Healthcare has a serious access problem, according to Joel Klein, MD. The patients who need care the most aren’t able to get appointments with primary care physicians, which is resulting in overcrowded hospitals and sicker people.
And while some areas would certainly benefit from more beds or newer facilities, that alone isn’t the answer.
“We have a problem,” said Klein, SVP and CIO of University of Maryland Medical System. “It’s a national issue and it’s not something that any one health system is responsible for solving in isolation. It’s something that we as a country have to figure out.”
Joel Klein, MD
During a recent Keynote, he spoke with Sarah Richardson, President, 229 Executive Development Community, about the complex issues facing healthcare, from the aging patient population to provider burnout, and the potential role that Generative AI can play. Klein also reflected on some of the key lessons learned during nearly 20 years as an emergency physician, and how he is able to apply those in leading IT initiatives across a 14-hospital system that also includes 150 practice locations and 3,500 affiliated physicians.
For Klein, having worked in the ER setting provided a perspective that he otherwise wouldn’t have had. “I started out as a customer of IT, which meant I had to use the computers, phones, faxes, and all of the applications,” he noted. As a result, “I know what it feels like when the EMR doesn’t work well – or at all. That has lit a fire for me about making sure the IT team understands how important this stuff is for everyday folks.”
It also gave him firsthand experience in crisis management, whether it was controlling a nosebleed – something he admittedly struggled with, or dealing with panicked family members demanding immediate answers. In moments like this, it’s important to be able to draw from knowledge, consult with colleagues, and develop a step-by-step strategy.
“When you have a plan, you start to feel more comfortable and confident in your ability to manage a problem,” said Klein, adding that he uses the same approach in the CIO role. “When you get a phone call that everything is down or the computer is saying, ‘pay us 10B bitcoin,’ you’re going to have that same reaction. It’s that feeling of ‘oh no, the day has finally come.’ That’s where you fall back on your training, you fall back on the plan you practiced. Everyone has a role. Let’s launch into that. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it.”
Similarly, if an unanticipated problem presents during a board meeting, the best course of action is to “collect yourself, just like when you’re dealing with a sick person,” he said. “You have to pick up the pieces and say, ‘all right, here’s what we’re going to do.’” And of course, follow through on the solution.
For those without frontline experience, Klein strongly advised spending some time in the clinical space and becoming familiar with the challenges faced. By doing consistent rounding, “you’re going to have the credibility of someone who has actually lived it because of the time you took to go see or experience it. It’ll help you make better decisions.”
For healthcare leaders, one of those decisions involves how and when to leverage automation to improve processes. The problem isn’t whether GenAI can help, but how organizations can weed through the pilots to identify the most viable use cases.
According to Klein, it starts with establishing clear endpoints – and they don’t have to be permanent. “You can move the goal posts, but you have to have something,” he said. It also has to have governance wrapped around it. “It can’t just be ‘Bob saw something at a meeting, and now Bob wants it,’ because sometimes that’s how it works.”
What’s also important is to not let the barriers stand in the way of progress. “The whole amazing set of things happening around GenAI really has brought this into sharp focus. If we don’t get out there and try it, we’re being left behind. And not just as a healthcare organization, but in terms of the opportunity to take care of patients more constructively.”
That need is only going to intensify as healthcare prepares for the incoming wave of baby boomers – otherwise known as the ‘silver tsunami’– that many predict will put a further strain on already finite resources.
But while automation might play a key role, it’s not going to be a panacea. What’s needed, according to Klein, is a workforce. And beyond that, “a competent, experienced workforce” with pipelines that can provide the support, mentorship, and education needed to guide individuals throughout their careers, and produce the senior nurses and experienced surgeons that are in high demand.
“We need to do that, but we're not going to do it if we keep going the way we’re going,” he said. “Because we’re going to have more folks to take care of than we’ll be able to. We’ve got to figure this out.”
© Copyright 2024 Health Lyrics All rights reserved
