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 00:00:31,789 --> 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 --> 00:00:38,909 doctor Zafar Chowdhury, senior vice president and chief 16 00:00:38,909 --> 00:00:40,829 digital officer as well as chief AI and 17 00:00:40,829 --> 00:00:42,690 information officer at Seattle Children's. 18 00:00:43,390 --> 00:00:44,990 Doctor Chowdhury, thank you so much for being 19 00:00:44,990 --> 00:00:47,545 here today. Thanks for having me. My pleasure. 20 00:00:48,085 --> 00:00:50,004 Absolutely. Well, I know we're gonna talk a 21 00:00:50,004 --> 00:00:52,484 lot about technology and AI and how you're 22 00:00:52,484 --> 00:00:54,244 looking at the future. But before we dive 23 00:00:54,244 --> 00:00:55,445 into that, can you tell us a little 24 00:00:55,445 --> 00:00:57,545 bit more about yourself and Seattle Children's? 25 00:00:58,244 --> 00:00:59,064 Yeah. So 26 00:00:59,750 --> 00:01:01,989 I've been running the IT shop here at 27 00:01:01,989 --> 00:01:04,310 Seattle Children's. It's been about eight and a 28 00:01:04,310 --> 00:01:05,129 half years, 29 00:01:05,670 --> 00:01:07,509 but I've been in the health care IT 30 00:01:07,509 --> 00:01:08,009 industry. 31 00:01:09,030 --> 00:01:11,590 This is year 40, and I actually started 32 00:01:11,590 --> 00:01:12,250 my journey 33 00:01:12,709 --> 00:01:13,450 in health, 34 00:01:14,015 --> 00:01:15,795 as a physician. So I'm 35 00:01:16,094 --> 00:01:18,015 one of those folks that has defected to 36 00:01:18,015 --> 00:01:20,834 the dark side over many years and now 37 00:01:21,135 --> 00:01:22,034 fully embedded 38 00:01:22,415 --> 00:01:23,954 on the technology side. 39 00:01:25,055 --> 00:01:27,614 Absolutely. That's, fantastic to hear. And, you know, 40 00:01:27,614 --> 00:01:29,394 I know you've got a lot going on, 41 00:01:30,109 --> 00:01:32,270 especially when it comes to AI and and 42 00:01:32,270 --> 00:01:33,870 some really advanced things that you're doing there 43 00:01:33,870 --> 00:01:35,790 at Seattle Children's. And so I'm excited to 44 00:01:35,790 --> 00:01:37,630 dig in. Can you tell us a little 45 00:01:37,630 --> 00:01:38,990 bit more about some of the things you've 46 00:01:38,990 --> 00:01:40,430 been doing in the last year? What's an 47 00:01:40,430 --> 00:01:42,270 initiative you're most proud of? What did you 48 00:01:42,270 --> 00:01:43,409 do, and what were the results? 49 00:01:44,174 --> 00:01:46,354 Yeah. So I think, you know, AI, 50 00:01:46,974 --> 00:01:47,474 obviously, 51 00:01:48,015 --> 00:01:48,974 2026, 52 00:01:48,974 --> 00:01:51,954 huge buzz around AI. We've been doing AI 53 00:01:52,734 --> 00:01:54,974 for quite a few years now, and it 54 00:01:54,974 --> 00:01:55,474 just 55 00:01:55,775 --> 00:01:58,094 seems to get better with the more data 56 00:01:58,094 --> 00:01:59,474 you feed into the engine. 57 00:02:00,170 --> 00:02:02,890 So about eighteen months ago, we started a 58 00:02:02,890 --> 00:02:04,030 refresh of 59 00:02:04,409 --> 00:02:06,750 our data warehouse. So the question was, 60 00:02:07,370 --> 00:02:09,530 how do you get the right information into 61 00:02:09,530 --> 00:02:11,849 the right place? Because that's the information you're 62 00:02:11,849 --> 00:02:12,830 going to need 63 00:02:13,210 --> 00:02:14,909 to build your AI models 64 00:02:15,465 --> 00:02:18,504 so that they're accurate and are beneficial to 65 00:02:18,504 --> 00:02:19,164 an organization. 66 00:02:19,465 --> 00:02:22,264 So we moved from an older platform, which 67 00:02:22,264 --> 00:02:24,525 was IBM Netezza on prem 68 00:02:24,824 --> 00:02:27,164 to a full Google Cloud platform 69 00:02:27,705 --> 00:02:29,405 for all of our data analytics. 70 00:02:29,784 --> 00:02:30,284 And 71 00:02:30,830 --> 00:02:34,210 our data lake is fed with a 171 72 00:02:34,509 --> 00:02:35,009 systems 73 00:02:35,710 --> 00:02:37,949 at present, and that's where all of our 74 00:02:37,949 --> 00:02:40,449 data resides. And then from that data, 75 00:02:41,069 --> 00:02:43,389 we've been working with stakeholders. So I truly 76 00:02:43,389 --> 00:02:46,635 believe that the use cases for AI are 77 00:02:46,635 --> 00:02:47,135 focused 78 00:02:47,754 --> 00:02:49,995 on what do the end users need, not 79 00:02:49,995 --> 00:02:52,735 necessarily what I think they need. And so 80 00:02:52,955 --> 00:02:56,254 one of our most successful programs, we use 81 00:02:56,770 --> 00:02:59,110 that Google platform. We use Gemini 82 00:02:59,650 --> 00:03:01,669 AI. We use Vertex AI. 83 00:03:01,969 --> 00:03:03,270 So, of course, we did 84 00:03:04,129 --> 00:03:07,250 the training mandatory for everyone in AI in 85 00:03:07,250 --> 00:03:07,990 our organization. 86 00:03:08,370 --> 00:03:09,830 We set up a AI 87 00:03:10,370 --> 00:03:11,270 user policy. 88 00:03:11,835 --> 00:03:14,635 We have an AI review board that reviews 89 00:03:14,635 --> 00:03:15,615 all the intake 90 00:03:16,155 --> 00:03:17,775 for use cases that 91 00:03:18,155 --> 00:03:20,175 our stakeholders are asking for. 92 00:03:20,955 --> 00:03:23,135 And then out of that, what came 93 00:03:23,514 --> 00:03:27,150 about was our first agentic AI model, which 94 00:03:27,150 --> 00:03:29,650 we call Pathway Assistant. And what we did 95 00:03:29,949 --> 00:03:30,849 is we took 96 00:03:31,629 --> 00:03:34,050 many, many, many years' worth of knowledge 97 00:03:34,349 --> 00:03:35,889 around clinical pathways 98 00:03:36,189 --> 00:03:36,849 to treat 99 00:03:37,150 --> 00:03:37,650 kids 100 00:03:38,270 --> 00:03:39,330 that we had developed. 101 00:03:40,030 --> 00:03:40,930 And we actually 102 00:03:41,805 --> 00:03:44,525 freely give those pathways away to hospitals that 103 00:03:44,525 --> 00:03:46,064 want to use them around the world. 104 00:03:46,444 --> 00:03:47,824 And we took those pathways, 105 00:03:48,764 --> 00:03:51,504 six, seven thousand pages of PDFs 106 00:03:52,125 --> 00:03:54,465 validated by clinicians over the years, 107 00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:57,500 and we fed it into an agent, which 108 00:03:57,500 --> 00:03:58,959 we call Pathway Assistant. 109 00:03:59,340 --> 00:04:02,139 And that agent was able to amalgamate that 110 00:04:02,139 --> 00:04:02,639 information 111 00:04:03,259 --> 00:04:05,120 and then create an AgenTiKa 112 00:04:05,659 --> 00:04:07,759 agent that allows people 113 00:04:08,185 --> 00:04:10,664 to query it and question it and have 114 00:04:10,664 --> 00:04:13,224 a dialogue with it. So if you're a 115 00:04:13,224 --> 00:04:15,144 a new physician and you're trying to learn 116 00:04:15,144 --> 00:04:17,404 how to practice medicine in pediatrics, 117 00:04:18,185 --> 00:04:19,884 you can tell the agent 118 00:04:20,529 --> 00:04:23,649 about your patient, the age, the weight, the 119 00:04:23,649 --> 00:04:24,149 symptoms, 120 00:04:24,529 --> 00:04:26,850 what's going on with the patient. And the 121 00:04:26,850 --> 00:04:29,089 agent will look at all the information it 122 00:04:29,089 --> 00:04:32,149 has access to and start guiding that physician 123 00:04:32,209 --> 00:04:33,589 through the care pathway 124 00:04:34,064 --> 00:04:35,764 for that patient. It will tell 125 00:04:36,305 --> 00:04:37,125 the physician 126 00:04:37,745 --> 00:04:40,404 what to do next, what tests to run, 127 00:04:41,185 --> 00:04:43,345 ask for the results of the test, then 128 00:04:43,345 --> 00:04:45,685 step through the diagnosis, the differential, 129 00:04:46,305 --> 00:04:47,524 the treatment plan. 130 00:04:48,464 --> 00:04:49,205 That helps 131 00:04:49,670 --> 00:04:52,170 newly trained physicians learn how to practice. 132 00:04:52,709 --> 00:04:53,209 For 133 00:04:53,509 --> 00:04:54,730 seasoned physicians, 134 00:04:55,270 --> 00:04:56,250 it's a validation 135 00:04:56,550 --> 00:04:58,250 tool. It makes sure that they 136 00:04:58,790 --> 00:05:00,970 are doing the right thing for the right 137 00:05:01,604 --> 00:05:04,324 diagnosis, the right condition. And that's been very, 138 00:05:04,324 --> 00:05:05,464 very accurate 139 00:05:06,164 --> 00:05:07,544 and very, very successful. 140 00:05:08,164 --> 00:05:10,745 And that that that then becomes your friend, 141 00:05:10,805 --> 00:05:13,204 you know, that phone a friend thing, and 142 00:05:13,204 --> 00:05:15,604 you're able to query it and get the 143 00:05:15,604 --> 00:05:17,870 answers that you need. So that's one example 144 00:05:18,330 --> 00:05:20,970 of an agentic AI that we built. Another 145 00:05:20,970 --> 00:05:21,470 example, 146 00:05:22,330 --> 00:05:23,310 is a translation 147 00:05:23,689 --> 00:05:24,189 assistant. 148 00:05:24,650 --> 00:05:27,210 So we have a patient population that is 149 00:05:27,210 --> 00:05:27,710 varied. 150 00:05:28,514 --> 00:05:29,334 We tested 151 00:05:30,035 --> 00:05:31,975 English to Spanish translation 152 00:05:32,675 --> 00:05:33,814 of instructions, 153 00:05:34,194 --> 00:05:37,175 discharge instructions, etcetera, post op instructions. 154 00:05:37,954 --> 00:05:39,495 That's been hugely successful. 155 00:05:40,035 --> 00:05:41,735 We did find, though, that 156 00:05:42,189 --> 00:05:44,770 AI agents translating to other languages 157 00:05:46,110 --> 00:05:46,770 like Ukrainian 158 00:05:47,470 --> 00:05:50,509 and Somali word as accurate, and so we 159 00:05:50,509 --> 00:05:51,569 didn't pursue 160 00:05:52,110 --> 00:05:54,610 other languages. So we're doing English to Spanish 161 00:05:54,910 --> 00:05:56,210 and Spanish to English. 162 00:05:56,735 --> 00:05:57,795 That's another example, 163 00:05:58,814 --> 00:06:01,634 of a use case that has been valuable 164 00:06:01,855 --> 00:06:04,334 not only to our clinical staff but also 165 00:06:04,334 --> 00:06:07,134 to our patient population. So those are some 166 00:06:07,134 --> 00:06:09,055 of the things we've been working on. There's 167 00:06:09,055 --> 00:06:11,214 many more. Of course, there's more in the 168 00:06:11,214 --> 00:06:11,714 pipeline 169 00:06:12,449 --> 00:06:15,649 than we can probably afford to do or 170 00:06:15,649 --> 00:06:17,810 our resource to do in one year, but 171 00:06:17,810 --> 00:06:19,589 we're stepping through multiple 172 00:06:20,209 --> 00:06:23,089 use cases. The third one I'll throw out 173 00:06:23,089 --> 00:06:24,629 there is Ambient AI. 174 00:06:25,435 --> 00:06:26,654 We've agreed we've 175 00:06:27,115 --> 00:06:28,955 set up a partnership with the bridge, and 176 00:06:28,955 --> 00:06:31,615 we have launched the Ambient AI transcription 177 00:06:33,194 --> 00:06:34,955 for all of our physicians. We bought an 178 00:06:34,955 --> 00:06:37,855 enterprise license, and that's currently being rolled out 179 00:06:38,074 --> 00:06:39,375 with huge success, 180 00:06:40,139 --> 00:06:42,540 great feedback from our clinicians in the test 181 00:06:42,540 --> 00:06:43,040 phase. 182 00:06:43,899 --> 00:06:46,139 Many tell us that they would never allow 183 00:06:46,139 --> 00:06:47,979 us to take this tool away from them. 184 00:06:47,979 --> 00:06:50,139 So that's another win that we've had in 185 00:06:50,139 --> 00:06:51,199 the AI space. 186 00:06:52,314 --> 00:06:54,495 That's amazing to hear. And I think especially 187 00:06:54,795 --> 00:06:57,435 really cool to understand how you're using AI, 188 00:06:57,435 --> 00:06:58,654 looking at AI agents, 189 00:06:58,955 --> 00:07:01,295 looking at some of the diagnoses and validations, 190 00:07:01,595 --> 00:07:04,634 as well as then getting into, the the, 191 00:07:06,050 --> 00:07:08,449 translation as well. And, of course, you know, 192 00:07:08,449 --> 00:07:11,329 ambient technology is something that has become so 193 00:07:11,329 --> 00:07:13,410 much more prevalent, especially in the last twelve 194 00:07:13,410 --> 00:07:16,930 months, within many organizations. And echoing those same 195 00:07:16,930 --> 00:07:19,274 sentiments that clinicians are are finding it, 196 00:07:19,754 --> 00:07:22,735 extremely beneficial in in time savings and and, 197 00:07:23,435 --> 00:07:25,935 also for their relationships with patients and satisfaction 198 00:07:26,154 --> 00:07:28,314 with their jobs overall. So I think that's 199 00:07:28,314 --> 00:07:29,854 amazing to hear. And, you know, 200 00:07:30,154 --> 00:07:32,634 my thing I'm curious about is for any 201 00:07:32,634 --> 00:07:34,860 one of these use cases, whether it's Ambient 202 00:07:34,860 --> 00:07:37,259 or some of the agents and more, how 203 00:07:37,259 --> 00:07:39,680 do you make sure that they are continuing 204 00:07:39,819 --> 00:07:41,900 to work at the level that they're supposed 205 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:43,580 to? How do you measure that success and 206 00:07:43,580 --> 00:07:46,699 then, continue monitoring them, to make sure that 207 00:07:46,699 --> 00:07:49,645 there aren't unwanted changes as time goes on. 208 00:07:50,185 --> 00:07:52,665 So the success with these use cases has 209 00:07:52,665 --> 00:07:54,125 to come from the partnership 210 00:07:54,425 --> 00:07:55,324 between IT 211 00:07:55,785 --> 00:07:57,564 and the clinical teams. So 212 00:07:57,865 --> 00:08:00,585 we may be the folks that engineer the 213 00:08:00,585 --> 00:08:03,550 back end of these tools and these agents, 214 00:08:04,009 --> 00:08:06,009 but on the front end, there are many 215 00:08:06,009 --> 00:08:08,990 doctors involved. So for our pathway assistant, 216 00:08:09,529 --> 00:08:12,350 we had 50 physicians work on this project, 217 00:08:12,970 --> 00:08:15,529 each of which dedicated about one hundred hours 218 00:08:15,529 --> 00:08:16,430 of their time. 219 00:08:16,805 --> 00:08:18,904 So that was in the build, design, 220 00:08:19,605 --> 00:08:20,105 test, 221 00:08:20,645 --> 00:08:21,865 post test phase. 222 00:08:23,205 --> 00:08:25,145 And the same group of physicians 223 00:08:25,845 --> 00:08:28,024 predominantly in my informatics team 224 00:08:28,404 --> 00:08:29,225 are always 225 00:08:29,970 --> 00:08:33,190 testing and checking. If new pathways are added, 226 00:08:33,410 --> 00:08:35,110 those pathways are validated, 227 00:08:35,889 --> 00:08:39,250 tested, torture tested, and then released into the 228 00:08:39,250 --> 00:08:42,309 agent. So it's a it's a continuous PDSA 229 00:08:42,529 --> 00:08:43,029 cycle. 230 00:08:43,535 --> 00:08:45,695 But you don't do that with IT people. 231 00:08:45,695 --> 00:08:47,215 You do that with the people that use 232 00:08:47,215 --> 00:08:49,134 the tool on a day in, day out 233 00:08:49,134 --> 00:08:49,634 basis. 234 00:08:50,254 --> 00:08:51,075 And the people 235 00:08:51,455 --> 00:08:54,095 are volunteering their time because they see the 236 00:08:54,095 --> 00:08:56,815 value of the tool for them in their 237 00:08:56,815 --> 00:08:59,129 day to day work. And so that's the 238 00:08:59,129 --> 00:09:01,309 partnership you really have to build. 239 00:09:01,690 --> 00:09:04,009 Because if it's only driven by IT because 240 00:09:04,009 --> 00:09:06,490 it's the next shiny toy, you're not going 241 00:09:06,490 --> 00:09:07,149 to get 242 00:09:07,529 --> 00:09:09,370 adoption and you're certainly not going to get 243 00:09:09,370 --> 00:09:12,009 the most important thing in AI, which is 244 00:09:12,009 --> 00:09:12,509 sustainability 245 00:09:12,970 --> 00:09:13,629 of solutions. 246 00:09:14,095 --> 00:09:16,735 Because it's easy to create something shiny and 247 00:09:16,735 --> 00:09:17,394 then people 248 00:09:18,095 --> 00:09:20,095 won't use it after a few weeks. It's 249 00:09:20,095 --> 00:09:23,394 hard to get them to continually use it, 250 00:09:23,455 --> 00:09:24,595 provide feedback. 251 00:09:25,375 --> 00:09:27,695 If there's technical tweaks, the team can do 252 00:09:27,695 --> 00:09:30,339 any technical tweaks, but it is a PDSA 253 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:30,980 cycle. 254 00:09:32,079 --> 00:09:33,519 Got it. That makes a lot of sense. 255 00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:35,279 And, you know, it is really helpful context 256 00:09:35,279 --> 00:09:36,500 for how these different, 257 00:09:36,959 --> 00:09:39,120 teams and departments work together in order to 258 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,759 make sure that the technology is functioning in 259 00:09:41,759 --> 00:09:43,620 a the most beneficial way possible. 260 00:09:44,084 --> 00:09:46,564 Now looking ahead into 2026, what are some 261 00:09:46,564 --> 00:09:48,404 of the big priorities and headwinds that you're 262 00:09:48,404 --> 00:09:49,464 most focused on? 263 00:09:50,245 --> 00:09:51,605 So in 2026, 264 00:09:51,605 --> 00:09:54,184 of course, we've got to make sure that 265 00:09:54,725 --> 00:09:55,544 the costs 266 00:09:56,084 --> 00:09:57,064 that we have 267 00:09:57,490 --> 00:09:58,230 in providing 268 00:09:58,769 --> 00:10:00,710 the support services and IT 269 00:10:01,330 --> 00:10:04,309 are optimized and continue to remain optimized. 270 00:10:04,929 --> 00:10:07,269 We're going to continue to do some application 271 00:10:07,490 --> 00:10:07,990 rationalization 272 00:10:08,690 --> 00:10:09,190 because 273 00:10:09,825 --> 00:10:12,065 we have a lot of different systems, and 274 00:10:12,065 --> 00:10:14,225 we need to validate whether those systems are 275 00:10:14,225 --> 00:10:17,445 still off use in 2026. 276 00:10:18,144 --> 00:10:19,365 We have consolidated 277 00:10:20,465 --> 00:10:21,365 and outsourced 278 00:10:22,110 --> 00:10:24,129 most recently all of our infrastructure. 279 00:10:25,070 --> 00:10:26,769 So all of our servers, storage, 280 00:10:27,549 --> 00:10:28,049 backup, 281 00:10:28,589 --> 00:10:29,649 disaster recovery 282 00:10:30,110 --> 00:10:32,350 for all of our systems is now a 283 00:10:32,350 --> 00:10:33,330 service contract 284 00:10:33,710 --> 00:10:36,370 that we don't run that's outsourced to Rackspace. 285 00:10:37,024 --> 00:10:39,345 And that's been very successful because that helps 286 00:10:39,345 --> 00:10:41,044 us deal with our technology 287 00:10:41,345 --> 00:10:41,845 debt 288 00:10:42,304 --> 00:10:44,544 in the future and also allows us to 289 00:10:44,544 --> 00:10:46,325 have service level based, 290 00:10:47,024 --> 00:10:49,424 infrastructure, which is important if you're trying to 291 00:10:49,424 --> 00:10:52,459 grow in the AI space because the demands 292 00:10:52,459 --> 00:10:54,860 on infrastructure won't go down. They will continue 293 00:10:54,860 --> 00:10:55,600 to go up. 294 00:10:56,059 --> 00:10:58,799 And at the same time, I like to, 295 00:10:59,579 --> 00:11:01,740 almost every year, take a look at my 296 00:11:01,740 --> 00:11:03,679 organizational structure in IT 297 00:11:04,085 --> 00:11:06,345 and make sure that that is still optimized 298 00:11:06,644 --> 00:11:08,024 and fits the needs 299 00:11:08,485 --> 00:11:10,725 of the customers I serve, which are the 300 00:11:10,725 --> 00:11:11,384 end users, 301 00:11:11,764 --> 00:11:14,664 the clinicians, the patients, the parents, caregivers. 302 00:11:15,605 --> 00:11:18,504 We'll also continue to build tools, 303 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,220 in our patient facing app. 304 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:23,920 We have a patient and parent advisory group. 305 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:25,220 We meet with them monthly, 306 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,160 and they tell us the things that we 307 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:30,399 should build, that they need, that to help 308 00:11:30,399 --> 00:11:32,720 them navigate our health system. So we'll continue 309 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:33,300 to innovate 310 00:11:33,745 --> 00:11:35,045 in the digital space 311 00:11:36,384 --> 00:11:38,705 at the front end and that will also 312 00:11:38,705 --> 00:11:41,184 continue this year. And the other thing we'll 313 00:11:41,184 --> 00:11:43,764 do is we'll continue to track any regulatory 314 00:11:44,065 --> 00:11:44,565 changes, 315 00:11:45,504 --> 00:11:47,845 federal changes that impact us. 316 00:11:48,225 --> 00:11:50,039 The thing that will always keep us up 317 00:11:50,039 --> 00:11:52,679 at night moving through 2026 318 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:53,659 will be cybersecurity. 319 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:56,220 So, we will continue to keep 320 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:57,820 our eye on that 321 00:11:58,279 --> 00:11:59,019 and also 322 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,519 continue to optimize tools in that space. There 323 00:12:02,519 --> 00:12:03,899 is also use of AI 324 00:12:04,504 --> 00:12:05,485 around cybersecurity 325 00:12:05,945 --> 00:12:07,164 to protect our organization, 326 00:12:07,784 --> 00:12:09,245 and we'll continue to 327 00:12:09,705 --> 00:12:12,504 educate and train our end users in the 328 00:12:12,504 --> 00:12:13,004 cybersecurity 329 00:12:13,625 --> 00:12:14,764 risks and pitfalls 330 00:12:15,544 --> 00:12:17,965 that are very easy to fall into. 331 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,360 That's helpful to understand. You know, I I 332 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,379 know so many different areas that, 333 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,720 you touched on are are so critical, but, 334 00:12:26,959 --> 00:12:29,279 it it was cool to hear you talking 335 00:12:29,279 --> 00:12:30,579 about some of the different, 336 00:12:31,294 --> 00:12:33,774 things that you're doing in order to meet 337 00:12:33,774 --> 00:12:34,894 the needs of of patients, 338 00:12:35,375 --> 00:12:35,875 especially, 339 00:12:36,334 --> 00:12:38,414 you know, with some of the the feedback 340 00:12:38,414 --> 00:12:40,174 you're getting in the advisory group. 341 00:12:40,575 --> 00:12:42,254 Is there anything you've been able to build 342 00:12:42,254 --> 00:12:44,680 because of their feedback that, you know, has 343 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:47,320 been particularly successful? Any success stories you can 344 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:49,879 share with us? Yeah. So I think one 345 00:12:49,879 --> 00:12:52,300 of the really interesting ones was 346 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:57,080 around surgical notification. So the the use case 347 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:58,605 was that when, 348 00:12:59,144 --> 00:13:01,325 a patient goes into surgery, 349 00:13:01,945 --> 00:13:03,325 the parent usually 350 00:13:04,345 --> 00:13:05,644 accompanies their child 351 00:13:06,105 --> 00:13:08,745 and then waits for their child whilst the 352 00:13:08,745 --> 00:13:11,225 child is in surgery. And as you know, 353 00:13:11,225 --> 00:13:14,000 there are different types of surgeries. Some are 354 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,879 short, some are extremely long. But when you 355 00:13:16,879 --> 00:13:18,339 are a worried patient, 356 00:13:19,039 --> 00:13:22,179 you don't necessarily know if you should leave 357 00:13:22,799 --> 00:13:24,960 the surgical suite because you don't know when 358 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:26,899 your child is coming out of surgery 359 00:13:27,304 --> 00:13:29,384 or if there are any updates about your 360 00:13:29,384 --> 00:13:30,524 child in surgery. 361 00:13:30,985 --> 00:13:33,245 So the feedback we had from our patients 362 00:13:33,304 --> 00:13:36,204 was the parents of our patients was that 363 00:13:36,745 --> 00:13:39,625 I can't leave the Surgical Suite and sometimes 364 00:13:39,625 --> 00:13:42,024 my kid's in surgery for four, five, six, 365 00:13:42,024 --> 00:13:42,845 seven hours 366 00:13:43,250 --> 00:13:44,070 and I'm afraid to leave 367 00:13:44,850 --> 00:13:47,169 because something might happen and I wouldn't know 368 00:13:47,169 --> 00:13:49,190 because they wouldn't be able to find me. 369 00:13:49,250 --> 00:13:50,769 And what that means for me is I 370 00:13:50,769 --> 00:13:52,610 don't even have the opportunity to go and 371 00:13:52,610 --> 00:13:55,009 get a coffee or even get something to 372 00:13:55,009 --> 00:13:55,509 eat. 373 00:13:55,824 --> 00:13:57,524 So could you build us something 374 00:13:57,985 --> 00:14:00,625 that could keep us informed and then allow 375 00:14:00,625 --> 00:14:02,644 us to not be stuck in one place? 376 00:14:03,345 --> 00:14:06,404 Within our digital front door app, we added 377 00:14:06,625 --> 00:14:07,365 a component 378 00:14:07,824 --> 00:14:08,644 that actually 379 00:14:09,389 --> 00:14:11,570 keeps that parent or caregiver 380 00:14:12,190 --> 00:14:12,690 updated 381 00:14:12,990 --> 00:14:16,110 on where their child is in in what 382 00:14:16,110 --> 00:14:17,970 stage in the surgical suite. 383 00:14:18,430 --> 00:14:20,670 And, it's code based. So we issue them 384 00:14:20,670 --> 00:14:22,335 a code. They can see on their app 385 00:14:22,575 --> 00:14:25,295 or even on the the big board in 386 00:14:25,295 --> 00:14:27,054 surgery, and it will tell them whether the 387 00:14:27,054 --> 00:14:28,115 child has been 388 00:14:28,654 --> 00:14:29,475 taken in, 389 00:14:29,855 --> 00:14:32,115 is in intake, is in surgery, 390 00:14:32,495 --> 00:14:34,754 is in post op, is in recovery, 391 00:14:35,295 --> 00:14:36,595 where they are exactly, 392 00:14:36,950 --> 00:14:39,529 which then frees the parent or caregiver 393 00:14:40,070 --> 00:14:42,789 to go out and, yeah, get that small 394 00:14:42,789 --> 00:14:45,690 sandwich to eat so that they can continue 395 00:14:45,830 --> 00:14:46,330 to 396 00:14:47,029 --> 00:14:48,009 not be anxious, 397 00:14:48,629 --> 00:14:50,570 and then come back in time to 398 00:14:51,225 --> 00:14:53,464 welcome their child back from surgery. So that's 399 00:14:53,464 --> 00:14:54,845 a really small thing, 400 00:14:55,225 --> 00:14:56,985 but it's a big thing to someone who 401 00:14:56,985 --> 00:14:57,485 is 402 00:14:57,945 --> 00:15:00,584 super worried about their child and doesn't wanna 403 00:15:00,584 --> 00:15:01,725 move from one location. 404 00:15:03,065 --> 00:15:05,720 Absolutely. That's such a powerful example of the 405 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:07,259 ways that, you know, technology, 406 00:15:07,799 --> 00:15:08,620 can provide 407 00:15:09,159 --> 00:15:11,879 a big difference within the the care journey 408 00:15:11,879 --> 00:15:14,059 and, you know, truly, truly, 409 00:15:14,759 --> 00:15:16,919 amazing, I can imagine, for the families to 410 00:15:16,919 --> 00:15:18,815 be able to have, you know, that peace 411 00:15:18,815 --> 00:15:20,815 of mind when a child is going through 412 00:15:20,815 --> 00:15:22,115 surgery, which is huge. 413 00:15:22,894 --> 00:15:24,894 Now I'm curious. What do you think the 414 00:15:24,894 --> 00:15:26,174 hardest thing you'll have to do in the 415 00:15:26,174 --> 00:15:27,394 coming year will be? 416 00:15:28,335 --> 00:15:30,735 I think the hardest thing for us in 417 00:15:30,735 --> 00:15:31,615 '26 418 00:15:31,615 --> 00:15:32,355 will be 419 00:15:33,129 --> 00:15:36,589 deciphering the impact on our health system around 420 00:15:37,049 --> 00:15:38,029 the big bill 421 00:15:38,490 --> 00:15:39,389 that was approved. 422 00:15:39,850 --> 00:15:42,250 And then for me in IT, trying to 423 00:15:42,250 --> 00:15:45,690 figure out what that means financially to my 424 00:15:45,690 --> 00:15:46,190 budget. 425 00:15:46,684 --> 00:15:48,704 Because I have to right size my budget, 426 00:15:49,245 --> 00:15:52,605 balance my books, and still continue to provide 427 00:15:52,605 --> 00:15:53,264 the services 428 00:15:53,884 --> 00:15:56,284 that our stakeholders and our patients and our 429 00:15:56,284 --> 00:15:57,264 parents need. 430 00:15:57,644 --> 00:16:00,764 And that's not always easy in a climate 431 00:16:00,764 --> 00:16:01,264 when 432 00:16:01,899 --> 00:16:04,059 costs are actually going up. You know, as 433 00:16:04,059 --> 00:16:04,639 you know, 434 00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:08,059 we've been talking about AI today, but those 435 00:16:08,059 --> 00:16:09,279 tools cost money. 436 00:16:09,659 --> 00:16:10,159 Infrastructure 437 00:16:10,539 --> 00:16:11,279 costs money. 438 00:16:11,740 --> 00:16:14,779 Labor and skill sets cost money, and those 439 00:16:14,779 --> 00:16:16,720 costs aren't coming down. So 440 00:16:17,165 --> 00:16:19,004 this year, we'll have to be very, very 441 00:16:19,004 --> 00:16:20,065 careful around 442 00:16:21,085 --> 00:16:23,745 continuing to innovate, but also continuing 443 00:16:24,524 --> 00:16:27,184 to do more for less and be fiscally 444 00:16:27,245 --> 00:16:30,445 responsible because we need to do that so 445 00:16:30,445 --> 00:16:31,965 that we can keep our lights on and 446 00:16:31,965 --> 00:16:32,785 doors open. 447 00:16:33,879 --> 00:16:35,559 That's such a good point. And I think 448 00:16:35,559 --> 00:16:37,240 especially when you look at some of the 449 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,320 financial pressures, I know every dollar in health 450 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:40,539 care is precious and, 451 00:16:41,159 --> 00:16:44,440 investing in technology, while critical, especially when you're 452 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,039 trying to make sure you've got the right 453 00:16:46,039 --> 00:16:46,539 experience 454 00:16:46,919 --> 00:16:48,299 in quality and efficiencies, 455 00:16:49,214 --> 00:16:51,774 you know, certainly requires an amount of, 456 00:16:52,254 --> 00:16:53,774 value that it has to bring back into 457 00:16:53,774 --> 00:16:56,414 the system. And so when you're making these 458 00:16:56,414 --> 00:16:56,914 decisions, 459 00:16:58,014 --> 00:16:59,954 and having that fiscal responsibility 460 00:17:00,254 --> 00:17:00,914 in mind, 461 00:17:01,375 --> 00:17:03,054 what do you see as being rising to 462 00:17:03,054 --> 00:17:04,710 the top, I guess, for your, 463 00:17:05,190 --> 00:17:07,669 the next year? And and how do you 464 00:17:07,669 --> 00:17:10,149 work with different companies and vendors in your 465 00:17:10,149 --> 00:17:12,309 team as well, to make sure that they're 466 00:17:12,309 --> 00:17:13,769 making the right decisions, 467 00:17:14,549 --> 00:17:16,009 given those limited resources? 468 00:17:17,044 --> 00:17:18,964 Yeah. So I think the most important thing 469 00:17:18,964 --> 00:17:21,784 for any health IT shop is to validate 470 00:17:22,884 --> 00:17:24,804 everything that they are actually running on a 471 00:17:24,804 --> 00:17:26,904 daily basis. You know, we have, 472 00:17:27,605 --> 00:17:30,644 over a thousand different applications that we support 473 00:17:30,644 --> 00:17:32,789 and run at Seattle Children's. And the question 474 00:17:32,789 --> 00:17:34,250 I always ask my team 475 00:17:34,870 --> 00:17:37,190 is, are we sure those are the right 476 00:17:37,190 --> 00:17:37,690 tools 477 00:17:38,230 --> 00:17:40,789 and there are the right software applications that 478 00:17:40,789 --> 00:17:42,490 we should continue to use? 479 00:17:42,870 --> 00:17:44,870 And that's not a question we answer. We 480 00:17:44,870 --> 00:17:46,870 have to go and ask the stakeholders who 481 00:17:46,870 --> 00:17:47,850 use those tools. 482 00:17:48,265 --> 00:17:50,984 If there are tools that really aren't being 483 00:17:50,984 --> 00:17:53,804 used or can be archived, can be deprecated, 484 00:17:54,825 --> 00:17:55,884 can be consolidated 485 00:17:56,345 --> 00:17:58,444 into newer tools that we've purchased, 486 00:17:58,904 --> 00:18:01,244 then we need to undertake that exercise. 487 00:18:01,545 --> 00:18:02,045 Rationalization 488 00:18:03,630 --> 00:18:06,109 year on year is always key, and you 489 00:18:06,109 --> 00:18:07,009 do that rationalization 490 00:18:07,549 --> 00:18:08,289 in partnership 491 00:18:08,910 --> 00:18:10,609 with the actual users 492 00:18:11,390 --> 00:18:12,289 of those systems. 493 00:18:12,990 --> 00:18:14,049 Also in parallel, 494 00:18:15,070 --> 00:18:16,849 we're going to have many, many 495 00:18:17,444 --> 00:18:18,664 tools and subscriptions 496 00:18:18,964 --> 00:18:21,204 come up this year as we do every 497 00:18:21,204 --> 00:18:23,845 year. And we will we have a vendor 498 00:18:23,845 --> 00:18:24,984 management team, 499 00:18:25,444 --> 00:18:28,184 in IT. We work with our supply chain, 500 00:18:28,565 --> 00:18:30,265 and we always 501 00:18:31,029 --> 00:18:33,769 fight back. So when a renewal comes through, 502 00:18:33,910 --> 00:18:35,589 we look at the renewal. We see how 503 00:18:35,589 --> 00:18:37,670 much it has gone up. We then go 504 00:18:37,670 --> 00:18:39,670 back and forth and fight the good fight 505 00:18:39,670 --> 00:18:40,730 to make sure that 506 00:18:41,430 --> 00:18:43,609 the increase isn't too taxing 507 00:18:43,990 --> 00:18:47,095 on our budget budgetary model. And so that's 508 00:18:47,174 --> 00:18:49,095 I would say sometimes that's the fun part 509 00:18:49,095 --> 00:18:51,015 of going back and forth and arguing till 510 00:18:51,015 --> 00:18:52,794 you get to something that's amicable 511 00:18:53,095 --> 00:18:54,315 for both sides because 512 00:18:55,174 --> 00:18:56,875 vendor relationships are partnerships. 513 00:18:57,494 --> 00:18:59,734 So we do that consistently, and I have 514 00:18:59,734 --> 00:19:02,509 a team that pushes back on renewals and 515 00:19:02,509 --> 00:19:04,269 make sure that we're renewing at the right 516 00:19:04,269 --> 00:19:07,089 rate so that we can actually afford it. 517 00:19:07,950 --> 00:19:08,609 And then 518 00:19:09,549 --> 00:19:11,789 going through the health system and making sure 519 00:19:11,789 --> 00:19:14,369 that we've inventoried all of our assets, 520 00:19:14,835 --> 00:19:17,174 Asset management can sometimes be a problem. 521 00:19:17,554 --> 00:19:18,934 Make sure that we have, 522 00:19:19,714 --> 00:19:21,875 taken in all the equipment that needs to 523 00:19:21,875 --> 00:19:23,894 be replaced and making sure that 524 00:19:24,755 --> 00:19:27,309 any equipment that's end of life is either 525 00:19:27,309 --> 00:19:28,850 deprecated or replaced. 526 00:19:29,470 --> 00:19:31,789 And if you continually do that, then that 527 00:19:31,789 --> 00:19:33,090 you'll find tools, 528 00:19:33,710 --> 00:19:34,850 pieces of hardware 529 00:19:35,309 --> 00:19:37,150 that you don't need. And if you can 530 00:19:37,150 --> 00:19:40,109 decommission those pieces of hardware, that also ends 531 00:19:40,109 --> 00:19:42,130 up saving money because you don't renew 532 00:19:43,525 --> 00:19:44,904 on maintenance and support. 533 00:19:45,205 --> 00:19:46,484 So then you have to do a good 534 00:19:46,484 --> 00:19:49,224 job around your IT asset management portfolio. 535 00:19:49,765 --> 00:19:50,984 Otherwise, you'll have 536 00:19:51,445 --> 00:19:54,825 massive amounts of hardware sprawl that becomes unmanageable. 537 00:19:54,884 --> 00:19:56,904 So the team will also spend the year 538 00:19:57,409 --> 00:20:00,210 going through all of those lists and making 539 00:20:00,210 --> 00:20:01,029 sure that, 540 00:20:01,329 --> 00:20:03,509 firstly, we can find everything, and secondly, 541 00:20:03,890 --> 00:20:06,369 making sure everything should stay in place or 542 00:20:06,369 --> 00:20:07,109 be deprecated. 543 00:20:08,289 --> 00:20:10,289 That's helpful to understand. Thank you for laying 544 00:20:10,289 --> 00:20:11,705 out that process so clearly, and I think 545 00:20:11,705 --> 00:20:13,565 it goes back to something else you mentioned 546 00:20:13,865 --> 00:20:15,865 at the beginning of our conversation looking at, 547 00:20:15,865 --> 00:20:19,144 you know, decommissioning those things that aren't in 548 00:20:19,144 --> 00:20:21,465 use anymore in in managing that technical debt 549 00:20:21,465 --> 00:20:22,445 in a different way. 550 00:20:22,984 --> 00:20:25,259 So, especially, when you think about that technical 551 00:20:25,259 --> 00:20:27,279 debt, I mean, how does your team approach, 552 00:20:27,899 --> 00:20:29,839 those conversations or really efficiently 553 00:20:30,220 --> 00:20:31,899 managing some of those things and so you 554 00:20:31,899 --> 00:20:34,139 can cut back on on what, isn't in 555 00:20:34,139 --> 00:20:34,639 use? 556 00:20:35,339 --> 00:20:37,839 Yeah. So I think the interesting thing about 557 00:20:38,605 --> 00:20:40,625 working in health and health IT is 558 00:20:41,005 --> 00:20:42,605 a lot of the work that we do 559 00:20:42,605 --> 00:20:45,105 isn't technical. It's very much communication. 560 00:20:46,125 --> 00:20:47,105 So once you've 561 00:20:47,565 --> 00:20:48,065 identified 562 00:20:48,924 --> 00:20:49,424 assets, 563 00:20:50,380 --> 00:20:52,220 the next step is to go and validate 564 00:20:52,220 --> 00:20:53,759 the asset with the person 565 00:20:54,140 --> 00:20:56,700 who has the asset or who we think 566 00:20:56,700 --> 00:20:57,599 has the asset 567 00:20:57,980 --> 00:21:00,380 and then validate whether that use case that 568 00:21:00,380 --> 00:21:02,299 they have the asset for is still a 569 00:21:02,299 --> 00:21:04,454 valid use case or not. Now we can 570 00:21:04,454 --> 00:21:06,075 take the example of laptops. 571 00:21:06,375 --> 00:21:08,214 How many times do you find out that 572 00:21:08,214 --> 00:21:08,875 the user 573 00:21:09,255 --> 00:21:11,734 has been issued more than one laptop in 574 00:21:11,734 --> 00:21:12,474 your organization? 575 00:21:13,414 --> 00:21:15,894 And then if they have, go and validate 576 00:21:15,894 --> 00:21:17,994 whether they truly have two or three 577 00:21:18,295 --> 00:21:20,509 or whether or not two of them are 578 00:21:20,509 --> 00:21:22,750 no longer functioning and they never gave it 579 00:21:22,750 --> 00:21:23,970 back to us for decommissioning. 580 00:21:24,269 --> 00:21:26,450 So it's it's it's sort of 581 00:21:26,829 --> 00:21:27,970 a detective work 582 00:21:28,349 --> 00:21:30,769 in addition to lots of communication. 583 00:21:31,710 --> 00:21:34,029 And my job is to communicate to the 584 00:21:34,029 --> 00:21:34,769 health system 585 00:21:35,325 --> 00:21:38,224 about all these different initiatives that we have 586 00:21:38,365 --> 00:21:39,265 and ask 587 00:21:39,804 --> 00:21:43,325 my user community for help because we can't 588 00:21:43,325 --> 00:21:46,605 do it alone. So sometimes we have amnesty 589 00:21:46,605 --> 00:21:48,444 programs. Hey. If you have any of our 590 00:21:48,444 --> 00:21:50,444 equipment that you didn't give back, let us 591 00:21:50,444 --> 00:21:52,690 know. And people come forward and say, yeah. 592 00:21:52,690 --> 00:21:55,029 I forgot to tell you this wasn't working. 593 00:21:55,490 --> 00:21:56,929 I'll hand it back, and then we can 594 00:21:56,929 --> 00:21:58,230 decommission it. So 595 00:21:58,529 --> 00:22:00,849 my job is to communicate at system level 596 00:22:00,849 --> 00:22:03,410 the different initiatives we have. Then the team 597 00:22:03,410 --> 00:22:05,589 on the ground will go and interact 598 00:22:06,625 --> 00:22:08,884 round in our different facilities, 599 00:22:10,065 --> 00:22:11,845 look at things, find things, 600 00:22:12,625 --> 00:22:14,484 either refresh things or 601 00:22:14,944 --> 00:22:17,984 deprecate them altogether. And that's a that's a 602 00:22:17,984 --> 00:22:18,484 continuous 603 00:22:18,785 --> 00:22:20,329 cycle that we will undertake 604 00:22:20,869 --> 00:22:23,190 during the year. Because the more you can 605 00:22:23,190 --> 00:22:23,690 communicate 606 00:22:24,869 --> 00:22:27,990 your challenges to your end users, the more 607 00:22:27,990 --> 00:22:30,569 helpful they can actually be in 608 00:22:30,950 --> 00:22:32,650 partnering with you to 609 00:22:33,029 --> 00:22:35,210 to deal with the challenges ahead. 610 00:22:36,605 --> 00:22:38,924 I love that. Thank you again for digging 611 00:22:38,924 --> 00:22:40,924 a bit deeper there. Now before we wrap 612 00:22:40,924 --> 00:22:42,204 up, I wanted to ask you about growth. 613 00:22:42,204 --> 00:22:43,244 Where do you see some of the best 614 00:22:43,244 --> 00:22:45,644 opportunities for organizational growth in the next couple 615 00:22:45,644 --> 00:22:46,224 of years? 616 00:22:47,005 --> 00:22:48,544 Well, certainly for us in pediatrics, 617 00:22:49,005 --> 00:22:50,464 we are seeing growth, 618 00:22:51,110 --> 00:22:52,890 in terms of patient demand 619 00:22:53,350 --> 00:22:54,410 for our services. 620 00:22:54,950 --> 00:22:57,049 So we will definitely be expanding 621 00:22:57,430 --> 00:22:58,570 across the region 622 00:22:58,950 --> 00:23:00,890 that we serve in terms of 623 00:23:01,269 --> 00:23:02,410 access to clinics, 624 00:23:03,174 --> 00:23:05,195 access to out of hours services 625 00:23:05,894 --> 00:23:06,634 that our 626 00:23:06,934 --> 00:23:08,315 parents and kids need, 627 00:23:08,855 --> 00:23:09,994 and, you know, 628 00:23:10,295 --> 00:23:12,714 more streamlined ways in getting 629 00:23:13,335 --> 00:23:14,075 the appointments 630 00:23:14,695 --> 00:23:17,195 and set secondary and tertiary care 631 00:23:18,099 --> 00:23:19,399 that parents need 632 00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:22,679 for their kiddos in the Pacific Northwest. So 633 00:23:22,740 --> 00:23:24,279 it's a multipronged approach. 634 00:23:24,819 --> 00:23:27,720 Some growth, some new clinics, some new ambulatory 635 00:23:28,019 --> 00:23:28,519 centers, 636 00:23:28,980 --> 00:23:30,740 and we will continue to do that through 637 00:23:30,740 --> 00:23:31,559 '26 638 00:23:31,755 --> 00:23:34,015 so that we can meet the growing capacity 639 00:23:34,555 --> 00:23:36,575 that we have here in the Pacific Northwest. 640 00:23:37,994 --> 00:23:39,755 I love that. Thank you so much, doctor 641 00:23:39,755 --> 00:23:42,555 Chowdhury, for everything that, you have talked through 642 00:23:42,555 --> 00:23:44,075 with us today. This has been such a 643 00:23:44,075 --> 00:23:46,990 fascinating and valuable conversation. And, you know, I'm 644 00:23:46,990 --> 00:23:48,349 excited to see you as well at our 645 00:23:48,349 --> 00:23:49,970 annual meeting. I know you'll be, 646 00:23:50,429 --> 00:23:52,349 there speaking on a panel and just, you 647 00:23:52,349 --> 00:23:54,509 know, always excited to have you as part 648 00:23:54,509 --> 00:23:56,269 of what we're doing here at Becker. So 649 00:23:56,269 --> 00:23:58,349 thank you. Well, thank you. Thank you for 650 00:23:58,349 --> 00:24:00,269 spending some time with me. Always a pleasure 651 00:24:00,269 --> 00:24:01,761 pleasure to chat with you, Laura.