Q&A with CMIO Patrick Woodard, Part 2: “We Should Be Comparing Ourselves to the Best.”

As healthcare and technology become more complex, “it’s going to require a lot of hand-holding.”

Much has been made — and rightfully so — of the enormous strides healthcare IT has taken in the past year to improve the consumer experience and help individuals feel more connected with their health. There’s a lot to be learned from industries that offer the “seamless experience” users have come to expect.

With healthcare, however, the stakes are higher, and there are considerations that don’t arise in travel or hospitality, one of which is the digital divide, according to Patrick Woodard, MD, CMIO and VP of Clinical Systems at Renown Health. He believes health systems have an obligation to “recognize that the ones for whom we are often architecting solutions may not be the ones who benefit most from them.”

During a recent interview, Dr. Woodard talked about what IT and clinical leaders must do to ensure they’re not “standing in the way,’ while also ensuring they’re thinking “like a business.” He also discussed Renown’s experience in distributing the Covid-19 vaccine, how they were able to remain focused on strategic objectives, and how he has benefited from previous experiences.

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Key Takeaways



* The pandemic helped accelerate digital health adoption significantly, but as the industry moves forward, it’s important not to do too much, too quickly. “We have a whole bunch of people connected us to digitally who had never been before.”

* Delivering seamless care across the continuum means making sure all physicians have the right access — not just those who are employed by the health system.

* One of the key lessons healthcare can take from other industries? Creating a seamless consumer experience, which not only builds loyalty, but also helps people stay “more connected to their health.”

* With the digital divide getting wider, it’s critical to bake connectivity into things like remote patient monitoring, and ensure “we’re answering all the questions before they get asked.”

* Making data available is just one part of the equation. The other is “helping people realize what to do with it.”





Q&A with Patrick Woodard, MD, Part 2 [Click here to read Part 1]

Gamble:  One of the priorities you mentioned is the digital front door. We’ve talked about how digital adoption has accelerated with Covid, but what does that mean in terms of creating a digital front door, and how do you see that hopefully evolving?

Woodard:  I think there are some elements that had to take place immediately, namely the move to virtual visits, and the ability to schedule without necessarily calling a contact center and to message your physician. We were fortunate in that this year was focused on really enhancing some of what we had available through our portal, and really creating an ability for people to be able to access our health system digitally.

Because it was already planned, we were able to keep our focus on that, which become even more necessary during the pandemic. As we look forward, I believe we actually have to be careful that we don’t do too much, too quickly. We have a whole bunch of people connected us to digitally who had never been before — how do we make sure that experience is seamless?

And it’s not just patients; we have a large community of independent physicians working here and in the community who either...