1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,520 Would you like to exchange best practices and ideas to improve care, 2 00:00:03,670 --> 00:00:05,440 enhance operational efficiency, 3 00:00:05,500 --> 00:00:07,840 and address financial challenges with your peers? 4 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:12,160 Becker's Healthcare is facilitating these conversations at their eighth annual 5 00:00:12,460 --> 00:00:15,240 health IT Digital health and RCM meeting. 6 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:18,960 You can check your eligibility for complimentary attendance at the Lincoln, 7 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,960 the description. We are excited to welcome you in October. 8 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,210 This is Laura Ddo with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. 9 00:00:25,830 --> 00:00:27,770 I'm thrilled today to be joined by Chris Carmody, 10 00:00:27,940 --> 00:00:30,530 chief Technology Officer at U P M C. Chris, 11 00:00:30,530 --> 00:00:32,250 it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today. 12 00:00:33,540 --> 00:00:34,730 Thank you for having me, Laura. 13 00:00:34,830 --> 00:00:38,290 I'm always happy to participate and work with Becker as you guys have a great 14 00:00:38,290 --> 00:00:39,123 organization there. 15 00:00:39,670 --> 00:00:40,930 Thanks so much. And you know, 16 00:00:40,930 --> 00:00:43,250 it was awesome to have you at our annual meeting in April, 17 00:00:43,250 --> 00:00:46,650 and then I know you'll be coming back to Chicago for our health IT digital 18 00:00:46,650 --> 00:00:49,650 health Revenue cycle event this fall. So I, 19 00:00:49,690 --> 00:00:52,690 I know that'll be an amazing event and definitely will benefit from your 20 00:00:52,690 --> 00:00:56,770 expertise and technology and how the discussion is changing right now, uh, 21 00:00:56,770 --> 00:00:57,603 so quickly. 22 00:00:57,630 --> 00:01:01,610 So I'm excited to preview a little bit about what I'm sure will be all the buzz 23 00:01:01,630 --> 00:01:02,770 at the event in October. 24 00:01:03,860 --> 00:01:08,050 Absolutely. And again, Becker's first class and all the events that, 25 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,050 that you guys put on, and I'm always happy to participate in, you know, 26 00:01:12,050 --> 00:01:15,010 as much as I, I, you know, we at U P M C contribute, um, 27 00:01:15,010 --> 00:01:18,530 I think we get a lot more out of participating and hearing from others in our 28 00:01:18,690 --> 00:01:19,770 industry, so it's great. 29 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,930 Yeah, absolutely. The idea exchange, you know, is, is certainly, um, 30 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,170 what we aim to do and really put in a great space to do that now. Um, 31 00:01:28,430 --> 00:01:31,210 before we fir go jump further into our broader discussion, 32 00:01:31,330 --> 00:01:33,730 I was wondering for those who may not be familiar with you, 33 00:01:34,090 --> 00:01:36,850 probably not many at this point, but could you, uh, 34 00:01:36,850 --> 00:01:39,930 introduce yourself briefly and, and tell us a little bit about your background? 35 00:01:41,540 --> 00:01:46,350 Sure. Um, I'll try and be brief cuz I, I have a long career, um, 36 00:01:46,450 --> 00:01:50,030 almost 25 years here at U P M C. Um, 37 00:01:50,260 --> 00:01:53,070 started my career out of college, um, at, 38 00:01:53,450 --> 00:01:57,030 in the financial services industry really, um, at the, 39 00:01:57,170 --> 00:02:01,470 the ground floor of it being PC support, local area network administrator, 40 00:02:02,710 --> 00:02:05,030 dabbling in database technologies and, 41 00:02:05,050 --> 00:02:08,590 and came to U P M C a couple years later as an IT auditor. 42 00:02:08,910 --> 00:02:11,830 I had no idea what that was at the time, but, um, 43 00:02:12,130 --> 00:02:16,230 it was really a great opportunity to accelerate my learning and understanding of 44 00:02:16,230 --> 00:02:17,590 the healthcare industry back then. 45 00:02:17,650 --> 00:02:21,910 And that was at a time when we really first started the, um, 46 00:02:21,970 --> 00:02:24,150 the widespread adoption of electronic health records. 47 00:02:24,290 --> 00:02:27,470 So I was able to participate from an auditor's perspective, 48 00:02:27,470 --> 00:02:31,430 making sure that the right controls and safeguards were in place to help that 49 00:02:31,790 --> 00:02:36,750 adoption across U P M C and over the next two decades, uh, spent, 50 00:02:36,770 --> 00:02:36,990 uh, 51 00:02:36,990 --> 00:02:41,790 different roles in in IT and IT leadership positions to where I'm at today, 52 00:02:41,790 --> 00:02:44,190 which is, um, really, um, 53 00:02:45,460 --> 00:02:50,310 love serving as the CTO at U P M C of a great leadership team. Great, 54 00:02:51,170 --> 00:02:51,780 um, 55 00:02:51,780 --> 00:02:56,470 expertise and experience staff members that are truly dedicated to 56 00:02:56,470 --> 00:03:00,400 delivering technology, um, to enable more efficient, 57 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,480 more effective healthcare. Um, 58 00:03:03,110 --> 00:03:05,880 some of the other interesting facts on my background, just to, 59 00:03:06,340 --> 00:03:07,880 to kind of round me out, um, 60 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,760 I was a adjunct college professor for about 18 years at some local universities 61 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:16,040 here in Pittsburgh, and I've done some consulting work over the years as well, 62 00:03:16,340 --> 00:03:17,840 um, through of connections of, 63 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,720 of U P M C for different organizations like the nfl. Um, 64 00:03:21,780 --> 00:03:25,920 so had had a, a great career to this point and, um, 65 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:29,560 really enjoyed what I'm doing and I'm really excited about the future of 66 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,640 healthcare technology, um, as we move forward. 67 00:03:34,540 --> 00:03:36,210 Absolutely. That's amazing to hear. 68 00:03:36,410 --> 00:03:39,530 And fascinating that you've had so many different, um, 69 00:03:39,530 --> 00:03:43,090 experiences and perspective to see how technology has changed and evolved. 70 00:03:43,090 --> 00:03:44,970 And I know especially over the last few years, 71 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,890 that acceleration has sp sped up quite a bit. So, you know, 72 00:03:48,890 --> 00:03:50,050 given where we're at today, 73 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,530 what are the big opportunities you have your eye on as well as the headwinds 74 00:03:53,530 --> 00:03:55,570 that you're keeping in mind to at U P M C? 75 00:03:56,930 --> 00:03:57,220 Well, 76 00:03:57,220 --> 00:04:01,660 I wish I had more eyes because there's lots of different opportunities and areas 77 00:04:01,660 --> 00:04:05,220 and it, it's all relative right to the context of your organization. 78 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:07,620 So here at U P M C I, 79 00:04:07,700 --> 00:04:11,940 I would say that the number one thing that's really driving us is our 80 00:04:12,660 --> 00:04:14,380 clinical analytics program. It's, 81 00:04:14,770 --> 00:04:19,580 it's an area that I got involved with about six years ago with, um, 82 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:23,740 our chief analytics officer, Dr. Oscar Marquin. He's a, 83 00:04:23,780 --> 00:04:26,540 a wonderful human being. Um, one of the, 84 00:04:26,540 --> 00:04:28,260 our great thought leaders here at U P M C. 85 00:04:29,250 --> 00:04:33,980 He's a cardiologist by trade and is so passionate about delivering life-changing 86 00:04:34,380 --> 00:04:36,260 medicine. Um, we, 87 00:04:36,430 --> 00:04:41,100 we've built a program that has about 1300 predictive models 88 00:04:41,830 --> 00:04:43,460 based upon a, 89 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:48,180 a lot of the digital data that we've been able to produce over really like 90 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:50,740 32 years. That's, that's one of our, um, 91 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,780 larger database platforms, 92 00:04:54,330 --> 00:04:58,820 literally goes back to 1991, um, when it was first, um, 93 00:04:59,140 --> 00:05:03,380 conceived and, and and built. And we leverage that data today and, 94 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:08,140 and those various models that have really created the U P M C dna, 95 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:08,940 you know, 96 00:05:08,940 --> 00:05:13,420 and how we deliver care and how we provide better insights to our care teams and 97 00:05:13,420 --> 00:05:18,140 clinicians that are engaging with patients and even our health plan members. Um, 98 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,060 so in the analytics space, obviously technology has evolved in a lot, um, 99 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:24,860 within the last five or six years, 100 00:05:25,510 --> 00:05:30,300 we've bursted the compute and and processing capabilities 101 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:35,180 out into the cloud and are in the process of re-platforming the different data 102 00:05:35,350 --> 00:05:39,100 marts and models that we've built to really help us 103 00:05:40,190 --> 00:05:44,970 go exponentially to a new scale and further leverage technologies like machine 104 00:05:45,090 --> 00:05:45,170 learning, 105 00:05:45,170 --> 00:05:48,610 which is really what you need before we jump into the artificial intelligence. 106 00:05:48,750 --> 00:05:53,450 But, um, we've actually u utilized artificial intelligence to extract out, 107 00:05:54,350 --> 00:05:58,000 um, useful data elements from a lot of the unstructured data, um, 108 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,280 that helps inform those predictive models. So, great example of, 109 00:06:02,300 --> 00:06:05,760 of how does that, how does that work? How does that translate into, you know, 110 00:06:05,810 --> 00:06:09,760 daily clinical work? Well, anytime a patient gets scheduled, 111 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:11,720 a surgical procedure at U P M C and there's, 112 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,640 there's close to about 2 million of those per year that patient's information 113 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,480 that we have is run through our predictive modeling to help identify any risk 114 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,560 factors that we need to take preventative action on, um, 115 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,960 before we bring 'em in for a surgical procedure. You know, again, 116 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:29,440 the goal being the, 117 00:06:29,460 --> 00:06:34,000 the best possible outcome for every individual patient coming in. So we, 118 00:06:34,380 --> 00:06:38,360 um, use those models to flag, um, certain areas of concern and, 119 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:42,080 and allows for the clinicians to focus, um, on, 120 00:06:42,340 --> 00:06:45,720 on hopefully addressing some of those concerns prior to the procedure. 121 00:06:46,300 --> 00:06:47,480 And similar on the backend, 122 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,880 when you have a patient that's being discharged from one of our facilities, 123 00:06:51,340 --> 00:06:53,840 we run through our predictive modeling from a, uh, 124 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:58,040 readmissions perspective in identifying, okay, how can we, 125 00:06:58,060 --> 00:07:00,680 how can we help them get back or, 126 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:05,520 or stay on course to their path of recovery and, and get back to the whatever, 127 00:07:05,700 --> 00:07:08,200 um, state of wellness they are at. Um, 128 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:13,090 and improving upon and having access to some of 129 00:07:13,090 --> 00:07:16,970 the data that's not apparent in your traditional electronic health record like 130 00:07:17,530 --> 00:07:21,450 symptoms, like social determinants of health. Um, we've been using, uh, 131 00:07:21,450 --> 00:07:25,090 an AI model from Microsoft called text analytics to help identify some of that, 132 00:07:25,090 --> 00:07:25,470 again, 133 00:07:25,470 --> 00:07:29,450 in the non-traditional unstructured data that we've generated over all these 134 00:07:29,450 --> 00:07:32,170 years. So a lot of the h and p, the discharge summaries, 135 00:07:32,830 --> 00:07:34,010 any other type of reports, 136 00:07:34,510 --> 00:07:39,250 we scan that and scour it for that information to help help those patients to 137 00:07:39,250 --> 00:07:40,530 put the right, um, 138 00:07:40,530 --> 00:07:43,650 support system in place when they leave our four walls at U P M C. 139 00:07:43,650 --> 00:07:44,530 And we've seen a, a, 140 00:07:44,610 --> 00:07:49,530 a drastic improvement across the board in reducing that readmission rate. 141 00:07:49,910 --> 00:07:52,970 And that's really what it's all about. It's, it's, it's utilizing technology, 142 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:54,050 utilizing data, 143 00:07:54,710 --> 00:07:59,290 the combination of that with our clinical expertise to continually create this 144 00:07:59,570 --> 00:08:03,810 learning environment that we get smarter and better and provide those insights 145 00:08:03,810 --> 00:08:06,080 to our clinicians, you know, 146 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,560 with the ultimate goal for every human being that we touch, 147 00:08:10,310 --> 00:08:15,240 that we create the best possible outcome as we move forward. So that's, 148 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,040 that's obviously huge and, and, and again, 149 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:19,640 I I'm sure everyone's a buzz around chat, 150 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,880 G P T and open AI and the, the large language models, 151 00:08:24,060 --> 00:08:28,520 and we absolutely are exploring those technologies in a 152 00:08:29,550 --> 00:08:34,440 safe way and a secure way and ethical way as we move forward to see 153 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,920 how we can best utilize that moving forward. Um, 154 00:08:38,060 --> 00:08:42,440 and I'm sure there's lots more to come from that space and then the anchor to 155 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,920 everything we're doing. And obviously there's many more, um, 156 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,080 initiatives and products we have going on U P M C, 157 00:08:48,140 --> 00:08:51,680 but is that core foundation of, from a cybersecurity perspective, 158 00:08:51,700 --> 00:08:54,960 health healthcare has a large bullet on our back, 159 00:08:55,620 --> 00:08:57,040 and we always have to be smart. 160 00:08:57,060 --> 00:09:01,440 We always have to continually be grounded with good IT hygiene as I refer to it, 161 00:09:01,850 --> 00:09:06,560 where we apply the best practices and controls and safeguards to protect 162 00:09:06,980 --> 00:09:10,640 our patient and our members information and data, their privacy, 163 00:09:11,780 --> 00:09:15,560 um, when we're utilizing technology and when they're engaging with us utilizing 164 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:16,300 technology. 165 00:09:16,300 --> 00:09:21,280 So that's always at the forefront of everything that we do here at U P M C to, 166 00:09:21,580 --> 00:09:24,720 to move that needle. So, so yeah, that's, that's, 167 00:09:24,740 --> 00:09:28,400 that's really where our key focuses are right now, or at least my key focus is, 168 00:09:28,540 --> 00:09:29,800 uh, in my role. 169 00:09:31,570 --> 00:09:34,440 Absolutely. Wow. I th that's so much ground to cover, 170 00:09:34,460 --> 00:09:38,160 and I love kind of your focus on so many, you know, different areas. 171 00:09:38,350 --> 00:09:41,160 Obviously data and analytics is hugely important in, 172 00:09:41,180 --> 00:09:45,200 in really leveraging that for better operations as well as patient care. 173 00:09:45,340 --> 00:09:48,280 And then too, bringing in some of the, um, you know, 174 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,280 example you talked through on the social determinants of health and, 175 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:53,920 and building out that infrastructure to, um, 176 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:56,480 really collect the data and use it in ways that are, 177 00:09:56,500 --> 00:10:00,320 are making a difference for communities and people who really need that, um, 178 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,640 you know, type of services and, and, and, uh, additional attention. 179 00:10:03,940 --> 00:10:07,400 So that's fascinating that you've been able to do that all at U P M C and you 180 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,080 know, from your perspective, what does it take for a health system? I know, um, 181 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:14,920 you talked through a little bit of, you know, the skillset you have internally, 182 00:10:15,060 --> 00:10:19,080 the partners that you're working with as well. What's a a good balance for, 183 00:10:19,140 --> 00:10:21,160 for that right now when you're thinking through, um, 184 00:10:21,260 --> 00:10:23,600 in other health systems as well as looking at their strategy? 185 00:10:23,990 --> 00:10:27,680 What makes the most sense to try to bring in house in terms of expertise and how 186 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:29,200 do you leverage your partners as well? 187 00:10:30,700 --> 00:10:31,850 Great question. I, 188 00:10:32,010 --> 00:10:35,610 I think that's something that everyone in healthcare technology struggles with 189 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,570 because resources are, are scarce in a lot of cases and, 190 00:10:39,670 --> 00:10:43,690 and some of the higher skilled staffing needs. Um, 191 00:10:43,790 --> 00:10:47,170 you're com we, in healthcare it are competing with other industries, right? 192 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:51,250 Cybersecurity is a great example. Doesn't matter if you're in healthcare, 193 00:10:51,350 --> 00:10:54,090 if you're in financial services, if you're in manufacturing, 194 00:10:54,790 --> 00:10:59,210 we all have the same need to protect our operations, our, our, 195 00:10:59,590 --> 00:11:02,730 our data, our digital assets from a cybersecurity perspective. 196 00:11:02,750 --> 00:11:06,730 So there's a lot of competition for those resources. Um, some of the newer, 197 00:11:07,370 --> 00:11:09,090 when we talk about, you know, machine learning, 198 00:11:09,090 --> 00:11:12,850 artificial intelligence automation, a lot of, a lot of data, 199 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,290 data engineering and, and other skill sets, um, are are difficult to come by. 200 00:11:17,430 --> 00:11:20,050 So I think you have to, again, apply, 201 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:22,490 apply it to your particular organization. 202 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:27,130 What we like to do at U P M C is really develop our talent and leverage the 203 00:11:27,130 --> 00:11:31,170 experience and expertise that we already have in as much cases as possible. 204 00:11:31,750 --> 00:11:35,130 So I'm actually, uh, the executive sponsor for our summer associate program, 205 00:11:35,650 --> 00:11:40,410 bringing in college students that are rising juniors and seniors that have an 206 00:11:40,570 --> 00:11:41,530 interest in technology. They, 207 00:11:41,530 --> 00:11:43,450 they might not know exactly where they want to be in, 208 00:11:43,450 --> 00:11:46,770 but we'd love to bring them in, expose them, and, 209 00:11:46,790 --> 00:11:48,810 and give 'em real life experience, 210 00:11:48,810 --> 00:11:52,690 work experiences to learn some of the technology and why a career in healthcare, 211 00:11:52,690 --> 00:11:55,240 it, it is, um, so meaningful, you know, 212 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,680 versus some of the other industries that they may, um, be interested in. 213 00:11:59,060 --> 00:12:00,880 And then post-graduate, and actually we, 214 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:05,360 we do a lot of recruiting before students graduate and graduate and, and, um, 215 00:12:05,820 --> 00:12:08,880 we have a, what's called our IT t r program, our IT rotational program. 216 00:12:08,980 --> 00:12:12,880 So we hire college grads and, and give them two years of, 217 00:12:13,860 --> 00:12:15,000 uh, four rotations, 218 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,520 six month each learning and accelerating that learning of our culture and how we 219 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:20,760 do things at U P M C to, 220 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,840 to build out their expertise and skill and work with them and mentor them to 221 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,600 help select, you know, where they would like to go. And, and fortunately for us, 222 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,560 a lot of that interest from new, 223 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:34,120 new talent entering into our workforce is, 224 00:12:34,140 --> 00:12:38,080 or interested in some of those newer fields now that that requires a great 225 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:42,040 partnership with the folks that have been at U P M C for in some cases. 226 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:43,960 I have a, I have a leader who worked for me, 227 00:12:43,970 --> 00:12:46,560 she's entering her 45th year of working at U P M C, 228 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:50,800 started as a nurse and had migrated over to it. And her, 229 00:12:50,980 --> 00:12:55,910 her experiences and expertise are just, um, unfathomable, really. 230 00:12:56,110 --> 00:13:00,230 I mean, it's, it's just amazing what she brings to the table. And in partnering, 231 00:13:00,530 --> 00:13:03,070 you know, someone coming into the field with her and, 232 00:13:03,070 --> 00:13:05,670 and some of other leaders and, and other, um, 233 00:13:06,210 --> 00:13:08,270 key contributors is just a, 234 00:13:08,350 --> 00:13:12,070 a great process to help us develop some of that talent. So that said, 235 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,540 that's our, that's our initial approach because we wanna, 236 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,300 we wanna create that culture and that environment that we are a learning 237 00:13:19,300 --> 00:13:22,660 organization, growing organization. And, and quite honestly, I, 238 00:13:22,740 --> 00:13:25,180 I not really joke about it anymore, but I, 239 00:13:25,300 --> 00:13:29,460 I consider that chief technology officer titled to really be the Chief Talent 240 00:13:29,460 --> 00:13:33,980 Officer. It's about our people and, and developing them, engaging them, 241 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:36,380 um, listening to them to, 242 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,900 to help us achieve these goals that, you know, we talked about, 243 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:46,620 um, and, and, and deliver on the great possibility and potential of technology. 244 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,020 Um, so when we look outside, 245 00:13:49,050 --> 00:13:52,300 obviously we're looking for gaps where we might have a need, 246 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:54,340 we might have an immediate need where we don't have the, 247 00:13:54,340 --> 00:13:56,980 the skillset to bring in house. So yeah, we, 248 00:13:56,980 --> 00:14:00,260 we look for partners that are consistent, that are, um, 249 00:14:00,290 --> 00:14:05,220 that really become part of the U P M C family in terms of them demonstrating 250 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,140 to us that, hey, they care just as much as I do. 251 00:14:08,140 --> 00:14:10,620 So when there's an issue or something like that, they, they, 252 00:14:10,620 --> 00:14:15,100 they jump on the phone, they jump on a call, they're present, um, you know, 253 00:14:15,210 --> 00:14:18,860 Elba to Elba with our teams when we're going through good times and bad times, 254 00:14:18,910 --> 00:14:23,380 quite honestly. So it, it's, it's really a cultural thing from my perspective, 255 00:14:23,780 --> 00:14:27,420 tying everything all back together to create that environment to where we can 256 00:14:27,610 --> 00:14:29,420 eliminate as much noise as possible, 257 00:14:30,060 --> 00:14:33,820 leverage people's talents that they bring to the table. Uh, you know, we, we, 258 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,220 we are big about di diversity in our leadership and our staff, 259 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,340 and it's not just, you know, that your traditional diversity components, it's, 260 00:14:41,340 --> 00:14:44,540 it's really about their, their thoughts, their, their backgrounds, 261 00:14:44,540 --> 00:14:45,373 their skill sets. 262 00:14:45,780 --> 00:14:48,340 I think that makes for better outcomes for every unit that we do. 263 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:53,040 Absolutely. I, I think that makes so much sense. And really, if, you know, 264 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,400 it sounds like you've got a great culture at U P M C that you've been able to 265 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,240 build and, and really thrive in. Um, you know, 266 00:14:59,340 --> 00:15:01,280 and that's so helpful to think about and, 267 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,960 and then leveraging the partnerships as well, um, as much as possible. Now, 268 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,240 I, I know you mentioned already to some degree that, um, 269 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,320 resources and healthcare scarce US everywhere, but especially in healthcare. So, 270 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:14,880 you know, when you look at, um, 271 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,560 what you're trying to do from the technology side of things, 272 00:15:18,180 --> 00:15:21,200 how do you think about growth and adding value to the organization overall? 273 00:15:21,230 --> 00:15:22,640 What are those discussions like? 274 00:15:24,270 --> 00:15:25,480 Yeah, I, I, again, 275 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:30,440 I think it really starts with those relationships with who we would be cons, 276 00:15:30,740 --> 00:15:33,320 who we would consider to be our internal customers, right? The, 277 00:15:33,340 --> 00:15:37,040 the chief nursing executive, the cmio, um, 278 00:15:37,660 --> 00:15:42,080 anyone in in operations and that are utilizing the technologies and services to 279 00:15:42,580 --> 00:15:45,960 really do what we're here for. We're not here to be a technology company. 280 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,600 We're here to be a healthcare company that uses technology as one of the major 281 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,200 enabling, um, 282 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,480 factors that makes our world renowned clinicians, our doctors, 283 00:15:56,540 --> 00:16:00,520 our nurses to, to do more, become more efficient, 284 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,680 more effective with everything they do, every patient that they touch. Um, 285 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:06,400 so that said, you know, 286 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,160 building those relations and talking and engaging with our, 287 00:16:09,180 --> 00:16:13,960 our key partners is so instrumental to help move the needle so we understand 288 00:16:14,620 --> 00:16:18,480 and can align our resources, what those, with, what those needs are. Um, 289 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,640 I had a great conversation today with our, our chief, uh, 290 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,360 nursing informatics officer talking about strategy, 291 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:26,800 talking about what are we gonna do three years from now? You know, 292 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:30,280 those are conversations that were a little bit tough to, to come by, you know, 293 00:16:30,390 --> 00:16:33,840 five, 10 years ago when there's a little bit more disconnect and a little bit, 294 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:38,800 you know, less, less reliance on it per se from, you know, defining and, 295 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,760 and driving the strategy and vision, um, for the organization. 296 00:16:42,340 --> 00:16:46,080 And I think covid helped really accelerate that, um, and, 297 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,280 and identify how critical it is to, uh, 298 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,560 running the business of health. Um, so that, I think that's, 299 00:16:53,660 --> 00:16:57,160 that's so instrumental for me in my role. And, and I think for my team, it's, 300 00:16:57,510 --> 00:17:00,200 it's, it's the soft skills stuff. It's the communications, again, it's, 301 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,080 it's the listening. It's not sitting there and, 302 00:17:03,100 --> 00:17:06,160 and pontificating to groups about what we're gonna do to them. 303 00:17:06,430 --> 00:17:10,320 It's about what we can talk about and discuss and how best we can solve the 304 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:14,960 problem or take advantage of an opportunity to, um, meet the, 305 00:17:14,980 --> 00:17:16,680 the needs of patient care, 306 00:17:16,710 --> 00:17:20,320 meet the needs of member services for our health plan and everything in between. 307 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,060 So that's, that's again, where, you know, we, 308 00:17:24,060 --> 00:17:27,020 we tend to spend a lot of our time there, and it gets back to whole, that whole, 309 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:28,000 you know, 310 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,740 the acronym of CTO to really around the talent to make sure we have the right 311 00:17:32,940 --> 00:17:35,540 skillsets and are able to deliver and work with people in that way. 312 00:17:37,020 --> 00:17:38,990 That makes so much sense. You know, and it really, 313 00:17:39,190 --> 00:17:43,350 it's fascinating to see how that CIO and and chief technology officer role has 314 00:17:43,350 --> 00:17:46,710 changed over the years and become more strategic. And certainly, 315 00:17:47,020 --> 00:17:51,680 like you mentioned, technology in digital, um, you know, data analytics, 316 00:17:51,820 --> 00:17:55,520 all of that touches every single department across the organization, um, 317 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:59,240 you know, support on every single department, whether it's clinical, 318 00:17:59,310 --> 00:18:03,840 operational, um, so it really seems like, you know, just a very, 319 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:08,000 very natural move to, um, elevate that type of strategy, 320 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,760 that type of soft skill, um, into the, the larger roles. Now, you know, 321 00:18:13,310 --> 00:18:16,600 with that being said, where do you see, and in, in, 322 00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:19,960 in these conversations with what is it gonna look like three years from today? 323 00:18:20,500 --> 00:18:20,720 Um, 324 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,760 what do you see as still being really key investments to make right now so that 325 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,720 you're prepared for three years down the line for as much as possible, whatever, 326 00:18:28,260 --> 00:18:30,800 um, healthcare is gonna look like a few years down the road? 327 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:33,040 I know it's impossible to exactly predict, and, 328 00:18:33,100 --> 00:18:36,760 and certainly a lot of things could happen between then and now, but, um, 329 00:18:36,940 --> 00:18:40,160 as you're thinking through preparing yourself as much as possible, you know, 330 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,520 where is U P M C is still spending resources to, uh, um, 331 00:18:43,620 --> 00:18:46,000 get ready for where healthcare is headed next? 332 00:18:46,910 --> 00:18:49,840 Sure. I, I, I think first of all, that's a great question. And I think, 333 00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:54,040 you know, you, you have to look at, you know, what, what, 334 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:55,960 what are we trying to do here? What are we trying to solve? 335 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,120 What are we trying to deliver? Um, and it, 336 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:00,000 it's all about that individual patient that, 337 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,640 that one human being that chooses to, um, 338 00:19:03,950 --> 00:19:08,480 come to U P M C to get their healthcare services and their insurance services. 339 00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:12,800 And, um, you know, I kind of, you know, equate it to a bad, and maybe it's a, 340 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:14,520 a poor image, but, you know, there's, 341 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,640 there's those new like selfie cameras that kind of spin around and do a 360 342 00:19:17,670 --> 00:19:20,320 view, uh, of people and kind of get that, you know, 343 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,240 those crazy pictures at parties and stuff like that. Um, 344 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,080 I just saw one of those at an event I was just at, 345 00:19:25,100 --> 00:19:27,440 but it made me really think that's, that's what we're trying to do. 346 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:31,680 We're trying to like identify how we can engage those patients and members, 347 00:19:32,580 --> 00:19:34,680 you know, to, to meet their needs. 348 00:19:35,140 --> 00:19:38,960 And I think what you're gonna see in healthcare and at U P M C as we move 349 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:40,040 forward, you know, 350 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:45,000 engaging even more outside the traditional four walls of a hospital or of a 351 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,120 physician practice. And, you know, again, 352 00:19:47,450 --> 00:19:51,840 COVID Covid accelerated the adoption of, of telehealth and telemedicine, 353 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,800 those virtual visits, which by the way, we had been doing for decades. 354 00:19:56,620 --> 00:19:58,400 It just, the adoption wasn't there. And I, 355 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,960 I think that demand and that acceptance by our patients of our members, 356 00:20:03,500 --> 00:20:08,200 by our consumers, which again, is a key theme to, to treat. You know, we, 357 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,280 we always refer to patients and members as you know, patients and members, 358 00:20:11,740 --> 00:20:16,000 and it's really creating a more consumer experience and meeting them, um, 359 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,490 where it's, you know, appropriate, 360 00:20:18,490 --> 00:20:20,770 where it's convenient and where it's best for them. 361 00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:26,470 So I think being able to enhance that delivery of healthcare outside the four 362 00:20:26,470 --> 00:20:30,750 walls and into their homes, or onto their smartphone, or again, 363 00:20:31,070 --> 00:20:35,270 offering them those different solutions is, is really gonna be the key driver, 364 00:20:35,890 --> 00:20:38,630 um, to help us move forward. And, and you brought up this point, 365 00:20:38,650 --> 00:20:42,350 the point before about the social determinants health and, and creating a more, 366 00:20:43,090 --> 00:20:45,790 um, equitable approach, um, to, 367 00:20:45,890 --> 00:20:49,160 to delivering healthcare and making healthcare available to everyone. 368 00:20:49,700 --> 00:20:54,360 We have to exploit that even more to address those deficiencies in different 369 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:58,600 communities and with different populations that, um, we encounter across, 370 00:20:59,820 --> 00:21:02,680 um, all of our service areas. And again, 371 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,360 technology's gonna be the enabling factor to make that happen and, and, 372 00:21:06,380 --> 00:21:10,840 and prove the lives of the people in the communities that we serve. 373 00:21:11,220 --> 00:21:14,360 And, um, that to me, again, that's what it's all about. That's why I'm here. 374 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:18,160 That's why our team's here. That's what drives us. And, uh, I, again, I, 375 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,480 I made this made the point in the beginning of the conversation is, you know, I, 376 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:25,560 I think there's such a great opportunity for leveraging technology as we move 377 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,080 forward, um, to truly make a difference and make an impact. And, 378 00:21:29,180 --> 00:21:31,920 and that's the great part of being in healthcare it. 379 00:21:32,020 --> 00:21:34,040 And that's why I'm so optimistic about our future. 380 00:21:35,710 --> 00:21:39,780 Absolutely. I love that. I, I think there's just so much there and so mu many, 381 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:44,900 uh, ways to look at technology and do things better. And so, um, 382 00:21:44,900 --> 00:21:47,580 you know, a lot to be excited about, as you mentioned, and, you know, 383 00:21:47,790 --> 00:21:50,740 truly so many different areas where, uh, you know, 384 00:21:50,850 --> 00:21:55,340 organizations can make a big impact both internally as well as for patients and 385 00:21:55,340 --> 00:21:58,900 their families and communities at large. Now, before we wrap up our discussion, 386 00:21:59,020 --> 00:22:03,700 I just have one more question. How do you see your role continuing to grow and, 387 00:22:03,700 --> 00:22:06,180 and evolve and change? I know, uh, you know, 388 00:22:06,180 --> 00:22:08,700 you already talked about some of the things that, um, 389 00:22:08,890 --> 00:22:12,180 it's become more of the chief talent officer, uh, in, 390 00:22:12,180 --> 00:22:15,140 in having some of the soft skills and really making sure you're connecting with 391 00:22:15,140 --> 00:22:18,420 people and, uh, having technology be front and center there. 392 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,620 Do you see that continuing? How do you looking at growth and development and, 393 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,220 um, you know, where you're headed as well as where your teams are headed? 394 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,910 Absolutely. I, I, I think, you know, as I look back over my, you know, again, 395 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:36,150 almost 25 years being here at U P M C and being in healthcare technology, 396 00:22:37,290 --> 00:22:41,190 it was, you know, again, image in my head and my brain is, 397 00:22:41,250 --> 00:22:45,910 it was always like we were running a race, running a marathon, and, you know, 398 00:22:45,930 --> 00:22:49,910 it might have been a few steps behind the people that we were trying to, 399 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:55,820 you know, provide technology and technology services to. And I, I, 400 00:22:55,940 --> 00:22:58,020 I see that, you know, we've caught up, we're, 401 00:22:58,020 --> 00:23:00,060 we're running now elbow to elbow and, 402 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,180 and running in the same direction together. 403 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:07,180 And I think that's gonna be key for our, for our future, for, for my future, 404 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,700 for, you know, the, the, the cio CTO roles in organizations. 405 00:23:12,050 --> 00:23:13,700 They have to be at the leadership table, 406 00:23:13,700 --> 00:23:18,580 they have to be engaged at all different levels and are so instrumental at, 407 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:20,180 um, keeping our, 408 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:24,140 our healthcare organizations moving forward in the right direction and, 409 00:23:24,140 --> 00:23:26,860 and focus on that goal. It's, again, it's not about the technology. 410 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,380 The technology's gonna change. You know, we're gonna, 411 00:23:29,380 --> 00:23:31,140 we're gonna hear the latest and greatest, you know, 412 00:23:31,190 --> 00:23:34,660 thing tomorrow in the news that everyone's gonna want to chase. And it's, 413 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,580 you have to be cautious with, with some of that and, 414 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:43,500 and not lose sight of why we we're doing what we do. And that's trying to, 415 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:44,060 you know, 416 00:23:44,060 --> 00:23:47,640 make an impact on people's lives and in a lot of cases when they're at their 417 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,230 most vulnerable state. And, um, 418 00:23:50,330 --> 00:23:54,390 if you don't lose sight of that and keep running towards that goal, I, 419 00:23:54,510 --> 00:23:57,710 I think there's huge success down the road. Um, 420 00:23:57,710 --> 00:24:00,750 if you get caught off guard by chasing a shiny object, you, you know, 421 00:24:00,750 --> 00:24:04,310 you might stumble and fall. And again, you gotta be, gotta be careful with, 422 00:24:04,770 --> 00:24:05,070 you know, 423 00:24:05,070 --> 00:24:09,550 chasing after some of those things versus being more proactive in the planning 424 00:24:09,570 --> 00:24:11,990 and engaging with those, um, 425 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,950 those other stakeholders that you're on this journey with. 426 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:17,950 Absolutely. That's such a great point. Chris. 427 00:24:17,950 --> 00:24:19,870 Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. 428 00:24:19,870 --> 00:24:21,870 This has been such a fun discussion as always, 429 00:24:21,890 --> 00:24:24,070 and I'm looking forward to seeing you again in October. 430 00:24:25,020 --> 00:24:27,500 Likewise, I'm, I'm excited for the event in October. Of course, 431 00:24:27,540 --> 00:24:28,860 I don't want summer to go too fast. 432 00:24:29,190 --> 00:24:33,180 Let's enjoy some of that nice weather in Chicago and here in Pittsburgh. Uh, 433 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,300 and then, uh, look to reconvene back with, 434 00:24:36,300 --> 00:24:38,780 with everyone in October for another Great Becker's event. 435 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:40,140 So thanks again for today. 436 00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:48,870 It's so important for leaders at the top of organizations to keep learning, 437 00:24:49,060 --> 00:24:50,750 stay sharp, grow their networks, 438 00:24:51,140 --> 00:24:54,230 help our audience better do this in a more simplified, personalized, 439 00:24:54,330 --> 00:24:58,110 and meaningful way. Becker's Healthcare has launched my bhc, 440 00:24:58,580 --> 00:25:01,790 it's your trusted Becker's healthcare experience and more with content, 441 00:25:01,820 --> 00:25:04,070 connections, events and learning opportunities. 442 00:25:04,780 --> 00:25:09,670 Join the community free of charge@www.my dot becker's hospital 443 00:25:09,670 --> 00:25:11,630 review.com and we'll see you there.