Keeping up with the pace of technological change
There must be a balance between giving clinicians solutions-based technology and giving them something else to learn.
From left, Nick Patel of Stealth Consulting moderates a panel with Crystal Broj of MUSC, Novlet Mattis of Orlando Health and Kash Patel of Hackensack Meridian Health.
Photo: Susan Morse/HFN
ORLANDO – Keeping up with the pace of change of technology is a challenge for health systems, said digital information officers speaking during the Executive Summit at HIMSS24.
While the pace has changed, the financing for technology has lagged, according to Novlet Mattis, chief digital and information officer at Orlando Health.
"The number one challenge is data," Mattis said. "It takes a lot of money to build out a data platform. To convince the CFO to invest in that is hard."
Nick Patel, CEO and founder of Stealth Consulting, moderated the panel with Mattis, Crystal Broj, chief digital transformation officer at MUSC, and Kash Patel, executive vice president and chief digital information officer at Hackensack Meridian Health, during "The Promise and Peril of Technological Advancements in Healthcare: The Current Pulse Across the Industry."
Health systems are under increased financial pressures. Margins are low and negative margins have become the norm, Kash Patel said.
Another issue is the risk of cyberattacks. When asked, a majority of people in the packed ballroom said they had been affected by the Change Healthcare cyberattack.
Finding the right technology game plan and sticking to it are offset by numerous vendors offering a magic bullet. AI is only complicating that.
You can tell vendors you have a road map, but they come back with, "You need this," Broj said.
There also must be a balance of giving clinicians solutions-based technology and giving them something else to learn, she said.
"For physicians and nurses, before you put a tool on them, you have to take something off them," Broj said.
"We could go off the deep end to implement," Mattis said.
At Orlando Health, the team started with a solid EHR platform and now build off that. When a vendor comes in, the proposed solution must fit, she said.
The consumer experience too has changed, Kash Patel said. The population now expects a digital experience.
AI is yet to be fully trusted and should be used as a guide, panelists said.
For example, AI can guide surgeons, and it will learn over time. It is outcome-driven, Kash Patel said. AI helped Hackensack build a Stage 3 kidney disease model.
Change managers employed at the health systems can say what technology is needed and get the message out to staff.
"It's made a world of difference in the way we roll out our projects and how they're adopted," Broj said.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
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