In this ongoing series, our CEO Justin Dearborn reacts to conversations happening in the industry that are helping us better understand the consumer’s point of view in healthcare.
Crystal Broj is Enterprise Chief Digital Transformation Officer at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Franco Cardillo is MUSC’s Executive Director of Digital Strategy and Operations.
In an interview that originally aired on the Healthcare Rap Podcast in February 2024, Crystal and Franco spoke with our Chief Marketing Officer Jared Johnson and his co-host Zain Ismail about how to set up digital transformation teams for success. Their team is leading the charge to incorporate digital health into the lives of those who are seeking and providing care.
This conversation hits on many shared beliefs that align with Praia Health’s point of view. We pulled out some key insights from the episode. For each one, read what Crystal and Franco said in the original episode, followed by Justin’s commentary today.
Crystal:
“Let's face it: EHRs were meant to be the backend for the system. They are not a consumer digital strategy or a consumer front door. I don't know anyone that goes, ‘I can't wait to go work on my EHR today!’ That's the nature of the beast. But when we start adding ten more steps because the patient will see something, that's not a good balance of a choice between the two. You want something that's really easy for the patients because you want them to have easy access to care, but you don't want it to overburden the front desk.”
Justin’s commentary:
Couldn't agree more, especially as EHRs were originally architected to support fee-for-service billing. Let's face it, the EHR is great at managing the clinical interaction and provider workflows, and that's where they should continue to direct their resources and innovation efforts. The EHR was not built to enable consumer-grade experiences nor to bring non-clinical experiences into the patient portal.
Crystal:
“We have to communicate often. They like to know that you are cutting headcount, or you are saving this much money, or you’re bringing in this much revenue. We’ll lean on our team and our doctors to get that feedback and then share it amongst the organization.”
Justin’s commentary:
It’s also very important to demonstrate the impact of digital transformation that initiatives are having on the broader organization. Being able to demonstrate the ROI and impact to staff is paramount to continued support and organization buy-in.
Franco:
“You just have to be transparent and open. Just say, ‘Listen, we don't know what this is going to look like, but if you use it to its capabilities, we're confident you'll see whatever that ROI is — a reduction in providers spending, documenting after hours, etc.’ We would like to take the burden off providers. So lead with the why.”
Justin’s commentary:
Transparency and honesty are critical in driving towards a broader transformation – especially with longer-term enterprise transformation efforts. Level setting from the start of this journey is critical to setting expectations for when the road gets tough.
Franco:
“Digital transformation is like reviewing a process, making sure that process is sound, and then leveraging technology where we can. A lot of what we're doing is process refinement. One of the items that we're looking at right now is patient access. Over the next three years, we have our prerequisites. Let's unlock access. Let's look at some of our journey. And then let's look at personalization for what our patients are actually looking for.”
Justin’s commentary:
It's essential to not put technology before process when evaluating a problem. Technology should come last and only be applied when a process is in need of new efficiency. Additionally, when evaluating new technologies, it's essential to make sure the platform can handle evolving processes and endpoints. Flexibility in a platform vendor is essential to long-term success.
Crystal:
“One thing that we have to start seeing from technology companies is making it easier. If it takes me 18 months to put in a project, by then we've lost the momentum. I think we have to find ways to make that connection with the EHR easier so that we can just plug in and then unplug and plug in something else when something doesn't work. We are not there yet. There is no plug and play, and that's something that we will continue to struggle with in order to make these changes.”
Justin’s commentary:
An open ecosystem that is not dependent on EHR integration is needed in healthcare. So many innovations and better care options are held up by requirements and delays in needing to connect into the EMR. An open ecosystem built on modern open identity standards will help to unlock consumer experiences in healthcare.
Comments in this article were made in good faith based on statements that are publicly available and are not intended to imply any endorsement, promotion, or other affiliation between Praia Health and Crystal Broj, Franco Cardillo, The Medical University of South Carolina, or the Healthcare Rap Podcast.
