Three executives from some of the nation's top health systems discussed disruptive forces in the healthcare industry and how they deal with them during a keynote panel at the Becker's Hospital Review CEO + CFO Roundtable in Chicago.
The panel consisted of Peter Pisters, MD, president of Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; David Reich, MD, president and CEO of New York City-based Mount Sinai Hospital and president of Mount Sinai Queens; and Terika Richardson, president of Park Ridge, Ill.-based Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. It was moderated by Rhoda Weiss, a national healthcare consultant, speaker and educator.
The panelists began by discussing the industry disruptions that concern each of them the most.
Dr. Pisters said that for him, what worries him the most is "the uncertainty … in terms of what the next election and the evolution of federal health policy will create for all of us in the room."
As technology is a major disruptor of the industry, Dr. Reich discussed Mount Sinai's approach to using artificial intelligence.
"Creating a culture where the staff feel that it's augmented intelligence rather than artificial intelligence, where they have a role in the development and improvement of the algorithms, I think has been a key differentiator for us," Dr. Reich said.
Ms. Richardson discussed the growing need for healthcare to expand beyond the hospital setting and into the community.
"We are doing things such as working with local food banks and looking at food pharmacies to support some of our at-risk communities … We have done a myriad of things to support and embed ourselves in the community to help support those lives," Ms. Richardson said.
The panelists ended by predicting what five years in the future will look like for each of their systems; all agreed that technology and data will be the driving forces of change to improve how we approach healthcare.