The Digital Patient Ep. 77: Tony Ambrozie: Applying Digital & Leadership Principles from Disney and AMEX to Transform the Healthcare Consumer Experience

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On this episode of "The Digital Patient" podcast, hosts Alan Sardana & Dr. Joshua Liu speak with Tony Ambrozie, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Baptist Health South Florida, about "Applying Digital & Leadership Principles from Disney and AMEX to Transform the Healthcare Consumer Experience". 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):

• Tony Ambrozie, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Baptist Health South Florida
• Dr. Joshua Liu (@joshuapliu), Co-founder & CEO at SeamlessMD

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‍Episode 77 - Show Notes:

[0:00] Introducing Tony Ambrozie, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Baptist Health South Florida;

[2:20] Why Mr. Ambrozie first started his own company so he could make his own rules and how this experience helped him learn several hard lessons such as the importance of having a big vision, having a customer focus and not being a perfectionist;

[05:30] Why Mr. Ambrozie joined healthcare during the pandemic because he wanted to make a positive impact after his previous job at Disney had reached a "steady-state" in regards to digital transformation (less room for growth and transformation);

[08:25] How Mr. Ambrozie became the inaugural Chief Digital Information Officer, which explores the intersection of technology and experiences with a transformation agenda, and how his role fundamentally focuses on digital experiences for consumers, providers and operators;

[11:00] Why Mr. Ambrozie believes having access to care is care, and how this belief directs his focus to the consumer for each decision, ensuring the patient remains at the center of care  while outside the four walls of the hospital;

[13:35] Why Mr. Ambrozie emphasizes measuring exactly what a consumer does as opposed to an NPS score, as an NPS score often reflects the last outcome (e.g. If a consumer is on a website, scrolling all over the place before finding what they need, they had a negative experience that was ultimately turned positive because they found what they wanted… But this does not make it an overall “positive” experience);

[16:55] Why Mr. Ambrozie believes a digital healthcare experience needs to be even more user-friendly than other consumer experiences such as shopping or booking tickets because consumers seek healthcare when they are not their best physically and are less accepting of hurdles to overcome such as repetitive forms;

[22:20] Why Mr. Ambrozie appreciates Thomas Edison's axiom "vision without execution is hallucination" as he believes it is more important to get something out that is imperfect because it allows you to evolve the product, how vision and strategy provide the rails for execution, and why it’s important to have clarity on what NOT to do;

[27:22] Why Mr. Ambrozie appreciates the art & science of simplicity, asking "five why's" to uncover if there is a simpler solution, and how he often re-examines regulations to see if there are more efficient solutions;

[31:00] Why Mr. Ambrozie believes being context-aware is important as there are certain situations where failure is not okay such as in the operating room, and why AI/ML – that is susceptible to error – is better suited (currently) for less serious use-cases;

[36:57] Why Mr. Ambrozie believes leaders have an outsized influence on fostering a culture of innovation, wherein he describes culture as "what you do when no one is watching" and how leaders have a responsibility to have patience and to protect ideas;

[40:25] How Mr. Ambrozie distilled his leadership principles by watching great leaders such as Ken Chennault (AMEX) and Bob Iger (Disney), and why he believes great leaders exhibit the following behaviors:

1. Build great teams/grow great leaders
2. Accountable
3. Decisive
4. Strive for excellence
5. Embrace change
6. Optimism
7. Focus
8. Prioritization
9. Curious
10. Constantly learning
11. Integrity
12. Authenticity
13. Fairness

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[44:20] Why Mr. Ambrozie believes excellence is striving to do the best you can do at a given time (e.g. If you are a nurse who's spent the last 15 hours watching people die, you are physically and emotionally drained, there's nothing more you can do... That is still excellence);

[45:56] How Mr. Ambrozie's parents had thousands of books, which sparked his passion for obtaining knowledge;

[49:37] Why Mr. Ambrozie is excited about the combination of Access and Data to provide interesting health benefits for consumers;

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Fast 5 / Lightning Round:

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1. What is your favorite book or book you’ve gifted the most?
   “This is a hard question as I have several favorite books. I love books by authors such as Bob Iger, Jocko Willink, Stanley A. McChrystal, Yuval Noah Harari".
   
   

2. Who is a person, dead or alive, you’d love to meet?
   "Abraham Lincoln. He is a remarkable leader with a small ego, bring all leaders together and evolve his mindset”
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3. Would you rather have Super strength, super speed, or the ability to read people’s minds?
   “Neither. If I could obtain knowledge & wisdom faster, that would be my superpower.”
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4. What is something in healthcare you believe that others might find insane?
   “That healthcare can transform in a dramatic way that puts patients at the center and that healthcare and Quality of Life will come from places outside the hospital.”
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5. COVID-19 lockdown related – what is 1 hobby or activity you’ve gotten into since the pandemic?
   “Exercising and brushing up on my French (self-taught)!”