Deborah Schoenthaler serves as Chief Operating Officer for Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization.
On April 2nd, Deborah will speak at Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place April 1-4, 2019 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Deborah's session, click here.
Question: What do innovators/entrepreneurs from outside healthcare need to better understand about hospital and health system leaders?
Deborah Schoenthaler: Hospital and health system leaders are always eager to identify the best solutions for clinical, operational and financial models that drive the triple aim: improving the health of our populations, enhancing the patient experience, and reducing costs of care.
For entrepreneurs and innovators, it is critical to understand that health care is unique in the marketplace as it will never fit the traditional model of supply and demand. The clinical costs of care do not go down as a result of millions more Americans having access to health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Hospital and health system leaders, therefore, are always seeking innovations that promote positive patient outcomes, while simultaneously addressing financial and operational challenges.
At BIDCO, technology has always been foundational in supporting our success in reaching population health goals. Our population health platform has made enormous contributions to improve interoperability and integration across our network of physicians and hospitals. We are always looking to advance this technology, and recently launched a new care management strategy that utilizes the platform’s predictive analytics to help determine which patients should be enrolled in a care management program based on care complexity and the likelihood that care management services will be beneficial. The platform also improves alignment between clinical and IT teams and alignment of our resources with the needs of our patients.
Q: Healthcare takes a lot of heat for not innovating quickly. What's your take on this?
DS: The complexities of health care are often underrated. There are difficulties in bringing innovative ideas and procedures quickly into the mainstream of delivery. Non-standardized methods for collecting, storing and transmitting patient data in the electronic health record (EHR) systems of physicians, hospitals, home health organizations, and skilled nursing facilities hamper the quick implementation of new programs. The payment incentives put into the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) programs over the last decade, which encourage adoption and implementation or upgrading of and demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology, have begun to help break down these barriers. The Promoting Interoperability measure in the MIPS program of CMS (formerly known as the EHR Incentive Programs) was a key driver of innovation. Prior to these federal programs, it was simply too expensive and complicated for most providers to make the shift to EHR adoption without financial incentives and a standardized glide path. And the advent of data integration systems and the promises that AI are bringing to health care makes me hopeful that we are on the upswing of the innovation pendulum. Innovation can also move more quickly when providers, payers, vendors and entrepreneurs work together to develop standardized data definitions and methods for sharing clinical data.
Q: Can you share some praise with us about people you work with? What does greatness look like to you when it comes to your team?
DS: I have the great pleasure and honor of working with a team of knowledgeable and innovative staff who are leaders in their respective fields. Each of them works hard to stay ahead of the work specific to their field so that they can constantly bring innovative ideas to the work of the organization. They take the time to develop their team members’ skills and knowledge so that they function at a high level for the organization. They also understand the importance of communication both within teams and across the organization, and constantly strive to maintain open channels of information sharing so that all team members understand their individual role in the organization and how we work together to achieve shared goals.
Greatness is reflected in our team’s commitment to living BIDCO’s values of passion and contribution, trust through integrity and transparency, accountability, relentless pursuit of excellence, and agility. These values are everyday guideposts, not just words on a page. Our operations team has monthly team meetings with exercises that reinforce these values and keep them top-of-mind. When we live our values, we perform our best.