Digital Health Leadership & Transformation | DisrupTV Ep. 115
Guests:
- Sarah Richardson — CIO at HealthCare Partners, A DaVita Medical Group. Brings experience in operationalizing digital transformation in provider settings.
- Neil Gomes — Chief Digital Officer at Thomas Jefferson University & Jefferson Health. Known for leading digital strategy, patient engagement, and technology modernization.
- Aaron Miri — CIO for a stealth startup. Focused on emerging technologies, information systems, and enabling innovation at the edge of health care delivery.
Hosts: R “Ray” Wang and Vala Afshar.
Major Themes & Insights
From what the episode covers, these are the core themes and strategic lessons health-tech leaders will care about:
Putting Digital Strategy at the Core of Care Delivery
The shift isn’t simply adding new tech, but embedding digital tools so that they transform the way care is delivered—patient experience, workflow efficiency, population health outcomes. Strategy must tie back to mission.
Leadership, Culture & Change Management
Transformation requires more than technology investments. Leaders like Richardson, Gomes, and Miri discuss the importance of culture: training, mindset change, aligning incentives, and getting buy-in across the organization. Change is as human as it is technical.
Patient/Consumer Experience & Engagement
A recurring focus is how digital tools should enhance, not hinder, patient experiences. From digital portals, telehealth, to communication channels, success depends on usability, access, and trust.
Data, Analytics & Interoperability
To achieve outcomes and measure progress, robust data systems and analytics are critical. Integrating disparate systems, sharing across providers, ensuring interoperability and data governance are all discussed as foundational.
Innovation via Agile & Emerging Tech
The role of emerging technologies (e.g. remote monitoring, AI/ML, mobile health) is explored. But the guests caution that innovation works best when deployed in small, iterative pilots, measured for impact, then scaled.
Balancing Risk, Privacy, Compliance
In healthcare, digital transformation comes with regulatory, security, and privacy challenges. Leaders must navigate risk carefully, ensuring compliance without stifling innovation.
Final Thoughts & Implications for Healthcare Leaders
- Strategy must be mission-aligned: Digital transformations are most successful when they tie directly to organizational mission and patient outcomes—not just efficiency or cost savings.
- Start small, scale fast: Pilot projects, quick wins, and iterative progress pave the way for broader transformation, reducing risk and building momentum.
- Focus on user experience and trust: Technology adoption by both patients and staff depends heavily on ease of use, reliability, transparency, and data privacy.
- Invest in data foundations: Analytics, interoperability, clean data, and governance are non-negotiable if you want to measure impact and make informed decisions.
- Leadership & culture are the differentiators: Even with identical tech, organizations with aligned leadership, cultural readiness, and change management will succeed; those without often lag.
Related Episodes
To explore similar topics of leadership, digital health, and innovation in health systems, you may also like:
- Episode 119: Reverse Innovation, Digital Trust & Security with John Nosta, Anahi Santiago & Ravi Ramamurti — how global practices inform care and digital trust.
- Episode 116: Excellence & Leadership Reimagined with Tom Peters — culture, soft skills, and what lasts in leadership.
- Episode 117: From Subscription Models to Customer Centricity with Robert Reid, Amy Konary & Esteban Kolsky — how business models and leadership adapt in recurring revenue and outcome-based worlds.
