Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Brian Urban, head of population health at Best Buy Health. They discuss Brian’s background in public health, how he became interested in the intersection of health and technology, and what goes on inside a clinical command center. They also talk about technological tools from outside of healthcare that can help diagnose or alert clinicians from afar, the importance of digital literacy in rural environments, and the lessons that a consumer electronics retailer can teach a health system.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:43] Brian’s background

[07:20] The mission of Best Buy Health

[12:38] The difference between providing care and enabling care

[14:47] Hospital at home

[22:05] Best Buy Health’s place in the healthcare ecosystem

[25:02} What’s new in remote patient monitoring

[30:28] Incorporating design into clinical workflows

[33:14] Design that brings Brian joy

[36:15] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Scott MacDonald, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at the University of California Davis Health. They discuss his background and how he became a CMIO, how he’s changing professional development for physicians, and the integration of large language models into workflows. They also talk about how to leverage AI’s ambient listening capabilities, reducing note bloat, and why tech adoption can sometimes be uneven across medical specialties.

Show Notes

[00:00] Intros

[01:29] Dr. MacDonald’s background

[03:57] The PEP squad

[12:42] The results of the PEP squad

[16:51] The AIScribe

[27:24] Leveraging AI to improve doctor’s notes

[34:14] Epic’s new message prompt tool

[39:13] Dr. MacDonald’s favorite well-designed thing

[42:45] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Graham Walker, MD, physician and co-founder of MDCalc. They discuss his background in the emergency room, how he came to co-create a clinical support decision tool, and what’s next for him in the entrepreneurial realm. They also talk about small inefficiencies that lead to wider problems, the threat of an IT ticket blackhole, and the new trend of rounding for clinician well-being.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:06] Dr. Walker’s background

[07:29] The beginnings of MDCalc

[14:13] Dr. Walker’s next company

[22:00] EHR steering committee and other tech responsibilities

[25:03] In-person rounding for clinician well-being

[31:20] Inefficiencies within the health system

[38:34] Overcommunicating with physicians

[45:19] Dr. Walker’s favorite well-designed things

[48:44] Outros

For a full transcript, click here

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Bryan Vartabedian, MD, chief medical officer at Texas Children’s Hospital. They discuss his beginnings in pediatrics, the current state of physician burnout, and why the rise of technology and algorithmic care has created a disconnect between doctors and patients. They also talk about the future of telehealth, what key performance metrics don’t capture, and the power of suboptimization in healthcare.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:30] Dr. Vartabedian’s background

[06:20] Evolving medicine towards empathy

[10:04] Addressing physician burnout

[14:59] The power of suboptimzation

[20:56] The people margin

[24:10] What key metrics don’t show

[28:38] Combatting pajama time for physicians

[32:35] The future of telehealth appointments

[35:07] Well-designed things that bring Dr. Vartabedian joy

[37:04] Outros

For full transcript and shownotes, click here

Hosts Chad Garrett, Katy Ptaszynski, and Justin Burnett are joined by Nordic Senior Consultant Kevin Flannagin. Their discussion centers on the challenges of adapting to changing requirements, scope creep, and the strategies they use to address these issues effectively. By incorporating agile methodologies, Kevin illustrates how iterative testing and user feedback can lead to better project outcomes and reduce the risk of rework. His experiences, such as transitioning a reporting system to Microsoft Power BI for an antimicrobial stewardship program, demonstrate how innovative solutions can streamline processes and enhance service delivery.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:21] Kevin’s background

[03:47] Service delivery strategies

[11:20] Common challenges around service delivery

[15:25] Implementing net new technologies like Microsoft Power BI

[22:10] Building and maintain trust with clients

[24:20] Implementing the antimicrobial stewardship project

[26:43] Remaining agile while building trust with clients

[28:35] Preparing for artificial intelligence incorporation into workflows

[30:14] Outros

For more information, including a full transcript, click here.

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Zeev Neuwirth, MD, author of “Beyond the Walls” and “Reframing Healthcare: A roadmap for creating disruptive change.” He’s also the founder of the #HRL community and hosts the popular podcast series “Creating a new healthcare.” They discuss using AI and other technologies to humanize healthcare and the ongoing platform war. Dr. Neuwirth also offers his thoughts on the future of hospital at home.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:41] Dr. Neuwirth’s background

[09:50] How AI and digital health can humanize healthcare

[21:48] The ongoing platform war within healthcare

[25:08] ChenMed and how its clinician brainwashing is humanizing healthcare

[33:49] Hospital at home and its future

[36:49] The #HRL (humanistic rebel leader) community and its purpose

[42:26] Things that are so well designed, they bring Dr. Neuwirth joy

For more information, including a full transcript, click here.

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Joel Klein, MD, senior vice president and chief information officer at the University of Maryland Medical Center. They talk about his unconventional path from being an emergency room physician to running the IT department, redesigning the EHR to maximize clinician satisfaction, and low-tech solutions to optimize hospital efficiency. They also talk about how his health system was impacted by the recent CrowdStrike outage, the value of doing rounds en masse, and what an experience gradient is and how it’s used in healthcare.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:08] Dr. Klein’s background

[06:25] Making clinical support tools fun

[13:18] Customizing your workspace within Epic

[15:27] Rounds en masse

[21:44] The two-bin inventory management system

[27:34] Experience gradients and what healthcare can learn from aviation

[35:36] Dr. Klein’s experience with the CrowdStrike outage

[41:10] Dr. Klein’s favorite well-designed things

[45:00] Outros

For more information, including a full transcript, click here.

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, talks with Steve Muething, MD, senior advisor and former chief quality officer at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They discuss the importance of patient advocates, situational awareness in healthcare, and the need for a proactive safety culture. Dr. Muething also shares insights on integrating employee and patient safety and reflects on the simple yet effective design of his 85-year-old Ford 8N tractor.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:24] Dr. Muething’s background

[10:19] Creating a culture of safety

[14:21] The importance of patient advocates

[18:29] Situational awareness in healthcare

[38:34] Something so well designed, it brings Dr. Muething joy

[42:08] Outros

For more information, including a full transcript, click here.

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, sits down with Adam Carewe, MD, CMIO at Colorado Permanente and the co-host of the NerdMDs | Efficiency Unlocked podcast. They discuss his mantra of letting doctors be doctors, the increasing promise of AI to revolutionize progress notes, and the rise of the inboxologist within health systems. They also talk about how Dr. Carewe helped start an asynchronous e-care team at Colorado Permanente, eliminating inefficiencies within clinical workflows, and how today’s advances in healthcare technology sound like science fiction from not too long ago.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:16] Dr. Carewe’s background

[07:20] Letting doctors be doctors

[13:42] The evolution of progress notes

[22:53} The increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) within healthcare

[28:48] Beginning an asynchronous e-care team

[34:45] Enhancing clinical efficiencies

[38:40] Dr. Carewe’s favorite well-designed thing

[42:01] Outros

For more information, including a full transcript, click here.

Nordic Chief Medical Officer Craig Joseph, MD, sits down with David Berger, MD, CEO of SUNY Downstate Medical Center. They talk about what it was like for Dr. Berger to take over a hospital swamped with COVID-19 in the summer of 2020, how he began to understand and change the clinical culture, and the path to becoming designated a high-reliability organization (HRO). They also discuss the timeline for incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into health system operations, implementing decision support tools into clinical workflows, and the power of huddles in healthcare.

Show notes:

[00:00] Intros

[01:00] Dr. Berger’s background

[05:39] Taking over a hospital during the pandemic

[13:09] The path to becoming a high-reliability organization

[22:15] Implementing workplace culture change

[26:10] The power of daily huddles

[30:59] The path forward for AI in healthcare

[35:14] The complexity of running an academic medical center

[40:34] Dr. Berger’s favorite well-designed thing

[42:19] Outros

For more information, including a full transcript, click here.