CHIME Fall Forum 21 – Paddy Padmanabhan with Damo Consulting

Bill Russell 00:00:03 Today in health, it interviews from the chime Bill Russell 00:00:05 conference in San Diego. Bill Russell 00:00:07 My name is bill Russell. Bill Russell 00:00:08 I'm a former CIO for a 16 hospital system and creator of this week in health. Bill Russell 00:00:11 It a channel dedicated to keeping health it staff current and engaged. Bill Russell 00:00:16 Just a quick reminder. Bill Russell 00:00:17 I wouldn't be dropping interviews over the next couple of days and into Bill Russell 00:00:20 next week from the chime conference. Bill Russell 00:00:23 And then I'm going to have some more interviews from the next conference I Bill Russell 00:00:27 want to be going to, and then eventually I'll get back to Florida and to the studio Bill Russell 00:00:32 where we'll start looking at the news. Bill Russell 00:00:33 Once again. Bill Russell 00:00:34 Hope you enjoy this interview. Bill Russell 00:00:36 Another interview from the chime fall forum and we have Patty . Am Bill Russell 00:00:41 I getting your name right? Bill Russell 00:00:42 Absolutely. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:00:42 You're as close as it can. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:00:44 As close as you want to Bill Russell 00:00:46 be. Bill Russell 00:00:46 Uh, I use Domo consulting, but really you are a digital health leader. Bill Russell 00:00:51 You're you do a lot of conversations around digital health. Bill Russell 00:00:54 A lot of publications write a lot of articles around digital health. Bill Russell 00:00:56 So that's the topic I'd like to. Bill Russell 00:00:59 Sure if you're offering that. Bill Russell 00:01:00 So what's, so what's top of mind at this conference, you've had some conversations Bill Russell 00:01:04 you've been here for a day or so, so, Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:06 well, the F the first thing on everybody's mind is Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:09 relief and having the opportunity to come out and meet people. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:14 I can say I can speak for myself that, uh, it's been a long time since we got Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:19 out and got to meet our colleagues. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:20 And in many way, chime is like an extended family to many of us, the chime community. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:26 So it's wonderful to be here. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:27 So I would say top of mind, Uh, sense of getting back together for people and Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:33 meeting your colleagues in person after such a long time after what we've all Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:38 been through for the last 18 months or so? Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:41 Well, business wise, I think, uh, you know, it seems to me from the Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:45 conversations that I'm having that over the last 18 months, things have Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:49 moved forward significantly from a digital transformation standpoint. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:53 Obviously the, the, the, the earliest. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:01:57 Was the pandemic itself, but then there, the early response to the pandemic, Paddy Padmanabhan 00:02:02 which was more of a crisis response has given way to a more thoughtful Paddy Padmanabhan 00:02:07 transformation approach that builds on whatever foundations were laid Paddy Padmanabhan 00:02:11 prior to the pandemic and whatever investments were made subsequent to Paddy Padmanabhan 00:02:15 the kind of, so we are moving now into a new phase is what I feel. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:02:19 And the general sense I get is there's a lot to be done and it's just. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:02:25 It's just the opportunity is huge. Bill Russell 00:02:27 So early on it was reactive, but we saw a lot of really cool things. Bill Russell 00:02:29 We saw. Bill Russell 00:02:30 We saw chatbots deployed for, uh, for diagnosis of COVID. Bill Russell 00:02:36 We saw, um, uh, new, new kinds of, uh, tele-health, uh, modalities sort of, Bill Russell 00:02:42 sort of pop up from a safety standpoint. Bill Russell 00:02:44 We went to create that, that safe distance and whatnot. Bill Russell 00:02:48 Um, but a lot of this stuff was done. Bill Russell 00:02:50 Okay, we need this tomorrow. Bill Russell 00:02:52 Now we'd been working on it for some years, but still we were Bill Russell 00:02:54 able to stand some things up. Bill Russell 00:02:56 I mean, how much are we having to go back and rethink some of the things Bill Russell 00:03:01 we did in the pandemic and really laid down a, a digital, let's say a Bill Russell 00:03:05 foundation for digital, or what's the foundation for digital already there Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:10 from a technology standpoint? Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:12 I think, uh, there's a lot that has been accomplished in terms of Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:16 putting in the new technologies. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:18 And I'd say this. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:20 If I was to talk about the unfinished business or the work in progress, Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:23 they would talk about two things. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:25 One is making all these technology pieces work together Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:28 well, making it all seamless. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:31 And the other part of it is helping people adopt and use the technologies. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:36 I think one of the big concerns on the minds of my clients and Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:40 others that I talked to is how do you get people to use it? Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:43 And actually the more recent data seems to suggest that. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:46 Bit of a pullback and the use of the tele-health and the virtual care Paddy Padmanabhan 00:03:51 modalities or whatever reason, but, uh, Bill Russell 00:03:54 yeah. Bill Russell 00:03:55 So are we worried about, so you and I go back and forth on social Bill Russell 00:03:58 media and a lot of times it's, it's apple, Amazon, you know, the big Bill Russell 00:04:02 players, what are they going to do? Bill Russell 00:04:04 Are our health system still keeping an eye out for the Walmarts? Bill Russell 00:04:08 The CVS is in the others, Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:11 the competitive landscape for health city. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:15 Is the Walmarts of the Syria assists, the big corporations that are Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:20 traditionally not traditionally, not healthcare organizations. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:24 And then you've got the big tech firms. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:25 You mentioned Amazon and Google apple, and then you've got the digital Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:30 first, you know, healthcare providers. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:33 They go the one medicals on the Oak street, health of the world. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:36 What our health system. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:37 Why do I think they're more worried about the CVS and the Walmarts than Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:40 they are, frankly, about Microsoft or. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:44 Amazon, maybe because Amazon's crossed the Rubicon from being a Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:47 technology provider into more of a healthcare service provider. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:50 But as you know, I've written about this, you know, the outcome is far from Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:54 foretold in terms of their success. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:04:56 At this point, they Bill Russell 00:04:58 do have a long view though. Bill Russell 00:04:59 I mean, and the thing is Amazon doesn't have to be successful in all the things. Bill Russell 00:05:03 I mean, they're going to be, it'll be interesting to see in the Bill Russell 00:05:07 let's just call it the PBM space. Bill Russell 00:05:08 Let's call it the, uh, the, the medication. Bill Russell 00:05:12 I mean, th their acquisition seems like, seems like a pretty solid Bill Russell 00:05:15 foundation from which to build on. Bill Russell 00:05:17 It builds on their, their current capabilities and they can do those things. Bill Russell 00:05:22 But is that really a tech player or is that more of a logistics play Paddy Padmanabhan 00:05:26 for that? Paddy Padmanabhan 00:05:29 You know, the Amazon bets are kind of all over the place. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:05:32 They are all over the place. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:05:33 I don't see a Bill Russell 00:05:35 where you at the health conference. Bill Russell 00:05:36 I was not, but if you go through their booth, Hey, would you Bill Russell 00:05:40 like to talk to Amazon care? Bill Russell 00:05:41 Would you like to talk to AWS? Bill Russell 00:05:42 Would you like what data would they were? Bill Russell 00:05:45 Well, Paddy Padmanabhan 00:05:46 here's the thing that I'd asked you, this question, is there one Paddy Padmanabhan 00:05:49 individual in Amazon that you can think of who is kind of like the healthcare Bill Russell 00:05:54 person? Bill Russell 00:05:55 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:05:55 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:05:55 There, there used to be, but he went to work for Phillips. Bill Russell 00:05:57 So I don't know. Bill Russell 00:05:58 Okay. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:05:59 I don't know that there is such an annuity, but I do Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:01 know that there are several individuals who are all among themselves driving. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:07 Initiatives. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:08 Yeah. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:08 Amazon carries with somebody, the PillPack tenders with somebody else. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:11 God knows what else, you know, in Amazon. Bill Russell 00:06:14 Well, and that's what we're seeing. Bill Russell 00:06:16 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:06:16 Apple is Apple's the most recent one with the article and whatnot. Bill Russell 00:06:20 And, uh, there doesn't seem to be, first of all, the CEO Bill Russell 00:06:25 is the CEO of apple, correct? Bill Russell 00:06:27 They're not the CPE CEO of apple health. Bill Russell 00:06:29 Correct. Bill Russell 00:06:29 So how much of his time is actually spent thinking about the, I've Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:33 asked this exact same question in my writings, you know what. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:37 Healthcare is at best a part-time job for the CEO of any of these large Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:43 corporations and mind you, the new look at the world from their standpoint, their Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:49 opportunity in healthcare may be huge, but at the present moment, they may have Paddy Padmanabhan 00:06:55 much bigger things going on that are, you know, dominating their attention. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:00 But don't Bill Russell 00:07:00 the, the promise of those companies. Bill Russell 00:07:04 Is with AWS. Bill Russell 00:07:05 You have, you have a great, great access to that technology, the Bill Russell 00:07:09 data technology, the AI with Google, you have access to that. Bill Russell 00:07:13 I mean, clearly they've, they're phenomenal at the data side and whatnot. Bill Russell 00:07:16 Microsoft is phenomenal at the data side, Microsoft, probably a different story Bill Russell 00:07:20 because they're, they're just an enabler. Bill Russell 00:07:23 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:07:24 I don't think they have any healthcare aspirations per Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:26 se. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:27 Well, their healthcare story is the cloud story. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:29 You know, the workplace collaboration story and Bill Russell 00:07:32 everybody who's here has a relationship. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:34 Everybody has a relationship with them. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:35 And then as they make acquisitions, like no-one's, I just came out of Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:38 this session with nuance, you know? Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:40 So who knows what that is? Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:41 So they're in that session, that session was titled digital front doors nuance is, Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:46 you know, in the digital front door space. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:47 So is Microsoft also in the digital front. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:49 That's right. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:50 So, uh, you could not, but then, you know, with all of these large Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:54 companies, there's always multiple bets. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:56 You know, you talk about Amazon, Amazon has a half a dozen things. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:07:58 We've got Alex, or they've got Amazon care, they've got the cloud Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:01 business, which is doing very well. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:02 They've got the PillPack business who knows what else is going to come up. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:06 And again, we've also seen a little bit of a pullback by these big tech firms. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:10 Recently, Google closed its healthcare business. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:13 Officially there is no health business, especially after David Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:17 Feinberg left and went on to. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:19 And then now you've got apple, apple shut down their primary care Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:22 business, which was anywhere meant to be a kind of pilot of some kind. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:25 Right. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:26 But Amazon's the one that's sticking it through. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:08:28 And then there are others who are, you know, who knows what Salesforce Bill Russell 00:08:32 is going to do for it. Bill Russell 00:08:33 So we have to be clear just carrying the salvo, got up there last week and said, Bill Russell 00:08:37 we're still, we're still in healthcare. Bill Russell 00:08:39 We're doing this, we're doing this or that. Bill Russell 00:08:40 So she rattled off the half dozen things that they are continuing to do. Bill Russell 00:08:45 And her thing is, look, we're we're in information. Bill Russell 00:08:49 And more people seek care from Google still today than anywhere else. Bill Russell 00:08:53 And so they're trying to utilize their position to really direct Bill Russell 00:08:59 people in the right, get the right information to them serve public health. Bill Russell 00:09:03 It used to be when we started the pandemic, we had to go to certain sites Bill Russell 00:09:06 to search this, some of these statistics. Bill Russell 00:09:09 And I find now I can just go and say, yep, this guy, San Diego county tell Bill Russell 00:09:13 me the COVID statistics said, Google. Bill Russell 00:09:17 Hold it all together. Bill Russell 00:09:17 That's what they do. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:18 Yeah. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:19 And again, like you said earlier on, well, it's a long game Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:23 for, for these big tech firms. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:25 They have deep pockets. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:27 It doesn't mean though that they're going to stick with a Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:29 losing proposition for too long. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:31 If something doesn't work, they'll probably kill it, take the learnings Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:35 from it and put it into something else and then start the next iteration. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:39 And they have the, they have the, well, they have the money. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:43 And if they want to do something, they can stick around long enough to do it. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:47 I mean, just think of the amount of cash that apple is sitting by. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:49 It's just unbelievable. Bill Russell 00:09:50 All of them are sitting on top of the Fairmount. Bill Russell 00:09:52 So if people are engaged, Dame-o consulting, what, Bill Russell 00:09:55 what do you guys do for we? Paddy Padmanabhan 00:09:57 Uh, we help, we work mostly with CEOs, chief digital Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:01 officers and C-suite executives who are responsible for the digital Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:05 transformation of their organization. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:08 Very deeply focused on the health system space. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:10 So that's where most of our work is. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:12 So we'll help with digital strategy, helping develop digital transformation, Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:15 roadmaps, prioritizing initiatives, building business cases for them Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:19 helping with technology, partner selection, and also the ongoing Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:23 governance of digital programs. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:25 So that's kind of what we do. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:26 We come at it from a technology standpoint, but in the context of Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:29 digital transformation, which is very, very much tech enabled as we speak Bill Russell 00:10:34 the big and the lock is still. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:37 Uh, big unlock. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:38 Thank you for mentioning that the podcast, just a hindrance hit a hundred episodes. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:42 So kind of fantastic kicked about, I know how hard Bill Russell 00:10:45 that is by the way. Bill Russell 00:10:46 That's not Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:46 as easy as what people think. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:48 Yeah, I, yeah. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:49 And I've been really, really fortunate to have some great guests on the show. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:52 So yeah, I mean, these are a really thoughtful conversations. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:10:57 I learned a lot from those conversations and I hope that Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:00 the listeners learn something. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:02 You know, I was, I was sitting with, uh, some people at breakfast today. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:06 I didn't know them at all, but they knew who I was because Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:08 I listened to my podcast. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:10 So I'm probably the Bill Russell 00:11:11 same thing. Bill Russell 00:11:11 Yeah. Bill Russell 00:11:12 Thank you both. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:14 First of all, I thank you for all the work that you do. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:16 I'm an avid follower of all of your work on social media and continue Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:21 to keep those snarky comments. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:22 Comment. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:24 It's been Bill Russell 00:11:24 exciting. Bill Russell 00:11:25 I think it does help the industry. Bill Russell 00:11:26 When we go back and forth, people see, Hey, there's Bill Russell 00:11:28 potentially different challenges. Bill Russell 00:11:30 The Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:30 group thing, challenge the group thing. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:33 I'm reading this book called the contrarian, watch the buck, Peter Thiel. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:36 So you can be the country. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:38 I didn't know. Bill Russell 00:11:39 Well, if only I had as much money as Peter's deal, I think Bill Russell 00:11:42 I could be contrary and on anything. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:44 We'll see. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:45 All right, thanks. Paddy Padmanabhan 00:11:47 Thank you. Bill Russell 00:11:48 Don't forget to check back as we have more of these interviews Bill Russell 00:11:50 coming to you, that's all for today. Bill Russell 00:11:52 If you know of someone that might benefit from our channel, Bill Russell 00:11:54 please forward them a note. Bill Russell 00:11:55 They can subscribe on our website this week, health.com or wherever you listen Bill Russell 00:11:59 to podcasts, apple, Google, overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, you get the picture. Bill Russell 00:12:03 We are everywhere. Bill Russell 00:12:05 We want to thank our channel sponsors who are investing in our mission to Bill Russell 00:12:08 develop the next generation of health. Bill Russell 00:12:10 VMware Hill-Rom Starbridge advisors, McAfee and Aruba networks. Bill Russell 00:12:15 Thanks for listening.