Q&A with CIDO Hank Capps, Part 1: “We have to be more entrepreneurial in our thinking.”

Contrary to popular belief, innovation isn’t a buzzword — at least, not if an organization is doing it right, according to Hank Capps, MD, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Wellstar Health System.

Capps sees it as “part of the culture that’s going to drive the consumer experiences of the future,” he said during a recent interview. “When you lean into that environment where new ideas are percolating and being brought forward, you have an amazing opportunity to create leapfrog moments” through the enhancement of care quality and safety.” The key, he noted, is in the ability to formalize ideas and present a view of innovation that creates bandwidth and focus around solving problems.

During the interview, Dr. Capps talked about how his team is working to achieve this goal, all while dealing with the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how they’re addressing the digital divide in healthcare. He also shared lessons learned during his time at Novant Health as well as his clinical experience; why the ability to “be nimble and shift” is more important than ever; and what it’s like to lead during such an “exciting and humbling time” for the industry.

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Key Takeaways



* Wellstar, an 11-hospital system based in Marietta, Ga., is growing rapidly to more effectively provide “access to compassionate and high-quality care.”

* As CIDO, Capps leads the core technology function of the organization, which is structured “to be more of a tech company and less like a traditional healthcare IT company, with an emphasis on digital.”

* Although the implementation and optimization of EHRs is critical in supporting new care models, what’s even more important is having “a capability and product mindset” that can drive consumer needs.

* Healthcare is “headed to a place where there’s no longer going to be a distinction among acute, ambulatory and virtual; it’s going to be one care ecosystem.”

* The organizations that already had the infrastructure in place for virtual care merely had to scale when Covid hit. On the other hand, those that had not laid the groundwork were “building the airplane while flying it.”





Q&A with Dr. Hank Capps, Part 1

Gamble:  Hi Dr. Capps, thank you so much for taking some time to speak with healthsystemCIO. Let’s start with a high-level overview — what you have in terms of hospitals and where you’re located, things like that?

Capps:  Absolutely. It’s a pleasure to speak with you. Wellstar Health Systems is based out of Marietta, Ga. It’s one of the largest and most integrated health systems in the state. We have 11 hospitals, over 300 medical offices, and multiple other facilities across that large footprint. We also have one of the largest emergency departments in the nation, which was recently renovated and reopened. We’re a growing health system that focuses on access to compassionate care and high-quality care.

 

Gamble:  And it’s a pretty populated area?

Capps:  Absolutely. We have over a million patients actively engaged with us, including more than 700,000 who are engaged on our digital platforms. We do millions of encounters every year across that large footprint.

 

Gamble:  In your role as chief information and digital officer, what do you consider to be your core objectives?

Capps:  It is a really interesting area that, over the last 18 months, has radically altered the degree of focus and the need to meet our patients wherever they are. When the global pandemic was declared in March,