Patients sending their physician a photo of a mole or other physical presentations of disease are often disappointed to learn they still need to be seen in person for a final diagnosis and treatment plan. While phone camera quality has improved greatly in the decade since they were first introduced, for many diagnoses there’s no substitute for being seen in [...]
Systems are everywhere. There are small systems, like atoms or cells, and large systems, like the US economy or global trade networks. When people discuss politics, education, or healthcare, they’ll often mention the political system, the education system, or the healthcare system. But what is a system and why should we care? And what does it have to do with [...]
Data is the foundation on which Hospital IQ’s predictive analytics platform is built. But getting the required data from hospitals is not always easy. Hospital IT departments are typically overworked and understaffed. Furthermore, external data requests from vendors typically take lower priority than internal requests from known entities. Given this challenging environment, we’ve found three universal principles that accelerate any [...]
Joining Hospital IQ and building closer relationships with our clients has been a very eye-opening and awesome experience for me. Almost 30 years in healthcare workforce management provided me with great experiences, but it had been several years since I had been able to directly help clients in an impactful and gratifying way. Since joining Hospital IQ, having the opportunity [...]
Over the last two weeks, I heard two interesting perspectives on machine learning that illustrate the complexity associated with tools touting this functionality: From a CMO: “We purchased a machine learning tool that was supposed to predict the likelihood of sepsis, but it was complete garbage. How do we know your system works?” From a VP of Periop: “We are [...]
Hospitals and health systems often share common problems when it comes to optimizing their operational efficiency. But they each have unique circumstances – whether it’s the size of the organization, their strategic mission and growth goals, or even the populations they serve – that make a one-size-fits-all approach to improving operational efficiency ineffective at truly solving this critical business challenge. [...]
I find swimming to be an effective analogy for the way hospitals and health systems work, so often frame my blog posts from that vantage point. For instance, I recently ran into a pool friend I’ve gotten to know over the years and asked him what he’s been up to. He excitedly replied, “I actually hired a swim coach. We [...]
Hospitals today are operating in an uncertain environment. This includes a shift to value-based care (and with that, the associated questions regarding reimbursements), to increased M&A activity, new and non-traditional industry competitors like Amazon and CVS, and a move to care beyond the acute setting. This puts new pressures on hospitals to streamline operations and recapture revenues to support decreasing [...]
Product managers often have interesting origin stories. Perhaps not as interesting as Captain America or the Hulk, but the discipline of product management is known for attracting people from a broad array of backgrounds. I’m a journalism major, myself -- in college, I learned the fine points of copy editing, graphic design and, of course, the Associated Press style guide. [...]
I have two kids, but never got around to actually signing them up for swim lessons. Instead, I taught them to swim myself. I’m a swimmer, but not a swim instructor. I’ve never taught anyone to swim, and I never bothered to learn any formal swim training pedagogy. It was simply opportunistic lessons when we were visiting a hotel or [...]