Lisa Prasad, vice president and chief innovation officer at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, learns something new every day in her position, a job she believes presents "limitless" opportunities.
Ms. Prasad became Henry Ford's managing director of global innovation in 2013, before accepting her current role in April. While many could think her positions at Henry Ford are her first ones in the healthcare field from a quick glance at her resume, Ms. Prasad has been in tune with the industry for decades.
During her time as a leading consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, all of Ms. Prasad's clients were universities and academic medical centers. She became immersed in the world of healthcare innovation and research, which led her to launch the incubator PennNetWorks when she was working as an associate vice president of the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania.
"It is an amazing privilege to be at the center of both harnessing the data we have inside the institutions that create these tools and to be the receptor for the new technologies that are being created," she said.
Here, Ms. Prasad shares her rapid-fire thoughts on health IT innovation, from disruptors in the field to the devices she finds most useful.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: Mac or PC?
Lisa Prasad: Mac.
Q: iPhone or Android?
LP: iPhone.
Q: What has been your go-to tech device during the pandemic?
LP: My iPhone.
Q: What innovation or technology has made the biggest difference in your organization's COVID-19 response?
LP: Virtual visit technology tied to Epic EHR.
Q: What's the No. 1 tech device you couldn't live without at work?
LP: My Mac.
Q: What’s your go-to voice assistant: Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Apple Siri?
LP: Amazon Alexa.
Q: If you could add any tool to your EHR tomorrow, what would it be?
LP: A tool to integrate and improve revenue cycle operations with clinical operations.
Q: Which retail or tech giant will be the biggest disrupter to healthcare?
LP: Apple.
Q: What patient engagement tech do you predict will be most used by patients in the next 3-5 years?
LP: Artificial intelligence and machine learning (such as Alexa and Siri).
Q: If you could only have three apps on your phone, which would you choose?
LP: Google, LinkedIn and some health/fitness app.