Todd Sachs, MD, FACS, serves as Regional Medical Director of Operations for Southern California Permanente Medical Group of Kaiser Permanente.
On April 6th, Dr. Sachs will give a presentation on "The Garfield Distinction – A Framework for Operational Excellence" 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 April 6-9, 2020 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Dr. Sachs' 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.)
Todd Sachs: The biggest challenge about the future work of hospitals will be to manage costs as the complexity and specialization of care continues to grow. As a surgeon, who has been in practice for more than 30 years, in my opinion, there will always be a role for hospitals in society, yet we see the evolution occurring right before our eyes, care is shifting to more ambulatory settings and home. The hospital is where specialization and complexity reside. Technology and innovation provide tools to support these evidence-based shifts in practice. As a result, hospitals will need to continually re-evaluate how they will provide the highest quality of care yet manage escalating costs associated with new options for care.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
TS: Inspiration for me comes from a variety of sources. So much of the work we do as administrators or clinicians involves people. People’s stories can be a tremendous source of inspiration. The impact that accessible, affordable health care can have on an individual’s quality of life is inspirational. Leadership in all its different forms inspires me, and finally, travel inspires me. It reinforces that globally we have more similarities than differences. I try to use these learnings in my work every day.
Q: What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now?
TS: Change. It’s happening all around and fueling innovation as we have never seen before. We are seeing consumers tell us how and when they want types of care delivered. As a result, the number of new entrants in a traditional space is mind-boggling. Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a tool to synthesize data and creating new options for care. These changes can be exciting, and daunting, at the very least, they represent possibilities as we have never seen before.
Q: Healthcare has had calls for disruption, innovation and transformation for years now. Do you feel we are seeing that change? Why or why not?
TS: Without question, we are seeing all three. Previous calls for disruption, innovation and transformation have been incremental and often optional. Today, however, it is necessary for survival in a volatile, unpredictable industry. 5-10 years from now, we will likely look back and realize just how profound the day to day changes have had on the overall transformation of care.
The greatest lessons I learned in healthcare were three things on my first day of medical school: “listen to your patients they will tell you what is wrong, don’t be over-enamored with technology, and give every patient something for their time of need”. More true today!
What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now?
With society’s obsession with technology, now is the time to harness cutting edge technology to facilitate the human interaction, not replace it.
Healthcare has had calls for disruption, innovation and transformation for years now. Do you feel we are seeing that change? Why or why not?
As the saying goes, “One person’s innovation is another person’s disruption”. Transformation may be the most over-used word in healthcare today. True transformation (dramatic change) will come from a grass roots movement (outside the corporate walls) and led by synthetical thinkers who by doing what is best for patients will find it is best for business."