Phygital Ecosystem" Behind Better Patient Care

00:00:00:02 - 00:00:19:13
Tom Haederle
Welcome to Advancing Health. When seeking care today, patients don't want a digital visit with their care provider to be a completely different experience from an in-person one. Hear how Sutter Health is working to ensure the care experience is seamless, no matter how it's delivered.

00:00:19:15 - 00:00:46:22
Kristin Preihs
Welcome to Advancing Health, the podcast from the American Hospital Association. I'm your host, Kristin Preihs, vice president of Health Research and Educational Trust, the 501 C3 affiliate at American Hospital Association. Throughout my role, I have had the privilege of working with hospitals and health care systems across the country that are testing, scaling, and implementing incredible work in improving care, strengthening the workforce, and advancing patient experience.

00:00:46:25 - 00:01:19:14
Kristin Preihs
Today, we're talking about what it means to design health care around the people we serve and how technology can help create care that is more connected, more personalized, and ultimately more human. I'm excited to welcome today Jennifer Bollinger, chief consumer and brand officer at Sutter Health. Jennifer leads Sutter's consumer strategy, brand, digital experience and patient engagement efforts, helping shape how one of the nation's leading health systems delivers care across every single touchpoint, which is pretty significant work.

00:01:19:19 - 00:01:43:08
Kristin Preihs
Jennifer was recently recognized by Reuters as one of its trailblazing Women in Healthcare. She brought a consumer first mindset into health care, challenging traditional thinking across the board about how patients experience care and helping lead a transformation focused on seamless and connected experiences. So, Jennifer, welcome to Advancing Health. It is wonderful to have you.

00:01:43:10 - 00:01:45:02
Jennifer Bollinger
Thank you. Happy to be here.

00:01:45:04 - 00:02:08:16
Kristin Preihs
Well, I've read quite a few of your past recordings and interviews with folks, and you have such an amazing and unique background when it comes to patient experience. And one particular area that I caught as I was looking at some of your past press releases, is the process and the concept of digital ecosystems. Am I saying that correctly?

00:02:08:18 - 00:02:09:14
Jennifer Bollinger
That's right. Yep.

00:02:09:15 - 00:02:30:20
Kristin Preihs
And I haven't heard that term in the field, but it resonates for where we are right now as a country with the evolutions in technology, patient understanding and the development of outcomes and integrated patient care. So for listeners who might not be familiar with the term and with the concept, can you give us a little bit of background about its origin story and how that relates to your background?

00:02:30:22 - 00:02:54:10
Jennifer Bollinger
So I would say it's definitely a term that I made up and cobbled together, and then it got some traction, but it was back when I was trying to explain to the organization that I was with previously and I do use it at Sutter as well, you know, to describe the fact that when patients show up for care, they don't leave all their consumer expectations at home.

00:02:54:10 - 00:03:19:12
Jennifer Bollinger
They have the same expectations of us that they have of every other industry. And every other industry has gotten really good about enabling patients to move back and forth between the in-person or physical experience and the digital experience, and then really using that digital to connect the in between. So at Sutter, part of what we talk about is we want to deliver, you know, a seamless digital experience.

00:03:19:12 - 00:03:42:13
Jennifer Bollinger
We don't want people to have to do rework in person or to have completely different experiences digitally and in person. And we really focus on making sure that all of our patients are connected to us digitally, because that's what enables us to improve their navigation or communicate with them during the wait times, or communicate with them after the discharge.

00:03:42:14 - 00:03:56:18
Jennifer Bollinger
I mean, the experience with us really needs to be thought about in a 360 degree view, instead of just when they come in for a lab and leave. I mean, we want a relationship. And so that's really what the digital experience is about.

00:03:56:19 - 00:04:24:17
Kristin Preihs
Well, and it's a very comprehensive approach. And right now consumers and patients at large are much more involved, interested and aware of what their care can and should look like. So I really love how you've developed this more integrated 360 approach, because I think it really aligns with not only the demand that we're seeing from patients in the expectation of what their care should be like, but the integration with the systems that are evolving, that already exist so that they're truly integrated.

00:04:24:19 - 00:04:43:03
Kristin Preihs
And something that I saw is that Sutter's patient experience scores are exceptional, and that's a difficult thing to do, especially across a multisystem hospital. So can you talk a little bit about that evolution and why specifically you see Sutter as driving such high patient satisfaction scores.

00:04:43:10 - 00:05:06:19
Jennifer Bollinger
First of all, I wouldn't say they are as high as we would like them to be. Our aspiration is to be top decile rank in every category, and we're not there yet. However, we've made a significant amount of progress since we've been here, and I think a big part of that is not only the amazing leaders and care team members that we have here who really prioritize experience.

00:05:06:21 - 00:05:30:27
Jennifer Bollinger
It's also something that probably is near and dear to your heart. We do a lot of direct voice of consumer research to understand not only - and this is beyond the surveys - to not only understand what the expectations are, but if a patient could build something, how would they build it. And so we use evidence-based practices. We use a number of tools that many health systems use.

00:05:30:27 - 00:05:51:25
Jennifer Bollinger
But I think what's differentiated is that we really make it clear that what we want is for our team members to relentlessly eliminate friction, get the whole job done, is what we call it. Like don't just do your part of the job and say, well, that's somebody else's job. You know, we want people to get in for primary care and specialty care.

00:05:51:26 - 00:06:14:25
Jennifer Bollinger
We want them to have a great experience across every care setting. And then we have more data on people than pretty much any other industry. So how do we use that to anticipate future needs? So it's, you know, welcoming people, eliminating the friction, get the whole job done for them and then go a step further and then and think about what they're going to need next.

00:06:14:26 - 00:06:54:10
Kristin Preihs
Yeah. And I think eliminating friction is a really important piece, especially as we engage the patient, because having them be part of care decision making, even in thinking about how large systems engage patients on the whole by way of doing so, actually eliminates friction, because then you don't have to guess. You have the patient advising exactly what they hope their experience to be, and can design around that as what is most valuable in experiencing patient care, so that from an end user point of view and from a care coordination view, that experience achieves quality and is easier for then a provider to then move around that process, which is a win-win overall.

00:06:54:14 - 00:07:16:28
Kristin Preihs
The other thing that I just wanted to touch on is there's a deep integration of use in technology as you've described, to ensure that there is that patient integration in improved patient outcome experience. But technology is changing rapidly. What we saw two weeks ago is even different from what we're seeing today around topics in AI and governance, and even engagement of patients, and how technology is informing their care.

00:07:16:28 - 00:07:29:14
Kristin Preihs
And to your earlier point, how they're engaging in their care even when they're home and not in a clinical office. So from your perspective, how is technology evolving patient care and where do you see that going for the future?

00:07:29:16 - 00:07:59:08
Jennifer Bollinger
So I think our focus is really around reducing the administrative burden on both patients and the care teams. You know, health care and care are uniquely human and will always be uniquely human. The role of technology is how do we make it easier and more connected and stitch together and really take some of that administrative burden off of care teams so that the connections that they make can be more human?

00:07:59:08 - 00:08:08:08
Jennifer Bollinger
So that's how we think about it. How does technology free up the humans to be even more human as they're delivering care?

00:08:08:12 - 00:08:20:03
Kristin Preihs
And as a follow up to that, are there certain technologies that you're looking at that you can assess are truly solving a problem, and how do you approach that at Sutter?

00:08:20:06 - 00:08:41:02
Jennifer Bollinger
So I would say we're Epic first. So we always look to see if there's a tool within Epic, which usually there is, and maybe we just don't have it deployed in the right way. Or maybe we need to help co-develop it or redesign it. I mean, we did work with Epic and we were the first to launch Emmy, which is a virtual assistant that lives in your chart.

00:08:41:06 - 00:09:04:16
Jennifer Bollinger
We knew that patients were going outside of health care in ChatGPT and other places to ask questions about their health. This gives you that same opportunity, but it answers the questions within the context of your own record. So based on family history or based on conditions or results that you may have already received. So it's super valuable. So, that's what I'm saying,

00:09:04:18 - 00:09:24:00
Jennifer Bollinger
like we would certainly go Epic first. And then, you know, there are definitely other partners that we've brought in. Like a bridge, that ambient listening, which really helps the care team members not have to document, not have their attention distracted by the technology and really be able to focus on the patient.

00:09:24:01 - 00:09:47:01
Kristin Preihs
And Emmy at Epic is a really great example of ensuring that technology is really organized in that 360 way around a patient in decision making. They can ensure scheduling. They can ask questions directly to the provider at a time that best suits them. So that's a, I think, just a really great example of how the field is evolving and how Sutter is really looking at EHR optimization focused on the patient.

00:09:47:01 - 00:10:10:01
Kristin Preihs
And going back to one of your earlier comments that healthcare is inherently human, and it's also incredibly evolving in terms of technology solutions. So can you give some advice, especially since you're so patient centric and acknowledge the evolutions that are occurring on what should stay the same in healthcare and what needs to evolve to ensure that patient is continuing to receive that quality care?

00:10:10:04 - 00:10:34:07
Jennifer Bollinger
So I would say what is central to healthcare is the relationship between the patient and the physician or the patient and the caregiver. We cannot disrupt that. Anything we do cannot drive a wedge or disconnect that. And I would say future generations, that's going to be a struggle because they are very much about episodic, convenient, not looking to develop that relationship.

00:10:34:07 - 00:11:03:16
Jennifer Bollinger
I really think, we really think that ongoing relationship and that continuity of care is super important. So I just say if you think about other industries, things that move somebody along more seamlessly in a process and help them navigate and help get questions answered, but cannot and do not disrupt that relationship are super important. And that actually has another benefit, which is we've got to make sure there continues to be joy in the practice of medicine.

00:11:03:16 - 00:11:21:00
Jennifer Bollinger
And that is what people got into medicine to do is to build those relationships, take care of people. So if technology can enable that without interfering, I think we would have more joy in medicine again too.

00:11:21:07 - 00:11:42:20
Kristin Preihs
Well, I think that is a pretty fantastic point. And it sounds like Sutter has a clear plan for how to ensure that joy is continually given to its workforce and that patients are at the center. I had the opportunity to look at your Destination 2030 plan, and so there is clearly a plan in place to ensure that evolutions continue in line with what we know is most valued in health care.

00:11:42:22 - 00:11:54:00
Kristin Preihs
Can I ask you to give a few minutes on the Destination 2030 plan? And within that, even ask what excites you most as you look at this plan and think about the future for health care?

00:11:54:02 - 00:12:25:18
Jennifer Bollinger
Sure. So the plan is meant to set a clear vision for every single stakeholder involved in health care. So patients, physicians, our employees at large, and really clearly defining what we think it means to be the best in each of those buckets, I would say, you know, some of them cross over. So that digital experience, we're really looking at that for both the patients and care team members and employees across the organization.

00:12:25:20 - 00:12:57:27
Jennifer Bollinger
How are we using technology to allow the right human connections when we need to, and then take that burden off? You know, I think also as care moves more and more into ambulatory and outpatient settings and even into the home, that digital connectivity is going to be even more important, not only between the patients and the system, but the patient and actually their care team, because we're going to be developing new models at a pretty rapid pace.

00:12:57:27 - 00:13:11:25
Jennifer Bollinger
And I don't mean that we have it in the works. I'm just saying this is what I'm anticipating, and we're going to have to rely on that connectivity that, you know, consumers have gotten really comfortable with. And we're going to have to get comfortable with bringing it into this space.

00:13:11:27 - 00:13:31:02
Kristin Preihs
I think we're all going to be getting a lot more comfortable in the road ahead, because there's certainly a lot of evolution coming. And Sutter's has a plan and are very fortunate to have you at the helm. I wanted to thank you, Jennifer, for joining us today and for sharing your perspective on building a health care experience that is both innovative and, most importantly, inherently human.

00:13:31:03 - 00:13:46:18
Kristin Preihs
Congratulations again on the well-deserved recognition by Reuters. And thank you for the leadership that you're providing at Sutter Health. Also, thank you to our listeners for joining us for another episode of Advancing Health. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and we'll see you next time.

00:13:46:20 - 00:13:55:14
Tom Haederle
Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.