Elevating Patient Experience Through Smart Room Technology with Meghan Seus, Senior Vice President of Product for SONIFI Health

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody and welcome back to the Outcomes Rocket. Saul Marquez here and I'm so excited

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_00]: to be with Meghan Seus today. She is the Senior Vice President of Product for SONIFI Health.

[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Meghan's responsible for developing product innovation and user adoption strategies and

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_00]: she works closely with health leaders to identify tech-based solutions for real-world challenges

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: in healthcare. I had the privilege of meeting her at the HIMSS meeting this year, 2024, and I really

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: loved the things that they were doing in the booth with their televisions and their entertainment

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: systems that were really consumer-friendly. And I said, Meghan, we got to get you on the podcast.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So glad we're finally doing this, Meghan. Welcome. Likewise. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my gosh, such a pleasure that we finally lined this up. And look, before we talk about the

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00]: really cool things that SONIFI Health is doing, talk to us a little bit about you. What got you

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_00]: into the healthcare space? How did you get into leadership? Tell us a story. Yeah, gosh, my career

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_01]: in healthcare really started at a very, well, pretty young age. My first job was in healthcare.

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_01]: I worked at a local family-owned Rexall pharmacy in my hometown at 15 years old. And it's interesting

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_01]: because I've been reflecting on it a bit about just my career trajectory. And I trace so much of

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_01]: what's inspired me to work in healthcare to that very first job. I had a mentor there for a few

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_01]: years, the owner of the pharmacy, Mr. Gaskins, who I remember fondly, had a really indelible mark on

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_01]: me. And just seeing him interact with the community members, not only be a medical expert, but really

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: take the time to connect personally with these people in sometimes a vulnerable state,

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_01]: and how that had an impact on just their medical compliance, their course of care,

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_01]: and just the community as a whole. So that's where it started and inspired me to continue on to

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_01]: where I am today, which is working in product, as you said, in healthcare technology,

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_01]: and really just trying to continue to innovate through that level of compassion, empathy,

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_01]: and connection to the consumers of the products that I work with.

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I love it. Yeah. And that's so important. Coming from that lens, it sounds like

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: that first job, you're the pharmacy owner, he really had an impact on you,

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and you really haven't looked back since. Yeah.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: That's so great. And now you're infusing that compassion for what you do today at Sonify.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Talk to us about what Sonify Health does and how they add value to the ecosystem.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, sure. So Sonify Health is really all about enabling healthcare providers, health systems,

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_01]: with solutions that allow them to create best-in-class environments. So we have a lot

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_01]: of customers that say, we really want to elevate the patient experience in our care settings.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And we know that we need a mix of people and technology and change management. A lot of

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_01]: these things need to come together to make that a reality. So that's where we come in. We're pieces

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_01]: of that puzzle. And we really try to develop solutions that are grounded in anticipating

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_01]: the needs of patients paramount, but also the care team members that are caring for them.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_01]: So more specifically, we're developing and implementing smart room technology. So think

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_01]: of the buzz term hospital of the future, smart room of the future. That's really where our

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_01]: technologies fit into the mix. So our core solutions include an interactive TV application,

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_01]: the one that you saw at HIMSS. We have a digital whiteboard solution that replaces that dry erase

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_01]: marker board in the room, entry signage that's at the point of entry of a patient room.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_01]: All of these things integrated with the electronic health record system and other third-party

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_01]: health IT solutions. And by the way, our products all integrate with each other to create this

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_01]: ecosystem, this wraparound experience that is all about getting patients access to the

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_01]: information they need when they need it, as well as care team members to improve safety experience

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_01]: and really just support the overall quality of care initiatives that our customers are prioritizing.

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That's great. And it's about, when I think about the consumer experience, I think of

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Dallas airport, I think of Amazon, I think of prediction of what you may need, clarity of the

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: pathway forward. Talk to us about what you guys are doing as far as the consumer, but I also think

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_00]: about the consumer as like you said, the provider, right? So what are you guys doing that's different

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_01]: in helping both the patient and the provider? Yeah, so what we're doing a few things. I think what sets

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_01]: our company apart, our solutions apart, it starts with a mindset. So we really try to infuse

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_01]: hospitality mindset into healthcare. And that's not only because our corporate roots are in the

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_01]: hospitality space, working with the Marriott's, the Hyatt's, these large international hospitality brands.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_01]: But it really is more of a mindset. It's about that anticipating the needs,

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_01]: using the data that we have about how millions of users interact with our solutions.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Where are they navigating? When are they navigating? Where are they getting tripped up?

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Really transforming that into a patient experience that makes sense for all patients at disparate

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_01]: health literacy levels, at disparate tech savviness and different ages. And really designing tailored

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_01]: experiences to meet them where they are is one thing. We've been at this for several years now.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_01]: So just the knowledge that's been built by the organization over these years is really now,

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_01]: I think we're at this great point where we're really hitting the spot of being able to

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_01]: bring to market these solutions that are getting patients where they need to go.

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_01]: And then a unique thing about Sonify, there's a lot of different software-based solutions in the

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_01]: space today. We are really a systems integrator. And by that, I mean, we're taking our software,

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_01]: we're integrating it into different hardware-based solutions. So smart TVs, mobile devices, different

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_01]: POE signage displays, and that's a unique thing, right? There's a lot more that comes into the

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_01]: mix there that you have to get right for these things to be stable and to perform as expected,

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_01]: which is 24-7 in a hospital setting. So I think it's really the culmination of those things. It's

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_01]: the hospitality mindset, using data, as well as more of the subjective feedback from our consumers

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_01]: that we're constantly working with our customers to get. And then just that system integrator

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_01]: expertise and how we implement our solutions in very complex, large enterprise settings is some

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_01]: of the things that really set Sonify apart. Yeah, no, I love that. So some great things

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: there and a good differentiator is you're not just the hardware, right? You actually

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: help bring it all together. It's the software and the integration where you come into play.

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely. And there are some technology providers out there that are like, we're just

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_01]: software. It's up to the health system to focus on that hardware piece of it. And we get that,

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_01]: but we also see a lot of value in helping our customers with a turnkey solution because

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_01]: sometimes it's that intersection of hardware and software that can cause some issues. So we really

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_01]: see value in being able to give them that end-to-end solution. I love that. And any

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_00]: medical device integrations as well, or is this strictly monitors? Yeah, great question. So we

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_01]: have done some work with Fitbit integration for ambulation programs at some of our research

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_01]: hospital, at one of our research hospital partners. There's definitely more coming into play. We're

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_01]: doing a lot in virtual care now in the inpatient space and using the real estate of some of the

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_01]: displays that we already have in the room for those two-way videos. So integrating those with

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_01]: some of the patient monitoring tools. So it's definitely going in that direction. And I think

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_01]: it all goes back to what I mentioned before, that wraparound experience, creating that ecosystem

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_01]: of all these different technologies, which may or may not be SonaFi developed and innovated

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_01]: solutions, but it might be partnerships with third parties to create that experience that's

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_01]: frictionless for patients. But importantly, as we've talked about before for staff members too.

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Totally. Yeah, yeah. And look, there's not enough real estate in the hospital room for another

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00]: monitor or another thing. So the more integrated, the better, right? Oh, go ahead.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_01]: No, I was just concurring. I mean, absolutely. These rooms are tight and jamming more equipment

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_01]: into them is actually defeating what our customers are trying to do. They're trying to create more

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_01]: calming, comforting environments with less technology. We want it to fold into the background,

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: right? So that's our goal. Make it invisible, make it just support people. So give me an example

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00]: really around this idea of technology and trends. Give me an example of how you guys have been able

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_00]: to leverage any trend or technologies to really help your customers have those aha moments.

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, gosh, there's a few. Let me think about a good one here. I guess I'll pick up on a thread

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_01]: that we just chatted about around virtual care. So there's been a big trend as we all know since

[00:09:10] [SPEAKER_01]: pandemic time when virtual care programs and getting quickly tablets deployed to rooms where

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_01]: people could FaceTime or use other Skype, whatever. There was a rush towards that. Now is like the dust

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_01]: is settled. We've all reached our new norm. A few years ago, it's like, okay, there's a lot of

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_01]: benefit in these virtual care workflows. How can we use them for things like nurse rounding? How

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_01]: can we use them for interpreter services? And rather than still requiring the nurse wheel

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_01]: these carts into the room and still facilitate it, how can we use the Sonify solutions that are

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_01]: already in the room to do this hands-free without somebody needing to be there and to do it in a

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_01]: way that the user who probably isn't tech savvy or isn't feeling well enough to be tech savvy in

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_01]: hospital bed can engage in these different clinical workflows that frankly are required for a lot of

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_01]: our customers these days due to staffing shortages and just the desire to make sure that their

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_01]: clinicians are practicing top of license and reducing operational costs, all the things that

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure your audience is very familiar with. So using our technology to enable these different

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_01]: use cases has been really exciting. Also just like seeing how some of our older population who

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_01]: you might think is less savvy and sometimes is actually really welcoming the technology

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_01]: around things like voice assistants and using voice assistants to control the television and

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_01]: to navigate to different features within our system and show me who's on my care team right

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_01]: now or show me what movies are available, anything from clinically integrated features to more of the

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_01]: entertainment or positive distraction features, them using an Alexa device in the room to do that

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_01]: has been pretty cool to see. So yeah it runs the gamut. That's awesome. Now some great examples

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_00]: really appreciate that you share in those Megan. And look we're here at the end already just very

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_00]: interesting to hear about how you guys are bringing it all together, integrating devices,

[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_00]: pushing software that really helps make everything easier for providers and patients.

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_00]: So leave us with a closing thought. What should we be thinking about and what's the best place for

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_00]: the listeners and viewers of today's episode to reach out to you and the Sunify Health Team to learn?

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, closing thought. I guess I'll go full circle back to a concept that I mentioned at the

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_01]: beginning, something that's really a driving force for me right now. This concept of innovation through

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_01]: compassion. Your audience is working in healthcare technology. It's not easy a lot of days, right?

[00:11:48] [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of headwinds. There's a lot of friction, whether it's internal at your organization

[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_01]: challenges that you're overcoming or external factors, regulatory for instance, right? There's

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_01]: a lot that we're dealing with day to try to move the needle forward and I just find it to be a

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_01]: really anchoring concept to do good work and to keep that North Star in front of you. And I think

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_01]: that making sure that we're tapping into the users of our technology, the users of our care, if you're

[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_01]: on the health provider side, both their suffering and their joy. And what can we learn from that?

[00:12:23] [SPEAKER_01]: And how can we take that empathy, that compassion and really translate it into innovation in

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_01]: healthcare delivery or supported by technology is something that we think a lot about at Sunify.

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and then how to find me? LinkedIn, it's the go-to, right? So Megan Seiss on LinkedIn,

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I would love to connect with anyone. Thank you. Love it. Megan, thank you for closing us out

[00:12:45] [SPEAKER_00]: on really such a real, real point. If we do the right thing, if we do it with empathy,

[00:12:52] [SPEAKER_00]: things work out and the business grows and people get healthier. This is why I think more women

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_00]: should be in charge of healthcare. That's my perspective. And I think I probably hear and

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_00]: see a lot of heads nodding on this episode. So I'm glad you're in the seat that you're in,

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Megan, and doing what you do. Folks, thanks for tuning in for another episode today with

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Megan Seiss, Vice President of Product for Sunify Health. All the show notes are going to have the

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_00]: links to get in touch with her, links to learn more about the company and the short notes to

[00:13:28] [SPEAKER_00]: get a quick summary to share with your friends. Megan, such a pleasure. And thank you so much for

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER_01]: being with us. Yeah, likewise. Thank you.