HC2HC Event – Doug King, CIO at Northwestern Medicine

Bill Russell 00:00:03 Today in health, it, Bill Russell 00:00:04 Another one of our interviews and action. Bill Russell 00:00:05 This comes from the healthcare to healthcare event, which I was a guest Bill Russell 00:00:09 at from the serious health care team. Bill Russell 00:00:11 It was in Montana. Bill Russell 00:00:13 And I was able to sit down with a handful of CEOs. Bill Russell 00:00:16 And I'm going to share those with you here shortly. Bill Russell 00:00:19 My name is bill Russell. Bill Russell 00:00:20 I'm a former CIO for a 16 hospital system and creator of this week in health. Bill Russell 00:00:24 It. Bill Russell 00:00:24 A channel dedicated to keeping health it staff current and engaged. Bill Russell 00:00:28 I hope you're enjoying these interviews and action. Bill Russell 00:00:31 We were able to do these interviews at the health conference, the Bill Russell 00:00:34 chime conference, and now the healthcare to healthcare event. Bill Russell 00:00:37 I've really enjoyed doing them. Bill Russell 00:00:39 , just a reminder. Bill Russell 00:00:40 We're going to get back to our normal programming where I take Bill Russell 00:00:42 a new story, break it down. Bill Russell 00:00:44 And talk about why it matters to health. Bill Russell 00:00:46 It. Bill Russell 00:00:47 We're going to be doing that as soon as the interviews are done we have Bill Russell 00:00:51 done 10 from the chime conference eight from the health conference and Bill Russell 00:00:55 we have five from the healthcare to health care conference so i hope you Bill Russell 00:00:59 enjoy another one of these interviews Bill Russell 00:01:03 All right. Bill Russell 00:01:03 Another interview from the healthcare to healthcare, uh, invitation Bill Russell 00:01:06 event from Cirrus healthcare. Bill Russell 00:01:08 And now we're with Doug king CIO for Northwestern medicine, both Bill Russell 00:01:13 the school and the health system. Bill Russell 00:01:15 Um, yeah. Bill Russell 00:01:16 Had to, I didn't mention that. Bill Russell 00:01:18 Well, welcome to the show. Bill Russell 00:01:19 I'm looking forward to the conversation. Bill Russell 00:01:20 Yeah, Doug King 00:01:20 absolutely. Doug King 00:01:20 Thank you very much for having me. Bill Russell 00:01:21 It's time. Bill Russell 00:01:22 A lot of interesting conversations over the last couple of days. Bill Russell 00:01:24 What's what's top of mind. Doug King 00:01:27 Top of mind for me right now, uh, is talent. Doug King 00:01:30 Um, I think that, uh, within healthcare and within technology, um, we finally Doug King 00:01:35 have, uh, technology and new tools with the cloud and machine learning Doug King 00:01:39 and artificial intelligence and natural language processing to make a Doug King 00:01:42 significant impact, uh, in a positive way. Doug King 00:01:45 Uh, now. Doug King 00:01:47 Uh, and also providers, but I think that we need the talent to do it. Doug King 00:01:52 And it's such a competitive landscape, uh, that, uh, you know, constantly Doug King 00:01:56 focusing on up-skilling re-skilling and recruiting, um, and really growing Doug King 00:02:00 that as a society, uh, is going to be a challenge for us, upskilling, Bill Russell 00:02:04 reskilling and recruiting, and you're downtown Chicago, correct? Bill Russell 00:02:09 For the most part, Doug King 00:02:10 we're in the Chicago land area. Doug King 00:02:12 So we are downtown and then we are also in the collar counties. Bill Russell 00:02:16 The collar counties. Bill Russell 00:02:17 Yes. Bill Russell 00:02:17 I had not heard of that before. Bill Russell 00:02:19 So, uh, man, those are interesting topics because when I went to chime, I would Bill Russell 00:02:23 say the number one topic I heard was this whole idea of labor were struggling. Bill Russell 00:02:26 People are recruiting people away from us. Bill Russell 00:02:29 Uh, I heard one CIO say, I can now hire in 48 states, which you Bill Russell 00:02:33 know, which means that talent can be, uh, gone after and whatnot. Bill Russell 00:02:36 What, what kind of programs, what kind of things are you putting in place to Bill Russell 00:02:39 attract new talent and really retain. Doug King 00:02:43 Yeah. Doug King 00:02:44 You know, I think, uh, I think that that that's right. Doug King 00:02:47 I mean, it acknowledges so portable across industries. Doug King 00:02:51 So we're competing, not just with health care, but with the Uber's Doug King 00:02:54 and the Microsofts and all of that. Doug King 00:02:56 A couple of things that we've really been focusing in on is, uh, you know, Doug King 00:03:00 we, we focus in on our pipeline and really looking at how we can get Doug King 00:03:06 interns to convert to college hires. Doug King 00:03:09 And then those college hires, we continue to. Doug King 00:03:12 Train them and bring them up to speed. Doug King 00:03:14 And we've done that through, uh, focusing on it over the past two to three years. Doug King 00:03:19 Um, and now, you know, we'll have things where we'll have, we'll have Doug King 00:03:21 years where we have 30 plus interns and then those interns, they go back Doug King 00:03:25 to college for their senior year with an offer and a job in hand. Doug King 00:03:29 And that has really started with. Doug King 00:03:31 Dividends, um, as far as having great young talent that wants to grow, um, Doug King 00:03:38 and it's, it's beneficial for them and it's beneficial for Northwestern. Bill Russell 00:03:41 You're bringing new blood into the health it world. Bill Russell 00:03:44 What, what does that do for your Doug King 00:03:45 culture? Doug King 00:03:46 It's, it's actually great. Doug King 00:03:48 A couple of things. Doug King 00:03:49 Number one, uh, when you bring new blood into it and at Northwestern, Doug King 00:03:53 uh, it's not just about them. Doug King 00:03:54 It also provides mentorship opportunities for a lot of our. Doug King 00:03:58 Uh, people that want to start to grow talent and they want to Doug King 00:04:01 start to work with others and really gain leadership experience. Doug King 00:04:06 So it's a great opportunity for them, but then bringing in the younger elements, Doug King 00:04:11 um, it, it has a different dynamic and that different dynamic is a more energetic Doug King 00:04:16 and a lot of ambition and a lot of wanting to drive and say, I'll try that. Doug King 00:04:20 I'll do that. Doug King 00:04:21 I'll go over there. Doug King 00:04:22 And that really just kind of disrupts in a positive way. Doug King 00:04:27 Um, overall for our culture. Doug King 00:04:29 And I think that's important, uh, especially when you start to think Doug King 00:04:32 about, you know, fixed mindset versus growth mindset and bringing new ideas Doug King 00:04:37 really helps kind of push that growth Bill Russell 00:04:39 mindset. Bill Russell 00:04:40 It's almost a, uh, it's actually creative. Bill Russell 00:04:44 Uh, my, my son works for a consulting firm. Bill Russell 00:04:46 He does, does work for a consulting firm and he's 25 years old and he's presented. Bill Russell 00:04:51 Yeah, multinational organizations presenting these new digital front Bill Russell 00:04:55 end he's does UI and UX work. Bill Russell 00:04:57 And, uh, he called me up. Bill Russell 00:04:59 He said, dad, I can't believe these people are listening to me. Bill Russell 00:05:01 I'm like, this is, this is incredible. Bill Russell 00:05:03 But th there's almost a beautiful ignorance that it's like, these, Bill Russell 00:05:07 these people on the other end, they're going, I've never seen Bill Russell 00:05:09 this approach to this before. Bill Russell 00:05:10 And that's what they bring. Bill Russell 00:05:11 They bring that, that energy and that, that, uh, almost, uh, Bill Russell 00:05:16 I call it beautiful ignorance. Bill Russell 00:05:17 It's just like, they don't know what they Doug King 00:05:18 are. Doug King 00:05:19 Yeah, I meet, uh, when we have new hire new talent, come in, I meet Doug King 00:05:22 with all of the interns as a group, I meet with every single new hire, Doug King 00:05:26 um, that we onboard as a group. Doug King 00:05:27 And we talk about growth mindset versus fixed mindset. Doug King 00:05:30 And it's, uh, you know, I think the, I always tell them when you're Doug King 00:05:34 learning here and remember you're you have the freshest ideas right now. Doug King 00:05:38 So challenge the status quo. Doug King 00:05:40 Um, and if you ask someone, well, why do we do it? Doug King 00:05:43 Like. Doug King 00:05:43 And the responses cause we always have it's the exact wrong answer Doug King 00:05:47 because we've got to continue to look at those things and they bring Doug King 00:05:50 those questions and it's great. Bill Russell 00:05:52 Now, one of the things my listeners are going to Bill Russell 00:05:54 be saying is, okay, this is great. Bill Russell 00:05:55 How did you do it? Bill Russell 00:05:57 Um, I, I found, and I think you've probably found as well that the colleges Bill Russell 00:06:00 and universities are like, yeah, come on board, talk to our people, Bill Russell 00:06:04 set up these programs, but you will also went all the way down to high Doug King 00:06:07 school. Doug King 00:06:08 Yeah. Doug King 00:06:08 You know, we're really starting to actually justice here. Doug King 00:06:11 We're starting an apprentice. Doug King 00:06:13 And it's, uh, something where we, I think we're having six apprentice in Doug King 00:06:17 my senior year of high school, and we're working with, uh, high schools Doug King 00:06:20 within, uh, the city of Chicago. Doug King 00:06:22 Um, and they are in underserved areas as well. Doug King 00:06:26 So it's a win, win, win, win across the board. Doug King 00:06:29 And the way it's going to work is they're going to be apprentices and Doug King 00:06:31 then they will come in for senior year. Doug King 00:06:33 And ideally it's just kind of an earlier step to our talent. Doug King 00:06:38 Cause if they're apprentices and then they can go to college, then they can be Doug King 00:06:41 interns and then there'll be new hires. Doug King 00:06:43 And if you have that, where they've known you for five years and we've known them, Doug King 00:06:46 uh, it's a fantastic fit from a culture standpoint, as well as from a technical. Bill Russell 00:06:51 So have you, I assume you have somebody who's in charge of this. Bill Russell 00:06:55 Yes. Bill Russell 00:06:55 Because it you've set up a program and those programs take time. Bill Russell 00:06:58 You have to develop those relationships. Bill Russell 00:06:59 And obviously all the HR practices that go along with that. Bill Russell 00:07:03 Did that take a fair amount of time or was that. Doug King 00:07:06 Yeah, it did. Doug King 00:07:07 I would say that we started at about three and a half years ago. Doug King 00:07:10 Um, and, uh, we do it internally. Doug King 00:07:13 Um, and it is absolutely, uh, now primary focus for a program manager Doug King 00:07:18 that we have to really stand that up. Doug King 00:07:21 But it's also important because we do partner with HR. Doug King 00:07:24 And so it's beneficial for HR. Doug King 00:07:26 It's beneficial for it. Doug King 00:07:27 Um, because we are a little unique within the technology lane. Doug King 00:07:32 Uh, in focusing in on that program, but we have somebody that is day in, day out. Doug King 00:07:36 They wake up, they get out of bed and they think about talent Doug King 00:07:39 management at Northwestern for it. Bill Russell 00:07:42 I'd be remiss if we didn't talk about innovation, Bill Russell 00:07:44 the academic medical centers seem to be a, a hub for innovation. Bill Russell 00:07:48 What, what areas are you finding, uh, solutions at and how are you? Bill Russell 00:07:55 I don't know, priming that pump to, to see the innovation sort of come through your. Doug King 00:08:01 Yeah. Doug King 00:08:01 You know, it's, um, uh, I, I would say a couple of things on that. Doug King 00:08:04 Number one, um, at an academic medical center and a lot of institutions, Doug King 00:08:10 not just academic, there's so many good ideas and getting those Doug King 00:08:13 ideas out of someone's brain. Doug King 00:08:16 And then through the, the system, if you will, to kind of build that up Doug King 00:08:20 and actually get it to be something that where you can focus in on it and Doug King 00:08:23 you can try it to see if it works or. Doug King 00:08:26 Um, we're, we're trying to do that as well. Doug King 00:08:28 So really a funnel for all of these good ideas from clinicians and from others. Doug King 00:08:32 Um, but when we look at innovation, um, a couple of things I think makes us unique. Doug King 00:08:36 If we're going to invest in a company or we're going to create something, we will Doug King 00:08:40 use that technology at Northwestern and we're doing it because we think it'll be Doug King 00:08:44 better for our patients, our providers. Doug King 00:08:46 Um, and we also think that we can make that piece of technology, uh, better. Doug King 00:08:51 So when we go to innovation, we think of internal ideas that we want to do. Doug King 00:08:56 Helped foster and create and improve upon. Doug King 00:08:58 And then we also go to startups that we will maybe partner with. Doug King 00:09:02 Um, and we'll let them into Northwestern if you will. Doug King 00:09:05 Um, and give them the best lab in the world when you're talking about clinical Doug King 00:09:09 workflows and data and knowledge. Doug King 00:09:11 And then we look at, uh, the digital giants and how can we partner with Doug King 00:09:15 the Microsofts and the Amazons and the Googles to really say, where's it Doug King 00:09:19 going to be value for everybody and then really move forward together. Bill Russell 00:09:23 It's interesting. Bill Russell 00:09:25 So I, you know, governance is an interesting concept here. Bill Russell 00:09:28 Cause I, I remember we, we did want to create that atmosphere Bill Russell 00:09:33 where everything could rise up. Bill Russell 00:09:35 There's amazing. Bill Russell 00:09:36 Number of great ideas. Bill Russell 00:09:37 So how do you, how do you focus it in, Doug King 00:09:40 you know, I think part of it is when we look at all these ideas, we Doug King 00:09:46 try not to chase the shiny object and we try to align them with the problems Doug King 00:09:52 that we're facing as an industry. Doug King 00:09:55 And we will ask our operators and we will ask the presidents and we will listen. Doug King 00:10:01 I think listening is probably a key element to understanding where to focus Doug King 00:10:05 the innovation resources, because it's finite, you know, we are a large health Doug King 00:10:09 system, but in the end of the day, we have a limited amount of people that can really Doug King 00:10:14 turn the dial on these innovative ideas. Doug King 00:10:16 And I think the key part is to listen to the CNS, listen to the CMOs, listen Doug King 00:10:20 to the problems that are having, and then try to bring solutions. Doug King 00:10:23 To them, with all of the new capabilities that we have within our digital Doug King 00:10:28 platform, uh, such as, uh, machine learning or natural language processing. Doug King 00:10:33 Those are just different tools now in the toolbox and a few apply them correctly. Doug King 00:10:38 You can solve problems in new ways that were not possible. Bill Russell 00:10:41 We have, uh, incubators, we have, uh, innovation arms. Bill Russell 00:10:45 We really almost have within healthcare, VC operating in health systems. Bill Russell 00:10:50 Do you guys have any of those kinds of things? Bill Russell 00:10:53 Yeah, we do. Doug King 00:10:54 We are, we're actually, um, you know, just now building out Doug King 00:10:57 a physical space that is going to house a lot of our innovation team Doug King 00:11:01 and our digital team working together. Doug King 00:11:03 We're going to try to take startups and sit them with them Doug King 00:11:07 or sit them with that team. Doug King 00:11:09 Some of our departments are also going to have a space there so that we can Doug King 00:11:13 really cultivate those ideas and kind of come up and we do, uh, we have. Doug King 00:11:20 Groups of people that I would say meet, um, and they try to come up with Doug King 00:11:26 problems to solve, but honestly, most of the good ideas come organically. Doug King 00:11:31 And now, um, at our health system, just because of some of the great Doug King 00:11:35 things that we done partnering with the clinical side of the house, Doug King 00:11:39 it's, it's getting out there. Doug King 00:11:40 So it's the organic idea. Doug King 00:11:42 I have this difficult problem. Doug King 00:11:44 I'm going to go talk to it or I'm going to go talk to innovation Doug King 00:11:48 and see how they can help me. Doug King 00:11:49 And those are probably some of the ways that the ideas come, uh, Doug King 00:11:53 come the best ideas come from. Bill Russell 00:11:55 Fantastic, Doug, thanks for your time. Bill Russell 00:11:57 Yeah, Doug King 00:11:57 thank you. Bill Russell 00:11:59 Don't forget to check back as we have more of these interviews Bill Russell 00:12:02 coming to you, that's all for today. Bill Russell 00:12:04 If you know of someone that might benefit from our channel, Bill Russell 00:12:06 please forward them a note. Bill Russell 00:12:07 They can subscribe on our website this week, health.com or wherever you listen Bill Russell 00:12:10 to podcasts, apple, Google, overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, you get the picture. Bill Russell 00:12:15 We are everywhere. Bill Russell 00:12:16 We want to thank our channel sponsors who are investing in our mission to Bill Russell 00:12:19 develop the next generation of health. Bill Russell 00:12:21 VMware Hill-Rom Starbridge advisors, McAfee and Aruba networks. Bill Russell 00:12:26 Thanks for listening.