Q&A with CDO Aaron Martin, Part 1: “We’re Trying to Simply Using Digital Technology.”

When Aaron Martin told his boss that he was leaving Amazon to pursue the role of SVP of Strategy and Innovation for a health system, the reaction was pure confusion. In fact, it took a good half-hour for Martin to convince his boss of the opportunity healthcare offered. By the time he was done talking, he had made his point.

And although this was seven years ago — before Amazon had any interest in healthcare — the draw remains the same: to leverage digital technology to improve consumer engagement, and to help realize the promise of AI. Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Martin about what he believes healthcare can learn from other industries, how he is able to marry the dual roles of Chief Digital Officer of Providence and Managing General Partner at Providence Ventures, and the benefits of having digital and marketing under the same umbrella. Martin also discusses the “rigorous process” Providence utilizes to identify the right digital opportunities and purse them, the keys to developing a consistent online relationship with consumers, and the three stages technologists go through when entering healthcare.

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Key Takeaways



* In addition to being Chief Digital Officer, Martin also oversees marketing and is managing general partner with Providence Ventures, the organization’s innovation arm.

* As interactions move from offline to online, having digital and marketing under the same umbrella is a smart move. “It’s such a close and related set of issues.”

* One of the key objectives for CDOs is to “make the entire experience much more seamless,” and make it easier for patients – especialy those with complex diseases – to navigate health systems.

* Part of the “rigorous process” Providence leverages to identify the right digital opportunities is to first ensure that it’s not already in the organization’s portfolio, which happens through collaboration and communication.

* By spinning out companies formed within Providence Ventures, the organization is able to “punch above our weight in innovation” by obtaining more financial support.





Q&A with Aaron Martin, Part 1

Gamble:  Let’s start by talking about your roles as Chief Digital Officer at Providence and Managing General Partner with Providence Ventures. How are you able to marry those roles, and what are your key core objectives right now?

Martin:  There are three parts to what I do. I run Providence Ventures, as you had mentioned, and I’m the chief digital officer of the health system. With anything that’s consumer or patient facing, from a digital perspective, my team owns and guides the development of those platforms, whereas [EVP and CIO] BJ Moore oversees infrastructure, EMR, data and security. And then anything that’s caregiver-facing kind of rolls up to him. That’s how the two roles shake out.

The third part of what I do is marketing; that also reports up to me. With the exception of Ventures, the combination of marketing and digital is pretty standard outside of healthcare, where entities are trying to move their relationships from largely offline to online. That’s the role of the chief digital officer. The reason why marketing and digital are pulled together is that it’s such a close and related set of issues, and so it makes sense for the two organizations to report to the same individual or office.

If you look outside of healthcare, it depends on the amount of spend and the nature of the industry. If you look at big consumer companies, typically, the chief digital officer reports to the chief marketing offic...