Podcast Q&A with Pamela Landis, Part 2: “Digital Is Just Another Language Interface.”

For Pamela Landis, improving access to care isn’t just a job; it’s a calling. Despite advances in technology, navigating the system remains difficult for far too many patients. “It’s hard to manage,” she said during a recent interview. “It really matters to me that we find ways to make it easier.”

To make that a reality, two things need to happen: the workflow needs to be as efficient as possible for clinicians, and the experience has to be as valuable as possible for consumers. It’s a tall order, but one Landis is more than willing to help fulfill in her role as VP of Digital Engagement at Hackensack Meridian Health.

In fact, she was recruited to the 17-hospital system for that exact reason in the spring of 2019. Fortunately, Landis and her team had already started putting the building blocks into place to create a digital health strategy by the time Covid-19 arrived. In this interview, she talks about how Hackensack was able to “pivot” when the pandemic hit, the critical role a solid governance structure plays in digital transformation, and the valuable lessons she learned from her time in public relations.

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Key Takeaways



* One of the positives to emerge from Covid: “It did show us that with focus (and alignment), we can do great things, amazing work.”

* The keys to making digital health a permanent component of the strategy? Smoothing out the workflow for clinicians, and ensuring it’s easy for patients to use.

* Patient-generated data can be extremely valuable — but physicians need to know what happens in between visits in order to “really understand” patients.

* “Healthcare is hard to access. It’s hard to manage,” Landis said. “It really matters to me that we find ways to make it easier.”

* For healthcare leaders, one of the most important skills is being able to “craft messages that consumers can understand them.”





Q&A with Pam Landis, Part 2 [To view Part 1, click here]

Landis:  I have small governance groups that work on the consumer patient experience side and the team member experience side around all things digital. They’re co-chaired by the leader of HR for team member experience and a leader from our medical group for consumer and patient experience. They co-chair with me because we both have ownership in making sure this works well.

 

“With focus, we can do great things”

Gamble:  I’m sure it was critical as needs and priorities changed during Covid having government in place and being able to manage priorities in a way that makes everyone happy — or at least as happy as possible.

Landis:  And that they understand the priorities. I hate to say there were silver linings to Covid because of the unimaginable loss that this country has experienced and the pain that was experienced by those on the frontline. But it did show us that with focus, we can do great things. That’s the lesson we all need to keep close to our hearts — that, with focus and alignment, we can do amazing things. All across the country, we saw people doing amazing things, because everyone was aligned on one single purpose: defeating Covid and caring for the patient. Our challenge now is maintaining that; not losing that focus on doing the right thing.

 

Making digital a permanent strategy

Gamble:  We speak to a lot of leaders about digital engagement; some hadn’t done much at all pr...