K. Scott Wester has seen a dramatic evolution in the healthcare industry over his decades-long career, from technology advancements to increased employment of physicians by health systems.
Now, as president and CEO of Hollywood, Fla.-based Memorial Healthcare System, he said he hopes to see more discussion about physician practices and advancements that help bring greater personalization into healthcare.
Mr. Wester has helmed Memorial since July 2022. Before that, he served as executive vice president of strategic partnerships and advocacy for Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge, La.
Mr. Wester shared what he has learned from observing Chick-fil-A, Amazon and streaming services — in particular their approach to personalization — and his approach to overcoming economic challenges facing healthcare.
Editor's note: This is a regular series of conversations with CEOs of the nation's health systems. Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What's something the healthcare industry isn't discussing enough?
Scott Wester: The economics of learning physician practices and the level of support of physician practices. We've seen such a dramatic evolution, at least during my career, which is now over 30 years, of the independent, small physician practices that have now converted into a lot of employment in health systems, the acquisition or purchases of private equity companies, or corporate entities like Optum. As we've seen with the inflationary trends over the last couple of years, the cost of physician practices are very real, and we're not talking about the cost structures or the revenue opportunities in physician practices. Many health systems lose money on a standalone business for their employed physician practices.
We've seen the evolution of companies like Walmart, Amazon and CVS that have struggled with their model of physician practices. Then you get into hospital-based services like radiology and anesthesiology, and a lot of those have direct support arrangements; it's a third-party contractual relationship, and are employed. The fundamentals of reimbursement don't fit the cost equation anymore, and there isn't enough conversation about that.
The economics are challenging. As an integrated healthcare system, we need to be smart, we have to be innovative, and we also have to understand the relationship between our physicians and our health system. We have to be great advocates for their well-being, provide them the right level of infrastructure and investment and, given the challenges of our industry, we probably need to do that more than ever before not only employed [physicians] within our systems but also physicians that are also still independent practitioners.
Q: What's an industry or business outside of healthcare you think contains important lessons?
SW: I did a combination in my mind of the direct interaction relationship of Chick-fil-A with the technology aspiration of Amazon. Both Chick-fil-A and Amazon are very clear about their business imperative, and they distinguish their brands by being obsessed with meeting the needs of the customer. They are almost exclusively focused on their own individual goals and their culture, rather than always watching or responding to the competition.
I've learned a lot about Chick-fil-A and Amazon over the years, and I'm always intrigued about how they educate their workforce, how they use their innovation and technology to fine-tune with laser focus on the customer. And the ability then to use a lot of aggregated data and knowledge about the behavior of purchasing to reach consumers on a very individual level. That individual personalization is huge. Healthcare still relies on that human interaction, which gives this really personal care and personal touch, but I think there's another level we can reach, predominantly in the advancement of technology, really on what I call the bookends of our delivery system. Everything before a patient gets into the organization — whether it's an ambulatory setting or inpatient setting — to when someone leaves the organization ... how well we deliver that exceptional and personalized experience on both sides of the bookends is very imperative.
Q: What was your first job? How old were you? Biggest thing you learned?
SW: I was 15 years old, and I worked at a large department store. I grew up in Cincinnati. It was called Elder-Beerman. My first job was as a stock boy and as a housekeeper. The things I've learned quickly were the importance of showing up on time.
Then it was really to understand how the processes worked. That was something I had no idea about when I first got into that job. I thought it was just moving the product to the shelf and the shelf to the floor. But understanding when the trucks were supposed to deliver, how you unload the truck, how you store your specific items, and how you take those storage items and put them on display. I also learned about hard work, understanding that my main customers were the sales team on the floor. They had a commission-based salary, so how neat everything was, and how the product was put up on the stand, were very important for the sales team to be able to sell their products.
Q: What are you reading up on now to prepare for the next three to 10 years?
SW: I'm spending a lot of time reading about how we, as health systems … have an enormous amount of data. We utilize the data in a fractional aspect, not really looking at it from all angles of how we treat our patients from a quality perspective to how we deliver that optimal level of service or try to improve operational efficiency. So I'm reviewing how other industries continue to really evolve and change. Then reviewing a lot about the streaming service market … Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and the evolution of entertainment. My grandfather ran a radio station in Toledo, Ohio, and the changes from the radio station to linear TV and now streaming, we've gone from delivery that's one to many to systems that are now one to one. It's the ultimate personalization of media consumption that is reshaping our consumer expectation about everything.
Very similar to the streaming service, I think we have to be more individualized to our patients, and every patient has a story. Every patient has their unique needs. In the next three to 10 years, I'm very encouraged by the usage of our technology and our data integration that we're going to offer more personalized care in the future.