December 2017CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM9and ears of clinicians. Up in Alaska, our Anchorage specialists connect electronically with patients on the remote Unalaska Island to assist with emergencies and develop treatment plans. Similarly, we have invested in telestroke programs that connect specialists with rural patients who now have access to specialty care they would go without if not for this technology.And one of our favorite telehealth innovations is the NICU Webcam Program, allowing worried parents and loved ones the ability to check in on their precious newborns.Also important is to make digital innovation meaningful to every day consumers who feel much more empowered when they can participate in their health. For example, we're always improving our online patient portals so patients can access their medical information, pay bills, schedule appointments or message their care provider.With our eVisits and on-demand Express Care suite of services, our patients can access a primary care provider online within minutes from their mobile device or computer to get a common care diagnosis, treatment plan and prescriptions if needed, or book an appointment.Some innovations can also be behind-the-scenes. For example, we were the first health system to standardize cancer pathology reporting and automate submission to the California Cancer Registry. Working with the College of American Pathol-ogy and California Cancer Registry, we were able to dramatically reduce the lag time in reporting cancer staging and facilitate the beginning of what could be a national database for patients to view treatments, locate clinical trials, and become more informed about their health status.With predictive analytics we are just beginning to use large amounts of demographic, socio economic, and health-record data to better predict "high risk" and intervene earlier. The pilot to better predict pressure ulcer development is in its very early stages. Sadly, many other industries are well ahead of healthcare in the use of predictive analytics and we have impor-tant work to do in this area.Investing in teams as well as techWe must remember that even the wisest investments are meant to be tools for our caregivers. No digital miracle, no matter how impressive, can be expected to fully comprehend a medical situ-ation like an experienced clinician. It's always the clinical expert who--combined with patient input--uses digital innovations as a means to develop and deliver the best treatment path. Better data and technology can help us, but it's our expertise as clinicians that points the way. And of course, only a living, breathing clinician can offer care and compassion to an indi-vidual when it is needed most, remembering care will always be delivered one patient at a time.That's why, in addition to investing in innovation, our health system is attentive to the professional growth and for-mation of our people. We make sure that, along with having the right tools, our caregivers possess the expertise and compassion that are so necessary in health care today. We need to remem-ber that this combination of investing in people and technology will always yield the best results. Every initiative must meet milestones and metrics, and contribute to extending our health system's healing missionNancy Yates
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