TDP 106: BJC HealthCare’s VP, Digital & Innovation, Dr. Thomas Maddox: Shark Tank Competitions For Innovation Within a Health System, Launching an Innovation Lab to Scale Digital Health, and Using Data to Facilitate Proactive Care

Subscribe on: RSS | SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCAST | GOOGLE | BREAKER | ANCHOR

On this episode of "The Digital Patient" podcast, hosts Alan Sardana & Dr. Joshua Liu speak with Dr. Thomas Maddox, VP, Digital Products & Innovation at BJC HealthCare/Washington University School of Medicine, about "Shark Tank Competitions to Stimulate Innovation Within a Health System, Launching a Healthcare Innovation Lab to Scale Digital Health, Using Data to Facilitate Proactive Care, and more..." Click the play button to listen or read the show notes below.
‍

Audio:

‍

Video:

‍

Guest(s):

• Dr. Thomas Maddox, VP, Digital Products & Innovation at BJC HealthCare/Washington University School of Medicine
• Dr. Joshua Liu (@joshuapliu), Co-founder & CEO at SeamlessMD

‍

‍Episode 106 - Show Notes:

[00:01:19] Why Dr. Maddox decided to pursue a career in medicine after determining he did not want to practice law and was instead drawn to scientific inquiry, continuous learning, and working with people;

[00:04:00] Why Dr. Maddox pursued additional training in health policy and epidemiology as he recognized the chaotic and poorly designed healthcare system while working at a safety net hospital, where mentors advised him to become fluent in healthcare policies and to pursue a research career to gather data-driven information for system improvement;

[00:06:12] How Dr. Maddox's background in policy and epidemiology shapes his perspectives on digital health, including assessing viability of digital health tools and advising startups on potential challenges, and how the fields of medical research and technology are similar in their approach to the scientific inquiry, such as A/B testing in tech and the PDSA cycle in medicine;

[00:09:23] How Dr. Maddox thinks about digital tools’ ability to help teams focus, enable proactive detection, and lead to more effective and cost-efficient resource utilization;

[00:13:00] Why the Healthcare Innovation Lab at BJC was created to understand and incorporate digital innovation into healthcare operations and patient care;

[00:15:00] How the Healthcare Innovation Lab at BJC focuses on three main areas:
‍

1. Align digital tools with the strategic priorities of the health system to improve outcomes, such as finding ways to support overworked nursing staff;
2. Explore emerging digital innovations and gain experience with them to anticipate their application in patient care;
3. Build an innovative culture within the organization by teaching employees how to implement innovative approaches through grant programs and a speaker series;

[00:19:00] How the “Big Ideas Competition” at Washington University at St. Louis encourages innovation by providing an open platform for employees to pitch solutions – à la Shark Tank – for access to resources, which stimulates ideas and funds projects that demonstrate potential;

[00:21:00] How a palliative care group created a solution to improve end-of-life care discussions, which involved building a model to identify patients at risk of death, automating a proactive message to the care teams to initiate conversations about patients' preferences and wishes, and how this approach has led to significant changes in their care;

[00:25:00] How some applicants who don't win the grants go on to use the application process as a refinement process to hone in on their pitch and to apply for extramural funding;

[00:26:01] How the grant program aims to raise the visibility of innovative ideas and facilitate collaborations, and why Dr. Maddox sometimes views it as a "big dating game" where teams are matched together or connected with external funding opportunities;

[00:28:00] Why Dr. Maddox believes the future of healthcare will be proactive, including scheduling a physician’s day by leveraging data to identify patients in need of immediate attention;

[00:32:05] Why Dr. Maddox believes the foundations such as value-based reimbursement models, advancements in data privacy regulations, and the responsible use of patient data need to be established first, highlighting the importance of protecting sensitive information while giving patients control over their data and emphasizing the need to shift away from the ad-driven data frameworks of the tech industry and develop new acceptable use privacy strategies that build trust and respect patient preferences;

‍

‍Fast 5 / Lightning Round:

1. What is your favorite book or book you’ve gifted the most?
   “Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing.

2. Who is a person–dead or alive–you’d love to meet?
   "My grandparents and great grandparents at the age I am now, to learn about their lives and gain their perspective."
   ‍
3. Would you rather have Super strength, super speed, or the ability to read people’s minds?
   Mind reading.
   ‍
4. What is something in healthcare you believe that others might find insane?
   The fact that the healthcare system is focused on sick care rather than preventive care and keeping people healthy.
   ‍
5. If you could travel back in time to any event or moment, what would it be and why?
   Being part of Marco Polo's expedition when they encountered China, to witness the meeting of Western and Eastern cultures and observe the differences in society, government, economy, religion, philosophy, art, and more.