Bud Barrow, MPA, serves as Chief Executive Officer at Beauregard Health System.
On May 24th, Bud will serve on the panel "Do You Need to Be a Comprehensive System to Succeed or Can You Succeed in Three to Four Specific Areas?" 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 Bud'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?
Bud Barrow: I have felt for over 30 years that the single biggest challenge in healthcare has remained the same: attracting, retaining and developing great talent. It is all about people. Healthcare Systems must be committed to continual focus and substantial investment in leadership and staff development.
Q: What’s one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
BB: The best leaders lead from in front and not from behind. When I think of my heroes: Winston Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt, George Washington, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Jesus……. they walked hand in hand with the people they were called to serve. They were doers who were visible and intimately connected with their calling.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
BB: I do the basics. I read a lot and listen to podcasts extensively. More importantly, I have had the honor and privilege to sit at the table with the best and brightest. I have been afforded the opportunity to be actively involved in Hospital Association Boards, AHA Regional Policy Boards, AHA Hospital Board of Trustees, VHA/Vizient Boards, as well as community boards, such as the United Way and the Chamber of Commerce, where I have listened and learned from the finest among us.
Q: What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now?
BB: I will harken back to John Naisbitt’s book High Tech High Touch and the book In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Bob Waterman. Both books offer keen insights into the interplay between people, technology and the striving to be the very best. I strongly believe the concept of “high tech/high touch” is a timeless principle that is especially relevant today. I also see the opportunity to grasp the uniqueness of four or more generations in the same workplace. John Stuart Mill’s, marketplace of ideas is daily before us. From Baby Boomers to Generation X, to Millennials and Gen Z, we live in an exciting era of values, insights and perspectives, making this an exciting time to be in healthcare.
Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas? Beckers, of course! In all seriousness, the conference speakers are the best in the industry and the sessions are relevant to leaders in hospitals both large and small. And I don't have to look any further than my inbox daily for the most recent healthcare news and best practices.
What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now? The most exciting opportunity in healthcare today is the move to value-driven care with the patient at the center focusing on wellness and prevention instead of treating signs and symptoms with volume-driven sick visits and hospitalizations. Accountable care, the merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) and value-based payment programs are driving providers from volume to value-based care with incentives to reward both the physician and the patient!
Healthcare has had calls for disruption, innovation and transformation for years now. Do you feel we are seeing that change? Why or why not? Yes, hospitals that are driving change and transformation are receiving high marks in quality and patient-satisfaction. They are investing in technology to coordinate care and making access easier for their patients. At the same time, they are educating and preparing their workforce to be responsive to innovative change. The age of volume-driven fee-for-service medicine is gradually giving way to value-based care. Hospitals must transform to become organizations that reward value instead of volume and develop delivery methods that use evidence-based practices, procedures and technologies to attain optimal outcomes and achieve greater efficiencies. Many primary care providers have heard the call for value and are joining ACO's and working to meet this demand. Sadly hospitals that haven’t transformed to ensure the highest quality patient-centered care and the most competitive prices are being bypassed by the primary care physicians, the patients and the payers. "