Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Leading Through Change: How Healthcare Executives Can Turn Disruption into Momentum

Transcript

Leading Through Change: How Healthcare Executives Can Turn Disruption into Momentum · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello, everyone. This is Erica Spicer Mason with
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  Becker's Healthcare. Thank you so much for tuning
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  into the Becker's Healthcare podcast series today.
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  So today we're going to talk about what
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  it means to lead through disruption,
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  change, and innovation in healthcare.
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  And joining me for this conversation, we have
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  with us Tammy Knobbe, the executive vice president
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  at CoroHealth.
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  Tammy, welcome to the podcast. It's so great
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  to have you with us today.
• 0:25
  Yeah. Thank you, Erica. I appreciate you, asking
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  me to join you. Look forward to the
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  conversation.
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  Oh, we look forward to learning from you.
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  And and before we get into the the
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  meat of our conversation, I wanted to see
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  if you'd like to share just a little
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  bit more about yourself and your work in
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  health care with our listeners.
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  Yeah. Absolutely. So
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  I will tell you that I've been in
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  health care for close to twenty five years.
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  I think I started when I was about
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  15,
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  just to keep it, on the straight and
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  narrow. But on a more serious note, I
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  started my career in the provider space. So
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  I've worked in academic medicine,
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  acute care facilities, and post acute care. Absolutely
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  love the work I did. And probably the
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  back half of my career has been more
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  categorized by working in the vendor partner space.
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  And mostly, I think what I have gravitated
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  towards is the healthcare technology
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  and technology enablement. So I've been with Coral
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  Health since about the April,
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  and,
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  I'm very excited to help lead some of
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  our charge master and our clinical revenue integrity
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  teams.
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  Yeah. Fantastic,
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  Tammy. Thanks for sharing a bit more about
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  you, and it's great to know that you've
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  kind of seen it sounds like a lot
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  of corners of health care, and I think
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  that's
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  really going to set us up for such
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  a great conversation. And and one that's really
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  looking at
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  your high level of perspective and how you're
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  viewing leadership right now. And so that's kind
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  of where I wanted to have a start
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  here is this this idea of leadership,
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  especially in an environment where right now,
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  leaders are being asked to rethink, it feels
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  like everything, whether that's operations,
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  the workforce,
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  technology innovation, and just high level strategy.
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  And they're having to kind of reckon with
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  these forces all at once. So how do
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  you approach leading through this level of disruption,
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  and what principles have guided you in turning
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  uncertainty into forward momentum?
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  Yeah. Erica, I think it's an it's an
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  absolute these days.
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  Change is inevitable for us, and the level
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  that we are seeing in health care is
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  probably unprecedented to what we've had in the
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  past. I think for me as a leader,
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  it comes down to really kind of a
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  few key priorities. I I think continuously building
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  trust and relationships, not only within my team,
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  but with my colleagues across the organization and
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  then with our clients.
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  And,
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  you know, when doing that, taking a step
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  back to try to think about the WIFM.
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  Right? What's in it for those people that
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  are gonna be affected by the uncertainty or
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  the change?
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  Those are those are huge.
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  What I have learned, you know, through some
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  good and probably bad experience as well is
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  really being intentional
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  about
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  my transparency in the communication. So doing that
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  frequently.
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  I think people tend to
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  create their own story if we aren't providing
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  that for them. And so it's really important,
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  especially given the levels that we are seeing,
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  right now to really talk
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  through those things and be open and honest
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  about what we know and what we're doing.
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  And I think probably last but not least
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  is really just, you know, being a leader
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  that leads with compassion and provides support.
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  Yeah. I love where you're going with this,
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  Tammy. And so much of what you're saying
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  really rings true with what we've just heard.
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  Becker's just had our CEO CFO roundtable a
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  few weeks back. And I think this idea
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  of transparency and communication
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  and leading with compassion and empathy,
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  those were themes that I heard across,
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  I think, every panel discussion that I listened
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  in on regardless of the topic. So it
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  really seems like these skills are are becoming
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  more and more valuable in the leadership space,
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  and it sounds like that resonates with you
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  as well. For sure. I think the other
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  piece where we're pretty fortunate is when, you
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  know, we look at what is happening in
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  the industry,
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  the fact that Coral Health has so many
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  SaaS platforms,
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  we do have the ability to be a
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  little more nimble so that we can respond
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  more quickly to what's evolving in the landscape.
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  And then I think that helps our hospitals
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  kind of adapt, you know, using our clinically
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  informed technology.
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  It keeps us in a more proactive mode
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  if we can be, you know, to try
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  to help the hospitals keep their heads above
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  water.
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  Yeah. And, you know, I appreciate where you're
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  going here with this idea of,
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  adaptability
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  because it just seems like the the pace
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  at which everything is changing,
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  for leaders
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  to lean into an instinct to stay comfortable
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  or stay where they're at, I'm sure that
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  that comes with some pretty negative repercussions.
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  So what do you see as the biggest
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  risk of kind of standing still in health
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  care today, and how do you help teams
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  or even your clients at Quora Health create
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  urgency around transformation before they get to a
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  crisis
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  stage? Erica, that is a great question. I
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  mean, I think as we all know, AI
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  is the latest trend. Right? And organizations are
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  trying to determine what they should and shouldn't
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  do.
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  I recently heard a panelist ask,
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  at what point does not using AI become
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  irresponsible for us as leaders and organizations? And
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  that is something that really resonates with me
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  because I think the biggest risk of standing
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  still is that organizations will not only fall
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  behind, but they start to face these mounting,
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  you know, financial pressures which
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  lead then to a potential risk when it
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  comes to patient care.
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  I think trying to, from our team's perspective,
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  be really proactive, you know, which we talked
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  about a minute ago. And then, you know,
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  partnering with clients to think about how do
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  we modernize their operation and strengthen their business.
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  It's it takes a special person to do
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  that. Right? So some of those conversations can
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  be difficult
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  because we have to help think about a
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  broader picture or a new way of doing
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  things.
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  But I think it helps us keep them
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  focused on fundamental elements about,
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  you know, how do we go about this
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  before we just get slammed by the tide
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  of financial stress.
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  So, you know, I in our you know,
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  in the realm that I have at Coral
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  Health, the the business realm,
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  you know, we see things like
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  ChargeMaster services.
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  Many people might see that as mundane, but
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  that's really a foundational element to make sure
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  that we have,
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  correct coding enabled and billing.
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  And then also coupling that with a strong
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  documentation
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  and coding integrity program really supports clinician engagement,
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  education,
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  you know,
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  maintains the right revenue that the facility should
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  expect for the care that they're delivering.
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  So I I feel like if you if
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  we don't help
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  clients think out of the box and think
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  different than they have in the past,
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  they get behind the curve, which is much
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  harder to come, you know, from.
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  Absolutely. Especially the pace, with the pace at
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  which happening.
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  And, you know, you you touched on AI
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  in your response just a few moments ago.
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  That is hard to, you know, have a
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  conversation where not mentioning that nowadays.
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  Yeah.
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  But it's important because it really is I
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  think that's the topic that is at the
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  heart of
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  transformation right now for a lot of health
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  care organizations.
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  So
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  Definitely. You know, despite that, it it feels
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  like
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  many organizations are still piloting AI. They're still
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  in their early stages of figuring it out.
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  You know, a lot of organizations are also
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  building governance, committees kind of it's like building
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  the bike as you go. That's the the
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  sense and the feeling I get
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  alongside, of course, excitement and
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  some wins.
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  But I think it's probably still challenging for
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  many organizations to make it truly operational.
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  So from your standpoint, what what do you
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  think separates hype from meaningful innovation, and how
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  do you think AI can actually improve
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  outcomes instead of just adding complexity?
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  Yeah. Sure. You know, I think with any
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  new technology, we know there's both positive and
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  negative impacts. AI is no exception to that.
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  I think the challenge is how do we
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  distinguish the noise from what truly can deliver
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  that,
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  impact?
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  To me, success starts with clear goals and
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  expectations
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  for what the AI can achieve.
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  And I you hit on this element. You
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  know, you have to couple that with a
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  strong governance framework that not only protects data,
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  but also monitors the performance and really validates
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  those results.
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  I think that's where sometimes some of these
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  projects fall down.
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  You know, at Quora, we really view AI
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  as augmented intelligence.
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  So our tools are designed to support and
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  enhance clinical judgment, not replace
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  it. And I think smart AI has to
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  operate under the principle that human oversight is
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  essential in order to drive meaningful outcomes.
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  You know, that's if you look at some
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  of the technology we have, in our pulse
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  and our revision platforms,
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  it is clinically led, and that is something
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  that is important to us when we think
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  about how we develop.
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  It's clinically led. Yes. It's powered by AI,
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  but we reinforce
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  the continuous human review to ensure that we
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  have that integrity,
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  we produce quality, and we produce accuracy.
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  So I think for us, that is something
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  that our guiding principles when we look at
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  the market and what's happening.
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  Yeah. And you're hitting on something that I
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  think is so important here, and that's the
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  the concept of trust amid transformation.
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  You know, whether we're talking about building trust
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  in AI tools between clinicians,
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  finance leaders, IT, you know, there's a lot
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  of departments across the health care organizations that
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  have to be fully bought in and and
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  feel comfortable with the tools that they're using.
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  So can you just say a little bit
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  more about what you've seen as most effective
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  to bridge those those trust gaps so that
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  everyone's aligned around a shared goal?
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  Gosh. There are so many studies out there
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  that show probably 80 to 95%
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  of transformation
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  projects fail,
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  to deliver really meaningful results
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  or impact because we have a lack of
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  alignment.
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  And, you know, I think some of the
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  things that we see being successful is when,
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  one, we clearly define what the business goals
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  are, and we have the right executive ownership
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  of the project.
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  Because if we don't have that, it creates
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  kind of a disconnect between what are a
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  lot of times technical priorities and the business
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  needs. So from our, you know, perspective, our
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  approach is kind of multi pronged on how
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  we look to try to solve that.
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  We look at engagement really at every level.
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  So, yes, we work with the c suite.
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  Like, almost every company out there, it's important
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  to have their buy in, but we also
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  involve clinicians in those frontline teams who deliver
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  care and use our tools every single day.
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  You know, I always
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  one of the mantras I've kind of had
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  in the past is if I don't help
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  you improve your process, you're just gonna be
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  frustrated at my technology six months down the
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  road. So part of my job is to
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  hear from those people that have to touch
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  that,
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  in every in their everyday work. I think
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  the second piece that is key to our
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  approach is really, again, that intentional human centered
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  design. So
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  taking the insights from the 300 plus clinicians
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  that we have in our business
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  into our technology development process, and I think
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  that helps us one, it just buys us
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  goodwill. Right? It ensures that we have the
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  trust factor from the clinicians, and we are
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  working to align across that, I I would
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  call clinical and financial continuum,
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  to really
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  enforce our commitment to meaningful engagement.
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  Yeah. And that approach is so aligned, Tammy,
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  with what we're hearing from hospital and health
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  system executives. We know that they're engaging frontline
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  teams more than ever in technology initiatives. So
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  to know that that's also happening from the
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  vendor or the partner perspective,
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  so important.
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  So as you look ahead and I know
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  looking five years out in this age of
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  AI, it feels like a really long time.
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  So we can even reduce that down to
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  just a few years from now. But as
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  you look ahead to the next few years,
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  especially
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  with AI, automation,
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  workforce challenges continuing to evolve,
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  what qualities do you think will define the
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  most effective leaders?
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  Yeah. You know what? That's again, that's really
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  a good thought and something that I think
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  you hear a little bit of buzz about,
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  in some of the, you know, conferences and
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  forums in the industry.
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  I think some of these traits that I'm
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  gonna talk to you about are probably commonplace
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  today, but they've become even more important as
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  we look at the evolving landscape.
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  So I think first and foremost, they have
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  to be strong collaborators. So we need leaders
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  that can work across the entire patient care
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  continuum
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  in order to deliver more holistic outcomes.
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  They have to be able to sit down
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  and have that, you know, conversation with the
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  CFO as well as somebody that can sit
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  side by side with a nurse or a
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  physician, you know, in the ED and talk
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  about what's working and what's not and, you
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  know, what keeps them up at night. So
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  I think that's gonna be really, really key.
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  I think, secondly, I really look at it
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  as, like, someone who's a continuous learner.
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  So as we've talked about, the landscape's evolving
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  very, very rapidly.
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  So we need leaders who are curious,
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  eager to learn,
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  committed to understand how the new regs or
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  technologies can drive success for their teams and
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  their organizations.
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  And I think the third piece I would
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  tell you kind of comes with that continuous
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  learning mentality is
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  they they have to be change agents. Not
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  just for the sake of change,
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  but we need them to embrace change, but
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  also challenge us, you know, both personally and
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  then professionally
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  in our organizations to become the best version
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  of ourselves and really elevate what we can
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  deliver. I think I'm probably biased, right, when
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  I see,
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  I look across Koro, and I look to
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  see kind of how we're reflecting that in
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  our leadership models.
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  And I feel like we're trying to really
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  kind of live that
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  mantra. Right? Combine our clinical expertise,
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  use our technology,
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  you know, drive for measurable results that, you
• 13:53
  know, can sustain the transformation.
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  And I think one of our, you know,
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  one of our tag phrases is really smarter
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  people, smarter tech, smarter outcomes,
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  and it's gonna take leaders that can get
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  us to those things
• 14:07
  to really help us stabilize for the future.
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  Such great insights, Tammy. And just to recap
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  that for our listeners, so it sounds like
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  these three top traits will will be strong
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  collaboration,
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  continuous learning, and having that mentality of being
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  a continuous learner and also being an agent
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  for change.
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  Such important qualities that you're highlighting here.
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  And to close this out, Tammy, I thought
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  it would be great if you could share
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  with our listeners just one piece of leadership
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  advice that you've carried with you throughout your
• 14:37
  career.
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  Yes. You know, this is one of the
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  favorite things I love hearing from other leaders.
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  So thank you for that question. For me,
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  I feel like the advice,
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  was simple, but it's pretty powerful. It came
• 14:50
  from one of the first CIOs that I
• 14:51
  had worked with at an academic institution.
• 14:54
  He was incredibly intelligent, a great mentor, but
• 14:57
  I noticed his team often drew kinda comments
• 15:00
  around the, quote, unquote, opportunities for improvement
• 15:03
  when it came from other leaders across the
• 15:05
  organization. Right? And I think that's sometimes natural
• 15:08
  when you lead an IT organization. We can
• 15:10
  always fix our problems with more technology.
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  And one day I asked him, I said,
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  do you know why do you sometimes stay
• 15:16
  silent during these debates?
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  And he shared advice that he'd received early
• 15:22
  in his career that has stuck with me.
• 15:24
  He said,
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  always listen more than you speak,
• 15:27
  strive to keep an open mind and be
• 15:29
  inclusive because that's how you build trust and
• 15:31
  collaboration.
• 15:32
  So I know it may sound a little
• 15:34
  silly, but I actually have that written on
• 15:36
  a card that sits on my monitor. And
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  I think for me, it serves as a
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  reminder both in,
• 15:42
  you know, some tough times and in the
• 15:43
  really good ones on what I need to
• 15:45
  do to strive to be a continuously better
• 15:47
  leader. So it's been some fantastic advice through
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  the years.
• 15:52
  Oh, that that's so helpful to hear, and
• 15:54
  I I'm sure our listeners appreciate that as
• 15:56
  well, Tammy. And hopefully this mentor, this former
• 15:59
  leader of yours, hopefully they know what what
• 16:01
  an impact it made on you.
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  Oh, I hope so too. It was fantastic.
• 16:06
  Well, it's been such a great experience talking
• 16:08
  to you, Tammy, getting to know you and
• 16:10
  really your ethos around leadership. I think it's
• 16:12
  such an important time for this conversation,
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  not just as we're heading into a new
• 16:16
  year, but also with all of the change
• 16:18
  that's happening.
• 16:19
  I think a lot of listeners out there
• 16:22
  are looking for for conversations like this where
• 16:24
  we go back to the basics and talk
• 16:25
  about what's needed as the foundation for some
• 16:27
  of this change that that's that's ahead. So
• 16:30
  thank you again for making the time for
• 16:31
  Becker's today.
• 16:33
  Thank you, Erica, again for having me, and
• 16:35
  I really appreciate Becker's tackling those topics.
• 16:38
  Absolutely.
• 16:39
  And of course, we'd also like to thank
• 16:41
  our podcast sponsor today, Coral Health.
• 16:43
  Listeners, be sure to tune into more podcasts
• 16:45
  from Becker's Healthcare by visiting our podcast page
• 16:48
  at beckershospitalreview.com.