Innovation

Innovation / en Fri, 25 Apr 2025 13:45:59 -0500 Tue, 22 Apr 25 14:44:08 -0500 Providence Alaska Medical Center brings innovative cancer therapy to the 49th state /role-hospitals-providence-alaska-medical-center-innovative-therapy-prostate-cancer <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-providence-alaska-prostate-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Providence Alaska. A male physician sits talking with an older male patient" width="700" height="532"></div>In 2025, researchers predict about 313,780 new diagnoses of prostate cancer and 34,770 deaths across the United States. But those cases aren’t evenly spread across the country. Mortality rates for Alaskans, for example, are typically higher than the general population due to a range of factors including limited access to treatment. For Alaska Native men, the number is even higher. Study findings show that overall prostate cancer rates for American Indian and Alaska Native men are 12% lower than white men, but mortality rates are 31% higher. For Alaska Native men, the number is even higher. Study findings show that overall prostate cancer rates for American Indian and Alaska Native men are 12% lower than white men, but mortality rates are 31% higher.In Anchorage, Providence Alaska Medical Center has become the first facility in the state to offer an innovative treatment for metastatic prostate cancer. In March, the hospital began administering Pluvicto, a targeted therapy designed to identify and kill prostate cancer cells that express a protein known as prostate-specific membrane antigen. Pluvicto is different from traditional chemotherapy and radiation treatments because it specifically targets these cancer cells, minimizing damage to healthy cells.&nbsp;“Pluvicto is one of the only treatments that improves overall survival in men with prostate cancer that has spread elsewhere in the body and is no longer responding to hormonal treatments,” said Dr. John Halligan, radiation oncologist and medical director of Radiation Oncology at Providence Cancer Center.&nbsp;Treatment data shows that combining Pluvicto with standard chemotherapy and radiation led to 30% of men experiencing tumor reduction or disappearance. In contrast, those who received standard therapy alone saw a 2% reduction. Thanks to this new therapy, Alaskans no longer need to travel to the Lower 48 to receive this care. <a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.nnbw.com/news/2025/mar/06/healthcare-industry-focus-conrad-breast-center-expected-to-open-this-summer/" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a>&nbsp;</div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:44:08 -0500 Innovation 2025 AHA Leadership Summit /education-events/2025-aha-leadership-summit The <a href="https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/" target="_blank" title="2025 AHA Leadership Summit">2025 AHA Leadership Summit</a> senior health care executives, clinicians and experts in the field presenting innovative approaches for delivering better care and greater value, ensuring financial stability, addressing workforce challenges and improving the health care consumer experience through operational excellence, creative partnerships and redefined delivery models.Join a diverse community of strategic and visionary leaders who represent excellence in the field as they boldly transform their organizations.Our attendees include CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CMOs, CNOs, CIOs and other C-suite leaders, as well as VPs, Physician Leaders, Advanced Practice Professionals, Directors and Managers overseeing patient care, strategy, innovation, digital transformation, finance, workforce and policy.Additionally, the Summit welcomes emerging and next-generation health care leaders who are shaping the future of patient-centered care and health system transformation.<hr><h2>Leading Hospitals | Leading Health Care</h2>Leading HospitalsLearn with colleagues in a variety of educational opportunities that facilitate the sharing of insights and leading practices. You’ll hear from innovators investing in the promising ideas, technologies and scientific discoveries that are changing the consumer experience and reimagining care deliveryLeading Health CareDiscover inspiration and practical strategies to sustain transformation within your organization, system and community as we prepare for the future. Dive into real-world applications and connect with leaders who share your commitment to driving transformative change in health care.<a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/" target="_blank" title="2025 AHA Leadership Summit" data-view-context="top-level-view">LEARN MORE &gt;&gt;</a><h2>AHA Members – Interested in receiving complimentary registration? Consider our Hosted Buyer Forum to connect with high-quality solutions providers.</h2><a href="/hosted-buyer" target="_blank">Hosted Buyer Forum</a> - Sunday, July 22 | 9:00 AM-12:00 PM and 2:30 PM-5:30 PM The Hosted Buyer Forum offers a private showcase for hospital and health system leaders interested in connecting with solution providers addressing key hospital issues. After the Forum is complete, participants are encouraged to join the Welcome Reception for additional networking.<a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/hosted-buyer" target="_blank" title="2025 AHA Leadership Summit Sponsorship" data-view-context="top-level-view">LEARN MORE &gt;&gt;</a><hr>Call for Speakers</h2> We’re calling on leaders shaping the future of health care to apply to share their real-world strategies and proven solutions with peers across the field. Whether you're tackling workforce challenges, transforming care delivery or driving operational excellence, we want to hear from you. Proposals must be non-commercial in nature. The Call for Speakers deadline is Monday, November 25. <a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" data-view-context="top-level-view" href="https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/program/speaking-opportunities-ls" target="_blank">LEARN MORE &gt;&gt;</a> <a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" data-view-context="top-level-view" href="https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/385d7c8476204286b3b500744d75dfe6" target="_blank" title="AHA Leadership Summit Call for Proposals - Apply Today!">APPLY TODAY &gt;&gt;</a> <div class="RuralButton"><a class="btn btn-primary btn-primary-avc1" href="https://www.cvent.com/c/abstracts/c8eaf006-bb32-489c-8d5e-515f82937464" target="_blank">APPLY TODAY &gt;&gt; </a></div> --&gt;<h2>Sponsorship Opportunities</h2>A variety of sponsorship opportunities offer both broad exposure and targeted connections with senior health care executives. Support the entire event, design and deliver a session that features your own executive leadership or gain visibility through numerous other opportunities.Participation by the business community in the Leadership Summit is reserved for Summit sponsors and AHA Associates.Learn how your organization can align with hospital and health system leaders as they meet to reimagine the future.<a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/sponsor-exhibit/sponsorship-ls" target="_blank" title="2025 AHA Leadership Summit Sponsorship" data-view-context="top-level-view">LEARN MORE &gt;&gt;</a> Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:15:30 -0500 Innovation Renown Health to open comprehensive hub for breast cancer care /role-hospitals-renown-healths-comprehensive-hub-breast-cancer-care <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-renown-breast-cancer-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Renown Health. A female physician holds a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon " width="700" height="532"></div>This spring, the Renown Specialty Care Center at Renown Health in Reno, Nev., will open the <a href="https://www.renown.org/Health-Services/Cancer-Care/Breast-Health" target="_blank">Conrad Breast Center</a>, a multidisciplinary, one-stop shop for breast health and wellness.The center, which will open on the third floor of the hospital, will feature state-of-the-art diagnostic medical equipment such as 3D mammography, breast MRI and breast ultrasound. It will also feature a breast wellness center for patients with a high genetic risk of developing breast and other types of cancers. These services will be available in one place, reducing travel requirements for patients and setting the facility apart from other care centers in the community.“It was very fragmented, but now it will all be under one roof,” said Madeline Hardacre, oncology wellness physician at Renown Health. “It allows us to treat patients in a more collaborative and comprehensive way, which is better for our community since everything will all be located in one center.”Certain cancer-related services, like medical oncology and chemotherapy infusion services, will remain at the main hospital campus. But most breast-specific services will be housed in the new center.<a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.nnbw.com/news/2025/mar/06/healthcare-industry-focus-conrad-breast-center-expected-to-open-this-summer/" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a>&nbsp;</div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:49:45 -0500 Innovation Quality 101: How University of Utah Health Strengthens Board Culture for Better Patient Outcomes /advancing-health-podcast/2025-04-21-quality-101-how-university-utah-health-strengthens-board-culture-better-patient-outcomes Developing a strong board culture of quality and safety is a heavy but necessary lift for any health system. In this conversation, University of Utah Health's Kencee Graves, M.D., hospitalist and palliative medicine physician, and David Colling, vice chair, Community Board of Directors, discuss how a “Quality 101” approach helped bridge knowledge gaps between clinicians and board members, and why making this transformation interactive leads to stronger strategic alignment and better patient outcomes.<hr><div></div><div class="raw-html-embed"><details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> View Transcript </h2> </summary> 00:00:01:01 - 00:00:30:06 Tom Haederle Welcome to Advancing Health. Quality and patient safety are the twin engines driving the mission of every hospital and health system, and both clinicians and board members have an important role to play in achieving these goals. Coming up in today's podcast, we hear from two experts from University of Utah Health about some of the best ways to help board members understand the critical role they play in making sure that quality and safety are always foremost in the patient experience. 00:00:30:09 - 00:00:53:15 Nikhil Baviskar Hi, I'm Nikhil Baviskar program manager, trustee services here at the �� Association. Today I'll be discussing the critical role the board plays in quality and safety. With me are Dr. Kencee Graves, who is the interim chief medical quality officer at University of Utah Health and is an associate professor of internal medicine, where she practices as a hospitalist and palliative medicine physician. 00:00:53:18 - 00:01:16:24 Nikhil Baviskar Also with us today is David Calling, who has served on the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics Board since 2016 and is currently vice chair and co-chair of the board Quality and Safety Committee. Dr. Graves, I'd like to start with you. You recently presented to the board at University of Utah Health on quality and patient safety, an extremely important topic now and always for board members. 00:01:16:29 - 00:01:19:18 Nikhil Baviskar Can you give us an outline of that presentation? 00:01:19:20 - 00:01:51:22 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. Thanks for having us. And I think this is a really important topic. So when I gave this presentation to our board, I was new in this role. And what I learned was people around me, our board, our staff, people did not really understand the nuts and bolts of quality and the details. And so one of the things I offered to do was a quality 101 session. And my intent in doing that was to make sure that the group I would be working with and I were starting on the same page, so we both knew kind of what was going on in the landscape of quality. 00:01:51:25 - 00:02:10:18 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. So the content of my presentation really came from the questions I was being asked in my first few months in this role. And that is, what is quality? What is safety? How they are different. So what sets those apart? What are these ranking systems all about? Why do we do that? What are accreditation bodies, why do we do that? 00:02:10:20 - 00:02:22:05 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. And then, what is a quality structure? So what are you responsible [for]? Who works for you, that kind of stuff. And so really that's what my outline was, was just the basics, what I consider the basics in quality. 00:02:22:07 - 00:02:38:29 Nikhil Baviskar I think it's great that you, you did something where everyone starts at a level playing field. That sounds like a really wonderful way. I know that not everyone has the opportunity to do so, but definitely a good way to get everyone on the same page. Can you give us the response that you received from the board members to that presentation? 00:02:39:01 - 00:02:57:20 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. Yeah, I do want to call out - when I started, I actually had really good support from our board members. And they told me that this is something that they wanted. And so I felt like I had an open invitation because Dave and our CEO said, hey, we really think people could use something like this. Would you be open for it? 00:02:57:20 - 00:03:15:20 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. So they gave me the time. Many of them had been to the AHA and we used an AHA podcast by Jamie Orlikoff to kind of set the tone for that session. And so people went in with a really curious mindset. I actually did a Google survey after I gave the talk to make sure people learned and felt like it was valuable. 00:03:15:22 - 00:03:35:21 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. The feedback I got were that people felt like they knew more about quality after this session than they did before. They loved hearing about what we did at the U. They really felt strongly about supporting quality and supporting our leadership and driving toward high quality care, and they wanted to know how they could be more involved. 00:03:35:23 - 00:03:44:27 Nikhil Baviskar So, David, question for you as one of the University of Utah Health board members, what was your reaction to this presentation? 00:03:45:00 - 00:04:03:12 David Colling Yeah, Nikhil, what I would say is a couple of things, a few things that Kencee mentioned. But also remember, community board members typically are not clinicians, they're not health care employees, so this is a bit of a foreign environment for them. And that's part of the point, right. To have community board members get, you know, to offer a different perspective. 00:04:03:14 - 00:04:22:09 David Colling But what can happen is, as a board member, you can get pretty overwhelmed pretty quickly with whether it's the acronyms, the accreditation, you know, all the different things Kencee trained on can be pretty overwhelming for community board members. So, I thought it was excellent. And once again, I want to reiterate, it was really a 101. Kencee 00:04:22:09 - 00:04:40:02 David Colling didn't take any for granted, whether it was an acronym or a word, something need to be defined. It was really quite effective in the way that she approached it. You know, the other thing I think is it helped us continue to elevate quality and safety, you know, as a really important topic for the board. Right? So this is not a sideline. 00:04:40:09 - 00:04:55:17 David Colling This is a really, really important really the driving force behind the board. You know, maybe besides finance and some other things, you know, a really important piece of piece of the work that we do. So I think there's a couple of things, that I reacted to. And frankly, I've been a board member for, as you mentioned, almost ten years. 00:04:55:19 - 00:05:03:13 David Colling And I learned a lot. So what does that tell you? Right. So I think it's good for existing board members and new board members. 00:05:03:16 - 00:05:14:01 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. I think it was a really important launching point for the CMS structural measure that requires patient safety to be part of board meetings. That would have been difficult if we had not done already the Quality 101 session. 00:05:14:03 - 00:05:35:29 Nikhil Baviskar Thank you for mentioning that. What you're referring to as quapi, we're seeing a lot of folks, other boards that are realizing this is something that has to be integral to the planning process and the strategic planning process. David, I wanted to ask you, a follow up on that. So as the co-chair of the Board Quality and Safety Committee, you said you learned a lot. 00:05:36:01 - 00:05:46:01 Nikhil Baviskar Do you do you feel like Kencee's presentation sort of set maybe an agenda or help you and your other co-chair plan going forward? 00:05:46:04 - 00:06:02:13 David Colling Yeah. I mean, again, it gave such a good foundation, and I liked what Kencee said about us all being on the same page. So I do, I think it's set an excellent foundation for the committee moving forward. Got us all kind of in the same spot, whether you'd been there for ten years like myself or whether you're a brand new community board member. 00:06:02:15 - 00:06:19:22 David Colling You know, the other thing I thought it was nice to, you know, we had it wasn't just board members. It was the clinical and health care staff there as well. I think it's important for them to listen to the dialog, understand that should help them understand kind of that knowledge gap, whether it's quality and safety or whether it's other, you know, board activities. 00:06:19:22 - 00:06:32:15 David Colling You know, the community board members do need to be constantly reminded of definitions and things that come naturally to clinicians and health care workers, that that we need to continue to, to bridge that knowledge gap. So, yeah, absolutely. 00:06:32:17 - 00:06:43:01 Nikhil Baviskar So as you know, this podcast will be listened to, by other board members. David, can you give some nuggets of wisdom or some advice to other board members that may be listening? 00:06:43:04 - 00:07:04:06 David Colling Yeah for sure. So again, going to reiterate 101 basics. You know, don't take anything for granted. Don't make any assumptions. Assume that you're starting with everyone that knows very little about, you know, not necessary quality and safety, but certainly quality and safety in the context of the health care environment. I'd highly recommend making it interactive, almost a Q&amp;A ongoing, right? 00:07:04:06 - 00:07:23:12 David Colling So in other words, and I think we did that, you know, we never have enough time in our board activities. We probably could even have allotted more time. But as opposed to a report out on a presentation with Q&amp;A at the end, and we did some of this, I would argue we could have even done more with this kind of back and forth discussion with the community board members asking further questions. 00:07:23:16 - 00:07:41:15 David Colling Kencee being able to elaborate a little bit more, potentially even the health care folks and clinicians in the room adding a little bit of color. And we did some of that but I would encourage that. And once again, I would make sure that you include all certainly all community board members, regardless of tenure. You know, there might be the occasional one that feels like they know it. 00:07:41:15 - 00:08:01:11 David Colling I'd be amazed if, if a community board member, no matter how long you've been serving didn't learn something from the presentation. And once again, I would say the entire board should be included, that dialog is healthy and I think creates good understanding amongst all parties. And you know, Kencee, you mentioned the podcast that that we kind of did a pre-work. 00:08:01:12 - 00:08:20:28 David Colling You know, we asked everybody to listen to Jamie's podcast, and I want to say that was about a 30 minute give or take podcast, excellent foundation to reinforce the importance of quality and safety, right? So before we go into the 101 and the teaching piece, get everybody on the same page of the importance of it and the role it plays with the board. 00:08:20:28 - 00:08:29:10 David Colling So I thought that was excellent. You know, I'll call it pre-work and everyone should kind of be required to listen to that I think prior to the actual presentation itself. 00:08:29:12 - 00:08:46:16 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. I'm really glad you called out some of the interactive stuff and the keep it fun. I don't know if there's any chief quality officers listening, I do think that's an important piece. And so a couple things that I did that I thought worked really, really well. Survey questions after sections of my presentation. So I would talk about patient safety. 00:08:46:16 - 00:09:04:11 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. And then I would ask people what it is. And then I would give them four multiple choice questions. Put one in there that was funny. And that kind of thing kept people really engaged. I also put together a laminated front-and-back about what ranking system that we use at the University of Utah, and explained every section of that. 00:09:04:14 - 00:09:23:11 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. I went through my office and introduced people and talk about what they did, and that's the kind of stuff that people loved. They loved getting to know who their leaders are, and they really liked the human part. And I think that's critical because we're here for humans, right? Like quality care is for humans. And so that was kind of my undertone. 00:09:23:11 - 00:09:24:29 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. I'm glad David picked up on it. 00:09:25:01 - 00:09:42:16 David Colling And Nikhil, I'll just add one more comment to that. Yeah, the structure within the organization where quality and safety fits, the different roles. Again, something I kind of knew but didn't know in that level of detail. There's quite a bit more to the quality and safety than many would imagine. So I thought that was know really well done. 00:09:42:16 - 00:09:58:17 David Colling You know, Kencee, I don't know if I've mentioned it to you, but I think that presentation it's interesting is I went back and reviewed it. That almost needs to be kind of a continuous piece of reference material. I almost feel like I want to make it a little less of a PowerPoint and more of a reference piece. So there's an assignment for you. 00:09:58:17 - 00:10:16:07 David Colling But, you know, because it is so well done. It should be a continuous reference, you know, that's almost in your little in your toolbox as a community board member, because this is how busy we as committee board members are. You know, we've got our day jobs and we get so focused. So that presentation, which was extremely effective was only a few months ago. 00:10:16:09 - 00:10:30:20 David Colling But when I reviewed it, you know, even prior to this, discussion, I was like, oh yeah, I need to, you know, keep remembering this kind of thing. So I'm going to be referring back to that pretty regularly. So that might be another piece of advice, you know, use it as an ongoing resource for the for the board. 00:10:30:22 - 00:10:48:28 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. That's really good advice. And I want to go back to a point you made earlier where our accreditation partner is, that Det Norske Veritas or DNV. They were on site at the end of January. And so I reported that out to the board in February, and I included what DNV stands for and what it means and what they gave us citations on. 00:10:48:28 - 00:11:07:27 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. And I used graphics to demonstrate kind of each bucket. And I did have people that have worked at the University of Utah in leadership for more than a decade come up and tell me, thank you for doing that, because I think quality is such an alphabet soup that for those of us who work in it, it's easy to forget that it doesn't mean a lot to anybody else. 00:11:07:27 - 00:11:16:23 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. And so I would just say, I think it's really, really important to continue to revisit those abbreviations that may not land well without an introduction. 00:11:16:25 - 00:11:35:05 David Colling And Kencee, I would say that the entire clinical or healthcare environment, health care environment is a big alphabet soup. If I had one advice for, you know, the clinical and health care staff, beyond quality and safety, there are acronyms and short you know, wordings used for things that just don't come natural to community board members. 00:11:35:05 - 00:11:38:06 David Colling So I think that's a good reminder beyond quality and safety as well. 00:11:38:08 - 00:11:59:03 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. Yeah, I've spent a lot of time talking about what I think chief quality officers should do. But I'll tell you what I think has been valuable to me as interim chief quality officer with a board. The board members ask really good questions. And for me, that is my check on. Am I explaining something well? What does an average patient hear and think and see? 00:11:59:03 - 00:12:17:24 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. And how do they perceive us through the media? And what does the community say? And that is incredibly valuable because there are not a lot of spaces in my life where I hear that because I work in health care, I work around other doctors and nurses and the community board is my window to what the rest of the world sees when they see our health system. 00:12:17:27 - 00:12:37:28 Nikhil Baviskar That's very helpful. As you said, the board should reflect the community and that's really important. You know, Kencee or Doctor Graves, I'll ask you just one more thing. For the board members listening, I already asked this to David, but what do you think that the board member should take away when it comes to, you know, working on quality, understanding it and learning about it? 00:12:38:01 - 00:13:01:02 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. Part of that is, is what I said in that ask questions, stay engaged. And so if you see something or hear something that doesn't make sense, ask about it. The other thing that our board has asked me to do, which I found very, very helpful, is if I bring them a problem they've also asked me to report on who is responsible for it, what is the fix and when do I report back? 00:13:01:05 - 00:13:23:29 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. And that cadence has kept me giving them information that is meaningful. And then also they've learned to trust the information I bring them. It keeps me honest and keeps a closed loop communication. So I think that's been really good. I do think it's possible to skim over things, and I would just say, I think board members can and should ask really really good questions. 00:13:24:01 - 00:13:35:08 Nikhil Baviskar Well, thank you both so much for your time. This has been an awesome discussion and we really do hope that you know, your quality journey just continues getting better from here on out. So thank you again. 00:13:35:11 - 00:13:36:04 David Colling Thank you. 00:13:36:07 - 00:13:38:16 Kencee K. Graves, M.D. Thank you for having us. 00:13:38:19 - 00:13:47:00 Tom Haederle Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. </details></div> Mon, 21 Apr 2025 08:18:45 -0500 Innovation Ambient AI Technology at Cleveland Clinic: Reducing Physician Burnout and Enhancing Patient Care /advancing-health-podcast/2025-04-14-ambient-ai-technology-cleveland-clinic-reducing-physician-burnout-and-enhancing-patient <div class="raw-html-embed"></div>AI voice-enabled solutions are reducing physician burnout, enhancing patient interactions and transforming workflows across health care. In this conversation, Cleveland Clinic's Eric Boose, M.D., family medicine physician and associate chief medical information officer, and Rohit Chandra, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief digital officer, discuss the Clinic's initial pilot of ambient listening technology, lessons learned from implementation and what's on the horizon for AI in health care.<hr><div></div><div class="raw-html-embed"><details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> View Transcript </h2> </summary> 00:00:01:01 - 00:00:26:19 Tom Haederle Welcome to Advancing Health. Ambient listening technology is coming into wider use as a way to keep accurate records of the conversations between doctors and their patients. In today's podcast, we hear from two senior executives with the Cleveland Clinic about how their integration of this new application of artificial intelligence makes for better clinical notes and leads to a better experience for everyone. 00:00:26:21 - 00:00:55:20 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. Hi, this is Dr. Chris DeRienzo, AHA’s chief physician executive, and I am very excited for today's podcast. We get to have a conversation about AI enabled solutions in health care, and we get to have that conversation with two individuals who are leading the way at the Cleveland Clinic. We have both Rohit Chandra, PhD, executive vice president and chief digital officer for the clinic, as well as Dr. Eric Boose, he's a family medicine physician and the associate CMIO for Cleveland Clinic. 00:00:55:23 - 00:01:14:12 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. We're going to have a broad ranging conversation today. But, folks, just before we get started, I've been out on the road a lot. And I have heard from health system after health system who is implementing this ambient listening technology about the kinds of transformative outcomes that they're experiencing. And now we get to talk to folks who are seeing that firsthand. 00:01:14:12 - 00:01:31:20 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. And so, Rohit, perhaps the first question is to you, as the clinic begin to think about this universe of AI enabled solutions and ambient technology, what drew you to that as an offering that you wanted to get integrated into practice, you know, as quickly as possible? 00:01:31:23 - 00:01:46:27 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. So thanks, Chris, for the question. I think that our belief is that over time, AI has the potential to impact multiple aspects of health care all the way from clinical to back office and everything in between. 00:01:47:00 - 00:02:18:16 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. The thing that is particularly intriguing about ambient solutions is that they hit a critical pain point for physicians, and they have the potential to do it in a way that is safe. So ambient listening hits a pain point where physicians often spend multiple hours a day in documentation tasks. Those are obviously necessary from a regulatory and patient care perspective, but they take a lot of time. And the technology is almost perfectly suited at streamlining that burden. 00:02:18:18 - 00:02:27:00 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. The second part of it is it can be done safely and make sure that there is human oversight so that there is no risk of any patient harm. 00:02:27:02 - 00:02:38:21 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. Let's talk about implementing this kind of a solution a little bit, because I couldn't agree more of the potential for safe, and better experience is huge. But this isn't the kind of thing that you can just turn on. 00:02:38:21 - 00:02:50:15 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. And so, Eric, perhaps this one to you. When you made the decision, yes, we want to pursue this technology, we want to get it into the documentation arms of our clinicians. How did you begin that evaluation process? 00:02:50:17 - 00:03:07:03 Eric Boose, M.D. Yeah, we know that there's quite a few of these software companies that are out there on the marketplace now. And so we want to make sure we found the right one for us. Isro had said we want to make sure it's safe, the content is appropriate. It's really helping the physicians and not being a hindrance to their day or some new technology that's being imposed on them. 00:03:07:06 - 00:03:27:18 Eric Boose, M.D. So we actually took the route of doing several pilots. We actually worked with five different ambient vendors to see which one would work well for us. We had about 50 physicians in each of those. We kind of jokingly called it like a "British Bake Off," because we were kind of having comparisons going on between five different softwares, but we thought it was important to make sure that we chose the right one for us. 00:03:27:20 - 00:03:41:28 Eric Boose, M.D. And just like choosing a car, you could go with that first one. It seems to work pretty good and you'll take it. Or you want to look at a variety and really make sure that the choice you're making is a good one, because it's going to be a major decision going forward. So we actually had a lot of fun with that. 00:03:41:28 - 00:04:05:15 Eric Boose, M.D. We saw a lot of different aspects of ambient software. What's available out there on the marketplace, which ones worked well? And got a lot of feedback from our pilot users. And everybody was just so excited about this technology. The idea of going from being a lot of data entry, which was a big disruptor when the HRs came on the marketplace, to having something actually doing the work for you and doing it well was super exciting. 00:04:05:17 - 00:04:13:04 Eric Boose, M.D. And to your point, you know, thinking about the idea of not having to spend the extra hours and all this documentation and focusing on other patient care we'd like to do. 00:04:13:06 - 00:04:22:24 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. Amen. I imagine so five different solutions, 50-ish clinicians per solution. How did you pick where to go and who to work with and which sites to do? 00:04:22:26 - 00:04:49:09 Eric Boose, M.D. Yeah, I mean, we had a whole evaluation process. A lot of the things you might think of when you're trying to determine if a tool like this would be appropriate for your organization. And one of them is, you know, around documentation, we want to make sure, first of all, they're not having to spend as much time documenting or getting that documentation done in a more timely fashion, getting home better, you know, in the sense of like less time after work hours or spending more time with our family or things that you want to do rather than doing all this extra work after hours. 00:04:49:11 - 00:05:06:03 Eric Boose, M.D. But we want to make sure the quality was there. So we worked with our, you know, audit folks to make sure that the notes were looking good. We were tracking what the physicians were doing, how often they were using it, what they recommended. We did some surveys around, before and after, you know, do you feel like your cognitive load is less? 00:05:06:03 - 00:05:25:08 Eric Boose, M.D. Do you feel a little less burnout? Basically, do you feel more comfortable and kind of enjoying medicine again, being able to sit there, not be worried about taking notes through the whole visit, but just having that face to face conversation that we all enjoy, including the patient. The patient certainly &nbsp;notices, too. Everybody seems more relaxed and it's just been going so much more smoothly. 00:05:25:10 - 00:05:42:14 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. That really hits home. I remember I had this spectacular family practice physician when I was, in western North Carolina, and he could, stay totally engaged in the entire visit while continually typing away at structure documentation. And he's sort of a unicorn. There are obviously other doctors who can do that, but most of us can't do that. 00:05:42:17 - 00:05:56:28 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. And so, you know, hearing that you walk through this very purposeful and intentional evaluation process. Rohit, I'm curious. How did you ultimately decide on which solution to implement? And then, what approach are you taking the implemented? 00:05:57:00 - 00:06:08:08 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. So, a couple of comments. One, I think that traditionally humans have to overextend themselves to adapt to technology and that was sort of the journey with the EHR. 00:06:08:11 - 00:06:40:14 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. The thing that's intriguing about these ambient solutions is that the technology increasingly adapts to the human interaction, and that's the appeal. So just wanted to sort of get that out there. In terms of actually piloting and then deciding what technology to go forward with, we feel that this capability is the start of a transformation journey, and we hope that this is a big decision that if you make a good decision will be transformative over time. 00:06:40:16 - 00:07:02:28 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. What that translated into was a little bit of an approach that I have in bringing technology into the organization is "try before you buy." So that's what led us to say, hey, it's important for us to pilot something as opposed to just pick a partner based on sort of a superficial assessment. So I look back and say, I'm glad we did the pilot. 00:07:02:28 - 00:07:23:29 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. We got a chance to test drive multiple technologies by hand and there's no substitute for that. And at the end of it, then you're far more confident in your solution and the capability and the potential that it has. In terms of actually piloting five vendors, we piloted with what we thought were sort of key players in the space. 00:07:24:01 - 00:07:44:23 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. I am told that there are more than 100 different companies doing it, so. Goodness! Exactly. How many survive? How many find different variations? Time will tell. But at least we try to apply some judgment on which are the prominent ones that we should test drive. Like Eric alluded to, we looked at a few different criteria. 00:07:44:25 - 00:08:13:06 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. First and foremost is the product capabilities, the quality of the transcriptions, the ability to deal with multiple languages, the ability to attribute the right conversation to the right person in the room. All of that is technology capability that needs to be done right. The second part of it is the quality of the summaries that are generated, whether for the patient, whether for the physician, all of those. You need revisions... 00:08:13:06 - 00:08:23:14 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. how accurate and how complete is it? is a second consideration. Integration with the EMR so that the workflows are relatively smooth and not cumbersome is essential. 00:08:23:21 - 00:08:33:16 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. Let's pause there for a second, because I know there are many different possible solutions. But as we get into sort of the next part of our conversation, which solution did you ultimately go with? 00:08:33:16 - 00:08:40:15 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. And then what is the EMR platform that sits on top of just so listeners can have sort of a sense of, okay, this is what their environment looks like. 00:08:40:17 - 00:08:55:25 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. I can get some of the basics, and then I'll defer to Eric to speak to the experience. So we're an EPIC house. Our EMR is EPIC. And it was obviously essential for us that the workflows that the physicians encounter are as seamless as possible. 00:08:56:01 - 00:09:01:15 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. And I'll defer to Eric to speak to that part of it. But that was obviously an important part of our assessment. 00:09:01:17 - 00:09:19:00 Eric Boose, M.D. Yeah. So in the end, when we went through our different assessments, we ended up with ambiance as our solution for our ambient AI software. I do think there's something about ease of use for the user, right? Just like any other technology, if you throw in too many barriers or make it too complicated the uptake is much lower. 00:09:19:02 - 00:09:42:17 Eric Boose, M.D. All of these softwares in general are pretty elegant in their solutions in the sense that the listening of the visit all tends to occur on a phone that's listening through an app. But how it gets into the EPIC or whatever your EHR might be, the ease of use of having it there as a draft so that at that point can be reviewed, edited, added, subtracted before it's obviously accepted in the medical record was very important to us. 00:09:42:19 - 00:09:55:25 Eric Boose, M.D. And so ease of use in the integration doesn't have to be fully, deeply integrated. I wouldn't say, but it has to be nice and elegant so that things go through so quickly and smoothly that the uptake is done. And it's very easy to use. 00:09:55:27 - 00:10:03:06 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. And from the integration perspective, it's not just free text getting ported in. There are structured components to it that also have to get completed. Is that right? 00:10:03:09 - 00:10:23:04 Eric Boose, M.D. Correct. I mean, as the recording is in the AI software is working, it will bring back the note and all the different sections that you would need. So the HPI, API and results and erroneous systems is also as patient instructions, which actually turned out to be one of the surprises that we found very valuable was that as soon as the AI was done, it created the note. 00:10:23:10 - 00:10:34:20 Eric Boose, M.D. You could have the patient structures ready for them before they even left the exam room. Wow. And to have kind of like that written record of all the things I asked them to do, it was so nice for them as they left, having those instructions with them. 00:10:34:22 - 00:10:46:09 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. You're about a month since announcing partnership in the move forward. How's it going? What kind of outcomes are you seeing? Well, you know, what do you what are you focusing on now that it's going live across the clinic? 00:10:46:12 - 00:11:03:25 Eric Boose, M.D. I mean, it's been very exciting. We just started the implementation on March 10th. We did listen to our vendor ambiance a little bit, guiding us the way, you know, what's been successful for implementation across a large enterprise to start. And we work together also with our Cleveland Clinic culture to make sure how was accepted and brought forth to all of our providers. 00:11:03:27 - 00:11:20:10 Eric Boose, M.D. There are several thousand in scope to be using the product, and so we decided to do things in waves. Ambiance gave us some advice about which they felt which specialty models were ready to go out of the box, which ones they might need about, you know, 4 to 6 weeks to get really tuned up and some other ones that took about 12 weeks. 00:11:20:12 - 00:11:40:07 Eric Boose, M.D. So we're like, that's fine, we'll spread out the waves, so we'll launch as many as we can in wave one. And then move on from there. And we've actually within two weeks have about 1500 trained and almost a thousand using it already. We're getting feedback, you know, it's life changing. I love this product. I don't know how I survived without it. 00:11:40:09 - 00:11:41:00 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. Oh my goodness. 00:11:41:00 - 00:11:57:09 Eric Boose, M.D. We can all attest that it's been a struggle these days, right? We have a lot of information coming to us. We have a lot of patient expectations about getting back to them as quickly as possible. All this electronic health record and patient portals and just, you know, it's expected to be very quickly going through information and getting back to them. 00:11:57:11 - 00:12:15:16 Eric Boose, M.D. So this really helps us in our day in the sense of things happened so quickly with it that it's really unloading the other processes that we have to do during the day. And we're feeling that relief and we're seeing some of the docs saying, you know, I don't know if I'm going to cut back my time like I thought it was going to, or I may postpone retirement for a couple more years. 00:12:15:16 - 00:12:31:00 Eric Boose, M.D. I mean, things you would never think you would hear from physicians, right? This is like a technology they're asking for and begging for. Like, it was so interesting during the pilots. If there was a person that was in the office using it, yet three others weren't, they're all like, I want it. When can I get it? So that kind of energy has been building. 00:12:31:00 - 00:12:37:03 Eric Boose, M.D. And so when we launched it and advertised it, everybody was very, very excited about it. So it's been it's been going very well. 00:12:37:06 - 00:13:01:20 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. Chris, I'll add a quick comment, which is most times technology is a little bit clunky to adopt and integrate, and understandably so. That's true for all of us as consumers. The nice thing was this technology's the integration and the ability to use it is pretty seamless. And the appetite and the enthusiasm for adopting it is unprecedented. 00:13:01:22 - 00:13:06:27 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. It's pretty rare for me to hear a positive, life changing story from a technology implementation. 00:13:06:27 - 00:13:27:26 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. But you've got it. And to be clear, like, this is the story I'm hearing everywhere. Health care is and will always be a uniquely human experience. And the more opportunities we have to thread our humanity back into the practice of medicine using this needle of technology, the better. We are just about out of time. As expected, this has been a fantastic conversation. 00:13:27:28 - 00:13:46:18 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. I am curious, though, as your ambient rollout continues through its the thousands of providers who are pulling to try to get to use it. What else do you see on the horizon with this kind of potential impact? And where are you sort of looking down the road towards other potential AI enabled use cases? 00:13:46:20 - 00:14:04:10 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. I'll touch on a couple of things, which is we are currently rolling out ambient listening in outpatient settings. I think there's an opportunity to look at other scenarios and use cases in different settings where ambient technology can help streamline the documentation burden. 00:14:04:13 - 00:14:22:04 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. I think the second part of it is while today we are leading with transcription and summarization, I think there's an opportunity to bring greater clinical knowledge to bear that can perhaps serve as a physician's assistant at their elbow, helping streamline more and more mundane tasks as we go forward. 00:14:22:06 - 00:14:38:10 Eric Boose, M.D. Yeah. And I think just to echo that, I kind of picture that as well - as sort of having this kind of copilot, you know, with you. Again, we have so much information we're trying to gather before we see a patient and deal with after we see a patient with testing, that I almost see it as like, could the AI bring everything together, like do a chart review? 00:14:38:10 - 00:14:58:16 Eric Boose, M.D. What care gaps do they have? What are actionable findings that may need to be promoted to make sure they follow up on? Almost like a patient briefing that when I open that record, tell me what I really need to know going into this visit to make sure that I take care of that patient very well. It's personalized to their care, and we make sure that the proper follow up and everything is sort of set up before they even leave the office. 00:14:58:16 - 00:15:09:12 Eric Boose, M.D. So I feel like there's a lot of those tasks that I think that as the AI products get better and they do a little more deep dive into the charts and help us with all that context is where I see this going next. 00:15:09:15 - 00:15:32:06 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. Well, if that is where we are going, then to all of the young folks out there who are studying medicine and nursing and respiratory therapy at an APP school, the future that awaits you is much better than the present that the folks on this call have lived through. We've gone through the challenging ages of early stage implementation and hopefully through the work that you all are doing leading the way at Cleveland Clinic, 00:15:32:08 - 00:15:43:08 Chris DeRienzo, M.D. we will help bring some humanity back into the practice of medicine for all those who get to follow us. It has been a real privilege to get to speak with both of you. Thank you so much for joining us today. 00:15:43:10 - 00:15:44:17 Eric Boose, M.D. Thank you for having us. 00:15:44:20 - 00:15:46:22 Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. Thanks, Chris. 00:15:46:24 - 00:15:55:06 Tom Haederle Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. </details></div> Mon, 14 Apr 2025 22:55:40 -0500 Innovation Mass General team performs second xenotransplant of genetically edited pig kidney /role-hospitals-massachusetts-general-hospital-team-performs-second-xenotransplant-genetically-edited-pig-kidney-living <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-7"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-mass-general-pig-kidney-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Massachusetts General Hospital. Tatsuo Kawai, M.D., Tim Andrews, Leonardo Riella, M.D. (left to right)" width="700" height="532">Tatsuo Kawai, M.D., Tim Andrews, Leonardo Riella, M.D. (L to R) Photo courtesy of Kate Flock/Massachusetts General Hospital</div>Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston performed its second successful transplant of a genetically edited pig kidney into a living recipient in January 2025. MGH surgeons performed the world’s first such transplant in March 2024. Xenotransplantation, the term for the transplantation of organs from one species to another, is an experimental treatment being researched as a “potential solution” to the global organ shortage.The patient in the second transplantation surgery, 66-year-old Tim Andrews, was discharged from the hospital about a week after the transplant and is doing well. Andrews had been on dialysis for more than two years due to end-stage kidney disease. His blood type is group O, and people with O positive and O negative blood types typically wait five to 10 years for a donor organ, compared to three to five years for most patients.Advancements in the field of transplantation have helped address a worldwide organ shortage. According to the <a href="https://www.organdonor.gov/learn/organ-donation-statistics" target="_blank">Health Resources &amp; Services Administration</a>, more than 103,000 people in the U.S. await an organ for transplant, and 17 people die each day waiting for an organ. MGH received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to proceed with this surgery and plans to perform two more xenotransplants in 2025.Andrews said he awoke from the transplant surgery feeling “reenergized and revitalized,” noting that “the magnitude of what these doctors and nurses accomplished is unbelievable.”Leonardo Riella, M.D., medical director for kidney transplantation at MGH and Andrews’ nephrologist, observed that the milestone operation “reminds us of the transformative potential” of xenotransplantation. “We remain committed to learning from this experience to make it a safe, viable option for every patient in need. Together, we are working toward a future where no one has to die waiting for a kidney,” Riella said.&nbsp;<a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/mgh-performs-second-xenotransplant-of-genetically-edited-pig-kidney-into-living-recipient" target="_blank">READ MORE</a>&nbsp;</div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:57:08 -0500 Innovation Queens Health Systems collaborate to provide ‘enlightened’ cancer care to Hawaiians /role-hospitals-queens-health-systems-collaborate-provide-enlightened-cancer-care-hawaiians <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-queens-medical-cancer-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="The Queen’s Health Systems. An older woman wearing a scarf on her head sits in a chair receiving cancer treatment from a nurse" width="700" height="532"></div>The Queen’s Health Systems, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, joined a new collaborative initiative — called Ka Umeke Lama, or “Bowl of Enlightenment” in Hawaiian — that aims to transform cancer care across the islands.In Hawaii, over 7,000 residents are diagnosed with invasive cancer annually, and 2,000 residents die each year of cancer. As the population continues to age and the need for cancer care grows, the <a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/12/17/new-initiative-aims-transform-cancer-care-hawaii/" target="_blank">Ka Umeke Lama initiative</a> aims to improve access to care and cancer outcomes through research, workforce development and culturally informed practices.Specific plans include the creation of a centralized clinical research database; the launch of clinical trials that address cancer disparities among different populations; deployment of oncology providers and early detection units to rural and underserved areas; the development of telehealth systems; and use of artificial intelligence-based clinical trial screening and monitoring tools.Additionally, Queen’s Health Systems has partnered with the University of Hawaii Cancer Center to provide oncology care in a newly constructed hospital wing — a collaborative project with the Hawaii Cancer Consortium, the members of which also form the Ka Umeke Lama Initiative. This partnership offers early-phase clinical trial treatments, so patients won’t have to travel to other states to receive cutting-edge care options.<a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.queens.org/the-queens-health-systems-and-uh-cancer-center-parnter-to-develop-hawaiis-first-on-campus-cancer-clinical-center/" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a>&nbsp;</div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Fri, 11 Apr 2025 15:34:51 -0500 Innovation A rural Louisiana hospital works to improve early sepsis detection /role-hospitals-our-lady-lake-ascension-works-improve-early-sepsis-detection <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-lady-of-lake-ascension-sepsis-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Our Lady of the Lake Ascension. Composite image shows a physician in white coat typing on a laptop, overlaid with futuristic tech symbols." width="700" height="532"></div>At Our Lady of the Lake Ascension, a community hospital in Gonzales, La., that’s part of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS), a groundbreaking technology is making waves in sepsis detection. The hospital has recently implemented the only Food and Drug Administration-cleared sepsis test, IntelliSep, a blood test that can detect sepsis in its early stages. Test results are available in under 10 minutes, allowing health care providers to act swiftly. "Early detection is a matter of life and death," said Chuck Spicer, president of Our Lady of the Lake Ascension.The new sepsis test has already shown promising results. In its first year of use, the hospital reported a 30% reduction in mortality among septic patients, due to being able to diagnose and treat the infection more quickly. The hospital's emergency department, which sees a high volume of critically ill patients, has integrated the test into its routine workflows, ensuring that every patient suspected of sepsis is tested promptly. FMOLHS is one of only two health systems using the test.The impact extends beyond patient outcomes. By reducing the time spent in the hospital and minimizing unnecessary patient transfers, the technology also helps lower medical costs and improve overall health care delivery for patients. "The addition of a proven, innovative technology gives us an accurate tool for ensuring our patients receive the most appropriate treatments locally," Spicer added.<a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.fmolhs.org/news/our-lady-of-the-lake-ascension-implements-new-life-saving-technology-in-emergency-department" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a>&nbsp;</div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:22:48 -0500 Innovation AFib patients benefit from cutting-edge robotic procedure at TidalHealth /role-hospitals-afib-patients-benefit-cutting-edge-robotic-procedure-tidalhealth-peninsula-regional <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-tidal-health-afib-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="TidalHealth Peninsula Regional. A male physician uses a stethoscope to listen to a female patient's heart " width="700" height="532"></div>A new treatment has come to patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) living in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., as TidalHealth Peninsula Regional is now the first in the area to offer the innovative robotic convergent procedure. TidalHealth is also one of only 14 medical centers in the country to offer the groundbreaking treatment.AFib is the most common cardiac rhythm disorder. It’s caused by rapid electrical signals in the heart that disrupt blood flow, and it can lead to a stroke. One treatment is a catheter-based ablation, in which a small tube is threaded through the groin to the heart to scar the inner surface of the heart, thereby disrupting or blocking the abnormal electrical signals. But if a patient doesn’t respond to that treatment, the robotic convergent procedure uses a small chest incision to scar the heart’s outer surface. The surgeon also separates the left atrial appendage from the left atrium, thereby preventing blood clots that may lead to a stroke. This minimally-invasive procedure means that patients experience less pain, smaller incisions and faster recovery times.“This is a significant step forward in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, using this team approach to enhance precision and minimize risk” said cardiovascular surgeon Fawad Khan, M.D., of TidalHealth Cardiovascular Surgery. “We’re thrilled to be the first in the region to offer this advanced procedure. It allows us to provide our patients with the best possible outcomes, using the latest technology to address heart rhythm problems in the most effective way possible.”<a href="https://www.tidalhealth.org/news/revolutionary-cardiac-first-tidalhealth" target="_blank">Read more</a> about the procedure.&nbsp;</div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:44:11 -0500 Innovation ICYMI: AHA podcast discusses the innovative design for Novant Health's Breast Center /news/headline/2025-04-01-icymi-aha-podcast-discusses-innovative-design-novant-healths-breast-center In this recent episode of AHA’s Advancing Health podcast, Sara Robinson, senior associate healthcare architect at McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, and Jamie Feinour, vice president of operations at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center and president of Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital, discuss how patient-centered design and innovative architecture come together to create spaces of healing for patients and providers, and how Sara's personal cancer journey impacted the design for Novant Health's Breast Center. <a href="/advancing-health-podcast/2025-03-17-architecting-care-cancer-journey-intersects-breast-centers-design" target="_blank">LISTEN NOW</a><div></div> Tue, 01 Apr 2025 15:34:39 -0500 Innovation