Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT / Transforming Pediatric Healthcare with AI & Innovation: A Conversation with Dr. Zafar Chaudry

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Transforming Pediatric Healthcare with AI & Innovation: A Conversation with Dr. Zafar Chaudry · Becker’s Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT

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1:03
This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
1:05
podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
1:07
doctor Zafar Choudhry, senior vice president as well
1:10
as chief digital, chief AI, and chief information
1:12
officer at CLL Children's. Doctor Choudhry, it's a
1:15
pleasure to have you on the podcast today.
1:17
Thank you for having me, Laura.
1:19
Now I'm excited for our conversation because I
1:21
know you've had a lot of experience in
1:24
the technology as well as, of course, health
1:26
care space and, a really unique perspective that
1:29
you bring to us. You've been on the
1:30
podcast several times before, and and so it's
1:33
always great to have you back.
1:35
And I'm curious to dig into some of
1:36
the cool things you're doing at Seattle Children's
1:38
as well as how you're thinking about the
1:40
future, especially given some of the
1:42
uncertainties,
1:43
within the health care as well as just
1:45
broader,
1:46
you know, US ecosystem here. But before we
1:49
dive in, I'm wondering, could you tell us
1:51
a little bit more about Seattle Children's and
1:53
what makes it unique?
1:55
Yeah. So Seattle Children's, it's a pediatric health
1:58
system. We're in the Pacific Northwest.
2:01
We serve
2:02
Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho,
2:06
and we have 47
2:07
sites.
2:09
Amongst, those four states, we're about 13,000
2:13
people.
2:14
500 of those work in IT,
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generating about 4,000,000,000 in revenue.
2:19
And in the IT arena, we do everything
2:22
from infrastructure
2:23
all the way through to digital health.
2:26
Oh, that's great to hear. And, you know,
2:28
when you think back to the last year
2:29
or so, what accomplishment are you most proud
2:31
of?
2:33
So we've done some interesting and cool things.
2:35
We've
2:37
certainly
2:38
implemented a new ERP.
2:40
So we are through phase one of our
2:43
ERP implementation.
2:44
We migrated from,
2:47
InfoLawson
2:48
to Workday and launched
2:50
the human capital management modules as well as
2:53
payroll. And
2:54
good news is we've been able to pay
2:56
people correctly on time for many months now
2:59
using that new system.
3:01
The other thing that we have done is
3:03
we moved
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all of our analytics and data platforms
3:09
from
3:10
IBM Netezza, which we had used for five
3:12
years,
3:13
to a full
3:14
partnership with Google Cloud. So everything now runs
3:18
within that space. And we managed to do
3:20
that in a very short period of time,
3:22
migrating many, many
3:24
billions lines of code as well as
3:28
hundreds and hundreds of databases.
3:31
That's amazing to hear. And, you know, I
3:33
I know that's a huge undertaking,
3:35
technical
3:35
as well as just the manpower it takes
3:38
to do,
3:39
something like that and and make the transition.
3:41
I'm curious,
3:42
you know, when you're,
3:44
bringing together all that data in in the
3:46
code and and trying to,
3:48
set the foundation for what you need to
3:50
be successful in the future, how do you
3:53
do that successfully with your team? What kind
3:55
of,
3:56
expertise and talent do you need? And then,
3:58
you know, looking at the the change management
4:00
to bring you into,
4:02
the transformation,
4:03
on the people and culture side.
4:05
How do you bring that all together? What
4:07
advice would you have for leaders who are
4:09
going through the same thing currently?
4:11
Yes. Of all of these programs,
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you know, we are a technology group serving
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a health care system. So we really are
4:19
in the patient business,
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not the technology business. And most of the
4:23
programs
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we run
4:26
are really transformation
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programs
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that require a lot of change management. So
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anytime we do a major project like a
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new system implementation
4:36
or a migration from one tool to another,
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we are heavily involving our people and culture
4:41
teams, and they usually provide,
4:44
resources to help in that change management process.
4:47
We also wanna make sure that anything we
4:50
build
4:51
is operationally led and technology enabled. So
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you don't do these things well without a
4:58
multidisciplinary
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team of people
5:00
who help you get there. So we are
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facilitators
5:04
to a greater extent
5:06
and
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trainers, but at the same time,
5:09
doing the people and process component
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requires
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partnership.
5:14
And if you bring the right partners to
5:16
the table,
5:17
you're going to have success.
5:19
And implementing systems is actually the easy part.
5:22
The sustaining of those systems
5:24
is where you have to put a lot
5:26
more effort. So getting to a go live
5:28
on something,
5:29
it's great. You celebrate it. It may be
5:32
a long journey. You may have spent many
5:33
years on it, but then making sure that
5:36
that system is actually
5:38
used the way it should be
5:40
so that you're driving
5:42
all the benefits of the investment you've made
5:45
is where you still need to continue to
5:48
focus your change
5:50
energies within the health system.
5:53
Got it. That's helpful to know and understand.
5:55
And, you know, really, I appreciate you digging
5:57
a little bit deeper there. Now looking ahead,
5:59
what are some of the big organizational goals
6:01
that you're setting for 2025?
6:04
So we've got to continue to do
6:07
the second phase
6:09
of our Workday implementation.
6:11
So that's still got about five or six
6:14
months left on
6:15
it. That will be the financial module as
6:17
well as
6:19
our supply chain. So that will involve, once
6:21
again,
6:23
operational changes to to lead to the transfer
6:26
transformation that we're looking for. We have heavily
6:30
invested
6:31
in our AI program, and this wouldn't be
6:34
a conversation if I didn't mention AI. But
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we've heavily invested in that in our partnership
6:40
with Google. So we are a Gemini
6:42
AI site,
6:43
and we're currently working on some generative AI
6:46
use cases
6:48
in their final stages before they will be
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released to
6:52
our clinical population. And a lot of the
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focus has been on
6:56
clinical use cases that more than anything else.
7:00
The other thing that we actually have just
7:02
completed
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as we speak
7:05
is we have we have done
7:08
and
7:09
put into play a strategic partnership
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with Rackspace.
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So moving forwards
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in a ten year agreement, Rackspace will be
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our core provider for all of our infrastructure
7:21
in the Rackspace cloud
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as well as all of our networking.
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And that will mean that the 1,600 applications
7:29
we have
7:30
will run-in
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the Rackspace cloud, and that's been a big
7:34
program of works that we just
7:36
completed a few weeks ago. So those are
7:39
some of the key things. The other thing
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that we are planning to do is build
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a new campus
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in Renton, Washington,
7:47
and that site will be a fully fledged
7:50
hospital and all ancillary
7:53
systems to support that. That's gonna be a
7:55
seven year program, and we actually kicked that
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off in the last few weeks. So the
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first phase is to do the actual
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design of the building and the design of
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the technology that goes into that
8:06
building.
8:07
So we've had a heavy focus
8:09
on that project as well.
8:12
That's great to hear. And I I know,
8:14
on all of those fronts, a lot of,
8:16
teamwork and effort and resources go into it.
8:19
But, certainly, it sounds like,
8:21
bringing everything together to make the organization and
8:24
the system more efficient, effective, and able to
8:27
treat patients better, which is, of course, the
8:29
ultimate goal. So,
8:31
that's really cool to hear. I know a
8:33
lot of opportunities to continue to grow, develop,
8:35
and use technology,
8:37
to your advantage, but I can imagine that
8:40
there are challenges as well. What are some
8:42
of those headwinds that you're anticipating for the
8:44
next year or two?
8:46
So I think the first headwind, I think,
8:48
is going to continue to be workforce
8:51
shortages,
8:52
especially in the clinical space.
8:55
Increasing labor costs, there's burnout
8:59
That's
9:00
impacting health care organizations
9:01
and retention as well.
9:03
The other thing is financial pressures. So there's
9:06
a rising cost of care delivery,
9:08
including
9:09
inflation in medical supplies, labor expenses,
9:13
and now
9:14
tariffs, which is straining
9:16
health care organization
9:17
budgets.
9:18
We're also seeing reimbursement challenges from payers,
9:21
including potential cuts and increased denials
9:24
that will add to financial difficulty.
9:28
And,
9:28
you know, we are sort of midsized, but
9:31
we sort of have to stay
9:33
as good financial stewards moving forwards.
9:36
The other thing we're seeing is regulatory changes
9:38
and uncertainty,
9:40
evolving regulatory requirements,
9:43
some of the executive orders,
9:46
including changes to privacy mandates,
9:49
creating some challenges.
9:51
So so it's a moving
9:53
target
9:55
going forwards because there's also
9:57
changes in health care policy due to political
10:00
shifts that could create uncertainty.
10:03
As I said, we're seeing a rising cost
10:05
of delivering that care, and that's gonna be
10:07
a combination of what we buy, what we
10:09
pay in labor, and what the tariffs bring
10:12
around medications
10:13
and,
10:15
medical supplies as well as hardware and software.
10:19
We're seeing a focus and headwinds around
10:22
more integration
10:24
in tech the technology space. How do we
10:26
integrate new technologies into existing health care systems?
10:29
And that can be complex and expensive.
10:33
Let's not forget cybersecurity
10:35
threats.
10:36
That is on an all time high, and
10:39
that is going to create some challenges for
10:42
us. The other thing is how do we
10:44
maintain
10:45
equitable access to health care for all populations
10:49
and address any disparities,
10:51
with some continued priority.
10:54
So I think when you sort of take
10:56
all those different things,
10:57
these headwinds create a complex and challenging environment.
11:01
So we've gotta have
11:04
an adaptability
11:06
focus on innovation and efficiency
11:08
so that we can navigate these challenges.
11:12
Absolutely. I I think that makes a lot
11:13
of sense. And it seems like, you know,
11:16
as you mentioned, having that flexibility and being
11:18
nimble,
11:19
no matter what you wake up to, whether
11:21
executive orders or,
11:23
some other,
11:25
things that are happening that you can't control,
11:27
the ability to manage that, in the day
11:30
to day basis while also looking ahead with
11:32
that strategic growth plan.
11:34
You know, it seems like that would just
11:36
be a challenge on a continuous basis, but
11:38
it sounds like you've got a a strong
11:40
way of managing that and trying to keep
11:42
that balance.
11:44
Yeah. We are trying. It's it's always difficult
11:47
to interpret new things and then figure out
11:50
what those actually mean, and then you're moving
11:53
at a very high pace, which is unusual
11:56
for health care.
11:57
So we're trying to keep up, you know,
11:59
trying to take a deep breath and keep
12:01
moving forwards. Because in reality,
12:03
change is inevitable.
12:05
Right? And so you have to just be
12:07
prepared
12:08
and try your best to lead people through
12:11
those changes.
12:13
Not everybody will be happy. It's not that
12:15
I agree with everything that's happening, but I
12:18
sort of use the eighty twenty rule. If
12:20
we can do 80%
12:21
of the things well, we can keep moving
12:23
forwards, and we can keep taking care of
12:26
kids in the Pacific Northwest.
12:29
Absolutely. That that, you know, makes a lot
12:31
of sense and is a great way of
12:32
looking at it. I'm also curious. You know,
12:35
you talked a little bit about some of
12:36
the financial challenges, especially as, you know,
12:40
with
12:41
medical supplies and devices continuing to increase as
12:44
well as workforce shortages
12:46
in in some of those,
12:48
challenges as well. And when you look at
12:50
what you're doing on the technology side, how
12:53
much of,
12:54
you know,
12:55
what you're able to, I guess, bring into
12:58
the system,
12:59
you think of as a solution to some
13:01
of these problems or assisting in some of
13:02
these problems versus, you know, exacerbating them?
13:06
Yeah. So
13:08
automation
13:09
and AI
13:11
are additional tools that you put on your
13:14
tool belt to help address some of the
13:19
tasks that you're doing in the back office
13:21
as an as an example
13:23
so that you can focus people on
13:25
the important work versus
13:28
the day to day lights on doors open
13:30
work. So I do think that
13:32
using AI technologies
13:34
and
13:35
automating some processes
13:37
will help us build some capacity,
13:41
and it'll also take the pressure off work
13:44
that people honestly don't like doing
13:47
but have to do. And maybe if we
13:49
can automate that, we'll see some significant operational
13:54
improvements
13:55
as a as part of that process.
13:57
So I think we can't ignore,
14:00
and we have to adapt to the new
14:02
technology changes
14:04
and rapidly try to integrate some of those
14:07
tools
14:08
so that we take pressure off people,
14:10
reduce burnout.
14:12
And then if you reduce burnout, you also
14:14
improve in retention,
14:16
take away some of the day to day
14:20
standard tasks that, let's be truthful, everybody hates
14:23
but has to do.
14:24
And then we can get our people focused
14:26
on
14:27
what they really came to work at Seattle
14:30
Children's for was focused on patients,
14:33
patient outcomes,
14:35
and addressing,
14:37
any disparities.
14:40
That's helpful context, and and thank you so
14:42
much for digging in deeply there. Now before
14:44
we wrap up our conversation, I'm wondering how
14:46
are you evolving as a leader, especially given
14:49
the market dynamics we've talked about and as
14:51
well as the rapid pace of change for
14:53
technology and AI in the health care space?
14:56
So truth truth be told, I'm
14:59
one of the OAIPs.
15:02
So I'm an old aged
15:04
IT professional,
15:05
and I struggle at times to keep up
15:08
with the pace of technological
15:10
change.
15:11
But it is my job, and I have
15:13
to do that. So we've been looking at
15:16
how we transform with these technologies,
15:19
how we engage
15:20
multidisciplinary
15:21
teams to help us
15:23
evaluate these new technologies
15:26
and also
15:27
get them and encourage them to volunteer to
15:30
try new things.
15:32
I think
15:33
all of this will have changed, so we
15:35
focus, and I'm trying to adapt to
15:38
leading on change, being a better and clear
15:41
communicator,
15:43
and trying to do as much stakeholder engagement
15:46
as I can. The other thing I've been
15:48
trying to do is understand the workforce of
15:50
the future. So So one of the things
15:52
I find really confusing
15:54
is the gen z population.
15:57
It's a very interesting group.
15:59
They don't focus for many
16:02
for for for long on anything, and they
16:04
always want the next challenge.
16:06
And so I've tried to surround myself with
16:09
this group of individuals so that I can
16:11
educate myself on how I need to adapt
16:14
my style and the kind of work that
16:16
we give the group so that they remain
16:20
engaged.
16:21
The other thing we're looking at is my
16:23
role has evolved into
16:25
spending more time
16:27
focusing on patient care and making sure that
16:30
the tools that we're bringing to the party
16:33
are tools that actually impact
16:36
the front line. So you see a lot
16:38
more of this
16:39
virtual nursing
16:40
and
16:41
use of AI to predict things like
16:45
patients falling from a bed, etcetera.
16:47
So sort of that to improve the quality
16:50
and efficiency of the care delivery that we
16:52
have.
16:53
And then, of course, we also have to
16:55
build
16:55
pipelines of new staff coming into the organization.
16:58
So
16:59
I've had I've put some focus on mentoring
17:02
programs
17:03
as well as
17:05
how do we get high school students
17:07
through
17:08
associate degrees.
17:09
It has a pipeline into our organization, and
17:12
we sponsored
17:13
programs with the local college to
17:17
create those programs and provide scholarships
17:20
to make that happen. So I've tried to
17:22
stay
17:24
thinking one step ahead
17:26
whilst never losing the focus on
17:29
patient well-being
17:31
and understanding
17:32
that
17:33
change is inevitable.
17:35
And if organizations
17:37
don't transform,
17:39
they will fail.
17:41
That's fascinating. And certainly, you wanna be, not
17:44
in that group, but but in organizations that
17:46
are thriving and growing. And,
17:48
doctor Chowdhury, thank you so much for joining
17:50
us on the podcast today. I I really
17:52
appreciate your perspective on a great many things,
17:54
and we look forward to talking with you
17:56
again soon as well as seeing you at
17:58
our health IT event. I know you'll be,
18:00
speaking on one of our panels, and truly
18:03
will be excited to see you there in
18:04
person.
18:06
Thank you, Laura, and I look forward to
18:08
the conference that's coming ahead for backers.