Patient Care as the Core of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare

[00:00:01] This podcast is produced by Outcomes Rocket, your healthcare-exclusive digital marketing agency. Outcomes Rocket exists to help healthcare organizations like yours to maximize their impact and accelerate growth. Visit outcomesrocket.com or text us at 312-224-9945.

[00:00:34] Welcome to Imaging and Teletech Innovations, brought to you by Teleray. I'm your host, Tim Kelly. Join us when we explore the latest trends and developments in teleradiology and imaging solutions, from expert insights to real-world case studies. We cover everything you need to know to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving field of radiology. So sit back, relax, and let's dive in.

[00:01:02] Our guest today is Christina Bell, who has involved a digital transformation, passion-creating curated experiences, femtech, telehealth, health tech, and operational excellence. So thanks for joining us today. Thank you for having me. If you could tell us a little bit about yourself, Bea, and some of the things I just mentioned, and how you got involved in those things. Sure. So I've been in the healthcare space for over 20 years now.

[00:01:27] I started in an academic medical center, so I've worked in health systems for the majority of my career. Moving my way up through the system, leaning into operations, operations management, and then into the tech, digital, and information, innovation, transformation space. And I currently work for a national provider group where we provide and deploy positions to over 43 states and territories across the U.S. Wow. That's a big organization, Reach.

[00:01:56] You got to see their name everywhere. Yeah, we have a pretty decent-sized footprint. We have over 4,000 providers. We have a bit of a mixed model system where we deploy physicians into healthcare systems, as well as have several outpatient ambulatory practices that we serve. So how did you, through your career, end up being involved with pediatric? I would say it's really based on kind of an amalgamation of my career and my experience

[00:02:20] coming from a background in ambulatory operations and health tech with telehealth and digital experience. I landed the opportunity and position of a senior director of telehealth and digital engagement for the organization at the corporate or national level. So with that and all these things that you're doing, what are your organization's challenges that you're facing and how you're adopting new technologies and how that may relate then ultimately to the patient satisfaction?

[00:02:50] Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I think we're in a really interesting space in healthcare. There was a ton of billions of dollars that were pumped into kind of the health tech digital space in healthcare over the last couple of years as a result of growing need and the pandemic kind of pushing us forward into the telehealth landscape and utilization of telehealth services at a national level. And so it's really springboarded a lot of opportunity for us to move forward,

[00:03:18] especially since patients are recognizing and clinicians are recognizing the value of utilizing services like telehealth to be better able to engage people in different areas, different places, and really kind of bring the care in home or meet the patients where they are. So there is a tremendous amount of opportunity and value that came out of the pandemic, despite many of the trials and tribulations that healthcare had. Now, as we're kind of going through the tail end of the pandemic,

[00:03:45] we're now trying to figure out and understand how do we A, sustain telehealth services at a national level, especially with all the regulation and kind of rollback that we see happening, as well as with the influx of income around that kind of digital innovation. How do we create sustainability in the tools and the systems that the organizations have chosen to select during kind of that growth period of time?

[00:04:12] And how do we really curate the telehealth technology or just digital technology in general to really create sustainable practices in our healthcare systems or for us in our provider group to really create sustainable solutions that will help us kind of scale as we move forward into the future? Yeah, that's so true. And COVID definitely pushed telehealth forward where it should be. But yeah, then there's been the rollback. And now, as we've been witnessing in our business,

[00:04:42] a lot of understanding what is truly compliant and what's not. But yeah, so like we're on a Zoom call and on their website, they plan to be HIPAA compliant, but they are not. So covering a couple of pieces doesn't mean you have it all covered. Yeah, and then that rollback is a emergency use act is now over. So now people have to be compliant. And yeah, keeping people up to speed on that. Is there anything specific you see as an issue why people might roll back? I know there's comfort in just going back to facilities,

[00:05:12] but the efficiency of it is so much better and better for patients. Yeah, from a telehealth standpoint, I think there was a bit of flexibility of let's just get whatever solution we can get our hands on into the system and utilize it because it's better to engage in some way rather than not being able to engage in clinical chair at all. I think the reality is, is now that the dust is settling, we need to recognize what are solutions that we can implement from a telehealth landscape

[00:05:41] that are actually sustainable solutions, i.e. easy for the provider, the clinical care teams, as well as the patients to engage and utilize. It needs to be embedded in the EHR systems, electronic health record systems. And we really need to leverage tools that are inherently integrated, where we know it was a really mismatch of opportunities and tools that were utilized during the pandemic. So now we're really looking in that direction.

[00:06:11] And how do we create that stability and that kind of built-in experience into the operational workflow structures so we're not creating more burden on our operational teams that are already taxed to create and utilize technology like telehealth as we move forward? Yeah, you mentioned in that integrated tools and LG, I guess it's been about a year now, introduced diagnostic monitors with cameras in them. Yeah. So that's kind of cool.

[00:06:37] So we can have a telehealth call on reviewing someone's radiology images or results, which is the primary diagnostic tool. So I know you do a prenatal and then postnatal care stuff. Do you guys do any streaming of ultrasounds or those types of things for MFM or outreach programs moving later? Yeah, we do. And we have pediatric cardiology services where we can do remote reads for echocardiograms.

[00:07:05] We do tele-MFM services where we're able to either capture the ultrasound and read post-completion or do live read ultrasounds and provide kind of analysis and support to the ultrasound technician, especially in rural areas. I think that's a really key learning opportunity that we're able to provide for them because there's just different levels of sonographers depending on the state, the area.

[00:07:32] And so with this technology, we're able to provide a higher caliber of education, service, and care for those mothers as they're going through a stressful and overwhelming period. We can also do EEG reads, kind of asynchronous as they call it, where it's like a story forward where we can capture those EEG reads and we can have our remote pediatric neurologist be able to read those diagnostics as well.

[00:07:59] So there's a lot of opportunity on leveraging asynchronous or synchronous telehealth solutions in order for us to provide more comprehensive care and create access, especially in those areas that may be restricted for one reason or another and be able to bring that care to them. Yeah, and you said story forward. Most of them know what that is, but it is a reimbursable event during a call. So we've got to educate customers on that.

[00:08:27] It's a cost kind of thing or make it a profit thing because it's another tool you can use and better experience for clinicians, better experience for patients and all those types of things. It's a fantastic tool. Utilizing asynchronous or the store on forward telehealth is a really fantastic tool for diagnostic evaluation and just really kind of creating a wraparound service in that specialty area. I was already guys with all those things, dealing with the HIPAA compliance and data integrity

[00:08:55] and moving this stuff around with so many tentacles out there. Yes, absolutely. So how do you guys do that then? Oh, so how do we do it? That's a lot of mammals. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there's a couple of different ways that we do it. So we do have an internal system that we utilize like a PAX or an imaging system where we can leverage that tool internal to our organization,

[00:09:20] where we can receive those images through a secure integration kind of platform or gateway to collect those images and then process them in a secure environment. We can use hospital-based tools. We typically try to like bring the system or at least the view capability into our system. So it really just depends. So for example, in our tele-ROP, which is a teloretinopathy program for pediatric,

[00:09:47] for NICU babies to prevent blindness, we're able to capture the image on the camera, send it through our secure gateway. So we're actually able to create a connection with the hospital system and then put it in our gateway system so that our providers can read and provide an evaluation and recommendation for treatment for that baby. We're also able to work with, say, our pediatric teleneurology program. We're able to, through privileging and credentialing, work with hospital systems.

[00:10:16] So we're not actually pulling or using images outside of their system, but really we're just sending our provider into their system to view the images and diagnostics as necessary. And so that really minimizes the amount of transfer of data and information between our partners, partner hospitals. So it's really just trying to not move stuff as much as we possibly can to maintain that data integrity point. Yeah, that's going to be tough for you guys.

[00:10:44] Yes, we're in hundreds and hundreds of hospitals across the country. So sometimes we're able to deploy physicians into systems. So they really just become more of a contract resource as a part of that health system. So they're kind of within that umbrella and that's kind of the easiest path for us. Sometimes it gets a little more complicated when we're doing kind of that asynchronous sort of services.

[00:11:08] But we have a really great IT technical team that helps make sure that we maintain our data security pathways at all times. Great. So here's one that's a little bit off the path here, but what you guys deal with. What do you think about keepsake ultrasounds, videos and stills given to alarms? Oh, so we actually have so we leverage a gateway and our patients are able to access that gateway so that they can receive the information that they would like to have.

[00:11:38] So if they want to keep sake image or access to that image, they can actually go in to kind of the patient portal and view or access that information. So that helps us minimize actually handing people paper or sonography images that may get lost, as well as we manage it at the kind of naming convention level as well on the images to ensure security and safety. That's good. We want those, so.

[00:12:08] Yeah, yeah. That's a really good point. The keepsake ones can be a little tricky. Yeah, sure. But luckily, I feel like we're more in a digital age. And so more people want that kind of electronic accessibility for the most part. And so that kind of eases some of our burden than having to have a physical ultrasound image. Right. Some of the boutique or retail ultrasound stores have been banned in certain states. And it's a touchy subject for some sites.

[00:12:35] So with all the things that you've done over these years, what makes it the biggest lesson you've learned in your space or role? Oh, biggest lesson. That is, I mean, there's so many lessons to learn. I think healthcare is constantly changing and evolving. So one, that is just always a great reminder to keep atop of mind.

[00:12:56] I think really spending the time to understand what is the root cause of an issue is another key kind of takeaway. Because looking at a symptom of a problem rather than the root cause of the problem is going to indicate a very different solution or tool that you may need to bring in to create resolution. And then think about it from the operational perspective, I think is always a big takeaway for me as well.

[00:13:24] Because just because the technology might be a plug and play tool, if it doesn't support kind of the operational workflow, then it's not going to be utilized. And it's not sustainable for the organization. So I think those are a couple of my big takeaways after 20 years in the industry. We should have you running all of the healthcare. You said we got to treat the symptoms, but treat the root cause. We got to get to that. Yes.

[00:13:51] So everything, most healthcare is about treating symptoms and that's what's causing your part. Correct. Yes, exactly. So with some of the things that we talked about there, one of the things I was excited to tell you about is that we have a product called BabyView that is for acute psych ultrasounds. And a few years ago, some from pediatrics came by talking to us at an AAC, I think it was an AACAC show if I remember correctly. And I thought it was really cool and it was being bantered around and pediatrics, I don't know whatever happened to it, but I'll say some info on it. It's in a lot of sites.

[00:14:21] For sure. And I went to the NHS last year over in the UK. So that was kind of cool. Fantastic. And live streaming of ultrasounds for MFMs and stuff. So a lot of things that apply to stuff that's all problems for you guys. But I'll send a swim for a long rack. And then you kind of already did this already with your last comment, but what would be your last thought for listeners out there that aren't necessarily in this space to say, here's something to think about? Something to think about.

[00:14:47] Everyone in healthcare is incredibly passionate and we want to help make things better. So just a little patience and grace and supportive feedback. I think our lasting thoughts and we're in this together. And kindness is a very powerful tool these days. Yeah. And be nice to flight attendants too. They're doing... Yes. Most definitely. Most definitely. Yeah. Kindness across the board. Right.

[00:15:13] I was reading the stories about flight attendants and healthcare workers being yelled at when they're doing their best job that they can. There's some weird parallel there. Probably. Probably. Probably. Probably. Probably. I don't doubt that. Thanks for seeing us. I really enjoyed the conversation and I think the listeners will too and we'll talk soon. Yeah. Sounds great. Thank you so much for your time and having me on. Sure.

[00:15:41] Thanks for joining us today on Imaging and Teletech Innovations brought to you by Teleray. We hope you like this episode. If you have any questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at info at teleray.com. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you'll miss any future episodes and stay tuned for more insights into imaging solutions and teletech with Teleray.

[00:16:14] This podcast is produced by Outcomes Rocket, your healthcare exclusive digital marketing agency. Outcomes Rocket exists to help healthcare organizations like yours to maximize their impact and accelerate growth. Visit OutcomesRocket.com or text us at 312-224-9945.