Phoenix Children's is charting its own course by focusing on in-house software development, a strategy that contrasts with the broader healthcare industry's trend toward outsourcing technology solutions.
David Higginson, executive vice president and chief innovation officer at Phoenix Children's, told Becker's that pediatrics is often underserved by vendors that may view the pediatric market as less lucrative due to the relatively small number of large independent children's hospitals. This market reality, combined with the complex needs of pediatric patients, often results in solutions that either do not exist or are poorly adapted from adult care models.
"Children can be quite complicated from a system perspective," Mr. Higginson said.
Recognizing this, Phoenix Children's has prioritized in-house development to create customized software solutions that are better suited to the specific needs of pediatric care. However, the hospital is careful to avoid the pitfalls of technical debt, which can occur when in-house solutions become obsolete or burdensome over time. To prevent this, Phoenix Children's employs a strategy that includes a clear exit plan for each project.
"We're fully expecting, in three to five years, we're going to sunset that application and go acquire it from a vendor where it's more mature and sustainable," Mr. Higginson said.
This approach, according to Mr. Higginson, allows Phoenix Children's to innovate rapidly, developing custom solutions to meet immediate needs while remaining open to adopting more mature, commercially available solutions as they evolve.
In-house success stories
Mr. Higginson highlighted two recent projects that demonstrate the benefits of Phoenix Children's in-house development strategy. The first is a home monitoring program designed to gather patient data between hospital visits, especially for the hospital's Medicaid population, where assumptions about access to technology can be misleading.
Instead of relying on expensive equipment and complex setups, Phoenix Children's developed a simple text-based system that allows families to report key health metrics like eating habits and general well-being. This approach has led to high engagement and better management of complex conditions, as physicians can tailor follow-up schedules based on real-time data, Mr. Higginson said.
Another is the overhaul of clinic intake forms. Recognizing that many of the forms were outdated and rarely used by physicians, the hospital streamlined the process to ensure that only relevant data points are collected, and these are directly integrated into the physician's notes. According to Mr. Higginson, this not only reduced the burden on patients but also improved the efficiency of clinical workflows.
A consultative approach
Phoenix Children's has also institutionalized a consultative process for deciding whether to build or buy technology solutions.
Instead of starting with a pre-selected solution, the IT department encourages clinical and business teams to bring their problems forward and collaborate on finding the best approach.
Mr. Higginson said this method ensures that the chosen solution — whether developed in-house or purchased — aligns with the hospital's strategic goals and effectively addresses the identified problem.