From the Digital Health Leaders Podcast, CHIME Road to Forum series, Curtis Watkins, President and CEO Curtis of CereCore, and CHIME President & CEO Russ Branzell discussed trending topics in the “Transforming Healthcare with Digital Innovation” episode. Watkins shared insights from decades of experience as a healthcare CIO and managed IT services leader. Stream the episode for leadership perspective on the impact of AI and machine learning on patient care, strategies for overcoming resource constraints and the importance of patient-centric design in digital transformation.
Listen to the CHIME Leader2Leader podcast episode.
Good Stewards of Technology Investments
“As healthcare technology professionals it is important to be really good healthcare operators,” said Watkins.
Watkins emphasized the importance of being responsible with technology investments, suggesting that organizations should focus on underexplored areas like revenue cycle management, which holds significant potential beyond the commonly discussed EHRs and clinician tools.
He highlighted the significant potential in evaluating the revenue cycle management landscape using frameworks like RCMTAM (revenue cycle technology adoption model) which is similar to the HIMSS maturity model criteria used for clinical systems.
“The HFMA work and RCMTAM framework can help our health systems run efficiently, collect revenue, and stay in business. We have hospitals today that are operating right on the edge of bankruptcy. So, it really is important for us not lose focus on that side of the business as well.”
A Vision for AI in Healthcare
Watkins cited initial uses of AI in non-clinical areas of healthcare operations such as patient management, staff scheduling, and bed management. But, he concluded this is just the beginning.
He explained that AI is an opportunity to take advantage of technology that we have been working on or thinking about for years. Now, AI is helping organizations function at a more efficient operational level with the aid of that technology.
“People ask me how they should look at AI or tackle it in the healthcare environment. I think a first step is to take advantage of what's available through major technology providers that run core IT products, whether that be Microsoft, Google, Amazon, et cetera. Also, look at the AI within EMRs and how those inherent AI capabilities can support clinical workflows and how they are being thoroughly vetted for safety and efficiency,” said Watkins.
Technology Enabled Focus
Early in his career, Watkins was a hospital IT director and later he was the CIO for very large health systems. “Something I've always tried to practice in my career is focus,” said Watkins.
As an IT service desk provider for major healthcare organizations, he explained how CereCore is using Amazon Connect and its AI-powered capabilities are helping automate certain service desk functions.
“We can solve problems much quicker, get satisfaction to our callers or the people that we're trying to help on the phone. It increases the efficiency and also job satisfaction for our service desk personnel,” said Watkins.
He continued, "If you look across your organization at your capabilities, your technology, are you really equipping your organization and your people—to utilize a little bit of a healthcare term—to work at the top of your license?”
Watkins said employees are more satisfied when they can fully utilize their skills. He stressed the importance of organizational focus, ensuring that work is designated appropriately so that highly skilled employees are not performing tasks that could be handled by others, such as service desk functions.
“You're allowing people to have maximum utilization of their skills. That really is about focus. You don't want a high-end clinical analyst with a ton of experience trying to solve simple problems that can be done at the service desk,” said Watkins.
Strategic Partnerships for Growth
Another key lesson Watkins pointed out was the importance of strategic partnerships. Leaders should think about scale and “where they're at and what they can achieve on their own, and what they can't achieve on their own, or what they should be focusing on.”
He recounted how smaller health systems often struggle with resource constraints and the need for specialized skills, but partnerships with the right IT services supplier can help them achieve scale and can be a game-changer in managing resources and accessing specialized skills.
Patient-Centric Design: A Core Principle
Watkins emphasized three key aspects of patient-centric design:
- Patient Technology Touchpoints: Ensuring patient interactions, from pre-registration to in-hospital kiosks, are optimized for usability and fit into business and clinician workflows. He said it is important to think through patient interactions "and have the right support organization to help patients utilize these systems. It's a lot of different users...So, you do really have to have a different mindset as you support a broader patient population.”
- Clinician Use of Technology: Designing systems that allow clinicians to interact with patients, even during documentation.
- Interoperability: Highlighting the value of integrated systems over third-party bolt-ons to avoid disconnected patient records, noting a trend towards choosing integrated systems.
A Legacy of Servant Leadership
The leadership philosophy for Watkins is that of servant leadership. “I strongly believe the only real sustainable leadership is servant leadership,” he said.
“What I mean by servant leadership is that you as a manager, you as a leader—at whatever level of the organization—are not focused on yourself and getting what you can out of the folks that work for you, or that you work for. But, focusing on leadership in a way that enables your colleagues' growth, enables their maturation, and it enables their job satisfaction.”
"That's the only leadership model that I have seen consistently sustained in high-performing organizations. As early in your career as you can learn that lesson, if it's not natural to you, I think it will serve you well.”
Editor’s note: These comments were edited for clarity and brevity. For the complete conversation between Russ Branzell and Curtis Watkins, listen to the Digital Health Leaders Podcast: Road to Forum - Transforming Healthcare with Digital Innovation.
