Didn’t have a chance to attend Health Tech Idaho’s quarterly event last month? Never fear! We’re here to recap all the highlights.
“We’re trying to pivot innovation from a noun to a verb.” This from Mary Cronin, Vice President of Consumer Access and Experience at St. Luke’s Health System, eloquently sums up the tenor of the Innovation Forecast Panel at Health Tech Idaho’s most recent quarterly event.
The panel was moderated by Health Tech Idaho co-founder Molly Zimmer and featured leaders from several local healthcare institutions. The main theme? In today’s healthcare landscape, innovation is both the industry’s greatest necessity and biggest challenge.
Provider shortages, rising costs, and patient care are all going head-to-head with the daily realities of compliance and administrative complexities. Read on for the panelists’ views on how we can tackle the industry’s most pressing issues.
“We’re trying to pivot innovation from a noun to a verb.”
Mary Cronin
VP Customer Access and Experience
St. Luke’s Health System
Patient Experience
The diverse group of panelists aligned around a common priority: challenging the status quo in patient experience to shift towards more patient-centric care models.
Ben Murray, CEO of Valley Family Health Care, discussed the possibilities of integrating healthcare services more holistically. For example, integrating dental hygiene services into primary care can enhance patient outcomes by addressing more comprehensive health needs.
Travis Leach, CEO of West Valley Medical Center, imagined a future where healthcare operates as seamlessly as a new iPhone—intuitive, user-friendly, and interconnected—providing a seamless, 5-star patient experience that’s worth its often hefty price tag.
The Challenges
So if the panelists all agree on the need to improve patient experience, what’s holding the industry back from making these changes? The challenges discussed were vast. From the regulatory hurdles stifling innovation to the interoperability issues plaguing IT systems, roadblocks are significant.
Rourke Yeakley, MD and Co-Founder, Empyrean Clinic, and Lauren Smith, Executive Director of Nursing at St. Alphonsus, both highlighted the same challenge: provider shortages. Recruitment and retention is one of the biggest challenges facing healthcare systems today, especially in a post-Covid world where many providers are burned out and unable to meet the ever-increasing patient loads and corresponding administrative work being thrust onto them.
The panelists also discussed the lack of interoperability in healthcare IT systems as a major barrier to improving experiences for patients and providers alike. Leach noted that the complexity of healthcare billing and administration is often where the patient experience falls flat.
Emerging Opportunities
The panelists highlighted several emerging trends and technologies that could revolutionize healthcare. Cronin discussed the potential of ambient listening technologies for improving patient care by enabling more personalized interactions and reducing administrative loads for providers.
It’s not just emerging technologies that present opportunities. The panelists agreed that health systems can do more to leverage existing technologies that are already available. Murray shared insights on the value of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in managing chronic conditions more effectively. Leach is enthusiastic about the advancements in telemedicine and patient monitoring that gained traction during the pandemic.
Embrace innovation not just as a concept, but as a practice ingrained in daily operations.
How can entrepreneurs play a role?
One of the key themes that emerged from the discussion was the need for healthcare to embrace innovation not just as a concept, but as a practice ingrained in daily operations. This is where entrepreneurs can play a major role.
Smith encouraged a collaborative approach, welcoming fresh perspectives from outside the healthcare sector. Leach highlighted the importance for entrepreneurs to understand the healthcare supply chain and finding innovative entry points. And Cronin emphasized the need for agility and perseverance, stressing the importance of understanding the specific challenges faced by healthcare providers and proposing solutions that can truly scale.
Empathy at the core
Amid the discussions on data interoperability, regulatory challenges, and technological advancements, one foundational principle resonated—empathy. The panelists agreed that at its core, healthcare innovation must be driven by a deep understanding of patient needs and the daily realities of healthcare providers and administrators.
By fostering continuous improvement, embracing emerging technologies, and nurturing collaborative partnerships, we can pave the way for a more empathetic, efficient, and joyful healthcare experience. Here’s to getting to work!
