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Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Supporting Care Teams Through Change and Technology with Ann M. Richardson
00:20:09
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- [00:02]
A
This is where healthcare leadership comes together. Becker's 16th annual meeting brings more than 3,500 hospital and health system executives and nearly 800 speakers to Chicago, April 13th through the 16th. This year's event includes keynote conversations with Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman and former President George W. Bush. For the agenda and event details, visit Beckershospitalreview.com and click on the Events tab in the upper right click. We're looking forward to hosting you in Chicago.
- [00:32]
B
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by a brilliant leader who's had a fantastic career in leadership and healthcare. We're joined today by Ann Richardson and Ann is the leader of Lead well Healthcare Consultants. We're going to talk to Ann today about Trend. She's watching what she's most focused on and a lot more. Ian, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself and your career?
- [01:02]
C
Yes. Thanks Scott. Thanks for the introduction. I am a decades long healthcare executive and operator. I've spent most of my career when I was employed by health systems and academic medical centers, complex health systems, medical groups, leading operations, finance and strategy basically. And also over the years I've done a lot of fractional and interim leadership and and consulting and change management for a wide variety of organizations. And today I work as an independent consultant and advisor partnering with health systems medical groups and in particular I have a special interest in partnering with healthcare technology companies laser focused on solutions that can help health systems and medical groups better support their care teams by improving the care team experience, patient engagement and delivering meaningful results. And in fact, after being an independent consultant for many, many years, I'm actually in transition to be employed by a healthcare technology company in the next month.
- [02:11]
B
Well, fantastic and congratulations. Talk a little bit about what are the key trends you're watching in healthcare currently? There's so much change going on, you get to talk to so many different people. What are some of the key trends that you're watching and that are top.
- [02:24]
C
Of mind for so there's lots going on out there and I tend to refer to the challenges that we have out there as challenges versus problems because while they're complex, I do believe a lot of the challenges that we have there are solutions and when we phrase things as problems, people tend to be paralyzed by it. But as you know, we have a challenge with diminished access across the country for a wide variety of reasons. Hospital consolidation, rural hospital closures, service lines closing, labor and delivery. For example, some of the closures are due to financial, external financial reimbursement constraints, but also due to a limited availability of physicians in certain areas and nurses as well. And we can't provide safe quality and timely access if we don't have providers to provide that care. And that is the case in some of the rural hospital L and D labor and delivery closures. So that's a real concern. Patients are either waiting longer for care, delaying care, not getting care at all, or they're traveling quite far for their care. And so, and a lot of that when we look at the diminished access to care is due to just the burden on clinicians and moral injury clinicians. While we may look at the numbers and say we have a large number of physicians and nurses licensed, they're not necessarily practical practicing clinical medicine today. So for health systems, for example, that affects their operations and when their operations are affected negatively, it clearly affects their financial performance and also poses patient safety risks when you don't have proper complement of clinicians. And then also, I mean, healthcare organizations continue to be taxed by the CMS mandates, you know, quality reporting, value based care models, all, all of these demands that are in many cases mandates where systems and organizations need to have either people or technology to be able to track the data and put out measurable results. A nurse said to me the other day, and it's so true, he said, ann, we as nurses are one more CMS mandate away from walking away. Because if we don't have a streamlined process or technology to help us capture some of this data that we're now mandated, you know, we can't take one more, you know, whether it's an Excel spreadsheet or something that we need to click an epic, it's too much. And the burden on us is, is too much. So I hear that a lot. And then also, of course, all the noise out there about the rapid acceleration of AI. And when people bring up AI, to me, when we talk about solutions, it's very sexy to talk about and people think it's great to incorporate that in technology. That can be true. But what I like is the companies that are proceeding with caution and respecting the risk and the liability that goes along with implementing AI across the healthcare organizations into medicine. So there's good and bad with that. And then also one of the challenges that I see and I hear all the time is as health systems and medical groups are constrained financially, the span of control is growing. And what I mean by that is leaders are responsible for more and more departments, more hospitals, more medical groups in Some cases there's executives covering state lines, crossing state lines, and it's too much. And so one of the many things that it does, even if they're great leaders, it limits their ability to be creative and innovative and look for solutions. It's paralyzing at times. And gatekeeping, as you probably know, is I always say it's an Olympic sport in a lot of these organizations, and rightfully so, because everybody wants to come in and pitch and sell their latest innovation. And so these leaders are in a situation where they may be missing an opportunity to vet a solution that could provide some relief to their care teams and patients, for example. But the noise level is what I call sun screech. And gone are the days where organizations can say, well, that's interesting technology, yeah, sure, bring it in, we'll do a pilot. There's not the time and the bandwidth to be able to do that. They need credibility, they need results, and they need responsible partners versus vendors to come in and help them make that difference in a more timely fashion.
- [07:16]
B
No, thank you so much. I think you've hit on some of the really key issues, shortages, AI, working with vendors and teams and the limited bandwidth of everybody and how much span somebody could have. We just had the discussion today with the chief nurse executive who oversees 14,000 people. And how many people could that person directly actually engage with that then cascades down and leads that organization. But those are real, real issues. No, thank you. And take a second on this year. Where are you most focused and excited as you look at healthcare this year and professional growth this year?
- [07:53]
C
So again, it's easy during this time in healthcare with what's going on nationally and then right down to the individual organizations, whether it's for profit or not for profit health system. So it's easy for people to get caught up in the negativity, let's say, and the concern. And then at the federal level, as you know, with a big beautiful bill, hospital struggling with how they're going to deal with reductions in federal funding and so forth. So I have always felt this way in my leadership roles is I'm one person, but my one person needs to be intelligent and always on a quest to learn more of how can I make a difference. I can't, as we say, boil the ocean. I can't solve all of the ilk in healthcare and in medicine today, but what can I do with the background that I have, with the curiosity that I have? And so what I've spent really the last three plus years, especially in the last six to 18 months is laser focusing on the technology companies that are out there partnering with health systems and medical groups to be able to augment care teams. And I say that because that's what I'm most passionate about is how can we help care teams. Care teams are the physicians, surgeons, nurses, medical assistants, respiratory, everything to be able to not change their workflows, but to basically augment with technology solutions that are going to partner with EMRs, not, you know, take the place of an EMR, but be able to help them better care for patients. And what I mean by that is, and I'm talking specifically about patient engagement, platforms and patient adherence. I talk to surgeons and doctors all the time. In fact, I had a meeting last night with a surgeon in Boston and we were talking about this. The solutions that the surgeons and the doctors don't even actually have to use, nor do the nurses have to use. These are patient tools that the patients are actually craving because they are. These are patients that are motivated to heal and get back into their normal work function. The systems that we talk to that were actually in the process of going live, they are craving solutions like this. So for me, I said this to somebody and I say this a lot. Everyone that knows me and knows my management style, I'm a hugger. I really loved my care teams and I would check in on them every day, all day, and when I knew they were having a difficult time with volume, I'd give them a hug. I look at this as kind of like my aha moment. I found a technological hug, so to speak. So when I go into health systems and we talk about that, that's how I feel. This allows the care teams to have less friction and have more time to focus on patients versus managing inboxes and EMRs and phone calls and so forth. So I highlight that because, and I don't want to underestimate the due diligence that you need to go through for somebody like me to be able to vet these companies is a lot, because there's a lot of noise out there. There's a lot of early stage and startup companies. And while many of them, and most of them are well intended, many of them are not ready. They're not ready for the market yet. And I am a fierce gatekeeper for people in my network and the professionals that I work with. And what I mean by that is I'm not going to introduce a company that's not ready to a hospital executive because they don't have a lot of time and credibility is the currency that I have. And so I've spent really the last, probably close to four years on that, but laser focused in the last six to 18 months that I can now say that I, a company found me and I found them. And the work that we're doing together is just aligns with my passion for making a difference for patients and for care teams. And I'm very excited about that. Yeah.
- [12:01]
B
And I love that perspective. Take a second. You've had this great leadership career. You're connected to a million people. People rave about you. Take one moment on what advice would you give to an emerging leader? What are one to two things you advise an emerging leader?
- [12:17]
C
Well, number one, which is how I got to where I am today that I could be so effective for this technology company. I know what I know, I know what I don't know. But what's so effective for the CEO for this company and the hospitals is because the. My management style, I was lean trained. I did a lot of opex, I did a lot of system based training where we work with the workforce from the bottom up. I believe in all that. But long before I was formally trained in that, that was just my management style. I was young. My first job was as an administrative director for anesthesiology in an academic medical center, a level one trauma center. And it was huge. And I was young. I'm like, oh man, like, you know, I have no idea what these people are talking about. So I used to go to all the time. I go to the surgical ICUs all the time. I go to clinics all the time. And I loved it. And I learned so much. And I wasn't in the. And the clinicians loved it. I got to know the surgeons, anesthesia, everybody. And so that's. That stayed with me. So that's a concern though, that I have because while that's my management style over the years, my colleagues didn't always celebrate that because some of them said, oh, you make us look bad because we don't like going into the clinical setting. And I'm thinking, gee, how do you learn and how can you be the most effective leader? Because I was able to solve things and bring solutions or ideas to people in a way, because I observed and listened so much that it was easy for me to do that. So I wasn't struggling doing financial variance reports, trying to figure out, gee, why did we have this result? Because I felt like I was so close to where the care was provided and listening and learning that I could answer those questions rather easily and I could Also take on more than a lot of my colleagues because I didn't necessarily have the staff and I was lean. But on the other hand, I just felt like I had a very deep understanding of why things were the way they were. And also being a patient advocate and a safety advocate, I was fierce when it came to advocating for more staff, more capital equipment, more space, whatever the case may be. So I strongly recommend to everybody that they spend as much time as they can authentically with their care team. And what I mean by authentically, not a kind of a show, what I call like a photo op shadow session, where you just kind of walk through and occasionally, you know, you show your face and doing rounds. But I mean, day in and day out, make sure that you're physically present. But there's a challenge with that, because a lot of leaders today are physically located in places that that's not possible. That's where the strife comes in for leaders like me, because they're not able to be there as much as they want to be. And they know that their teams need them, but there are other competing interests that prevent them. And so then the other thing that's really important along those lines is just learning to say no and being laser focused and learning how to protect your own time, but also protect your teams, because not only do you have people calling upon you in a way that could be distracting, your teams do as well. And so making sure that you protect your teams in that regard. And as I said earlier, and I really feel strongly about this, it really takes experience and subject matter expertise to explain why you're saying no to people as much as saying yes. And what I mean by that is one of the greatest compliments I've ever had. And these were from surgeons who are otherwise deemed as difficult. And I can take no from you because I know you did your homework. And when you say no to me, you tell me the reason no why you said no. But you also give me the steps to get us to a yes. Like, what do we need to do to work together to get us to a yes. And so I give you that example because it's hard to be a leader in health systems today. It always has been. It's never been easy. Harder today because there's fewer. So leaders are asked to wear many, many more hats. But making sure that you behave as a good human so that you're respected and you're trusted, because once you've earned the respect and trust, and this is my own personal experience, then you're able to Actually work through some of the chaos and some of the difficult changes that need to be made because your people trust and respect you enough that I'm not going to say you mandate because I don't believe in that. But they follow along with you and work with you in a way because you have that trust and respect. So people that come in and lead with kindness and lead with the heart, I think it's never going to be easy, but it's going to be easier. And then the other thing I'll add is going back to my comment about credibility is when we do in a health system today, if you're a leader in a health system or a medical group, you're always going to need partnerships and you're going to need partnerships with external parties. And that's what you should focus on. Who are the vendors versus who are the partners? And to me, there is a difference. With healthcare evolving the way that it is, it's best to have partnerships knowing that your partners can be nimble and change with you. As the ecosystem, I guess, changes in healthcare with regard to, you know, third party reimbursement, federal mandates and technology changes and whatnot, and the regulatory environment, having partners that can help you through that is key. And just being able to lead with humility is a big thing. Humility and respect I speak of often and that's very, very important in the conversations that we have today with people.
- [18:02]
B
Thank you. And I'm going to ask you one more question and this is going to be a difficult question. You are an incredibly transparent person and leader and just fantastic. I agree with everything you said. I love it. I'm going to ask you a tough question you have to ask. Let me know whether you're ready for a tough question.
- [18:17]
C
Sure.
- [18:17]
B
So. So here's the tough question. You're a New Englander, Correct. And you've got that fantastic New England accent.
- [18:25]
C
Yes, I do.
- [18:26]
B
Literally fantastic. So here's the tough question for the day. Bill Belichick gets snubbed for the Hall.
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C
Do you believe it?
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B
I cannot believe it. Give us a sense of that. Is that a travesty of justice or how do you look at that? Bill Belichick is the famous, famous coach of the New England Patriots. Everybody expects him to be a first ballot hall of Famer in the National Football League. He was, did not get in on the first ballot. That means 10 people out of 50 must have voted against him or more. And give us your thoughts. Unload on us. Let us know if you could answer.
- [19:01]
C
That question so that's a great question and it's a good thing. I actually saw a little bit of the news clip early to see that because otherwise I'd be like, oh my God, that happened. So my sense of that, first of all, I agree that that makes no sense, but what I'm learning is that those that were voting, I think that there's a perception that there might be an open door for him to go back as an NFL coach. And so I don't know, but that's an excuse. But so then of course there's the people with the silver lining to say regardless of the reason, of course he's going to get in on the second round. But it doesn't make any sense. But I haven't heard any credible story that he was going to reenter the NFL because we know that he's in at Chapel Hill and he's in the ncaa. But that's my only thought. But of course I, I that makes no sense. Makes no sense.
- [19:54]
B
Couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. Thank you so much and a pleasure visiting with you always. I love it. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Thank you very, very much.
- [20:06]
C
Thank you.