Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT / Leveraging Technology for Healthcare Transformation with Dr. J. Polizzi, CTO at MI Partner Health
Transcript
- 0:00Imagine this. You're in the heart of Chicago
- 0:02mingling with the brightest minds in health IT.
- 0:05You've arrived at the 9th annual Health IT
- 0:07plus Digital Health Plus RCM conference taking place
- 0:11October 1st through 4th at the luxurious Hyatt
- 0:14Regency Chicago.
- 0:15Picture the excitement as you collect countless business
- 0:18cards, forging invaluable connections with over 25 100
- 0:22executive level attendees.
- 0:24Feel the buzz of ideas flowing as you
- 0:26engage in meaningful conversations about the future of
- 0:29healthcare technology.
- 0:30Envision yourself attending sessions led by over 415
- 0:35elite speakers,
- 0:36gaining insights that could transform your organization.
- 0:39From digital transformation and telehealth to clinician burnout
- 0:43and cybersecurity,
- 0:44each topic is designed to spark new ideas
- 0:47and provide actionable takeaways, but it doesn't stop
- 0:49there. Imagine sitting in a packed auditorium listening
- 0:53to motivating keynotes from some of the biggest
- 0:55names in sports. Four time Super Bowl champion,
- 0:58Rob Gronkowski,
- 0:59WNBA
- 1:00champion, and author, Lisa Leslie,
- 1:02and NFL legend and ESPN
- 1:05analyst,
- 1:06Eli Manning, will be there sharing their stories
- 1:08and inspiring you to reach new heights. All
- 1:11around you, the future of health IT unfolds,
- 1:14and you're not just a spectator.
- 1:16You're an active participant.
- 1:18Don't wait. You can find the event website
- 1:20and get registered by visiting peckershospital
- 1:33Healthcare Podcast. Today, I'm thrilled to be welcome
- 1:36doctor Jay Pulizzi to the Becker's Podcast to
- 1:39talk about some of the big things that
- 1:40he is working on right now, challenges that
- 1:43he's facing, and how he's thinking about the
- 1:45next 6 to 12 months or so. Doctor
- 1:47Pulizzi, it's a pleasure to have you on
- 1:49the podcast today.
- 1:51Yeah. Thanks for having me, Laura.
- 1:53Now first and foremost, how are you today,
- 1:55and where does this podcast find you?
- 1:58Yeah. I'm doing well. Today, I'm joining you
- 2:01from Grand Rapids, Michigan
- 2:03and very excited to have this conversation about
- 2:05the evolving landscape of
- 2:07technology and health care.
- 2:10That's great to hear. So, to start off,
- 2:12can you give us a brief overview of
- 2:13yourself and what a a typical day looks
- 2:16like for you?
- 2:17I'm a family physician and clinical informaticist.
- 2:20I focus on health care transformation
- 2:23using technology,
- 2:24mostly at the intersection of how people,
- 2:27whether clinicians or patients, leverage these solutions within
- 2:31the health care ecosystem
- 2:33to optimize care
- 2:35and the experience of care.
- 2:37Much of my career centered on implementing
- 2:40and optimizing
- 2:42electronic health records,
- 2:43improving workflows,
- 2:46which are critical to enhancing the efficiency and
- 2:48effectiveness of care delivery.
- 2:51But now I'm more focused on digital health
- 2:54innovations,
- 2:56particularly supporting not only traditional health care, but
- 2:58also value based care opportunities.
- 3:02A typical day for me involves working with
- 3:05companies and clinicians to streamline their processes,
- 3:09exploring new technology solutions,
- 3:11and ensuring that healthcare teams and patients are
- 3:14supported in their use of these tools
- 3:17in understanding the potential of artificial intelligence
- 3:20to revolutionize how we deliver and access health
- 3:23care.
- 3:24That's great to hear. You know? And what
- 3:26an important link between,
- 3:29your teams and and patients and companies,
- 3:31to really make sure that, you know, you're
- 3:33able to optimize the technologies, processes, and workflows
- 3:37there. Now what are some of the biggest
- 3:39challenges you're currently facing in your work, and
- 3:41how are you addressing those challenges?
- 3:44Yeah. One of the biggest challenges right now
- 3:46is clinician burnout.
- 3:49With increasing administrative tasks, many providers are feeling
- 3:52overwhelmed,
- 3:54which certainly can affect both their well-being and
- 3:56patient care.
- 3:59This burnout led to some clinicians reducing their
- 4:02hours or leaving the profession entirely,
- 4:04making access to care more challenging for patients.
- 4:08To combat this,
- 4:10we're working on optimizing EHR systems to make
- 4:13them more intuitive
- 4:14and less time consuming to use.
- 4:17Of course, technologies like ambient documentation
- 4:20are incredibly promising.
- 4:23As you know, they use AI to record
- 4:25patient visits in real time,
- 4:27reducing the need for clinicians to spend
- 4:30hours and hours on data entry,
- 4:33but also other solutions that will automate repetitive
- 4:36tasks such as managing an EHR's inbox.
- 4:39Additionally, leveraging both asynchronous and synchronous telehealth solutions
- 4:44to improve patient access,
- 4:46Asynchronous tools allow patients to communicate with their
- 4:50providers
- 4:51without needing real time interaction,
- 4:53making care more flexible and convenient for both
- 4:56clinicians and patients.
- 4:58The synchronous telehealth,
- 5:00what we're mostly familiar
- 5:02with, enables real time connection, expanding access to
- 5:06care,
- 5:07especially in underserved areas.
- 5:09And integrating these technologies into the workflow,
- 5:12we can reduce the administrative burden on clinicians
- 5:15but also help to maintain and even improve
- 5:17patient access to care despite, the workflow challenges
- 5:21we're facing.
- 5:23And that's really helpful to understand. And having
- 5:25that, convenience for patients, I know, is really
- 5:28important these days as consumerism and health care
- 5:30is on the rise. And, really, the ability
- 5:32to choose your providers
- 5:34is just,
- 5:36becoming more and more acute for many patients.
- 5:38And so having the right technologies and workflows
- 5:40to be efficient and effective and improve that
- 5:42access to care seems like, you know, as
- 5:45you mentioned, a big challenge, but, definitely
- 5:48the the right area of focus,
- 5:50to create success in the future.
- 5:52Looking ahead, what are the top priorities for
- 5:54you and your organizations over the next 6
- 5:56to 12 months or so? Are there any
- 5:58upcoming projects or shifts in focus that you're
- 6:00particularly excited about?
- 6:03Oh, so many things.
- 6:05Looking ahead, one of my main priorities is
- 6:07supporting the continued and growing shift toward more
- 6:11patient centered cost effective approaches in health care
- 6:14and how we leverage technology to support that.
- 6:17I'm currently involved in in several projects that
- 6:20exemplify this this trend.
- 6:23The first is My Partner Health.
- 6:25We launched a membership based practice where we
- 6:28provide personalized care with an additional focus on
- 6:31functional
- 6:32and lifestyle medicine,
- 6:33serving both individual patients and employers.
- 6:37We're delivering
- 6:38high quality primary care services while utilizing innovative
- 6:42technologies to support a company's employees
- 6:45and help streamline the health care experience for
- 6:47them.
- 6:49A second project is TruLine Health,
- 6:52which is an innovative primary care model that's
- 6:55technology driven, value based,
- 6:57and focused on whole health.
- 6:59TruLine
- 7:01will serve seniors 65 and older in senior
- 7:03living communities with Medicare and Medicare Advantage Plans,
- 7:07emphasizing preventative care and wellness
- 7:10in a population that often requires more complex
- 7:13care management.
- 7:15I'm also very excited to be working with
- 7:17Banff Health, which is revolutionizing
- 7:20health care through AI driven
- 7:22molecular imaging and precision based diagnostics.
- 7:26Starting very soon, BAMF will offer amyloid PET
- 7:29scans and FDA approved therapies for mild cognitive
- 7:33impairment due to Alzheimer's.
- 7:36Their focus on precision medicine and AI advancements
- 7:39is also leading to breakthroughs in cancer treatment,
- 7:42making personalized and accessible care a reality for
- 7:45patients with these
- 7:47complex conditions.
- 7:50Finally, as a strategist for Mentavy Health,
- 7:53they focus on providing accessible
- 7:56mental health virtual solutions.
- 7:59Initially, they specialize in ADHD evaluations,
- 8:04but they since have expanded
- 8:06to include conditions such as anxiety,
- 8:09depression,
- 8:10binge eating disorders, social media use, and more.
- 8:14Their goal remains
- 8:16to make comprehensive mental health services
- 8:19accessible to patients,
- 8:21across the country,
- 8:23right from their homes.
- 8:25They've recently released a mental health
- 8:29wellness snapshot
- 8:31that provides sort of a self guided questionnaire
- 8:34for a personalized
- 8:36mental health well-being report
- 8:38to to sort of get an understanding of
- 8:41where where you may land with some of
- 8:43these conditions
- 8:45and potentially seek, you know, further diagnosis and
- 8:48and treatment options.
- 8:49So those are just a few things I've
- 8:51been working on recently.
- 8:53That's fascinating to hear. And you certainly keep
- 8:55yourself busy. A lot of different projects and
- 8:58initiatives really,
- 8:59building upon that,
- 9:01connection between patients and,
- 9:04the clinicians, employers, and others to drive value
- 9:06in health care, which I know is so
- 9:08important right now. As you mentioned, there's a
- 9:10lot of, complex care,
- 9:12being needed and happening, and so it's great
- 9:15to know that you've got your focus in
- 9:16there as well as on mental health,
- 9:19and personalized care in the mental health space
- 9:22is really, really critical. In your opinion, what
- 9:25trends or developments in health care should people
- 9:27be paying more attention to right now?
- 9:30Yeah. You know, I think
- 9:32artificial intelligence, without a doubt, is something people
- 9:35should be watching closely.
- 9:37We're already seeing its impact
- 9:40with technologies like
- 9:42and in documentation,
- 9:43which I mentioned earlier.
- 9:46But I think the future is even more
- 9:47exciting,
- 9:48as AI
- 9:50could soon be used for disease prediction,
- 9:52helping clinicians identify health risks before symptoms even
- 9:56emerge.
- 9:58Additionally, AI powered clinical decision
- 10:01support,
- 10:02can help assist providers in making more informed
- 10:06choices,
- 10:07especially in complex situations and cases.
- 10:10As these technologies mature, we could see a
- 10:13fundamental shift in how healthcare is delivered
- 10:16with AI augmenting human judgment and improving outcomes
- 10:19for patients.
- 10:21I think one of the biggest challenges healthcare
- 10:23organizations
- 10:24face today is understanding how to effectively integrate
- 10:28AI into their operations.
- 10:30It certainly has the potential to transform everything
- 10:33from administrative workflows to patient outcomes,
- 10:37but many organizations
- 10:38I feel struggle with where to even begin.
- 10:41And but the reality is if you haven't
- 10:43already started exploring this space, you're likely falling
- 10:47behind your competitors.
- 10:49I think a good first step is just
- 10:51education and awareness,
- 10:53having
- 10:55leadership teams and clinicians
- 10:57understanding
- 10:58the potential tangible benefits AI can bring.
- 11:02And it's important to identify specific areas where
- 11:05AI could have an immediate impact in your
- 11:08organization,
- 11:09like automating repetitive tasks
- 11:12or providing predictive analytics for population health management.
- 11:16I think for organizations
- 11:17to truly succeed with AI, they need to
- 11:20invest in both the technology, but also the
- 11:22training.
- 11:24AI tools must be integrated seamlessly into existing
- 11:27workflows,
- 11:28and staff need to feel comfortable using them.
- 11:31It's not just about adopting technology, but it's
- 11:34about creating a culture of innovation
- 11:37and ensuring that your team is equipped to
- 11:39maximize its potential.
- 11:42That's great to hear. And I love the
- 11:44focus on innovation, and, certainly, artificial intelligence is
- 11:47becoming more and more integrated into all aspects
- 11:49of health care and health care delivery and
- 11:51to have that kind of focus. And and
- 11:53now, like you mentioned,
- 11:55automation as well as predictive analytics, it seems
- 11:57like a lot of,
- 12:00tools at our fingertips, but, you know, being
- 12:02able to actually maximize them, optimize them, and
- 12:04have the skills to know what to do
- 12:06with that information, you know, is another story.
- 12:08And so it's great to have that,
- 12:11kind of gap closing to some degree.
- 12:14Before we wrap up here, is there anything
- 12:15else you'd like to add or any advice
- 12:17you'd like to leave to our listeners?
- 12:20Sure. I I'd say as we continue to
- 12:23embrace technology and health care, we must always
- 12:26keep the patient at the center of our
- 12:28efforts.
- 12:29Technology should enhance
- 12:31the patient experience,
- 12:33and not create additional barriers.
- 12:36Whether we're using AI for clinical decision making
- 12:39or improving workflows using digital tools,
- 12:43our focus must remain on providing high quality,
- 12:47safe, and compassionate care.
- 12:50And for health care leaders, my advice would
- 12:52be to engage clinicians in these conversations.
- 12:55They're the ones at the front lines,
- 12:58and their insights
- 13:00are crucial to ensuring that these these tools
- 13:02truly serve their purpose.
- 13:05Fantastic. Well, doctor Polizzi, thank you so much
- 13:07for joining us on the podcast today. This
- 13:09has been such a fun conversation, and I
- 13:11look forward to connecting with you again soon.
- 13:13Thank you, Laura. Yes. It's been, it's been
- 13:16amazing. Thanks for having me.