Matthew Primack, PT, DPT, MBA, serves as President of Advocate Condell Medical Center.
On May 24th, Matthew will serve on the panel "How Does A System Assess Mergers and Affiliation Strategies? Why Should a System Pursue Mergers? Why Not? What Works Well? What Doesn’t?" at Becker's Hospital Review 11th 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 on May 24-26, 2021 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Matthew's session, click here.
Question: What, from your perspective, is the biggest challenge about the future of work for hospitals, and what can they do about it? (i.e. automation, desire for more flexibility, clinician shortages, etc.)
Matthew Primack: The industry is experiencing an acceleration of consolidation, standardization, and transformation. Hospitals and health systems will be challenged to continue their achievements in safety, quality, and service while simultaneously becoming more efficient and innovative in care delivery models. Collaborating with both internal partners and external aligned industries will be essential in remodeling our care. This can only be accomplished with strong organizational leadership and progressive and dynamic strategic planning.
Q: What's one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
MP: I learned early that servant leadership starts with humility through a service mentality. A healthcare front-line leader’s role must inspire, provide direction, coaching, and mentorship, and help create an environment for others to be successful. Over the years, this concept has stayed with me as well as the focus on supporting teams through positive reinforcement, aligned engagement, and shared goals.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
MP: I find myself routinely reflecting on comments made by my two young daughters who are painfully honest and inquisitive. Asking very innocently, “Daddy, why do you call this boring area the WAITING ROOM if you don’t want anyone waiting?” Three days later we changed the area to “Family Lounge” and populated the area with educational literature and entertainment. We achieved an immediate increase in experience scores. Children tend to see things for what they are, not what they are supposed to be.
Q: What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now?
MP: We know that many other industries have a head start on infusing innovative technology into workflows. Advancing our efforts on patient experience and interface models should prove to be one of healthcare’s most exciting, and influential opportunities. Scheduling an appointment, checking and paying a bill, remote clinical screening, and infusion of AI will likely be our greatest opportunity.