Jeff Brown, CIO, Martin’s Point Health Care, Chapter 1

The word ‘progressive’ can mean different things to different people, particularly when used to describe a health system. To Jeff Brown, it means an organization that breaks free from traditional boundaries, both when it comes to patient care and its guiding philosophies. It’s precisely what he sought when he arrived at Martin’s Point earlier this year, and he hasn’t been disappointed. In this interview, Brown talks about the non-hospital-centric model that he believes is the future of healthcare, why his timing was perfect in terms of strategic planning, and how his team is working to create a seamless care experience. He also talks about partnering with vendors, the dire need to focus on senior care, and his passion for teaching.

Chapter 1



* About Martin’s Point: A “progressive ambulatory care center”

* Focus on senior care

* Healthcare 2.0 meets Pop Health 2.0

* Paradigm shift from episodic care to integrated holistic care

* athenahealth EHR — “The challenge is around usability & optimization.”

* Vendor management: “It’s a 50-50 partnership.”

* Pop health as strategic pillar



LISTEN NOW USING THE PLAYER BELOW OR CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR iTUNES PODCAST FEED

Bold Statements

We’re in a position to really quantify and use big data and analytics in a way that’s exciting and can serve both our senior and elderly care population as well as the other patients and members in our community.

The main challenge is still around usability and optimization within EMRs. We’re still struggling to find unique ways to get quantifiable data out in order to do more progressive population health and analytics.

It’s bringing the vendor to the table and presenting the real value-add, not just for us as an organization, but for them as a vendor. I think Martin’s Point is uniquely positioned, being both a delivery system and a health plan, to offer many vendors a really unique formula, a strategic partnership, and a Petri dish for progressing in a very different way.

We don’t want to invest in just technology for technology’s sake. We really want to bring the culture along our journey. We want to make the right investments in people, process and technology, and we want to lay out a strategic, year-over-year plan that allows us to be as competitive and as successful as anyone else in the market.

Gamble:  Hi Jeff, thank you so much for taking some time to speak with healthsystemCIO.com.

Brown:  My pleasure, Kate. It’s great to speak to you again.

Gamble:  You too.  I think a good way to start would be talking about Martin’s Point Health Care, really what the organization’s about, the primary goals, things like that.

Brown:  As you can imagine, I’m thrilled to be with Martin’s Point as their new chief information officer. I’ve been onboard about three months now. Having spent most of my career in Massachusetts and New England, I was very aware of Martin’s Point and the progressive nature of their work as an integrated care delivery model. And so when the stars aligned and I was given the opportunity, obviously, I jumped on it. And living in Portland, Maine is beautiful as well.

Martin’s Point is a really incredible organization. What makes them unique is they’re actually a healthcare provider and a healthcare insurance company. So they’re a delivery system and a health plan. They have approximately seven healthcare centers throughout Maine. In the state of Maine, they’re known as the experts in senior care. They actually have the largest and highest rated Medicare Advantage Plan in the state of Maine.

What most people might not know is Maine also has the oldest population in the country. And so they’re really a physician-led organization with these amazing care delivery centers scattered throughout some of the most i...