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- [00:01]
A
Philips is a health tech leader focused on innovation that improves the health and well being of people. Our healthcare technology and informatics solutions help care teams diagnose, treat and manage more patients with greater precision, speed and confidence. Across the care journey With Philips, clinicians are empowered with streamlined insights in the moments that matter for every patient. Better care for more people. Philips.
- [00:29]
B
This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast and we are recording live at the 2025 Health IT Digital Health and RCM Conference. I'm currently joined by Pam Austin, who is the CIO at Ballad Health. Pam, thanks for being here and let's start off by having you share a little bit more about yourself and your work in healthcare.
- [00:47]
C
Sure. And thank you for the opportunity. I'm Pam Austin, CIO at Ballot Health. Ballot Health is an integrated community health improvement organization. We serve 29 counties and we are in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia, northwest North Carolina and Southeast Kentucky. That's a 29 county region area in our health system. At our core, Ballot exists to make healthcare simpler. That's really what we're about. More accessible and sustainable for both patients and clinicians. And that means building care models that remove friction, whether through technology, workflow, redesign or better engagement strategies. Much of my work has been at the intersection really of clinical operations and technology. I've seen firsthand in my position how complex healthcare can be for patients trying to access care and for clinicians who often feel burdened by administrative tasks. My mission primarily is to bring those two perspectives together to improve the patient experience while also improving the clinician's satisfaction with the technology. At Ballot Health, we're working hard to shorten wait times, reduce burnout for clinicians, and make sure patients get the right care at the right time. But for me and it, it comes down to this. Our patients don't want necessarily all digital care, which we do want to implement digital care, but what they really want is, is easy care.
- [02:27]
B
Wonderful. Well, thanks so much for being here and let's start our conversation talking about AI, since that is such a hot topic right now. Nearly half of medical practices have reported using AI in some capacity in the last year and it remains a key topic for health IT leaders. So from your perspective, what are the use cases that are making a difference right now and how are you leveraging them in your organization?
- [02:47]
C
Yeah, so there is a lot of noise right now around AI, but what matters is, is truly what creates value for the patient and providers. I've seen in the industry, not necessarily at Ballard, but in the industry two use Cases that stand out are game changers. And these are things that we're looking into. Ambient clinical documentation and automation in the revenue cycle management area. So for example, with ambient documentation, clinicians can walk into an exam room, focus on the patient, not having to focus on the technology, and have the system handle much of the note taking in the background. That doesn't just improve efficiency for clinicians, it restores joy in practice because they can spend more time, meaningful time with patient interactions. Over on the financial side, in the industry, we're seeing impact in two areas. Prior authorization turnaround. You can see that in the industry. I saw one use case where an organization went from 5.4 days to less than one day. And then AI assisted coding, which is really popular now, is improved. That same company improved accuracy by 20%, encoder productivity by 30%. So that's what we're seeing in the industry. And then by triaging and automating common scenarios like that, you can reduce denials and speed up your reimbursement overall. And that has a downstream effect. So it's less stress on the patient waiting for approval and fewer back office headaches for team members. So the key lesson I would say here with AI shouldn't add steps or clicks. AI that doesn't give time back isn't progress. I call that paperwork with a new name. So we evaluate every use case against that principle. Does it give time back to the clinician?
- [04:44]
B
And as virtual care expands from AI enabled tools and remote monitoring to broader digital health platforms, introducing new technology brings challenges. So what advice do you have for leaders navigating everything from governance to patient engagement? And can you share an example of how your organization has balanced innovation with operational constraints?
- [05:01]
C
Yes, certainly. Virtual care certainly has evolved rapidly from the early telehealth pilots. Now we have integrated ecosystems that include AI enabled triage remote monitoring. We have digital first care pathways. That growth brings both opportunities and challenges, of course. And my biggest piece of advice for leaders is don't lead with the technology, lead with the workflow and governance. It's always people process, then the technology. And also every tool needs a clear owner. When there's responsibility that floats between it and clinical operations, sometimes innovation stalls. As a result, the governance should set not just guardrails for safety and compliance, but also clear accountability for outcomes. So at Ballot Health, telemedicine has seen a consistent year over year growth. We're also expanding from foundational services to a comprehensive ecosystem all the way around. What that means, or what that includes is emergent and urgent Teleneurology we have teletriage, telepsychiatry, things like telecardiology and also 247 virtual urgent care and remote patient monitoring for our chronic patients. And those are just some few examples now there. The tight governance is the key to success and having a clear vision and a path forward. What we're doing is we aren't just launching a new program. What we're doing is we tied each project back to an operational goal to keep everyone aligned. And then secondly, my advice would be to design with the patient in mind. So any technology you're using, always keep the patient in the background of your mind because ultimately that's what the care is for. Patients don't necessarily judge us on our technology staff. Right. They judge us based on on the convenience and responsiveness that means for us is investing in seamless onboarding, intuitive applications and proactive communication. For example, let's see, ensuring that patients get a return phone call. This is a good example. In a specific number of minutes or hours can be just as impactful as deploying a new platform. So they we build trust that way. And then finally, I would say balance your ambition with operational reality. Virtual care should expand capacity, not overwhelm team members. Right. One of the most useful framing tools for me has been to treat capacity as the new quality metric. And that keeps the conversation centered on access and sustainability overall.
- [07:50]
B
And then how are you seeing recent legislation, both state and federal, affect health organizations and healthcare IT specifically. And have you adjusted strategies in response?
- [07:59]
C
Yeah, certainly policy for sure is playing an increasingly direct role in shaping our healthcare IT strategy. At the federal level, interoperability and data sharing rules are on the front and center of our minds. And these mandates are not just compliance requirements, their clinical imperatives. We've adjusted by moving to an API first integration model and tightening our cybersecurity posture. Because data is a clinical asset. Right. And protecting it is a foundation to trust. And our patients need that trust and they deserve that. And telehealth flexibilities are another major driver. The extension of reimbursement and coverage there has allowed us to accelerate digital first care models that were previously constrained. And that policy certainly has shifted telehealth from temporary workarounds to long term strategy for us. And so while legislation can sometimes feel like a barrier, and it does in practice, it has helped us focus. We've adjusted strategies in IT to prioritize interoperability looking at our cybersecurity and sustainable virtual care. All of those align with our long term mission and the Headline for us is simple there it's trust, access and workforce sustainability are now the clinical priorities, not just operational ones.
- [09:29]
B
And as we wrap our conversation up, what is your top piece of advice for healthcare leaders as they prepare for further advancements in technology and rising demands for care?
- [09:39]
C
Yeah. So my advice there is to resist the temptation as much as possible from chasing all the every shiny tool out there. Instead, pick two or three, two or three patient and clinician pain points that matter the most. Ask the clinicians and solve them deeply. When leaders, as we try to expand our resources and the resources are thin across too many initiatives, that's when the impact gets diluted. Focus on bringing back results again. Don't chase the shiny objects. Pick two or three patient and clinical pain points. Equally important is how you measure success, right? Don't just get lost in dashboards or adoption metrics. Instead, ask this how many minutes are we giving back to clinicians? That's the real metric there. How many days are we cutting from patient wait times? Those are the metrics that matter the most. In our experience. When you focus on time and access, you stay aligned with what patients and clinicians truly value. And that's what we're looking for. And finally, remember that technology is only the enabler, right? The foundation is the culture and our governance. If you create an environment where teams feel supported, where they feel accountable and focused on outcomes, the technology will amplify that culture. But if governance is weak, there will be no platform that can fix that. So you really want the team technology just to fade into the background. So simply put for me, and to wrap this up, the KPI or the best KPI in healthcare, it is the hours you're giving back to clinicians. If leaders can keep can keep that as their Northstar, you know, they'll be well prepared for whatever comes next in the industry.
- [11:28]
B
Wonderful. Well, Pam, thanks so much for joining us today on the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. Again, we are recording live at the 2025 Health IT Digital Health and RCM Conference.
- [11:38]
C
Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.