← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Advancing Care Through Connection and Digital Innovation with Matthew Harinstein, MD, MBA
00:13:47
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- [00:02]
A
@ Athenahealth, we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier a healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier patients. But the complexities of modern healthcare tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most. That's where athenahealth can help our AI native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice can be that Much simpler with Athenahealth. See how simpler is healthier@athenahealth.com.
- [00:44]
B
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm Scott King, thrilled today to be joined by Matthew Herrenstein, Vice President and Associate Chief Medical Officer over at Northwell. Matthew, thanks so much for joining us today. How are you doing?
- [00:58]
C
I'm great. Thanks so much for having me. Scott. It's a great honor to be here and a pleasure to share a little bit about what we've been of course.
- [01:05]
B
Really appreciate your time and we're going to appreciate your expertise diving into some kind of big topics and trends going on in healthcare right now. But before we jump to the questions, just wondering if you could please introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit about your background.
- [01:18]
C
Yes, absolutely. I'm Dr. Matthew Herrenstein. I am Vice President and an Associate Chief Medical Officer at Northwell Health. I'm also a practicing cardiologist and have spent much of my career focused on cardiovascular imaging, specifically nuclear cardiology and echocardiography, as well as assessment of perioperative patients and in cardio oncology. Before joining Northwell, I spent about 15 years at UPMC in Pittsburgh. I held roles that bridge clinical medicine, physician leadership, and administration, both domestically, internationally. What really drew me to Northwell was its phenomenal and unique culture. I think one that balances clinical excellence, optimal care of the patients, innovation. It really focuses on the workforce. In my current role, I work with our Chief Medical Officer in the CMO office as well as hospital leaders to help advance system integration efforts to strengthen our culture, support our providers, and enhance engagement across our system.
- [02:22]
B
Thanks so much for sharing that background information. And to get to the trends in healthcare I had mentioned, what opportunities and headwinds do you have your eye on right now in health care?
- [02:34]
C
Great question. There's a number of opportunities really across the continuum, but the couple that I'm focused on specifically are really around using data and digital tools to advance our care and to allow providers to spend more time with the Patients and also helping to identify patients who may benefit from specific types of care. So a lot of opportunity to use AI and look at patients who might qualify for particular treatment or procedures and help them to receive the right care that they need, and also to really help with our providers and promote a culture that allows them to be as satisfied as possible. I think if we can use some of these tools to identify patients who'd benefit from procedures such as diabetes or cardiovascular care, or things like structural heart procedures, we can help to really optimize our clinical pathways and workflows. I think another opportunity is really for us around the integration between Northwell and Nuvance Health, which started this year. It's not really just about combining two systems, but it's really about creating a system that's even stronger. It's now allowing us to unify best practices from both Northwell and Nuvance, elevate quality across the regions, and really leverage all of the resources and clinical expertise that now sit anywhere between Long island, through New York and into Connecticut, and to really make those available to all of our patients. I think at the same time, regarding the headwinds that we're seeing, I think a lot of these are ones that many health systems are facing right now in terms of workforce challenges, financial constraints and the pace of change. The key is, I think, maintaining a culture where people feel valued and supported and their well being is promoted. From my perspective, I think when employees feel satisfied in their roles, when they feel seen or heard or connected to their purpose, I think everyone is more efficient, productive, and ultimately happier. So if we can make sure that every one of our staff members, from administration to ancillary services to the provider level, is satisfied in what they're doing, I think everybody works better. And really, who benefits the most is our patients who receive the best care and have the best experience.
- [04:54]
B
And Dr. Hernstein, I just want to follow up on something you said. You're using your systems, implementing AI to free up time with patients, and that way you have more time to patients and you can really listen to them. How has that kind of early implementation worked? Are you already seeing a lot more time with patients at your system versus having to do all the administrative stuff?
- [05:15]
C
Yeah. So from that perspective, I think a lot of systems are moving more towards the ambient AI in terms of how to better be able to produce clinical notes and focus less on the documentation and more on time spent with patient care. And so this is certainly something that is going to be rolled out at Northwell and creates an opportunity for more Focus on the patient and hopefully more satisfaction for the providers.
- [05:44]
B
Absolutely. And I also want to ask you, how are you thinking about growth and adding value to your organization?
- [05:51]
C
I think from a Northwell perspective, growth really isn't just measured by geography or clinical volume, but it's also about value and impact. We're focused on growing intelligently, really strengthening our clinical programs around transplantation surgical areas including cardiac, neurosurgery, abdominal and others. Then leveraging digital tools to expand access and building integrated teams that can help deliver care seamlessly across the health system. I think focusing on our network and focusing on strengthening our hospital medical staffs is really critically important. The more that we can connect to the ambulatory to the hospital and make sure that people feel a part of the community and know how to get their patients to move throughout the system is really critically important. That's how patients are going to be able to receive the care that they need, hopefully as close to home as possible. The more we function as a network, the more providers are going to know how and who to get in touch with and the more that ultimately the patients will be able to receive the best care. I also think as far as growth, we're really deeply committed to cultivating a culture that is really more of a strategic asset. What I mean by that is programs in our perioperative areas, we're reinforcing what it means to lead with purpose and empathy. In some of our hospitals we really are emphasizing the best culture possible. And when you have a really great culture where people feel respected, part of the team, it creates really safest and highest quality care for the patients. And so really focusing on culture as a growth asset is important as well. And ultimately when people feel empowered and respected, they're going to contribute ideas, solve problems, drive improvement and that's only going to lead to more growth opportunities.
- [07:40]
B
You mentioned digital tools. Obviously we're seeing and hearing about a lot of systems, investing in more and more of them. What's one risk or investment worth making this year you think? And would it be a digital tool or something else?
- [07:53]
C
Yeah, so, so great question and, and one that definitely applies in our case. And you know, I think one of the, you know, the way I would phrase it is one of the most meaningful investments that we can make is, is in our people and particularly, you know, leadership development, engagement and, and well being. And one of the things that we have just implemented at Northwell is the first wave of, of epic. And so EPIC is Electronic Health Record at Northwell and it's going to be implemented across a couple of different waves. And we just had our first wave in several of our hospitals and ambulatory sites. And it's really, really occurred with great success. You saw physicians, nurses, you know, frontline leaders who are all working, you know, around the clock and really in concert with one another to make sure that this moves forward seamlessly. And I was just so impressed with how well everything worked out. And I had the opportunity over the last week or so to visit many of our sites and talk with people at all levels of the organization. And really we heard, myself and one of my colleagues who visited some of these sites, nothing but enthusiasm. You know, this time when you're moving from one EHR to another, particularly from a different company, can be daunting for providers. It's a new system, it's something that they're not familiar with. Even with all the training that you go through once it's, it's finally time for prime time. You know, it can be challenging, but we heard nothing but excitement and people were just talking about already how much they're seeing improvement in some of their workflows and that this is only going to be more positive for their daily lives and for, for the patient care. So really just, you know, extremely excited and I think another investment, you know, when we think about it, is, is really moving forward with, you know, this, this idea of this new EHR and what EPIC can do for us is some of the digital analytic capabilities. You know, again, how can we utilize AI to help us with, you know, creating notes, with creating discharge summaries. We talked about that previously. How can we, you know, better monitor patients? And so all of these things that we can now do will, will only enhance our communication amongst ourselves with the, with the patients and hopefully improve the well being of, of our staff.
- [10:20]
B
It's great to hear. The EPIC rollout is going very well over at Northwell. That's wonderful news. And last thing I want to ask you, Dr. Harenstein, where do you see the best opportunities for growth in the future?
- [10:31]
C
So from my perspective, I think the growth really lies in connection connecting our health systems between Northwell new bands, connecting data and really connecting our people. And the integration with nuvance is a great example of that. We're bringing together many talented teams, complementary resources and shared values to deliver exceptional care in the communities. But also it's important to think about strengthening our network to make sure that everyone has access to every resource in the health system that allows us to identify patients and to make sure that they're placed in the right place for care. The more that we can connect our medical staffs, connect the community physicians across all of our different areas, the more successful we'll be. If you enter care through a primary care physician, which is a wonderful opportunity for us to think about growth in the future, if they know who to go directly to to receive care, that will just occur seamlessly. And now all of a sudden, that patient who may struggle to figure out, you know, where do I go next, who do I go to for my referral now is going to be able to get that appointment, get into the system, and then again get the treatment they need. That might be making sure that they're monitored for prevention purposes. It might be being told that there's an opportunity for them to get a procedure that's going to help them, that they now qualify for, to help them live longer or live a more healthy life. So these are, I think, just critical opportunities for growth is really to make those connections and to make sure that people know how to get through the system, procedures that might not be closest to home. Now patients really throughout our health system can have access to those high acuity procedures like transplantation and others. I think that's really where I see the most growth overall. I think healthcare is about people. It's the people we care for, the people that deliver the care. I think when we have this environment of connection and promotion of well being, everyone has the opportunity to flourish and hopefully we can deliver the best care with the highest quality and hopefully with a high level of innovation overall.
- [12:49]
B
Absolutely. And certainly some great strategies and insight on growth there. And Dr. Herrnstein, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast. It was a great conversation. I look forward to working with you again soon.
- [12:59]
C
Thanks so much. I appreciate the opportunity to join you and look forward to speaking again.
- [13:05]
A
At athenahealth. We know your ambulatory practice wants healthier, a healthier business, health care teams and healthier patients. But the complexities of modern healthcare tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most. That's where athenahealth can help our AI native all in one solutions. Reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients and stronger bottom lines. Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice can be that much simpler with Athenahealth. See how simpler is healthier@athenahealth.com.