 00:04:05,724 --> 00:04:06,384 would say 115 00:04:06,689 --> 00:04:08,789 continue to provide our team members, 116 00:04:09,569 --> 00:04:11,889 more tools to do their job better. From 117 00:04:11,889 --> 00:04:14,769 my perspective as a call center leader, provide 118 00:04:14,769 --> 00:04:17,910 them more support in a scheduling process, 119 00:04:18,370 --> 00:04:18,850 whether, 120 00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:20,149 it's a more 121 00:04:20,529 --> 00:04:21,029 integrated 122 00:04:21,764 --> 00:04:24,345 knowledge based system that has an AI, 123 00:04:24,884 --> 00:04:27,604 feature where, for example, within the course of 124 00:04:27,604 --> 00:04:28,185 the conversation, 125 00:04:29,125 --> 00:04:30,824 we can provide screen pops 126 00:04:31,204 --> 00:04:33,524 to our agents to provide them talking points 127 00:04:33,524 --> 00:04:34,345 and or 128 00:04:35,769 --> 00:04:36,269 data, 129 00:04:36,889 --> 00:04:39,449 to provide patients just a more seamless experience 130 00:04:39,449 --> 00:04:40,589 and then make the, 131 00:04:40,970 --> 00:04:43,209 allow our team members to just function at 132 00:04:43,209 --> 00:04:44,110 a higher level. 133 00:04:45,209 --> 00:04:47,209 Got it. That is really cool to hear. 134 00:04:47,209 --> 00:04:49,064 And I think especially when you're looking at, 135 00:04:49,225 --> 00:04:51,545 you know, how can you uplift it and 136 00:04:51,545 --> 00:04:53,805 support continued growth and development and, 137 00:04:54,264 --> 00:04:56,705 the the scheduling process. I I know it's 138 00:04:56,705 --> 00:04:58,444 a journey, especially. So, 139 00:04:58,904 --> 00:05:01,464 when you are thinking through this change management 140 00:05:01,464 --> 00:05:02,985 process, what do you think has helped it 141 00:05:02,985 --> 00:05:03,485 be 142 00:05:04,339 --> 00:05:06,420 more efficient or effective or getting people on 143 00:05:06,420 --> 00:05:07,620 board to make sure that, 144 00:05:08,259 --> 00:05:10,279 they're integrating the technology 145 00:05:10,740 --> 00:05:11,699 within their workflows, 146 00:05:12,020 --> 00:05:12,520 appropriately? 147 00:05:13,939 --> 00:05:15,560 That's a great question. So 148 00:05:16,020 --> 00:05:16,839 change management 149 00:05:17,220 --> 00:05:18,600 is slow and omnipresent. 150 00:05:20,055 --> 00:05:21,435 We are not there yet, 151 00:05:21,894 --> 00:05:22,634 in terms 152 00:05:23,175 --> 00:05:24,555 of where we'd like to be, 153 00:05:24,855 --> 00:05:25,834 but providing 154 00:05:26,935 --> 00:05:29,814 positive results and data on the changes we've 155 00:05:29,814 --> 00:05:31,915 made and the growth that we've 156 00:05:32,419 --> 00:05:34,500 made so far, I think is crucial to 157 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:35,240 kind of verify 158 00:05:35,779 --> 00:05:37,240 the trust. But everyone 159 00:05:37,939 --> 00:05:40,040 doesn't always see change as positive. 160 00:05:40,740 --> 00:05:41,240 It's 161 00:05:41,779 --> 00:05:42,279 been 162 00:05:42,740 --> 00:05:44,979 a journey, but we are we'd like to 163 00:05:44,979 --> 00:05:46,120 continue to standardize 164 00:05:46,584 --> 00:05:48,284 our scheduling process, provide 165 00:05:48,745 --> 00:05:50,764 self scheduling and automation when 166 00:05:51,144 --> 00:05:51,644 applicable, 167 00:05:52,185 --> 00:05:53,404 and then also, 168 00:05:54,425 --> 00:05:54,925 provide 169 00:05:55,305 --> 00:05:57,944 more growth opportunities and development opportunities for our 170 00:05:57,944 --> 00:06:00,199 agent. And we're doing that with a workforce 171 00:06:00,259 --> 00:06:02,180 management platform where we're able to provide our 172 00:06:02,180 --> 00:06:02,680 agents, 173 00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:05,779 feedback in real time, be able to pull 174 00:06:05,779 --> 00:06:06,279 calls 175 00:06:06,660 --> 00:06:08,899 based on sentiment or what's said or not 176 00:06:08,899 --> 00:06:11,060 said. It kinda really drill down on things 177 00:06:11,060 --> 00:06:13,379 potentially that are missed for development and coaching 178 00:06:13,379 --> 00:06:13,879 opportunities. 179 00:06:15,045 --> 00:06:17,045 Got it. That's helpful to understand. Thank you 180 00:06:17,045 --> 00:06:18,884 for, digging a bit deeper there. Now what 181 00:06:18,884 --> 00:06:20,165 do you think the hardest thing you'll have 182 00:06:20,165 --> 00:06:21,865 to do in the coming year will be? 183 00:06:22,485 --> 00:06:24,564 You know, I think it's just to remain 184 00:06:24,564 --> 00:06:26,904 patient. This is a journey. 185 00:06:27,319 --> 00:06:29,800 It's definitely a marathon, not a sprint. And 186 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,259 when we first kind of undertook this initiative, 187 00:06:33,399 --> 00:06:33,979 I thought 188 00:06:34,519 --> 00:06:35,339 just from 189 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,079 my background and doing this before, it would 190 00:06:39,079 --> 00:06:39,579 go 191 00:06:40,439 --> 00:06:42,039 a little faster. And as we've kind of 192 00:06:42,039 --> 00:06:43,019 built this out, 193 00:06:43,375 --> 00:06:45,394 you're reliant on third party vendors, 194 00:06:45,774 --> 00:06:46,274 other, 195 00:06:46,814 --> 00:06:47,954 working cross functionally. 196 00:06:48,495 --> 00:06:50,975 And it's just it's not it's 197 00:06:51,854 --> 00:06:52,834 I've had to reprioritize 198 00:06:53,214 --> 00:06:55,694 my thinking and it's really a it's a 199 00:06:55,694 --> 00:06:57,854 journey. And we're gonna get there, but just 200 00:06:57,854 --> 00:06:58,834 not as quite 201 00:06:59,269 --> 00:07:00,870 as fast as I would like. And so 202 00:07:00,870 --> 00:07:04,149 always kind of trying to provide that feedback 203 00:07:04,149 --> 00:07:05,910 to others to kind of like we're making 204 00:07:05,910 --> 00:07:08,310 progress, we're making incremental steps, but we just 205 00:07:08,310 --> 00:07:09,830 can't flip the switch and say, okay, all 206 00:07:09,830 --> 00:07:12,250 the automation is built. Everything is seamless. 207 00:07:12,665 --> 00:07:14,824 Go. This really takes a lot of time 208 00:07:14,824 --> 00:07:17,785 when it's looking at data, making changes across 209 00:07:17,785 --> 00:07:19,545 the way. And we do have some great 210 00:07:19,545 --> 00:07:21,625 vendor partners, and we've learned a lot in 211 00:07:21,625 --> 00:07:24,204 the process. But it's really kind of just 212 00:07:24,504 --> 00:07:25,404 remaining patient 213 00:07:25,944 --> 00:07:27,964 and not and not get ahead of ourselves. 214 00:07:28,699 --> 00:07:29,980 That makes a lot of sense. You know? 215 00:07:29,980 --> 00:07:32,139 And it is really critical to have that 216 00:07:32,139 --> 00:07:33,980 type of foresight, and knowing, you know, hey. 217 00:07:33,980 --> 00:07:35,680 We're pushing forward change, but also 218 00:07:36,060 --> 00:07:38,220 understanding, you know, areas where you need to, 219 00:07:38,460 --> 00:07:40,160 be very mindful and, 220 00:07:40,780 --> 00:07:42,620 make sure you're you're being patient, as you 221 00:07:42,620 --> 00:07:43,120 said. 222 00:07:43,795 --> 00:07:45,475 I'm curious. Before we wrap up here, what 223 00:07:45,475 --> 00:07:46,355 do you see as being some of the 224 00:07:46,355 --> 00:07:48,535 best opportunities for organizational growth? 225 00:07:49,235 --> 00:07:52,194 You know, from an organizational standpoint, we're gonna 226 00:07:52,274 --> 00:07:54,535 we're continuing to build our IT infrastructure 227 00:07:55,714 --> 00:07:56,214 to, 228 00:07:56,754 --> 00:07:57,254 provide, 229 00:07:58,194 --> 00:07:58,935 our patients, 230 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:01,920 access to our system and to have more 231 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,960 seamless experience to provide our team members that 232 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:06,500 work on-site and remotely 233 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:08,580 more access and better, 234 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:09,620 efficacy 235 00:08:10,399 --> 00:08:12,899 in terms of their job. What I'm, 236 00:08:13,345 --> 00:08:16,145 really focusing on is to, like I said 237 00:08:16,145 --> 00:08:18,964 before, is to really provide our team members, 238 00:08:20,145 --> 00:08:21,285 better tools, 239 00:08:22,145 --> 00:08:22,645 AI, 240 00:08:23,504 --> 00:08:24,004 automation 241 00:08:24,545 --> 00:08:26,545 to do their job more seamlessly and to 242 00:08:26,545 --> 00:08:28,920 redo and to reduce the burden on the 243 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:29,500 workforce. 244 00:08:29,879 --> 00:08:32,300 And if we're able to streamline our processes, 245 00:08:32,759 --> 00:08:34,220 if we're able to 246 00:08:35,879 --> 00:08:37,740 validate our patients more seamlessly, 247 00:08:38,279 --> 00:08:41,160 so we for example, we've rolled in a 248 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,014 customer relationship chip management platform or what we 249 00:08:44,014 --> 00:08:46,274 refer to as CRM. It's through, 250 00:08:46,894 --> 00:08:47,794 our EMR, 251 00:08:48,735 --> 00:08:51,235 Epic, and, it's called Cheers. And it's really 252 00:08:51,615 --> 00:08:54,495 to provide a really overview of the patient 253 00:08:54,495 --> 00:08:56,355 journey and provides our agents 254 00:08:56,870 --> 00:08:59,190 really the understanding of the the interactions that 255 00:08:59,190 --> 00:09:01,429 the patients have with the system, maybe things 256 00:09:01,429 --> 00:09:03,509 that they're calling for based on what they 257 00:09:03,509 --> 00:09:06,089 previously called for. We document all that information. 258 00:09:06,309 --> 00:09:08,870 And this to really capture the patient journey, 259 00:09:08,870 --> 00:09:10,950 not not only to know them better, but 260 00:09:10,950 --> 00:09:12,330 to get into the 261 00:09:12,845 --> 00:09:15,085 resolution of a call more quickly and just 262 00:09:15,085 --> 00:09:16,705 make that a more seamless experience. 263 00:09:17,725 --> 00:09:19,725 I love that. Steve, thank you so much 264 00:09:19,725 --> 00:09:21,325 for joining us on the podcast today. This 265 00:09:21,325 --> 00:09:23,644 has been a really fascinating conversation. I have 266 00:09:23,644 --> 00:09:25,899 learned a lot, and, certainly, it's been great 267 00:09:25,899 --> 00:09:28,139 to to connect with you, today. And I 268 00:09:28,139 --> 00:09:29,820 I know I'll be looking forward to seeing 269 00:09:29,820 --> 00:09:31,659 you as well at our annual meeting as 270 00:09:31,659 --> 00:09:32,320 a speaker, 271 00:09:32,860 --> 00:09:34,220 on one of our panels. And so I'm 272 00:09:34,220 --> 00:09:35,899 sure we'll dig deeper into some of the 273 00:09:35,899 --> 00:09:37,579 things we talked about today as well as, 274 00:09:37,740 --> 00:09:38,534 you know, other, 275 00:09:39,254 --> 00:09:41,174 areas that are are really gonna be critical 276 00:09:41,174 --> 00:09:42,934 for success going forward. So thank you for 277 00:09:42,934 --> 00:09:44,214 your time, Steve, and I look forward to 278 00:09:44,214 --> 00:09:45,034 seeing you soon. 279 00:09:45,414 --> 00:09:47,254 Absolutely. I enjoyed our time and, definitely look 280 00:09:47,254 --> 00:09:48,774 forward to seeing you in Chicago in the 281 00:09:48,774 --> 00:09:49,274 spring.