Becker's 12th Annual Meeting Speaker Series: 3 Questions with Scott Nygaard, MD, Chief Operating Officer, Lee Health

Scott Nygaard, MD, serves as Chief Operating Officer at Lee Health. 

Scott will be serving on the panel "Hospital C-Suite Exits: How to Fortify Your Talent Pipeline" at Becker's Hospital Review 12th 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 in Chicago from April 25-28, 2022. 

To learn more about the conference and Scott's session, click here.

Question: What are your top priorities for 2022?

Scott Nygaard: The top priorities for FY 2022 are shifting, most recent challenge is the labor crisis, that is coming at a tremendous cost to the industry, significant turnover, burnout and resignation from the industry creating professional vacancies that are not easily backfilled. The short term issue cannot overshadow the need to stay focused on the long-term trajectory of the healthcare system which is moving more to community-based care delivery (many mechanisms- patient portals, telehealth, care at home- Dispatch Health, HH, remote patient monitoring, hospital at home). Last is the focus on the growth and formation of true service lines (Oncology, Cardiovascular Care (cardiology and surgery), Orthopedics- that manage across the continuum and provide value through excellent patient experience (creating a service culture), care integration, navigation, quality, innovation, research. The service lines need to be developed with a full understanding of how does the consumer/patient experience the care and how do they provide continued feedback and input on a regular basis to inform us as to what is going well and what needs improvement.

Q: What technologies and innovations are you most excited about in healthcare right now?

SN: There are many challenges that healthcare organizations are trying to solve through technology. The challenge remains to integrate those platforms and solutions into an organization in a seamless manner. That said it is clear that consumers/patients are looking to engage more and more through digital pathways that enhance their ability to access their information, allow for greater self-service, eliminate manual processes, improve access to scheduling, allow for asynchronous communication with the care team and inform them about the costs of care. The other is the use of artificial intelligence has promise in aiding in the diagnosis and treatment by harvesting and sorting through the massive amount of literature that is published regularly, but it is only going to be as good as the information it has access to sort through and make decisions upon. The risk is that clinicians do not become “dependent” on this technology to the point that critical thinking is lost and remain curious and engaged when the artificial intelligence doesn’t seem to make sense or is disparate with other clinical information.

Q: What advice do you have for emerging healthcare leaders today?

SN: So often we miss the simple things. Focus on people and the formation of culture within your organization and those you lead. There is plenty of evidence that a focus on developing a great culture is one of the most competitive advantages you can develop as a leader. I have personally struggled with this with all the leaders I have worked with as it is easy to consider this the “soft stuff” or perhaps the most difficult thing to address, since it requires active management and leaders to self-reflect and take ownership for the responsibility they have to inspire the hearts, souls and minds of their people. The most successful organizations develop a culture based on firmly held beliefs that are actively promoted and supported in the organization. The output of a strong culture is the following: employees know how to respond in any situation, they know they will be supported in their response and they will be rewarded for emulating the beliefs of the organization. A great cultue will improve productivity, performance and the customer experience.

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