Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT / Brian Carlson, Vice President of Patient Experience at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Transcript

Brian Carlson, Vice President of Patient Experience at Vanderbilt University Medical Center · Becker’s Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT

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  Don't wait. You can find the event website
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  and clicking on the events page. That's the
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  beckershospitalreview.com
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  events page.
• 1:32
  This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
• 1:34
  podcast.
• 1:35
  I'm thrilled today to be joined by Brian
• 1:37
  Carlson, vice president of patient experience at Vanderbilt
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  University Medical Center. Brian, it's a pleasure to
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  have you on the podcast today.
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  Hello. Thank you for having me.
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  I'm looking forward to our discussion and really
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  digging a bit deeper into what you're doing
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  at Vanderbilt in terms of the patient experience.
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  But before we dive in, can you tell
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  us a little bit more about yourself and
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  your background?
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  Absolutely. Thank you. Thanks again for having me
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  today.
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  So I am vice president of patient experience
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  at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
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  I've been in this role for the last
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  10 years. Prior to that,
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  I worked in the
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  physician group practice realm, so leading physician groups.
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  Started, my career at Northwestern, in OBGYN and
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  did some multi specialty group practice work in
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  New York and then came here to Nashville
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  and Vanderbilt,
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  in 2007
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  to help lead the ophthalmology department.
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  That's great to hear. And, you know,
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  given your experience, what are some of the
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  opportunities and headwinds that you have your eye
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  on right now?
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  Yeah. It's certainly an interesting time in healthcare,
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  but I think,
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  I bet if we went back in time
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  and listened to podcasts from years ago, we'd
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  probably say that every year. It seems to
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  always be an interesting
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  moment in time where we are. I think
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  the opportunity and the headwinds is 1 and
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  the same and that is the workforce.
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  What we do, how we do it, everything
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  is dependent upon humans caring for humans and
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  it's the ability of those humans to deliver
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  that care
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  in a safe,
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  quality fashion with good outcomes and good experiences.
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  So I think the opportunity is the investment
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  we have to continue to make in those
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  who work in the healthcare space,
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  but the headwind is also the challenges we
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  face with us.
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  We've got
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  changing skill sets, we have changing demographics,
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  we have
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  demands that far outweigh supply,
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  We
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  have burnout and the need for resilience on
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  the part of the workforce. So
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  all of those things
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  are certainly creating challenging headwinds,
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  as well as as engagement, you know, feeling
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  connected to the work that, that we do
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  in healthcare.
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  That really, you know, is interesting to hear,
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  and I can imagine, as you said, so
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  many different organizations
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  are dealing with a lot of the same
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  workforce challenges. When you think about, you know,
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  that that investment that needs to be made
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  today,
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  what is most meaningful to to put that
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  investment both in terms of time, manpower, and
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  financial resources
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  behind when you're looking at a workforce that,
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  you know,
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  to one side is,
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  potentially experiencing some burnout or or needing extra
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  support there. But, on the other hand, you
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  know,
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  really, a lot of organizations
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  are finding it challenging to recruit and retain,
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  team members at the same
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  time. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, I I think
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  that,
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  you know, health care is a calling. So
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  we have a we have a distinct advantage
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  compared to other industries in the sense that
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  I think people come into the healthcare space
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  wanting to serve. They want to serve others.
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  They want to help others.
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  And that can be both whether you're in
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  direct patient care or
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  you're behind the scenes in supporting those that
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  are.
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  So I think the investments
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  is at a macro level.
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  How can organizations
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  support the workforce to do their jobs most
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  effectively? I believe
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  that if we give, if we give individuals
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  the tools to do their job and the
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  space and the time to do it, they
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  will by and large succeed. They will deliver
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  the good quality safe experience outcomes that we
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  expect in the healthcare space. But sometimes we
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  get in our own way and that own
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  way is just by nature of the demands
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  that we face.
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  Like I mentioned earlier,
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  the demands far outweigh the supply right now
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  and we continue to try to serve everybody
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  coming through the doors, which is the right
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  thing to do.
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  But
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  sometimes there's only so much you can push
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  through the pipeline. So
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  how can we continue to make investments to
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  diversify,
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  to use technology to support, to make processes
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  easier,
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  to engage patients in their own care and
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  personalize their care where they take control and
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  maybe have some opportunities
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  to care for themselves,
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  to burden some to lessen some of that
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  burden. I mean, those are all opportunities. And
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  unfortunately,
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  the solution is not one, it's multiple. There
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  is not a this is not an easy
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  solution, but it's a it's a multiple,
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  pronged approach that probably needs to be taken.
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  That makes a lot of sense. You know?
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  It's really,
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  it it seems like a great way to
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  look at this big challenge,
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  and how you can overcome it. Now, you
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  know, when you are are thinking about the
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  future, how do you think about growth and
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  adding value to Vanderbilt overall?
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  Yeah. I mean, I think about it in
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  2 ways.
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  First is from a personalization standpoint.
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  Patients who come
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  to see us, patients who come to see
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  receive care at other institutions, they want to
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  be acknowledged. They want to be cared for.
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  They want to feel like we've them in
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  whatever it is they're going for. And sometimes
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  in order to do that, we need to
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  we need to create a connection. We need
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  to get to know them and and what
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  are what are their needs, desires, what do
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  they want to walk out with. And I
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  think that the opportunity lies in that we're
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  gonna have to figure out
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  better, more effective tools
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  to learn what it means and personalize that
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  care for each individual. And in this case,
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  what I'm talking about from an experience standpoint
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  is a further adoption of CRM tools.
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  CRM has been around for many years in
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  many industries and it's been in healthcare for
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  many years, but really not in the embedded
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  clinical space. I see a lot of opportunity
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  for CRM
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  tools to really make an impact
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  on helping us navigate and understand each individual's
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  needs, wants,
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  their interactions with us and how we can
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  make it more efficient and effective
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  for them.
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  And then I think on the clinical side,
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  what we've understood from our patients is that
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  patients are expecting us to use their data
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  in a way that helps them predict and,
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  avoid
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  unnecessary harm down the line. So how can
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  we use their data to predict
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  compared to others, big data now, what's going
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  on? And I think that,
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  the AI space is exploding. There's a ton
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  of opportunity there. We have to be cautious.
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  We have to be safe. But certainly there's
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  a lot of development opportunities there and it's
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  how can we use an individual's patient data
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  to maybe help them understand what lies ahead
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  of them
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  and put them on paths where they could
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  avoid unnecessary
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  suffering
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  because of
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  of of their their makeup and their and
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  their, DNA.
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  That's really an exciting potential in the future.
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  And, you know, when you think about patients,
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  you mentioned,
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  that's really they're
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  wanting to have this data
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  out and available and and understand how it
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  impacts them.
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  I just think, you know, it seems like
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  a fascinating
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  ability, to do that. And,
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  from the patient's perspective,
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  are you seeing excitement around, you know, that
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  type of
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  depth and granularity within their health care space?
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  Are there any nerves about how their data
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  is being used? Or, you know,
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  I guess, any skepticism
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  around what that could mean for them long
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  term?
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  Yeah. I mean, I I see all of
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  those in play,
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  but what I,
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  an indicator for me is in in the,
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  kind of commercial care space. So
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  digital apps, you know, websites,
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  people are
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  searching for the data that they're looking for
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  for whatever's going on for them, and they're
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  willing to share their data, you know, if
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  it can help them and benefit them.
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  So just by nature of
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  that whole industry
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  and the digital health space, people are willing
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  to engage, people are willing to share.
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  Obviously they want to be
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  want to have assurances that it's safe,
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  that it's secure and they're working with a
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  reputable
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  institution like a Vanderbilt, like others in the
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  academic space and non academic space as well.
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  But they want to be sure that it's
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  their data is secure and safe, but being
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  used in a productive fashion that can help
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  not only them, but potentially others down the
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  line.
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  That's great to hear.
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  Now I'm wondering what is one risk or
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  investment that you feel like is still worth
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  making this year? I know, you know, for
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  many organizations, it's still finances
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  are tight and,
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  certainly
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  have to be mindful about how you use
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  your resources. So when you think about, you
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  know, where you're putting those resources towards, what
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  comes top of mind for you?
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  Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna take a a
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  maybe a a non finance approach to this
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  and say I think the investment is
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  in the workforce,
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  but it's in our each individual as themselves.
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  So,
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  and then
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  a investment in the teams that they work
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  within.
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  Healthcare
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  is is not an individual sport. It's an
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  ultimate team sport, and it requires team working
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  with other teams who don't maybe interact every
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  single day. They don't know each other. And
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  I think that we are so busy that
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  we need to continue to make investments in
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  creating opportunities
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  for teams across teams to work together to
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  create connection, to create understanding,
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  so that communication channels can be enhanced
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  and thus when communications hits obviously the risk
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  things are getting dropped, errors being made, people
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  being willingness to speak up
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  are enhanced.
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  So I think first it starts with an
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  investment in ourselves and each individual.
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  And then it's a connection to us each
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  individual connecting with those we work with and
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  around. And maybe not even in our direct
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  environment, but those teams we we intersperse with
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  every now and then,
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  to get the work done that we need
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  to get done to help the patients ultimately.
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  I hope that made sense.
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  Yeah. Yeah. I think that it definitely makes
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  sense in, you know, having that ability to,
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  put in the time, the effort, and then
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  the energy investment into the people,
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  within the organization, I can imagine it just
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  creates a ripple effect of a stronger culture
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  and stronger sense of belonging from them as
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  well.
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  Really, especially as we talked about earlier, you
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  know, with with providers having such a,
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  you know, still feeling a lot of stress
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  within their jobs, in many cases. So having
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  that kind of ability to feel connected, I
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  can imagine, is really strong.
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  Yeah. I mean, we are we're, as humans,
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  we're wired for connection. We want a sense
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  of community, we want a sense of of
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  being part of something bigger than ourselves, and
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  I think
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  the health care space certainly offers So
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  how
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  can
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  we continue
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  So how can we continue to reconnect
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  to the mission, to the calling
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  and to the sense of we're helping individuals
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  improve their lives, get well, get better and
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  get back on a path to live the
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  life they want to lead. And that's very
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  satisfying
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  when you feel that is just sometimes with
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  the burdens of the everyday,
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  we have to take a step back, reconnect
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  to that, reconnect those around us and feel
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  that sense of pride and awe that we
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  can have in the healthcare space by the
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  by nature of the work that we do.
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  That's amazing to hear. Now before we wrap
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  up, I'm wondering,
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  where do you see some of the best
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  opportunities for growth in the future for yourself
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  and the work that you're doing, around patient
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  experience?
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  Yeah. I mean, I
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  I, I think that,
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  you know, we are on, as an industry,
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  experience work
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  is vital
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  to to the end. You know, earlier this
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  year, a group of us put out a
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  paper on the value case of
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  of of experience work. And that experience work
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  is not just patient experience, it's also workforce
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  experience because it's all intertwined. Our experiences are
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  all intertwined.
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  So I think the opportunity is is that
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  we continue to lean into
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  the many, many, many hundreds of thousands of
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  voices that we have
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  and that we understand
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  what they're telling us, where the pain points
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  are and that could be at an individual
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  level or that can be at a systemic
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  level, a process issue and then how can
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  we continue to work to make the system
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  better for them and the them in this
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  case is both the workforce
• 14:15
  and the patient.
• 14:16
  Just a little sidebar something that we've done
• 14:19
  here at Vanderbilt that I'm very proud
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  and that's in the recognition space. And I
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  believe we do far more right. I don't
• 14:35
  the mistakes that happen and by nature we
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  try to focus on those and not make
• 14:40
  those happen again, which is the right thing
• 14:41
  to do. But sometimes that can cause us
• 14:43
  to lose sight
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  of all the great things that are going
• 14:46
  on, every single day.
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  So, you know, in the experience space, patients
• 14:51
  are usually very generous about sharing with
• 14:55
  us the good experience that they've had and
• 14:56
  they'll even go to the extent of sharing
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  by name, you know, this person,
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  Laura was a was a great nurse.
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  Historically,
• 15:06
  if if that comment was left by a
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  patient, it would require someone to go in
• 15:09
  to read it. They would have to to
• 15:11
  identify, oh, that's Laura. I know who that
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  is, you know, then paste, copy, put it
• 15:15
  in an email or another document,
• 15:17
  write it out in a handwritten note, whatever
• 15:19
  the the case may be, and and send
• 15:21
  it. That that takes time, and that takes
• 15:23
  a lot of effort. And middle management health
• 15:24
  care is probably the hardest job. They don't
• 15:27
  have a lot of space and time really
• 15:28
  invest in that as much as they would
• 15:30
  like to. So we developed an algorithm here
• 15:32
  at Vanderbilt that looks at matching
• 15:36
  names and comments to whose access the patient's
• 15:39
  record,
• 15:40
  from a security standpoint. And then we have
• 15:42
  a matching algorithm and we send those
• 15:45
  positive
• 15:46
  comments, positive only
• 15:47
  to the team members directly,
• 15:50
  sharing with them this patient left this comment
• 15:51
  about you. Keep up the great work. We
• 15:54
  just wanted to share and let you know
• 15:55
  that you were being recognized by a patient.
• 15:57
  And
• 15:58
  even in the smallest details that can fill
• 16:01
  someone's cup. We've gotten feedback from from from
• 16:04
  colleagues saying, you know, I was having the
• 16:06
  most challenging day ever. I was really questioning
• 16:08
  how can I continue doing this? And then
• 16:10
  I read this very heartfelt, you know, comment
• 16:13
  from a patient, and it really reconnected me
• 16:15
  and reminded me of of why I do
• 16:17
  what I do and and how important it
• 16:19
  is.
• 16:20
  Well, that's amazing to hear it, you know,
• 16:22
  and certainly,
• 16:23
  just a really cool thing you're able to
• 16:25
  do for the clinicians
• 16:26
  working within the health system.
• 16:28
  And thank you so much, Brian, for joining
• 16:30
  us on our podcast today. This has been
• 16:31
  such a fun conversation, and we look forward
• 16:33
  to connecting with you again soon.
• 16:35
  My
• 16:36
  pleasure.
• 16:38
  Thank
• 16:39
  you.