TDP 95: University of Utah Health's CIO, Donna Roach: Maintaining a Culture of Curiosity & Innovation, Establishing the Right Governance For Your Digital Health Strategy, and How You’re a Consumer Always but a Patient Sometimes

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On this episode of "The Digital Patient" podcast, hosts Alan Sardana & Dr. Joshua Liu speak with Donna Roach, Chief Information Officer at the University of Utah Health, about "Maintaining a Culture of Curiosity & Innovation, Establishing the Right Governance For Your Digital Health Strategy, How You’re a Consumer Always but a Patient Sometimes, and more..." Click the play button to listen or read the show notes below.
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Audio:

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Video:

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Guest(s):

• Donna Roach (@DonnaRoach_CIO), Chief Information Officer at University of Utah Health
• Dr. Joshua Liu (@joshuapliu), Co-founder & CEO at SeamlessMD

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‍Episode 95 - Show Notes:

[00:00] Introducing Donna Roach, MS, CHCIO, CDH-E, FCHIME, LFHIMSS, Chief Information Officer at University of Utah Health;

[01:45] How Ms. Roach was influenced by family members in healthcare, who showed her the positive impact of serving people at all levels of society;

[02:56] Why Ms. Roach believes leaders should take the time to listen to people and understand their needs in healthcare recruitment and retention, and avoid inundating staff with emails on weekends and outside of work hours;

[05:37] Ms. Roach emphasizes the importance of focusing on the total experience of patients, employees, physicians, and clinicians in healthcare organizations and designing improvements in a holistic way for longevity;

[07:31] How Ms. Roach implemented a product team approach to their digital strategy, which is more agile and allows for quick iterations and changes to systems in response to rapidly evolving needs in healthcare;

[10:28] Why Ms. Roach believes curiosity is a key element in innovation and engagement in digital health, as it helps to understand the reasoning behind processes and encourages the use of data to continuously improve;

[13:07] Ms. Roach describes how her Digital Enablement Committee (DEC) established their digital roadmap by identifying the directed steps from an overarching 2025 strategy refresh document and collaborating with the directed step owners to ensure alignment and support for digital strategy;

[19:30] How COVID-19 allowed Ms. Roach to focus on relationship building and collaboration with others;

[20:55] Ms. Roach emphasizes the importance of having a culture that allows for curiosity and the benefits of learning organizations such as the University of Utah when adopting new processes such as Agile, and suggests finding key leaders in the organization who believe in the approach and are willing to be its cheerleader;

[25:53] How the organization learned to prioritize mental health and inclusivity during the pandemic while also using the experience to re-evaluate projects, shift towards a more strategic approach, and rationalize their portfolio;

[30:20] Why Ms. Roach suggests that it's important to have honest conversations with stakeholders about the feasibility and timeline of their projects, and to prioritize projects that are truly needed rather than just keeping them on a list for years;

[32:12] Why interoperability is a key factor in distinguishing electronic health record systems, with better interoperability being achieved through systems developed in the same framework and language, and the limitations of interoperability can hinder data sharing and physician decision-making;

[37:24] Why Ms. Roach is excited about computer vision solutions with AI learning engines that improve clinical and business workflows, such as remote nursing care, patient fall tracking, and smart rooms with capabilities such as calling nurses and controlling TVs, and a new initiative they are launching for their rehab hospital with virtual skiing capability,providing patients with hope and a renewed sense of possibilities;

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‍Fast 5 / Lightning Round:

1. What is your favorite book or book you’ve gifted the most?
   “Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work” by Liz Wiseman
   "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

2. Who is a person–dead or alive–you’d love to meet?
   "Abraham Lincoln"
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3. Would you rather have Super strength, super speed, or the ability to read people’s minds?
   "Super strength, In all of its meanings.”
   

4. What is something in healthcare you believe that others might find insane?
   “The insanity of health insurance and the lack of consistency across states.”

5. If you could travel back in time to any event or moment, what would it be and why?
   “I would love to have been invited to Claude Monet’s home in Giverny for breakfast as he would often invite friends over before painting.”