On October 10th, Michelle will serve on the panel “Health IT and the Use of Social Determinants of Care, and Community-Based Programs” at Becker’s Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference. As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place October 9-12, 2019 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Michelle’s session, click here.
Question: What does healthcare need more of? Less of?
Michelle Blakely: We continue to struggle with “patient centeredness” and wellness. The industry continues to be incentivized for sickness and episodic care. We need more innovation related to reimbursement for wellness and health. We need less fragmentation, insurance driven/reimbursement driven healthcare choices.
Q: As a leader, how do you stay connected to the actual work that is being done – and not just by watching others execute, but by executing yourself? If so, how do you balance between leading and executing personally?
MB: This is an interesting and important balancing act. I have performance expectations and meet with my leaders regularly. We discuss key performance indicators and priorities. I verify the results that are presented to me. In the case where the leader is strong and seasoned, I monitor. When the leader is developing or requires more coaching, I coach and model behaviors and prepare reports or samples to assist and teach. We are a small organization and there are many times where I personally lead the meeting, or develop the spreadsheet or complete the actual assignment.
Q: What contributes to better conversations between a health system’s financial and clinical leaders?
MB: Conversations that begin with a patient focused provide common language for communication. The conflicts will continue to exist until health care financing catches up the actual needs of patients and does not create friction between the needs of patients and the financial incentives that drive care.
