Northwell Health on OEM-HCP Partnerships that Drive Innovation

1.       In a few words, could you tell us about your current role and some of the priorities you’ll be working on over the next couple of months?

Marlene: As a Service Delivery leader, my focus is on ensuring IT services are effectively deployed and supported in the environment, increasing user satisfaction, and promoting quality patient care.  My organization is also responsible for technology innovation by partnering at all levels of the organization, as well as with our business partners, to lead the development and delivery of new technologies for the healthcare system. Our roadmap is segmented by a number of themes, including wearables, mobility, telehealth, drone, and monitoring.

2.       The cross-industry evolution of customer care, paired with rapid technological innovation, changes the way medical device companies communicate with healthcare providers, as well as expectations for equipment servicing and repairs. Would you say that suppliers you currently collaborate with meet all of your needs? Is there room for improvement?

Marlene: No. Not all of our needs. Technology is changing at such a rapid pace, I am not sure any given supplier can meet all needs. I believe many of the suppliers are focusing on core deliverables and niche solutions, and as long as they can integrate across the technology spectrum, and are willing to embrace an open architecture type approach, there will be a place for them in the continuum of care. Suppliers should ensure they understand their customers’ needs, understand the customer’s strategy, short and long term goals, and are willing to partner with them on their journey. Suppliers need to be sure they are able to provide guidance and recommendations, anticipating the client needs according to their roadmap, and match technology to solutions. In the end, it’s about suppliers providing value to an organization.

3.       Our research indicates that the majority of medical device companies are looking at various ways of empowering their customers through remote technologies, connectivity and prescriptive service. Are these tools and capabilities widely used at Northwell Health? Are there any issues associated with the change that digital transformation offers to the industry?

Marlene: We have a maturing Telehealth program, including Telestroke and Telepsych, and are working with technology partners to move more towards a consumer-based model. Internally, we are just starting on our mobility roadmap to provide our caregivers with the tools and technology, including secure texting, VoIP, and video, to accelerate and deliver exceptional patient care. These mobility tools also help us drive the physical “tool belt” to more of an “application tool belt”, with a goal of further reducing the number of applications. Our expectation is for vendors to continue to include more features on their mobile applications, driving down the need for multiple tools, leaving us with the best of breed.

4.       This year, you’ll be joining us for a panel discussion focused on OEM-HCP partnerships that drive medical device innovation. In your opinion, what are some of the major blocks that stall HCP-supplier collaboration and industry innovation?

Marlene: Healthcare providers have resource challenges, both in dollars and people. One of the major blocks stalling collaboration with external partners is the availability of these resources. With so many initiatives, activities, directives, and projects to get done, including meeting regulatory requirements and day-to-day operations, there does not seem to be enough time to execute on all of the potential work that exists in this space. Suppliers need to consider the resource requirements (fiscal, people, etc.) necessary for innovation and co-creation, and invest in the people, time, or product to help generate the potential solutions that could lead to the growth of healthcare products and services.

5.       What are you most looking forward to at the conference this February?

Marlene: I am looking forward to seeing more of a focus on innovation and new products and services. Last year was my first event, and a large portion of what I saw was focused on either vendors promoting existing industry products and services with some level of new feature sets or improvements, or suppliers still connected to their present way of connecting with potential partners and customers. I would challenge the suppliers to think about how they can be more of a value-added partner to their customers, and perhaps even look for co-creation and innovation opportunities, delivering solutions that help drive healthcare service improvements for patients and increase user satisfaction for clinical care teams.

Marlene will be sharing in-depth insights on creating the most valuable partnerships to drive innovation at Field Service Medical 2019, taking place in San Diego, California, this coming February. Download the Field Service Medical 2019 Agenda to learn more.