Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Leading Digital Transformation and AI Innovation with Scott MacLean

Transcript

Leading Digital Transformation and AI Innovation with Scott MacLean · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:02
  - Every health system executive right now is being
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  - asked to do something that has no useful
• 0:06
  - precedent,
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  - make durable technology decisions in an environment that
• 0:10
  - looks meaningfully different every six months.
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  - The pace isn't slowing,
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  - the vendor landscape isn't getting simpler, and the
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  - cost of missteps
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  - keeps rising.
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  - Becker's eleventh annual IT and Revenue Cycle Conference,
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  - The Future of AI and Digital Health, exists
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  - for exactly this challenge.
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  - Here, you'll find more than 2,500 executive level
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  - attendees,
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  - 600 plus speakers, and four days of sessions
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  - built around the questions leaders are actually wrestling
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  - with.
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  - How to scale AI responsibly,
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  - how to protect increasingly complex systems,
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  - how to wring more performance out of the
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  - revenue cycle, and how to make tech investments
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  - that hold up over time.
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  - Join us September fourteenth through the seventeenth at
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  - the Hilton Chicago.
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  - You can register on our events page at
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  - beckershospitalreview.com
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  - by clicking on the events tab in the
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  - upper right.
• 1:01
  - This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
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  - podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
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  - Scott McLean,
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  - senior vice president and chief information officer at
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  - MedStar Health. Scott, it's a pleasure to have
• 1:10
  - you on the podcast today. Thanks, Laura. Really
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  - looking forward to it.
• 1:14
  - Absolutely. Now I'm excited for our conversation because
• 1:16
  - I know you're in the throes of,
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  - Epic implementation installation and, you know, really excited
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  - to learn more about that as well as
• 1:23
  - some of the things that
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  - you are, looking forward to in the future.
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  - But before we dive in, for those listeners,
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  - I know you've been on with us in
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  - the past, but for those who are just
• 1:32
  - joining the Becker's Healthcare podcast, can you give
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  - us just a brief overview of,
• 1:36
  - yourself, your career, and MedStar Health?
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  - Sure. Well, I've been serving as CIO at
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  - MedStar Health for eight years now. And prior
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  - to that, I was the deputy CIO at
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  - National Brigham up in Boston.
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  - Really,
• 1:50
  - learned the health care IT landscape,
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  - there. I was there many years through various
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  - leadership positions
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  - and then had the opportunity to come here
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  - to MedStar. We are a 10 hospital integrated
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  - delivery system with many ambulatory sites throughout the
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  - region. We're affiliated with Georgetown University Medical Center.
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  - And, we have, an innovation center and a
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  - health research institute
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  - and also a,
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  - insurer Medicaid insurer in both Maryland and the
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  - District Of Columbia.
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  - That's fantastic. And, you know, definitely,
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  - exciting time to be within,
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  - that space, have both, you know, the health
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  - system side, the insurer, and everything else. So
• 2:29
  - I'm curious, you know, when you think about
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  - where you're at,
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  - within
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  - MedStar today, what are some of the most
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  - powerful forces that are shaping the digital health
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  - and IT at your organization, and how do
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  - you anticipate those might evolve over the next
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  - year or two?
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  - Sure. Well, I I think,
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  - like many of us, we are all trying
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  - to, deliver the best quality care efficiently and,
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  - be able to meet value based payment program
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  - expectations.
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  - And,
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  - increasingly,
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  - the consumer experience is is more and more
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  - important as people want access and they want
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  - it conveniently,
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  - and they don't necessarily want to have to
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  - visit a doctor's office if they don't need
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  - to. So, therefore, the the telehealth and other
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  - asynchronous
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  - visit types are are important
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  - to,
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  - to be available.
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  - And if they do need to come physically,
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  - we we try to be in your backyard,
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  - so to speak, in this region. So many
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  - urgent cares and, physician offices,
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  - multi multi specialty sites, and and many, many,
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  - physical therapy locations.
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  - Regarding digital, we've, had a strategy where we've
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  - used the platforms that we we have and,
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  - have built,
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  - a MSR health app on top of that
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  - to to give better access for our patients
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  - and, have an extensive telehealth program.
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  - I think as we
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  - are in the throes of, adopting Epic now,
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  - we'll be, you know, using many of their
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  - tools,
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  - that are mature and, ready for use in
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  - in these types of digital interventions.
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  - So I think our environment will be simpler,
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  - and, we will take advantage of everything Epic
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  - has to offer and,
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  - I think
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  - engage our patients in a way that is,
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  - simpler and easier for them, less confusing.
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  - That makes a ton of sense. You know,
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  - I I really love your point around thinking
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  - about the consumer strategy for patients and what
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  - exactly they're expecting from their health care journey
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  - in in removing friction points. And, you know,
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  - to that point, I know, obviously, Epic will
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  - bring new capabilities. But how is your team
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  - having to think differently about the way that
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  - technology
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  - and and digital side of things is integrating
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  - into health care delivery,
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  - to meet what the consumer demands and and,
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  - really truly have that type of
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  - experience that they expect?
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  - Well, I've spent many years in health care,
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  - and I've seen evolution and and the use
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  - of technology increasingly, obviously, over the last, thirty
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  - years or so.
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  - And
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  - I think the focus has has moved from
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  - us internally
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  - either focused on hospitals and clinicians
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  - to really trying to put the patient at
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  - the center of that and and look at
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  - their journey through through their eyes.
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  - And I think you and I have talked
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  - about before. I believe strongly in in platforms.
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  - We have very capable software platforms now, including
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  - the EHR, the ERP systems,
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  - the collaboration tools, and then,
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  - business process automation software like like ServiceNow.
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  - And I I think the more we simplify
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  - our environment
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  - and we are able to take advantage of
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  - all the capabilities of these platforms,
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  - then we're able to focus more on what
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  - the the patient wants and and use the
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  - technology in order to
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  - be able to provide the best experience
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  - instead of focusing so much on,
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  - our people and and running the technology
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  - more on providing the experience that the patients
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  - want and be able to to get to
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  - see the clinicians that they need to see,
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  - as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
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  - I I love that. Thank you for digging
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  - a bit deeper there. Now I'm curious. Could
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  - you tell us a little bit more about
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  - a big project or a swing that you
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  - took in the last year that's paid off?
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  - What did you do, and what were the
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  - results?
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  - Well, it's a great question. I mean, I
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  - I think, our pivot here in the last
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  - year has been towards the, EPIC implementation. So
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  - the the payoff isn't yet, but we expect,
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  - in come September of next year that we'll
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  - be operating,
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  - in a more efficient way with, easier access,
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  - therefore,
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  - more volume.
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  - We we have great opportunity in our region
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  - to, see more patients
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  - and then to generate more more revenue. I
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  - also think the integrated nature of the platform
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  - will help us
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  - measure what we do better and and therefore
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  - be in a process of continuous improvement. So
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  - I think I think that this program across
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  - the board will help us with
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  - focusing on our patients and giving them the
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  - satisfaction and convenience they want, certainly
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  - making it easier for our clinicians to operate
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  - and our our other administrative revenue cycle personnel.
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  - And,
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  - overall, I I think it will be a
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  - a play that that delivers great value for
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  - us.
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  - That's great to hear. And, you know, I
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  - I know it's a huge undertaking doing these
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  - implementations.
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  - It takes the the full team,
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  - working many, many hours. And I'm curious, you
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  - know, throughout this process,
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  - and I know there's still a ways to
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  - go, but what have you learned so far?
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  - Is there anything that, you've been able to,
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  - glean or maybe
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  - adjusted to do a little bit differently, to
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  - get better results as you're going through implementation
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  - and and, really getting to a place where
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  - you can then do the on switch?
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  - Well, in this particular implementation,
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  - Epic certainly has a lot of experience and
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  - some methodologies that are are very helpful along
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  - with our implementation partners. So I think we
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  - have a good,
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  - team,
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  - consisting of MedStar Health Associates, the, EPIC contributors,
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  - and our third party
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  - integrator that's that's helping us.
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  - So I I I think the the way
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  - that we go about training our people and
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  - and getting them certified
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  - to build EPIC. And
• 8:14
  - the the focus on
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  - stepping through the program
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  - methodically,
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  - has been been really helpful. I I think
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  - the other thing that we're learning is
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  - just the the mantra of putting Epic first
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  - has allowed us to say to our community,
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  - hey. We need to pause or or not
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  - do a certain program because of, the capabilities
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  - that Epic will bring to us. And and
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  - that's led us to, I think, better governance,
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  - with inside our organization, better understanding.
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  - I think the other thing is,
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  - you know, we might be a little bit
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  - later in adopting Epic even some of the
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  - other large systems, but we've we've been on
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  - a journey towards, acting as a system for
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  - many, many years and I think are are
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  - very well prepared in people and process
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  - to apply this technology
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  - so that
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  - now we can operate,
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  - not only, as a fully integrated delivery system
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  - and, you know, move our patients and our
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  - caregivers and people around to to where they're
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  - needed,
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  - and best served, but but also now to,
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  - have the efficient
• 9:21
  - technology platform to support all of that.
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  - And that makes a ton of sense. Thank
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  - you for digging a bit deeper there and,
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  - kind of showing behind the curtain a bit.
• 9:31
  - Now, obviously, it's still very much a transition
• 9:34
  - and, but I'm curious. What are some of
• 9:36
  - the most important problems that you're trying to
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  - solve now or or or next with AI
• 9:41
  - and technology?
• 9:43
  - Well, I think that,
• 9:44
  - again, the the advent of generative AI gives,
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  - great opportunities.
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  - I think we talked a little bit about
• 9:51
  - platforms, and
• 9:53
  - McKinsey and others have talked about whether you're
• 9:55
  - a taker, a shaker, or a maker in
• 9:57
  - the AI space. And we certainly wanna take
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  - advantage of the AI that's offered from all
• 10:02
  - of the platforms that we've invested in. We
• 10:05
  - also like other health care systems, we have
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  - an enormous amount of data in a data
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  - lake house where we will be making some
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  - AI interventions on the data that, are not
• 10:14
  - provided by the platforms
• 10:16
  - and, and probably some
• 10:19
  - of of our own custom development using proprietary
• 10:21
  - information that or data that we have.
• 10:24
  - So I I think that the
• 10:27
  - the best outcome from,
• 10:30
  - or the ability to take advantage of it
• 10:32
  - is is using what's provided by these, vendors
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  - that we've invested in so far.
• 10:37
  - And, I I think we're we're also looking
• 10:40
  - at end to end how what can we
• 10:43
  - automate within the organization that makes things more
• 10:46
  - efficient and,
• 10:48
  - allows us to manage costs. Right? As we
• 10:51
  - continue to,
• 10:53
  - like everyone, try to make the the best
• 10:55
  - margin we can in an environment where, reimbursement
• 10:58
  - is is not growing as fast as the
• 11:00
  - costs are.
• 11:01
  - That makes a lot of sense. You know,
• 11:03
  - when you really think broad and big picture,
• 11:05
  - so many health systems have that challenge of,
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  - seeing the the reimbursement
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  - grow, do not match where their expenses are
• 11:12
  - are going to be or the financial challenges,
• 11:15
  - that are just a reality of doing business
• 11:17
  - in the health care space today. So having
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  - technology,
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  - as a a different lever to pull, I
• 11:22
  - suppose, or ways that
• 11:24
  - you can, approach that problem
• 11:26
  - is helpful.
• 11:28
  - And then before we wrap up here, what
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  - are you most curious about for the future?
• 11:31
  - Where do you see some of the big
• 11:33
  - opportunities or,
• 11:35
  - you know, in an ideal situation, where do
• 11:37
  - you think things could go if all goes
• 11:39
  - right?
• 11:40
  - Well, I'm I'm pretty bullish on technology. I
• 11:43
  - think we have, adapted,
• 11:45
  - as humans throughout history to additional technology, and
• 11:48
  - I think we will
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  - do so with artificial intelligence and,
• 11:53
  - everything that will will come for us.
• 11:55
  - For a long time as we've labored in
• 11:57
  - health care technology,
• 11:59
  - we have methodically,
• 12:02
  - at least over my time,
• 12:04
  - it it's really only been limited by time
• 12:06
  - and money. Right? There's great opportunities to,
• 12:09
  - automate the the clinical workflows. And now we
• 12:11
  - have,
• 12:13
  - most of our information online. We're gathering a
• 12:15
  - lot of of data.
• 12:17
  - And I think the
• 12:19
  - the next step is to be able to
• 12:22
  - have
• 12:23
  - customizable
• 12:24
  - at the point of care support for clinicians
• 12:27
  - making decisions about the specifics of a patient,
• 12:31
  - their
• 12:32
  - genetic makeup, what what various
• 12:36
  - therapies would best fit them.
• 12:38
  - And I I think that is
• 12:41
  - obviously very complex and therefore is is ripe
• 12:44
  - for
• 12:45
  - automation and
• 12:48
  - artificial intelligence being able to process a lot
• 12:51
  - of information and provide good suggestions while obviously
• 12:54
  - keeping the human in the loop for decision
• 12:57
  - making,
• 12:58
  - at the point of care. So I think
• 13:00
  - we we will see as these ecosystems evolve
• 13:03
  - and we continue our our research missions
• 13:06
  - and we learn more about,
• 13:09
  - human health and and how to treat
• 13:12
  - people, I I think we've got great opportunity
• 13:15
  - to discover
• 13:17
  - many more ways to to make people well
• 13:19
  - and, to prevent disease.
• 13:22
  - I love that. It's definitely definitely some very
• 13:25
  - aspirational things to shoot for, but, can really
• 13:28
  - be a big difference in a reality for
• 13:30
  - sure as we move forward. Scott, thank you
• 13:32
  - so much for joining us on the podcast
• 13:33
  - today. This has been such a fun discussion
• 13:35
  - and really, really invigorating, and I look forward
• 13:37
  - to seeing you at our health IT digital
• 13:39
  - health revenue cycle conference in September. I know
• 13:41
  - you'll be a speaker and, share some of
• 13:43
  - the things we talked about today, dig a
• 13:45
  - little bit deeper, and, you know, really be
• 13:46
  - able to make some strong connections. So I'm
• 13:48
  - looking forward to doing that and seeing you
• 13:50
  - soon.
• 13:51
  - Fabulous. Thank you so much, Laura.