KLAS Insights

Kyle Chilton and Stephen Bitteker discuss the KLAS Emerging Technologies reports and some recent findings in the data. Data shows that providers are overwhlemed with the amount of new technology options while simultaneously worrying that they are going to miss out on new products. They also worry about how new solutions will work with their EMRs. In a world of burnout and staffing issues, they also worry that the learning curve of training will outweigh benefits the new solutions might provide down the road.

Get ready to dive into the HIMSS23 discussion surrounding patient engagement with Adam Cherrington and Dan Czech. In this episode, they share five brief interviews with leading patient engagement experts they had the opportunity to speak with at the conference. These experts provide valuable insights into how to effectively include patients in the healthcare process, as well as the challenges and successes they see in their organizations and companies.Additionally, as seasoned healthcare professionals, Adam and Dan also bring their own unique perspectives to the table. They share their observations and insights from their own experiences at HIMSS, shedding light on the latest trends and developments in patient engagement.

Kyle Chilton is joined by Jackson Tate to discuss pharmacy solutions.Pharmacy is such a legacy space for hospitals - a cost center typically - but innovations are using software and hardware to try and figure out how to keep innovating and optimizing. The current economic situation means people are looking for ways to leverage technology to improve ROI.New solutions are saving money and improving the bottom line while also highlighting the lack of optimization before. Automization is also a focus in trying to reduce the amount of human error - leackage, lost revenue, lost savings etc.

Dan Czech and Adam Cherrington are joined by Dana Oaks, Professor in Residence Healthcare Administration at Utah Valley University.Dana comes from a lineage of healthcare providers but decided he didn't want to go to school to be a healthcare provider. Instead, he found a meeting of business and healthcare that he was interested in. After earning his MBA and MHA, he has been chief in multiple organizations around the country. Dana discusses his experience with Telemedicine during the pandemic and working in a largely rural area that made getting care to patients incredibly hard. These health systems faced incredible challenges including personnel shortages, funding shortages, and technology accessibility shortages. His organization had to figure out how to mitigate anxiety and burnout in small areas. He learned just how critical Social Determinants of Health is to getting people care. This like proximity, ability to travel, access to technology, and education determine the care patients get.There is a difference in doing the right thing clinically but the wrong thing in communication in healthcare. Communication de-escalates both health crisis and anxiety crisis and reducing anxiety helps caregivers give better care.

Adam Cherrington is joined by Carrie Kozlowski, COO and Co-Founder of Upfront.Carrie started her career on the clincial side as an occupational therapsist. As such, she got to see patient experience 1-to-1 as well as through transitions of care. She saw gaps in care and communcation, and wanted to make a difference in patient care to set them up for success.The discussion is on how to leverage technology to create transitions in care that simplify and improve workflows and scalability so care can become frictionless. Upfront's goal is to transition from patient engagement (reaching out to patients) to patient activation (patients are empowered and active in acheiving their health goals). Patient participation is important to diminish the issues in those transitions of care. Healthcare still doesn't know how to capitalize on consumer data and expertise as well as some other industries.

Kyle Chilton is joined by Dan Nigrin, CIO of Main Health.Dan Nigrin got his start as a pediatric endocrinologist and quickly discovered his love of marrying clinician experience with technology. His love of personal computing and electronic music led him to marry two of his other loves - healthcare and IT. Dan and Kyle discuss Voice Enabled Documentation, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Patient Facing Communication and how all three will benefit healthcare moving forward. Discussion also includes how technology advanced during COVID and how healthcare can adopt technology better when not in crisis.

Adam Cherrington and Dan Czech are joined by Sara Vaezy, Executive VP Cheif Strategy and Digital Officer at Providence Health.Sara has spent her entire career in or adjacent to healthcare. Working in everything from medical devices to pop health companies, she has now been at Providence Health for 7 years, most of those in the digital health area.The discussion focuses on how to provide an overarching digital health experience not only with clincial data, but behavioral, economic, and social behaviors that help get clinicians a well-rounded understanding of their patients. Providence Health's motto "Know me, care for me, ease my way," can only be acheived if the organization can leverage their technology to truly "know" their patients in a deep and meaningful way.

Adam Cherrington and Dan Czech are joined by Laura Marquez, head of Digital Transformation at the University of Utah.Laura Marquez's passion is amplifying the patient voice by putting the patient and their families first. She has been in healthcare for over 20 years, and her goal is to make healthcare better. She believes in smoothing out journeys for patients and caregivers and easing through difficulties in getting care, and billing after care.Working with both the patient hat and the IT hat on, seeing patients through their circumstance is imperative. We increase empathy and understanding for others when we see through their lens. Invite disparate voices to the table so they can be catered to and make the experience better for them. Getting live feedback on how to make a patient experience better means changes have a quicker turnaround.

KLAS' Jennifer Hickenlooper is joined by Alex Nixon - Senior Research Analyst for the Center for Connected Medicine.The Center for Connected Medicine (CCM) is an independent think tank at the Unviersity of Pittsburgh specializing in healthcare innovation and new technologies. For the past 6 years, CCM has done a Top of Mind annual report which shows the top 3 technologies that healthcare executives are considering and implementing.For 2023, the 3 technologies that CCM found to be Top of Mind were Patient Access, Telehealth, and AI. This is interesting considering this matches the previous year's top 3 technologies as well and that may be due to change being slow in healthcare as well as holdover from needs from the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare providers and organizations are looking to restore patient volumes, and notice that consumers have more technology choices and greater expectations for their care. Their concern moving forward is that they compete with digital first and tech-enabled companies that are aiming to compete with traditional health systems.

Kyle Chilton is joined by Donna Roach, CIO for the University of Utah.Donna hails from the midwest and has always worked in healthcare. After creating her own health administration program at the University of Illinois, she continued on to get her Masters in Health Administration. Her focus has always been on administration paired with IT.Donna discusses people, processes, and IT. Technology is dependent on people and processes, and the IT part is usually the easiest part, it's the people and processes that are more difficult ot manage. People want to be heard and respected and feel like they are a part of the team.In addition, Donna discusses virtual care and how it will be used post-COVID. Virtual care can also be a way forward in health equity by reaching certain groups of people that may have a difficult time getting physically into an office to see a practicioner.

Ryan Oliver discusses large implementations and why they fail and succeed.When interviewed, about 50% of healthcare providers say that their enterprise-wide implemenations were problematic and ramifications for those unsuccessful implementations can be long lasting.How can both vendors and healthcare providres move forward with implementations to make them successful? This podcast discusses Landmark Insights and the goals of this new consultation initiative to proivde transparency and accountability to large-scale HIT implemenations.

Adam Cherrington and Dan Czech are joined by Dr. Kikelomo “Dr. Dayo” Belizaire Chief Medical Officer at Pegasystems Inc. to discuss Health Equity and improving Patient Outcomes.Dr. Dayo discusses her experience at Pegasystems and the work to improve patient outcomes by examining inequities and disparities throughout the healthcare system. They work to determine how to solve these challenging issues including leveraging AI powered software to address patient needs. Through the experience of having to be a patient advocate for her father, Dr. Dayo was confronted first-hand with the shortcomings of the American medical system.COVID uncovered so many inequities in healthcare. There is a need for all stakeholders to be at the table to discuss and collaborate on shared goals to fix inequality issues. The need is to confront issues and provide solutions for patients.

Kyle Chilton and Dustin Cragun discuss Prior Authorization.Discussion on why burnout and staffing shortages mean healthcare organizations need prior authorization. They simply don't have staff to be able to do the intense administrative task of making sure they understand every payer's system and what care they will and won't pay for.As with any market segment, there have been both successful use cases as well as difficulties in solution implementation. Successful use cases usually occur when both the vendor partern is committed to helping an organization with the organization understanding they have a vested interest in making sure they have a great understanding of the system as well.

Kyle Chilton and Schafer Jackson sit down to discuss a post COVID-19 marketplace in Remote Patient Monitoring, or Virtual Health.During the advent of COVID, there was a large uptick in the marketplace for Virtual Health systems. Necessity-driven solutions were created by multiple vendors to try and meet healthcare providers' needs. This was a massive evolution compared to around a 1% adoption rate prior to the pandemic.Now, in a marketplace that is flooded with solutions and endless possibilities, providers and vendors are working together to figure out strategies in use case moving forward. Virtual Health creates some great opportunities for immobile or bed-ridden patients, rural communities, socio-economically prohibitive communities, and can help to mitigate healthcare provider burnout.Kyle and Schafer discuss the market, where it is heading, and opportunities for the future.

KLAS' Rebecca Hammond talks to Rob McLin from Good Samaritan Hospital and Craig Richardville from Intermountain Health about the new 2022 Provider Healthcare IT report and their current investment strategies at their organizations.

Monique Rasband and Jenn Munson, both KLAS Research Directors, talk about their experiences with cancer and what they have learned about prevention.Jenn shares her family's story with aggressive breast and ovarian cancer and advocates for prevention. This includes doing self-exams monthly, getting a mammogram as soon as possible, and understanding your family history with cancer. Monique talks about how she is not a clinically trained expert, but she has learned so much from providers and research over the years. She shares some current statistics and myth busting information about breast cancer. She finishes by talking about what efforts, both in and out of KLAS, she has been part of to bring more awareness of breast cancer.

Adam Cherrington talks with Monique Rasband about breast cancer awareness. Their discussion includes early detection, imaging technology, Post-pandemic timing for screenings and more.

Monique Rasband joins our podcast as a leader in breast cancer awareness in the state of Utah. She is joined by Janet Cherrington, Helen Langan, and Suzanne Smith, three amazing women who have all survived breast cancer. Together, they share their experiences of when they discovered the cancer and how each of them managed life throughout the healing and recovery process. This panel shares ideas about how family and friends can give support to women in recovery.

Chaim Indig, CEO of Phreesia, speaks with Dan and Adam about the needs and preferences with technology that patients require to become “activated.” Chaim explains how on average, 86% of patients are comfortable with today's technology. They are wanting to handle their own admin work and want to spend even more time with their clinicians. “Patients are the center of healthcare, so their voices matter,” says Indig. The activated patient is the easiest to treat because they are willing to take their health into their own self. Ingid mentions that the challenge is on how to move patients from one level to the next to allow them more time with clinicians.

Connor Bice, Director of Operations for the Arch Collaborative and Andy Little, EM Physician in Central Florida, speak on clinician turnover and how it's related to the EHR experience. Connor speaks on data collected, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shows a 20% increase in clinician turnover in the last 2 years. Andy touches on the hardships on how organizations have struggled to train new users on how to properly use the EHR system, many don't know it well enough to be able to document core requirements appropriately. He speaks on how there are more regulations from government today when it comes to documenting, this adds to the burden of taking even more time in documenting each day. “It's about the patient,” Andy says and it's one of the few things you can do for them. He speaks on how having 24-hour support is very helpful, especially during high peak volume times. The challenge then is to use the EHR as a solution and not allow it to become a problem. It's important to invest in creating dot phrases, and macros. It may take 20+ hours to do so, however it will make a shift that much better because the EHR experience was better.

Adam Cherrington & Dan Czech speak with Adrienne Boissy, the current staff Neurologist at Cleveland Clinic and Chief Medical Officer at Qualtrics, speak on some key insights for patient experience leaders. Adrienne introduces the concept of “anchoring,” and how experienced healthcare leaders need to be anchored in what matters most for themselves and for their teams. She comments on how many healthcare leaders show up in the service of others at the expense of self, “if we are not anchored in what matters most for ourselves and for our teams we are in trouble.” Adrienne mentions that the reason for this is because leaders constantly get pulled in many directions. She then poses the question, “What type of life lived with joy and living true to your values are you going to continue to chase after?” Dan & Adam speak on an article written by Boissy earlier this year titled, 5 Key Insights for Patient Experience Leaders in 2022. Some of the work done with empathy and the concept of love in the workplace of healthcare. Adrienne touches on the Communication and Empathy model, which is to deeply listen and reflect emotion. It's a skill set to be able to build trust, exceptional relationship and drive service and excellence.

Jennifer Hickenlooper, KLAS Insights Director, and Ryan Pretnik, KLAS Research Director, speak with Jared Peterson, KLAS CMO, on some of the highlights from the recent Healthcare Safety, Risk & Compliance Management 2022 report. Ryan speaks on the importance of how technology needs to be integrated properly and even so interoperable. Jennifer addresses some of the challenges like implementation and training. She mentions the importance of having visibility to data, and the need to be able to do things with that data. The solution then is that vendors can improve on getting people to utilize these solutions to drive better outcomes. Some successes that are being celebrated include reporting, cost savings, automation and benchmarking some of the quality improvements.

Paul Warburton, EMR Analyst and Tyson Blauer, Research Director speak on the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and how providers are looking for security and consistency. Paul touches on how MEDITECH has been showing a strong net-positive retention rate along with CPSI, Azalea Health, Cerner and Allscripts. Tyson talks about the community model and how there is less consistency in the customer experience with that particular model, he mentions the importance of technology, interoperability and the overall experience and support. Paul speaks on the positives and negatives that acquisitions and mergers have, one thing they guarantee is change.

Connor Bice and Lauren Manzione speak on the recent report released Clinician Turnover & The EHR Experience. The main topic is on the likelihood of clinicians leaving their organization within the next 2 years, this research was conducted only a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Connor and Lauren touch on how clinicians have become more dissatisfied with their technology and EHR. The research in this report found that there are a lot of factors for this type of dissatisfaction, one of them being burnout. The numbers have been record breaking and there is a strong correlation between the burnout clinicians are experiencing, and the dissatisfaction for technology and EHR. 59,000 total clinicians responded in regard to this research, Nurses were more likely to leave and are one of the most burned out groups. Lauren then suggests a few tips on how preventative measures can minimize clinician's burnout level. It's important to note that nurses are the face of medicine, they are the ones that are doing a lot of daily constant interactions with patients.

Adam Cherrington and Dan Czech speak with the current Director and Industry Advisor for Global Healthcare at Salesforce, Dalton Divakaran, about the strategies being used to drive better outcomes for patient care. Divakaran stresses the importance of having open dialogue between organizations and Salesforce. By having open conversations, trust builds and allows for honest input on how to better understand patients' needs. Czech poses the question of what is being done in other countries to enhance the healthcare experience with patients and what the key takeaways are. Divakaran says that access to healthcare is an obstacle to overcome. He explains how in countries like Spain where healthcare is essentially free, hospitals are constantly overwhelmed with large populations of patients needing care, and this causes stress and sometimes even bad experiences for patients. One of the solutions that Divakaran mentions is for healthcare organizations and leaders to be more proactive and open to feedback from their patients—this is the dialogue that matters and that will benefit everyone. Ultimately, prioritizing what matters to patients is the most important factor, and this should be the center focus for every organization.

Jennifer Hickenlooper, KLAS Insights Director, and Ryan Pretnik, KLAS Research Director, speak with Jared Peterson, KLAS CMO, on some of the highlights from the Healthcare AI report. Ryan mentions the four different techniques that KLAS focuses on: machine learning, NLP, robotic process automation, AI, and imaging. The report deep dives into machine learning and elaborates on model creation, building deployment, and future predictions, whether those are about financial, clinical, or operational outcomes. Ryan touches on the importance of ease of use and its correlation to driving outcome. In the end, time to value is key. Jennifer and Ryan explain the three-step phase: (1) preimplementation, (2) implementation, and (3) change management. They elaborate that the preimplementation phase is for figuring out what problem needs to be solved. The implementation phase is to ensure everyone is involved with testing and knows how to build a model. The final phase for change management is centered around the importance of trainings and discussions. The challenge then is how to transition from testing AI to operationalizing it and beginning to drive outcomes.

Dr. Cree Gaskin, Vice Chair of Clinical Operations & Informatics at the University of Virginia, and Ben Gold, Senior Director of Product Management at Change Healthcare, speak with Lois Krotz and Boyd Stewart on some of the key successes and challenges between payers and providers highlighted in the Points of Light reports/case studies. The Points of Light reports and the Payer/Provider Initiative are meant to show the art of the possible and motivate other health systems to see whether there is something they can adopt. Dr. Gaskin touches on the importance of expediting the prior authorization process and gives insights on how collaborators are working together to reduce the burden for mutual benefit. Gold explains that there has been a mass adoption of imaging decision support tools due to the protecting access of the Medicare Act. Technology, trust, and a willingness to collaborate are what have made the project successful. The Payer/Provider Summit will be held this year on May 24–25 in Salt Lake City. Visit klasresearch.com/payerprovider22 for more information.

Boyd Stewart, Joe Van De Graaff and Ryan Pretnik speak with Justin on the current standing of the gaps that exist between healthcare providers and payer organizations, and obstacles to overcome. Boyd addresses some of the friction in the past, this includes lack of communication, trust, and technology. However, he mentions that there has been progress and touches on the Points of Light report that came out in April, the report is comprised of several case studies and summarizes the types of challenges tackled and outcomes achieved. Joe speaks on the core payer admin platform and how technology in that space has been termed as old and stagnant, but this is starting to change. He explains how the core systems enroll members, pay claims, and help manage benefits. Ryan brings up how risk adjustment is heavy not only in the payer space now but also starting to move to the provider end. He explains how value-based care contracts are fueling providers to keep an eye on their patients, making sure they are healthy because in the end that will help with the quality of care for those patients.

Bradley Hunter, currently a Senior Research and Sales Director in Value-Based Care at KLAS Research, speaks with Justin on recent findings of Value Based Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic and obstacles to overcome. Bradley addresses the pandemic and how there has been gradual growth and increases in fee for service revenue. The belief is that value based care and reimbursement will continue to move forward. He touches on a few obstacles in the Value Based Care model like lack of experience and the need to understand data analytics. The challenge then for Fee for Service and value based reimbursement is that in the next 5 years, provider organizations are going to have to pick one or the other. Bradley makes a guess that there will be a big switch to Value Based Reimbursement, and we'll begin to see innovations a lot of investment in social determinance of health.

Adam Gale, KLAS' Co-Founder & CEO, speaks with Justin on some of the keystone principles at KLAS Research (provider comes first) and how KLAS' mission aligns with the healthcare investment community. Adam notes that initially KLAS Research was hesitant to work with healthcare investors because of the uncertainty that some acquisitions seemed money driven, whereas now investors are really in it for the “long-term win” and want to move the market forward. Adam touches on how emerging technology has caught momentum within recent years and has become a focused priority, especially since the pandemic. A key question then is formed around the criteria that is needed to become a spotlight emerging tech KLAS report vendor.

Monique Rasband, KLAS' VP of Strategy & Research in Imaging & Oncology, speaks with Justin on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare and the urgency for timely adoption and need for new technology. Monique touches on the importance of relationships between providers and vendors during this time, and how working together to figure out what problems are trying to be solved will benefit all parties. “A key factor is understanding each other's needs is setting proper expectations,” Monique adds. The challenge then is the ability for providers and vendors to properly implement, utilize and execute new technology, this will ensure the needle is moved in the right direction in terms of pressing patient care.

Mac Boyter, currently a research director at KLAS Research, speaks with Justin on his experience with clinical documentation solutions. Mac addresses the pandemic and how it has highlighted the need for firms to have “survivability.” This means that firms need to offer a breadth of services beyond traditional roles like transcription services, scribing, speech-to-text, and coding solutions. Ultimately, this will all affect how clinicians interact with their patients and whether they will have a positive experience. Mac touches on the importance of making sure that everything is documented properly and in a timely manner; from the very first encounter a patient has with a clinician to the billing stage, every detail matters. The challenge then is with the ability of organizations to decrease physician burnout by proper documentation and also implement new technology for automation.

Dustin Cragun, Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) at KLAS Research, speaks with Justin on his experience with digital transformation tools and the power of automation in revenue cycle management. Dustin points out several times throughout the conversation how digital automation tools increase performance and the accuracy of data while minimizing human error. He touches on the fact that by removing manual labor through these strategic processes, providers can save resources and time on hiring and training employees on how to use the systems that process this data. This allows providers to rely on digital automation to reduce the number of denials when payers change their rules and requirements. The challenge then is on the ability of organizations to implement this new technology and properly apply it.

Dr. Yaa Kumah, currently a Pediatric Endocrinologist and the Biomedical Informaticist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, speaks with Adam and Dan on how computers and emerging technology can rehumanize the patient and provider experience. She emphasizes throughout the conversation about the change that the COVID-19 pandemic brought, and how providers became more willing to try new technology and implement different approaches to enhance the patient experience. She touches on the 21st Century Cures Act which aims to streamline delivery for drugs, accelerate research and improve health services to patients overall. This leads to “humanizing” the patient experience through transparency. The challenge then is how patients are giving feedback on these tools and the follow up process on simplifying the process for them.

Jeremy, currently the Executive Director of Digital Marketing and Experience at Indiana University Health, speaks with Adam and Dan on his interest in the consumer experience. He emphasizes throughout the conversation how consumers look to digital technology when choosing which provider to see, this provides ease of scheduling appointments and bill pay. He touches on journey mapping and how it is used for understanding and providing solutions to customers when they face tough decisions or have emotional reactions. This leads to driving better health outcomes and enhancing the patient journey. The challenge then is how to use technology and data sources to be more specific and allow engagement with consumers at right moments.

Chrissy, currently the Chief Experience Officer at Press Ganey LLC, speaks with Adam and Dan on her interest in behavioral economics. She emphasizes throughout the conversation how medicine can improve when there is mutual trust between patients and care providers. She touches on the digital consumer experience and how that might affect patient experience both in a positive and negative way. This leads to allow patients to express what they found both helpful and frustrating. The challenge then is how to provide transparency and authentic feedback from consumers while protecting individuals from anything that might be defamatory.

Adam and Dan review stand-out moments and key insights from season one of the Patient Voice Amplified podcast. They also bring up important questions for the healthcare industry to continue answering, such as how we go beyond just the principle of listening to make sure it's a step in the process of better engaging patients.

Cris, currently the CIO of Mayo Clinic, talks with Adam and Dan about how his journey as a cancer patient helped him see patient-centricity differently. Part of his perspective includes the need to optimize patient services over behind-the-scenes processes. They also discuss topics like what small things Mayo Clinic is working on to improve their patient experience, how well healthcare is currently listening to patients, and the patient-focused book he is working on with Ed Marx (see episode 11 of this podcast).

Currently the Chief Digital Officer for Healthcare Life Sciences at Tech Mahindra, Ed Marx has filled many different seats in healthcare, including his most recent journey as a cancer patient. Listen to get a sneak preview of some of the patient engagement insights behind Ed's latest project—a book for healthcare consumers that he is working on with Cris Ross, CIO of Mayo Clinic. He also addresses where technology fits in patient engagement and gives advice to HIT vendors on their approach.

Kevan Mabbutt, Senior VP & Chief Consumer Officer at Intermountain Healthcare, has a background in learning about what consumers want and then translating that knowledge into better experiences. This is in part because, before moving to healthcare, Kevan worked for The Walt Disney Company as the Global Head of Consumer Insight. Listen to learn more about how Intermountain is doing foundational work to better understand the needs of the patient, and making changes by looking at the consumer experience in other industries.

Bob is a retired professor of healthcare administration and medical ethics. Prior to retirement, Bob worked with students to create an organization called the Power of the Patient Project, one of the only digital libraries devoted exclusively to education and information on patient rights. Bob saw firsthand how patients were at the whim of their doctors. At its core, the Power of the Patient Project is about educating patients on their rights so they can be more educated consumers of healthcare.

Jerry Mansfield, CNO at Mount Carmel Health System, says it was his doctoral program in Public Health at Ohio State University opened this idea for him: How do patients and families engage with care providers to stay healthy or manage chronic conditions? Jerry addresses that question in today's episode with discussion on making patients the core of their care, removing the labels getting in the way, and giving health professionals hope at the same time.

As a Special Advisor to the National Academy of Medicine, Laura Adams provides leadership on science and technology. After experiencing how easy it is to make medical errors as a young nurse, she realized that patients are intensely vulnerable. She works to make patient-centricity the North Star of all innovations and design. Her advice? Immerse yourself in the reality of the patient experience in patients' stories.

It could be said that healthcare administration is in Charitie Horsley's blood. Her parents and generations before worked in healthcare. But one doctor also inspired her when she had walking pneumonia as a teen. With her intimate knowledge of the inner workings of healthcare, she shares her suggestions for improving the patient experience.

Caroline Delongchamp's son became a pediatric trauma patient at MUSC after a terrible accident. That experience ultimately drove her to change careers. Today, Caroline is Manager of Patient- and Family-Centered Care at MUSC Health. Listen to MUSC's approach of involving patients as partners in care and how they made shifts during COVID-19.

After surgery that removed a large lump in his stomach, Michael O'Neil waited in an oncology unit for nine days to find out his prognosis. He realized he didn't have answers, and he wanted a way to educate himself. So, he designed a patient desktop to help patients feel more informed. 20 years later, Michael is the founder and CEO of GetWellNetwork, Inc.

Adam interviews Aaron Bentley, CIO of Salt Lake City Information Management Services, to learn about his experience as a patient with polycystic kidney disease and as a renal transplant recipient. He and his family are self-defined “super-consumers of healthcare.” Listen to his unique perspective as a CIO outside of healthcare.

Today Adam and Dan talk to Dr. Rasu Shrestha, MD MBA CSTO and Executive VP of Atrium Health. Listen to learn more about Atrium's current push of digital consumer initiatives and the importance of involving patients from the start—at that moment when you're creating new solutions. Using patient-centric design models, Atrium does just that.

The patient is at the center of everything care providers do. So why don't we hear more about their experiences using healthcare technology? Patient Engagement experts, Adam Cherrington and Dan Czech are here to take on the challenge.