1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,060 Imagine this. You're at the Hyatt Regency Chicago 2 00:00:03,439 --> 00:00:06,000 immersed in insightful discussions with the health care 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:07,434 industry's top leaders. 4 00:00:07,915 --> 00:00:10,574 Welcome to Becker's 12th annual CEO 5 00:00:10,955 --> 00:00:14,734 and CFO roundtable from November 11th to 14th 6 00:00:15,139 --> 00:00:15,639 2024. 7 00:00:16,260 --> 00:00:19,320 Picture yourself networking with over a 1000 executive 8 00:00:19,460 --> 00:00:20,279 level attendees, 9 00:00:20,739 --> 00:00:23,800 collecting business cards, and forging valuable connections. 10 00:00:24,244 --> 00:00:26,644 Feel the excitement as you engage in 4 11 00:00:26,644 --> 00:00:28,664 days of sessions featuring 400 12 00:00:29,125 --> 00:00:30,940 elite health system speakers. 13 00:00:31,500 --> 00:00:35,020 Envision yourself diving deep into critical topics like 14 00:00:35,020 --> 00:00:37,359 rural health care, digital transformation, 15 00:00:38,115 --> 00:00:40,454 health equity, and c suite diversity. 16 00:00:41,155 --> 00:00:44,774 Now imagine being inspired by our celebrity keynotes, 17 00:00:45,210 --> 00:00:48,250 pro football hall of famers Troy Aikman and 18 00:00:48,250 --> 00:00:52,090 Emmett Smith, 43rd president George w Bush, and 19 00:00:52,090 --> 00:00:55,475 author and journalist Jenna Bush Hager. Their stories 20 00:00:55,475 --> 00:00:57,655 will leave you motivated and energized. 21 00:00:58,274 --> 00:00:59,655 Don't miss this unparalleled 22 00:00:59,954 --> 00:01:00,454 opportunity. 23 00:01:00,835 --> 00:01:03,320 Get registered today. Visit beckershospitalreview.com 24 00:01:05,299 --> 00:01:07,060 and click on the events page to find 25 00:01:07,060 --> 00:01:08,119 the conference website. 26 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:09,479 That's the beckers 27 00:01:09,795 --> 00:01:10,694 hospital review.com 28 00:01:11,715 --> 00:01:13,814 events page. See you in Chicago. 29 00:01:16,114 --> 00:01:18,819 Welcome to the Becker's Health Care podcast. I'm 30 00:01:18,819 --> 00:01:21,459 Mariah Taylor, assistant editor, and I'm thrilled to 31 00:01:21,459 --> 00:01:24,500 interview with Sachin Gupta, chief medical officer at 32 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:25,959 UNC Physicians Network 33 00:01:26,340 --> 00:01:27,560 on the podcast today. 34 00:01:28,064 --> 00:01:30,224 Sachin, thank you so much for joining me. 35 00:01:30,224 --> 00:01:33,025 I'm excited for our conversation because you're one 36 00:01:33,025 --> 00:01:35,744 of our upcoming panelists on the CEO CFO 37 00:01:35,744 --> 00:01:37,849 conference, and this is such a fun way 38 00:01:37,849 --> 00:01:39,370 to get a sneak peek into some of 39 00:01:39,370 --> 00:01:41,450 your thought leadership. But before we dive into 40 00:01:41,450 --> 00:01:43,209 the questions, I would love if you could 41 00:01:43,209 --> 00:01:44,890 introduce yourself and tell us a little bit 42 00:01:44,890 --> 00:01:45,790 about your background. 43 00:01:47,275 --> 00:01:47,674 Sure. 44 00:01:48,155 --> 00:01:50,155 Well, first, thanks for having me on. I'm 45 00:01:50,155 --> 00:01:52,475 really excited to share a little bit about 46 00:01:52,475 --> 00:01:53,755 who I am and what we do here 47 00:01:53,755 --> 00:01:55,215 at UNC Physicians Network, 48 00:01:55,829 --> 00:01:58,310 and really looking forward to the, conference later 49 00:01:58,310 --> 00:02:00,310 this year. So as I said, my name 50 00:02:00,310 --> 00:02:02,469 is Sachin Gupta. I'm, I'm the chief medical 51 00:02:02,469 --> 00:02:04,730 officer for UNC Physicians Network 52 00:02:05,254 --> 00:02:05,754 here 53 00:02:06,134 --> 00:02:07,674 in Morrisville, North Carolina. 54 00:02:08,055 --> 00:02:10,235 We're under the UNC Health Care umbrella. 55 00:02:10,534 --> 00:02:13,150 I mean, UNC Physicians Network is the community 56 00:02:13,150 --> 00:02:15,009 facing arm of the health care system. 57 00:02:15,389 --> 00:02:16,209 Fred, statewide, 58 00:02:16,590 --> 00:02:19,310 we have approximately 700 clinicians and about a 59 00:02:19,310 --> 00:02:19,810 160, 60 00:02:20,775 --> 00:02:21,275 clinics, 61 00:02:21,735 --> 00:02:23,275 across the state of North Carolina, 62 00:02:23,735 --> 00:02:26,134 helping to really to bring care to to 63 00:02:26,134 --> 00:02:27,974 those communities that need it most and trying 64 00:02:27,974 --> 00:02:28,770 to keep care 65 00:02:29,169 --> 00:02:31,569 local. Our mission is really to serve all 66 00:02:31,569 --> 00:02:32,310 North Carolinians. 67 00:02:33,330 --> 00:02:36,129 I am a family physician by training. I'm 68 00:02:36,129 --> 00:02:37,349 board certified and 69 00:02:37,974 --> 00:02:41,575 a diplomat of the, American Academy of Family 70 00:02:41,575 --> 00:02:42,075 Practice. 71 00:02:43,974 --> 00:02:46,375 I did my training mostly up and down 72 00:02:46,375 --> 00:02:48,860 the East Coast. I've been with this organization 73 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:49,500 now 74 00:02:49,879 --> 00:02:53,019 for about 14 years. I joined in 2010. 75 00:02:54,264 --> 00:02:56,825 Started as a a local medical director in 76 00:02:56,825 --> 00:02:58,444 a 2 physician practice. 77 00:02:58,825 --> 00:03:01,385 We started kinda de novo, and we were 78 00:03:01,385 --> 00:03:04,030 out on the sidewalks trying to recruit patients. 79 00:03:04,409 --> 00:03:06,810 And, over time, I moved into a regional 80 00:03:06,810 --> 00:03:08,030 medical director role. 81 00:03:08,490 --> 00:03:10,104 And then I've been in this chief medical 82 00:03:10,104 --> 00:03:11,865 officer role now since the start of the 83 00:03:11,865 --> 00:03:12,925 pandemic. So, 84 00:03:14,664 --> 00:03:16,205 just over 4 years now. 85 00:03:17,110 --> 00:03:17,610 Excellent. 86 00:03:18,069 --> 00:03:19,430 Tell me a little bit about one of 87 00:03:19,430 --> 00:03:21,750 your most successful projects or initiatives from the 88 00:03:21,750 --> 00:03:23,430 last year. What did you do, and what 89 00:03:23,430 --> 00:03:24,250 were the results? 90 00:03:25,375 --> 00:03:27,294 Yeah. So I'm really excited to talk a 91 00:03:27,294 --> 00:03:28,114 little bit about 92 00:03:28,414 --> 00:03:30,034 one of the projects that we had, 93 00:03:30,655 --> 00:03:31,715 around onboarding, 94 00:03:32,334 --> 00:03:33,235 and optimization. 95 00:03:33,599 --> 00:03:36,319 So launching an onboarding and optimization team here 96 00:03:36,319 --> 00:03:37,060 at UNCPN, 97 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:40,099 that really helped to, 98 00:03:40,639 --> 00:03:41,939 tackle a few different, 99 00:03:42,655 --> 00:03:44,275 challenges that we had here. 100 00:03:45,055 --> 00:03:47,134 It sounds very much like it it is, 101 00:03:47,694 --> 00:03:50,175 onboarding and optimization, which we call the o 102 00:03:50,175 --> 00:03:53,030 two team. We are giving oxygen and life 103 00:03:53,030 --> 00:03:54,250 back to our teammates. 104 00:03:54,709 --> 00:03:57,030 And what this is around is all of 105 00:03:57,030 --> 00:03:59,669 our new clinics, new clinicians, and teammates that 106 00:03:59,669 --> 00:04:00,169 onboard, 107 00:04:00,525 --> 00:04:03,004 we have a robust onboarding process for them. 108 00:04:03,004 --> 00:04:04,685 So using a lot of standard work and 109 00:04:04,685 --> 00:04:05,585 standard processes 110 00:04:06,044 --> 00:04:08,280 to get folks ramped up. This includes 111 00:04:08,580 --> 00:04:10,280 epic support. So being able 112 00:04:10,580 --> 00:04:12,260 to get in front of the clinician ahead 113 00:04:12,260 --> 00:04:14,340 of their go live date, understanding what their 114 00:04:14,340 --> 00:04:16,020 preference list might look like, what they like 115 00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:18,648 their templates no templates to look like, and 116 00:04:18,648 --> 00:04:20,701 creating all of those things before they even 117 00:04:20,701 --> 00:04:23,010 start. So that way they can hit the 118 00:04:23,010 --> 00:04:25,063 ground running, and they're not having to deal 119 00:04:25,063 --> 00:04:26,089 with the struggles of, 120 00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:29,069 navigating the EMR from day 1. 121 00:04:29,850 --> 00:04:32,169 Another part of the o two team is, 122 00:04:32,410 --> 00:04:34,430 their work that they've done around scribing. 123 00:04:34,745 --> 00:04:37,464 To being able to deploy in person scribes. 124 00:04:37,464 --> 00:04:38,444 We're we're also 125 00:04:38,824 --> 00:04:41,944 taking the next iterative step around generative AI 126 00:04:41,944 --> 00:04:43,725 scribing, so running some pilots 127 00:04:44,029 --> 00:04:46,669 within the UNC Health Care System, virtual AI 128 00:04:46,669 --> 00:04:47,169 scribing, 129 00:04:47,470 --> 00:04:49,250 to decrease administrative burden. 130 00:04:49,709 --> 00:04:51,870 And then the last part is, around a 131 00:04:51,870 --> 00:04:54,615 centralized in basket team. So being able to 132 00:04:54,615 --> 00:04:55,115 remove 133 00:04:55,415 --> 00:04:56,235 those administrative 134 00:04:56,535 --> 00:04:58,134 tasks from the clinic that don't need to 135 00:04:58,134 --> 00:05:00,935 be done there, so things like medication refills 136 00:05:00,935 --> 00:05:01,995 and result notes, 137 00:05:02,370 --> 00:05:04,310 things that tend to clog up our clinicians, 138 00:05:04,930 --> 00:05:05,670 in baskets, 139 00:05:06,529 --> 00:05:08,209 those are the things that we're trying to 140 00:05:08,209 --> 00:05:11,055 centralize and make the work work life balance 141 00:05:11,055 --> 00:05:12,514 a little bit better for our clinicians. 142 00:05:13,134 --> 00:05:15,455 The results have really been fantastic. From an 143 00:05:15,455 --> 00:05:17,394 onboarding standpoint, we've seen our clinicians, 144 00:05:18,095 --> 00:05:20,160 be able to ramp up at a much 145 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,220 faster clip. They're getting to their productivity thresholds, 146 00:05:24,079 --> 00:05:26,319 much sooner than those clinicians that were not 147 00:05:26,319 --> 00:05:28,725 put through the onboarding process. We see greater 148 00:05:28,725 --> 00:05:31,685 cohesiveness and cultural alignment in the clinics that 149 00:05:31,685 --> 00:05:34,504 have undergone the onboarding and optimization process. 150 00:05:35,205 --> 00:05:36,185 We're seeing efficiencies 151 00:05:36,830 --> 00:05:39,790 in workflows as well without with scribing as 152 00:05:39,790 --> 00:05:41,629 well as the centralized in basket work. So 153 00:05:41,629 --> 00:05:42,689 it's been really exciting 154 00:05:42,990 --> 00:05:44,370 to see all of these initiatives 155 00:05:44,750 --> 00:05:47,004 take flight and seeing how it really impacts 156 00:05:47,004 --> 00:05:48,944 the day to day lives of our, clinicians 157 00:05:49,004 --> 00:05:49,985 and and teammates. 158 00:05:51,004 --> 00:05:53,084 Yeah. That is amazing. As we all know, 159 00:05:53,084 --> 00:05:55,990 workforce issues like burnout and shortages have been 160 00:05:55,990 --> 00:05:58,310 a really hard part for health care in 161 00:05:58,310 --> 00:06:00,389 the last few years. So it's really cool 162 00:06:00,389 --> 00:06:01,909 to see what you're doing to help address 163 00:06:01,909 --> 00:06:02,409 those. 164 00:06:02,814 --> 00:06:05,215 Looking ahead, though, what is the biggest challenge 165 00:06:05,215 --> 00:06:06,895 you expect to face in the next year, 166 00:06:06,895 --> 00:06:08,115 and how are you preparing? 167 00:06:09,829 --> 00:06:11,829 Yeah. Well, I think you actually hit on 168 00:06:11,829 --> 00:06:12,329 it, 169 00:06:13,509 --> 00:06:14,949 right on the head, to be honest with 170 00:06:14,949 --> 00:06:15,449 you. 171 00:06:16,634 --> 00:06:18,714 You know, we just recently conducted our med 172 00:06:18,714 --> 00:06:20,395 staff survey, and a lot of the feedback 173 00:06:20,395 --> 00:06:21,615 that we got from our clinicians, 174 00:06:21,995 --> 00:06:23,855 one of the biggest challenges remains, 175 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:26,500 decompression. You know, how can a clinician, 176 00:06:27,759 --> 00:06:28,500 shut off, 177 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:29,620 that 178 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:31,060 that that seemingly, 179 00:06:32,935 --> 00:06:33,435 unstoppable 180 00:06:34,214 --> 00:06:36,615 spigot of clinical care and how can they 181 00:06:36,615 --> 00:06:38,855 detach actually from work. So one of the 182 00:06:38,855 --> 00:06:41,220 challenges that we that we continue to face 183 00:06:41,379 --> 00:06:43,480 is how do we address this decompression 184 00:06:44,019 --> 00:06:45,240 and how are we able 185 00:06:45,620 --> 00:06:47,860 to really let our clinicians detach from work 186 00:06:47,860 --> 00:06:50,420 and and be able to, achieve that work 187 00:06:50,420 --> 00:06:51,160 life balance. 188 00:06:51,764 --> 00:06:53,365 So what we're doing for that is a 189 00:06:53,365 --> 00:06:55,125 lot of the projects that I just spoke 190 00:06:55,125 --> 00:06:57,204 about, we're really trying to expand those to, 191 00:06:57,524 --> 00:06:59,604 the larger health care system as well, bringing 192 00:06:59,604 --> 00:07:00,104 those, 193 00:07:00,810 --> 00:07:02,810 onboarding initiatives to the rest of the health 194 00:07:02,810 --> 00:07:05,069 care system, being able to expand scribing 195 00:07:05,529 --> 00:07:06,830 and expanding centralization 196 00:07:07,210 --> 00:07:08,029 of of, 197 00:07:09,185 --> 00:07:10,324 administrative work. 198 00:07:10,865 --> 00:07:13,105 I think that that's gonna be, a huge 199 00:07:13,105 --> 00:07:15,045 focus for us. Our clinicians, 200 00:07:15,904 --> 00:07:18,500 really feel this burden of care. They feel 201 00:07:18,500 --> 00:07:20,579 obligated to their patients, but what can we 202 00:07:20,579 --> 00:07:21,319 be doing, 203 00:07:21,779 --> 00:07:23,699 to make their work life balance a little 204 00:07:23,699 --> 00:07:24,360 bit better? 205 00:07:25,074 --> 00:07:27,395 So that's a huge focus for us and, 206 00:07:28,275 --> 00:07:30,035 really, part of the efforts that we're gonna 207 00:07:30,035 --> 00:07:31,655 be undertaking in the coming year. 208 00:07:32,170 --> 00:07:32,670 Amazing. 209 00:07:33,210 --> 00:07:34,730 Now let's look a little bit more about 210 00:07:34,730 --> 00:07:36,750 the chief medical role itself. 211 00:07:37,210 --> 00:07:39,210 You've been in this role for several years 212 00:07:39,210 --> 00:07:41,404 at this point. How do you see the 213 00:07:41,404 --> 00:07:44,064 role of chief medical officer evolving? 214 00:07:45,404 --> 00:07:47,504 Yeah. That that's a great question. And 215 00:07:47,964 --> 00:07:49,105 if I were to, 216 00:07:49,529 --> 00:07:51,689 you know, talk to my past self from 217 00:07:51,689 --> 00:07:52,669 4 years ago 218 00:07:52,970 --> 00:07:54,889 to tell myself what kind of work I 219 00:07:54,889 --> 00:07:56,169 would be doing now, I don't think I 220 00:07:56,169 --> 00:07:58,295 would believe it. But, you know, I think 221 00:07:58,435 --> 00:08:00,675 traditionally, the role has been around well, I'm 222 00:08:00,675 --> 00:08:04,115 just gonna, focus on, you know, provider behavior 223 00:08:04,115 --> 00:08:06,720 issues and, trying to move the needle on 224 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:08,720 quality. But I think it's so much more 225 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,939 than that now. There is this greater pressure, 226 00:08:12,644 --> 00:08:14,104 to increasingly understand 227 00:08:14,485 --> 00:08:15,544 and leverage technology, 228 00:08:16,324 --> 00:08:18,165 in health care. I think that includes the 229 00:08:18,165 --> 00:08:21,044 electronic medical records, how we use telemedicine and 230 00:08:21,044 --> 00:08:21,944 data analytics. 231 00:08:23,149 --> 00:08:25,389 I think that there's this shift also this 232 00:08:25,389 --> 00:08:27,629 kind of ever evolving shift for value based 233 00:08:27,629 --> 00:08:30,110 care. So as we shift from volume to 234 00:08:30,110 --> 00:08:31,250 value based care, 235 00:08:32,445 --> 00:08:34,465 us as CMOs, we need to be focusing 236 00:08:34,924 --> 00:08:37,504 on improved outcomes while controlling costs. 237 00:08:37,965 --> 00:08:39,289 And I think part of that 238 00:08:39,769 --> 00:08:42,730 also comes with financial acumen. I think with 239 00:08:42,730 --> 00:08:44,589 health care costs under greater scrutiny, 240 00:08:45,209 --> 00:08:48,154 CMOs need to have a solid understanding of 241 00:08:48,154 --> 00:08:50,315 the financial aspects of the health care industry, 242 00:08:50,315 --> 00:08:52,894 and that means really partnering very closely with 243 00:08:53,195 --> 00:08:56,415 our operational dyad partners, our financial partners, 244 00:08:57,070 --> 00:08:58,830 so that we're getting the total picture of, 245 00:08:59,149 --> 00:09:00,370 the care that we deliver. 246 00:09:00,830 --> 00:09:02,509 I think there's also part of this around 247 00:09:02,509 --> 00:09:03,490 crisis management. 248 00:09:04,335 --> 00:09:06,254 You know, the recent events such as COVID 249 00:09:06,254 --> 00:09:08,995 19 have really highlighted the impact that CMOs 250 00:09:09,054 --> 00:09:09,794 can play 251 00:09:10,174 --> 00:09:11,394 in crisis management, 252 00:09:12,014 --> 00:09:12,514 really 253 00:09:12,959 --> 00:09:15,120 trying to model our team so that we 254 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,620 can be adaptable, we can be resilient, 255 00:09:18,399 --> 00:09:20,419 and capable of leading through uncertainty. 256 00:09:20,879 --> 00:09:22,995 So I think that's how the chief medical 257 00:09:22,995 --> 00:09:25,475 officer role is is evolving, and it'll continue 258 00:09:25,475 --> 00:09:26,134 to evolve. 259 00:09:27,715 --> 00:09:30,215 What is your advice for aspiring CMOs? 260 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:32,700 Yeah. 261 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:34,840 Gosh. I I wish I had all the 262 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:36,360 answers for that, but I I would think 263 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,019 that one thing that I would certainly recommend, 264 00:09:39,639 --> 00:09:41,420 and one thing that I've really been fortunate, 265 00:09:42,184 --> 00:09:42,845 to have 266 00:09:43,465 --> 00:09:45,325 is being surrounded by 267 00:09:46,424 --> 00:09:48,445 people that you, trust, 268 00:09:49,039 --> 00:09:50,320 people that you can, 269 00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:52,879 really bounce ideas off of, people that are 270 00:09:52,879 --> 00:09:54,799 gonna challenge you and challenge the way that 271 00:09:54,799 --> 00:09:55,379 you think. 272 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:57,754 I think we have a tendency to to 273 00:09:57,754 --> 00:10:00,875 surround people surround ourselves with people that think 274 00:10:00,875 --> 00:10:03,195 like us and and approach care like us, 275 00:10:03,195 --> 00:10:04,795 but you really need to have a diverse 276 00:10:04,795 --> 00:10:05,295 team 277 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:07,360 and a team, again, that you can trust 278 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,379 and delegate things to. I don't think 279 00:10:09,759 --> 00:10:11,440 any one single person can do all of 280 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,120 the work that's required of us. So being 281 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:14,019 able to delegate 282 00:10:14,355 --> 00:10:16,754 the folks that you can really trust, and 283 00:10:16,754 --> 00:10:18,434 you respect their ideas and you know that 284 00:10:18,434 --> 00:10:19,715 they're gonna take the ball and run with 285 00:10:19,715 --> 00:10:22,355 it, I think, is huge. And then also 286 00:10:22,355 --> 00:10:23,085 being able to, 287 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:25,399 work with those people that are gonna challenge 288 00:10:25,399 --> 00:10:27,480 your opinions and thought, so that you can 289 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:28,620 move the needle forward. 290 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:30,059 Excellent. 291 00:10:30,495 --> 00:10:32,894 This has been such an informative discussion. Thank 292 00:10:32,894 --> 00:10:34,495 you so much for joining me on the 293 00:10:34,495 --> 00:10:36,894 podcast today. You can catch more of Sachin 294 00:10:36,894 --> 00:10:39,269 at our upcoming clinical leadership forum at the 295 00:10:39,269 --> 00:10:43,110 Becker CEO and CFO roundtable, November 11th through 296 00:10:43,110 --> 00:10:44,250 14th in Chicago. 297 00:10:44,629 --> 00:10:46,790 We have limited space available for attendees and 298 00:10:46,790 --> 00:10:49,914 sponsors, So contact us at agenda team at 299 00:10:49,914 --> 00:10:50,414 beckershealthcare.com 300 00:10:51,514 --> 00:10:52,495 to learn more.