Episode 24 : The Pulse of Innovation:

SFTS-Live From ViVE pt1.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

SFTS-Live From ViVE pt1.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Intro/Outro:
Welcome to Smart From the Start, presented by care.ai, the smart care facility, platform company, and leader in AI and ambient intelligence for healthcare. Join Steve Lieber, former CEO of HIMSS, as he interviews the brightest minds in the health provider space on truly transformative technologies that are modernizing healthcare.

Steve Lieber:
Hello, I'm Steve Lieber, and I'm delighted to extend a warm welcome to you for this special miniseries broadcasting live from ViVe in Los Angeles, where the energy and excitement are palpable. ViVe 2024 isn't just an event, it's a convergence of minds, ideas, and innovations in health information technology. Over 8,000 passionate individuals have gathered here to experience firsthand the cutting-edge advancements shaping the future of healthcare. From February 25th to 28th, Los Angeles served as the epicenter of digital health, with ViVe leading the charge. We were on the ground to bring you exclusive interviews with the thought leaders, innovators, and decision-makers shaping the future of healthcare live from ViVe. So settle in, unwind, and join us as we explore the business of healthcare and the boundless possibilities ahead. Welcome to live from ViVe 2024.

Steve Lieber:
Hello, I'm Steve Lieber, and welcome to this broadcast. We're coming to you from ViVe in Los Angeles. This is a fantastic event, bringing together about 8000 people to see and hear what's going on in health information technology. So our first guest is Geri Hansen from Nebraska Health. We've got a couple of questions that we're asking our guests. And so let's get started, Geri. So at ViVe, there are a lot of things out here on the floor as these tree shows always are. What are you looking at? What are you here for in terms of the big technology imperatives?

Geri Hansen:
So I think there are a lot of data aggregators. There's a lot of people that are putting out the buzzwords like AI. What I'm really looking forward to is differentiators; what is setting different platforms apart from each other, as well as a level of maturity, and then really truly understanding from a organization perspective what we are needing, and what our roadmaps are. So I'm looking for some alignment in our mission, vision, values, and voice so that way we can roadmap together.

Steve Lieber:
Excellent. One of the use cases that people identify are workforce issues in terms of a challenge. And I know on the Smart From the Start podcast that I do, it's constant in terms of being one of the things that are brought up. So virtual care, ambient monitoring, AI; have all been identified as ways that you can address the workforce challenges and issues. How do you see that fitting in, and are there some examples that Nebraska Health you guys are engaged in?

Geri Hansen:
Yeah, at Nebraska Medicine, we are absolutely looking at virtual nursing, virtual care as a care delivery system. If you look at telehealth, and it has been around for 1959, I believe, so it's not a new thing. That being said, we're in about the third nursing shortage in my two decades career, and I don't see this changing. I mean, it's going to be something that we are going to have to endure. And so looking at what technologies we can use to supplement humans, as well as kind of extend and allow us to work to the top of our scope of license, in the top of our knowledge base, if you will. So we are definitely looking at virtual care for nursing. We are looking at it from a sitter perspective and what I can help supplement our humans there. I think there's also applications into other areas in the industry, like social work or extending hospitalists to other maybe underserved areas. So we're looking at it both internally of what we can do to supplement our staff, but also how can we extend our staff seeing we're in a metro area to other underserved.

Steve Lieber:
That's great. Excellent. So, you know, health care has a reputation of being kind of slow and a little bit behind other industries when it comes to technology. What do you see as risks that we have as a profession and industry, in terms of the sort of hesitancy that we see sometimes with health care and adopting new technologies?

Geri Hansen:
Yeah. So you're absolutely right. We are very conservative group, and that is appropriate, right? We are taking care of patients and errors have big impacts and very human impacts. What we're looking for is evidence and evidence-based practice. And so going out and finding areas that have done really good research, we pilot a lot at Nebraska Medicine. We're soon to open an innovation design unit, which will have patients on it, and that will allow us to gather more data that we can share with other institutions and making it a more safe environment, more evidence-based, and validated.

Steve Lieber:
That's excellent thoughts and advice to follow. Thank you very much, Geri.

Geri Hansen:
Thank you.

Steve Lieber:
We're here with Jackie Baker from Piedmont HealthCare to find out what's going on in our world as it relates to ViVe as well as back at home. So Jackie we'll start out. So a lot of stuff on the floor here in terms of technology; new, old, AI's certainly a big buzzword out on the floor and that sort of thing. So what's your focus in terms of why you're here? What's caught your eye? What are you seeing out on the floor?

Jackie Baker:
So have a big focus in AI for sure. So kind of trying to identify some of the trends in the space. Also trying to sort through the differences and some of the point solutions versus the more developed platforms. And there's been a couple different companies that have caught my eye for sure, but I think trying to get a broad picture and understand where things are moving in the space that will fit into our organizational strategy.

Steve Lieber:
Excellenet. Let me pick up on the point you made about point solutions versus platforms and that sort of thing. Is that part of the Piedmont strategy is to move away from point solutions, or is it still a mixture? Kind of help us understand the strategy part of that.

Jackie Baker:
I would say we're still trying to sort through the right way to go. You know, things are moving so quick in the AI space. How do you make sure that you're getting that best of breed, but also keeping the long-term vision in mind? I think another important piece is that we're trying to work broadly across the organization as we think about these solutions. So how do you balance the near-term and the long-term?

Steve Lieber:
Excellent. Good. So one of the things we talked about before we went on camera was workforce issues; shortage, turnover, burnout, satisfaction, and that sort of thing. Certainly, in the nursing space, a lot of people are talking about virtual nursing and using virtual nursing platforms and AI as a way of trying to get to the point where nurses are working at the top of their license. They're not having to be bogged down by basic tasks that could be handled automatically. How's that factoring into your strategy?

Jackie Baker:
It definitely is factoring into our strategy. I think the pain point with nursing is hard to miss and something that we want to think about. I feel like there are some areas like virtual nursing that have developed quickly, but there's these other coordinating pieces that we're trying to think about bridging together that maybe aren't as developed. So I think definitely part of the strategy, but trying to figure out the broader picture when you've got a bit more focus in some of the physician solutions at the moment.

Steve Lieber:
Gotcha. So where are you in terms of the rate of change? Do you see change happening more quickly? Is there a fast to fail and then move on to the next idea? Or you see a status quo mentality prevailing? What sort of mindset do you find out in the field?

Jackie Baker:
So we are doing some things with a little more of a rapid pace to kind of iterate and stay on top of some of the changes that are happening. But there are, of course, just the natural, large organizational challenges of moving through all of the processes, aligning all the stakeholders. That will create some challenges when you're trying to move as quickly as the market's moving.

Steve Lieber:
Excellent. Great. Thank you very much. We were with Jackie Baker at Piedmont Healthcare. Thank you, Jackie.

Jackie Baker:
Yes, of course.

Steve Lieber:
Now we're talking with William Kim and Daniel Thomas from Regional One Health in Memphis. And where I want to start out with you guys is there's a lot of stuff on the floor here, all kinds of solutions. What's the major thing you're trying to look into? What are you trying to learn? What are the compelling thoughts that you've got as you walk around?

William Kim:
I think my number one focus is to understand where, what I hear about AI on the internet and in different sessions are actually what I'm seeing here with all the healthcare professionals and technology professionals. Specifically, I want to filter out the noise from the truth as much as I can.

Daniel Thomas:
I think it's really about what technology can enable people. We put a lot of technology in front of our hospital and clinic staff over the last 15 or 20 years. How do we make it usable? How do we make their job better? And AI seems to be the next step to doing that.

Steve Lieber:
Yeah. Before we came on camera here, we were talking about the challenges with workforce. And you know, everybody's got in terms of burnout, satisfaction, turnover. What sort of things are you thinking about in terms of leveraging virtual care, smart care, and that sort of thing to help address some of those sorts of issues?

William Kim:
So what I envision is that AI, the technology with the correct implementation, could actually augment the workforce to make their job much easier. I think right now, the doctors and nurses are doing a lot of documentation and doing a lot of data entry, which really isn't high value compared to the actual patient-facing patient care. And to me, if I could help with that, that could be very significant value.

Daniel Thomas:
It's bringing the nurses back to the bedside and away from the computer, and them not worrying about the rolling cart or going to the nurses' station, but being able to go in and care for that patient and not worry about all the things on the back end that they have to do.

Steve Lieber:
Yeah, we hear that a lot. One, working at the top of your license. Let's get rid of those tasks that they shouldn't be involved in. And these are things that can really enhance satisfaction, which I'm sure is going to have an impact in terms of burnout and turnover. So last sort of question and then a follow up to it, health care is traditionally kind of slow in terms of adopting new technologies. We've been criticized for years about being behind the curve in terms of using technology. What are you guys thinking about? What's in your strategy in terms of perhaps making a change and not being so slow to adopt and react?

William Kim:
You know, I think that's the old healthcare IT, that's the old healthcare organizations. I think the most health care have learned from slow adoption in the past, you end up with technological debt. So I think a lot of them, a lot of the organizations they hear about AI and the disruption it could potentially cause, I think they're wide awake. They're trying to figure out, Okay, how do we make sure we don't fall behind and create additional technological debt? Because the reality is, if you're not moving forward, then you're actually moving backwards.

Daniel Thomas:
Well, and the other thing about this is how do you get the patient involved in their care? Because that experience, when they're involved, it makes the nursing easier. It makes the provider services easier. It makes the entire experience easier. It's not just about when they can put their hands on them or what they don't have to do, but how do you make it easier on the patient side when they need care and where they need?

Steve Lieber:
Yeah, patient experience has obviously become a significant part of our conversation. Now you guys are in somewhat of an older facility. So how are you going to manage that with the challenges of an older facility in new technology?

William Kim:
Well, I don't see the older facility being an obstacle to implementing, let's say AI. Whether you have a building or a tent, you could still implement AI, right? So I think it's the whole mindset of, I can do this because I have the technology and I have the will to do it. And in all honesty, our patients, our caregivers, our employees all deserve much better work experience and patient care experience. And I think this is a really good way to do it.

Daniel Thomas:
And as you look at healthcare facilities, at some point in life cycle, everybody has an old facility and they move to a new facility, and being ready to take the technology that is there now and visualize the future, what it's going to look like, and technology proof anything you do new is critical. You've got to be able to support that.

Steve Lieber:
Yeah. That thinking ahead, developing the strategy. Because you're right, facilities become outdated and you do have to replace them. But thinking about it, understanding what's going on out here on the floor, the technology, and bringing that into your strategy and your thinking about the facility so that when you do decide to go that route of building new, you're ready for it. Guys, thanks so much for joining us.

William Kim:
Thank you.

Intro/Outro:
Thanks for listening to Smart From the Start. For best practices in AI, in ambient intelligence, and ways your organization can help lead the era of smart hospitals, visit us at smarthospital.ai, and for information on the leading smart care facility platform, visit care.ai.

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