December 13, 2018

Novant Health: Taking a Digital-First Approach to Healthcare

Posted on December 13, 2018April 15, 2024 by John R. Miles

The trick for any business eager to stay relevant is to fully integrate innovation with operations. However, for the healthcare industry, integration isn’t just about relevancy – it’s about saving lives. Such is the case with Novant Health. As a network of hospitals, clinics and outpatient centers, the company has employed a digital-first approach to keeping their nearly 600 locations in sync. And it’s working. With almost 30,000 team members in the southeastern United States, and Novant Health hospitals communicating seamlessly with others in the Novant Health system, it’s bold innovation applied to healthcare.

“Digital capabilities are essential to providing enhanced access to care, high-quality care, and a world-class consumer experience while supporting continued growth,” says Novant Health’s Chief Digital & Technology Officer Angela Yochem.

“If you can imagine the advances happening in science and medicine, it’s impossible to think about leveraging those advances without equal strides being made in the technologies we use to serve our patients and providers.”

For their efforts, the growing company is emerging as a role model for the healthcare industry.

A Snapshot of the Novant Health System

There are Novant Health hospitals in North Carolina and Virginia. The Novant health system includes over 1,500 providers, 28,000 team members, and nearly a million patients. Moreover, now under a single brand, Novant Health hospitals embrace common values, a single mission, and shared goals. Considering the scope of services and populations Novant Health represents, realizing quality, cost-effectiveness, and consistency is challenging. But Novant Health hospitals have repeatedly exceeded expectations throughout their history.

Novant Health was formed officially in 1997 with the merger of Carolina MediCorp and Presbyterian Health Services. However, the organization has since expanded significantly through mergers, acquisitions, and the opening of new facilities. In 2013, all in-patient facilities changed their name to reflect their single focus as Novant Health. Likewise, the business aligned marketing efforts toward six well-defined patient segments. These pursuits are just the beginning of their efforts to revolutionize modern approaches to healthcare.

Cultivating Diversity, Inclusion, Engagement, and a Healthy Culture

Carl Armato has been CEO of Novant Health for over seven years. Though he has several major goals for the organization, accessibility has been at the top of his list since he began. In this regard, Novant Health’s CEO continually seeks team member engagement through weekly blogs and regular visits. This may not sound too innovative, but Armato’s approach invites team member feedback. As a result, employee engagement has gone from 49% to 74% throughout the company’s hospital network.

In addition, Novant Health pursues a decentralized, inclusive, and empowering workplace culture. Team members are invited to participate and experiment with new ideas. At the same time, Novant Health hospitals strive to engage patients as well as participants in their own healthcare. As an example, Novant Health now engages its 90,000 diabetic patients in programs to help predict problems in advance.

Leveraging Digital Technologies for Marketplace Advantage

For the last decade, Novant Health hospital’s have invested in a strong digital healthcare platform. And since so much of effective healthcare service revolves around the managing of data, this has influenced the shaping of the companies business model. “We have a new chief data officer who has a strong background in retail, utilities, and telecommunications,” says Yochem. “He’s transforming the way we leverage our data, and it’s been a great differentiator for us.”

“We are passionate about providing enhanced access to care for the communities we serve. Our digital strategy includes not only several digital channels for care delivery, but also digital enhancements across all channels by which our patients engage Novant Health. This includes significant experience enhancements in the physical channels, omni-channel consumer experience across channels, extreme personalization, and so on. We are also relentlessly focused on quality care delivery, and there are many digital components to providing best care for our patients in our clinical settings.” – Angela Yochem, Chief Digital & Technology Officer

But the Internet of Things and all the smart devices that can gather patient data and communicate it instantaneously adds yet another wrinkle to the equation. Says Yochem, “The proliferation of advanced sensors means that we have exponentially more data available to us about the behaviors and status of our patients and team members, the operational status of our facilities, and so on. Healthcare delivery will continue to be streamlined, accelerated, and more personalized as a result of this advance.”

Bold Innovations That Make a Difference

Implementing digital innovations to better leverage data is great, but Novant Health’s efforts to excel extend to their choice of executives. Recently, the company hired two heavyweights in Yochem and Lety Nettles. Recognized as a bold leader in digital solutions, Yochem was named Chief Digital and Technology Officer. Nettles was named the company’s Chief Information Officer. She has executive histories at Baker Hughes, Walmart, and Dell Technologies. Both women leaders look to take Novant Health into the future through developing and deploying innovative digital solutions.

What else is on the innovative company’s plate? “We are also opening Novant Health clinics in these under-served areas and partnering with other organizations to staff existing clinics with Novant Health physicians and advance care providers,” says Yochem. “Through these partnerships, we screen for social determinants and provide resources to assist when possible. For example, we screen for food insecurity and prescribe healthy food for those who identify as food insecure. By partnering with the food banks, we can provide a long-term solution for families who are food insecure.”

Novant Health Hospital Next Steps

In addition, Novant Health offers scholarships to nursing assistants eager to attain the education required to become full-fledged nurses.

What healthcare trends lie on the horizon that the company planes to tackle? Says Yochem, “Personalization in all aspects of care delivery and engagement, a greater focus on wellness and preventative care, value-based care delivery, and the emergence of the patient as a consumer. Patients have choices for care and we want them to choose us. All of the above are important to delivering the most remarkable patient experience in every dimension, every time.

Novant Health excels in an industry recognized as incredibly challenging. By applying strategies proven to be successful in other industries, Novant Health hospitals are fast becoming tomorrow’s healthcare leaders.

Bold Leader Spotlight: Angela Yochem, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Novant Health

Posted on December 13, 2018April 15, 2024 by John R. Miles

It’s no secret that technology is driving incredible change in nearly every industry today. However, the technological evolution of the healthcare sector has been one of the slowest to respond — and for a good reason. Poor system interoperability increased privacy requirements, and excessive costs are among the biggest obstacles healthcare leaders face. The most adept leaders have struggled in these situations to realize positive change. Not Angela Yochem, though. Named Novant Health’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer in 2017, Angela embraces this challenge. Her capacity to excel in such a formidable environment – as well as her willingness to take risks believe in others, and challenge the status quo – makes her a very bold leader.

A Rich Background of Diverse Leadership Experiences

She may have gotten a bachelor’s degree in music, but it was a pivot to computer science and her subsequent master’s degree in the field that started Angela off on her bold leadership path. Soon, she was moving from one executive spot to the next, making her mark on Dell (where I had a chance to work with her side-by-side), AstraZeneca, Rent-A-Center and BDP International. She is able to seamlessly jump from not only different companies but completely different industries.

These past experiences prepared Angela for her current position at Novant Health. As one of the nation’s most innovative health systems, Novant Health saw tremendous potential with her on board. Today, her bold leadership is fueling exciting changes in the health system’s digital technologies.

Bold Leadership with a Belief in Others

One of Angela’s key pursuits at Novant Health involves promoting interdisciplinary teamwork. Through innovative digital technologies, her bold leadership is connecting healthcare professionals. At the same time, Angela is developing more effective ways to engage and connect with patients. These types of digital media solutions make Novant Health an industry leader of tomorrow. By empowering others, Angela strives to attain the resource utilization advantages that diversity and inclusion bring.

Of course, her bold leadership qualities of empowering others extend well beyond her role at Novant Health. Angela is very active on numerous corporate boards throughout her career. Likewise, she shares her bold leadership experiences by mentoring and guiding entrepreneurial startups in Silicon Valley. Angela’s natural confidence in others and ability to empower them reflects on her major bold leadership practices.

Balancing Risk, Resources, and Research Innovations

A key trait of bold leadership involves taking risks and challenging the status quo. But at the same time, bold leadership does so through effective change management and with an eye on objective results. Rather than waiting on digital technology to fit an existing need, Angela constantly searches for new innovations. Change is ever-present in her mind.

Though happy to embrace change and innovation, Angela does so logically and responsibly. In fact, her approach to new technology at Novant Health reflects these bold leadership traits. Traditionally, new technology ideas would be considered through third-party vendors and take months to evaluate. This not only wasted valuable time, but it also misused valuable resources. Angela instead introduced “experimentation as a service” to Novant Health. New technologies are evaluated immediately on a smaller scale to determine if they are feasible as larger deployments. This bold leadership approach creates a much more efficient and effective R&D system for enterprise innovations.

With a bold leadership style focused on effecting change, Angela Yochem of Novant Health has helped make her company an industry leader. — As bold leaders go, learn how Angela Yochem of Novant Health has made the integration of digital innovation her bread and butter.

An Interview with Angela Yochem

I recently had the opportunity to interview Angela, and we discussed her bold leadership style in detail.

John R. Miles: What do consider are the traits that make a leader bold?

AY: Bold leaders:

Recognize opportunities and are willing to seize them
Enable resiliency and adaptability
Promote a culture of inquiry, learning, inclusion
Create constructs that allow for broad experimentation
Pursue the right kind of excellence at the right time
Understand that organizational constructs are artificial boundaries – we are all partners, working to solve difficult problems and serve our communities

JRM: What trait is the most important?

AY: Enable resiliency and adaptability – bold leaders need to create a culture of resiliency due to the rapid change and innovation that comes from being bold in your leadership.

JRM: I had the pleasure of working with you at Dell and was able to witness your leadership firsthand. You were really able to influence both up and down the chain of command. It is a difficult thing to do. What is your secret?

AY: Thank you for the compliment. I think that my natural desire to understand the perspectives of our colleagues up and down the chain of command helped me influence. Recognizing the different contexts in which our colleagues were working helped me build strategies to deliver on our collective objectives, not just my own. As a result, we were able to win together rather than competing for funding, resources, or even recognition.

JRM: You and I have known each other a long time and worked together in very trying situations. I have always admired your use of empathy in handling situations. Can you discuss with me the importance of empathy in Bold Leadership?

AY: Empathy is tremendously important, and not just in the classic case of promoting effective teamwork. If we can put ourselves in the shoes of our customers (patients), partners and community members, we can best anticipate how they want to be engaged, how they want to be served, and how the decisions we make may affect them.

Regardless of the type of business a leader is in, their products and services are ultimately serving people. The markets in which they operate are driven by the behaviors of people. The ability and willingness to understand and consider the ultimate stakeholders in every scenario can be a significant differentiator for leaders.

JRM: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was also recently featured in our Bold Leader Spotlight. In his book “Hit Refresh,” he discusses empathy as a key to sparking innovation. Do you agree with this and if so why?

AY: Great point! Innovation often happens when we radically shift our thinking about solutions to known or emerging problems. What is more radical than putting ourselves in the shoes of someone else? Seeing things through their eyes, appreciating their experiences, and understanding their perspectives? Yes, this sort of empathetic behavior is absolutely a trigger for innovative thought. The secondary effect is, of course, that we can more easily build strong diverse teams, which we know can lead to more rapid innovation.

JRM: Oftentimes leaders see humility as a weakness. Do you think humility is an important trait as a leader?

AY: Humility may be one of the most important traits of bold leadership. How else can leaders learn quickly, if not through asking questions and engaging with people who are expert in areas we’re not? How else can we connect with our teams, encouraging them to be transparent with us if we show no humility with them? Also, how can we build an innovative leadership team if we don’t invite people to think out loud, and challenge each other (and us)? It is difficult to build a culture of learning and trust if we are not willing to humble ourselves occasionally.

JRM: What is your personal passion? How does this manifest itself in your leadership style?

AY: I have a passion for learning, and I expect our team members to be very intentional about learning as well. This promotes adaptability in our organization. I also have a passion for community engagement and it is very rewarding to be able to directly impact the health of our communities as part of my day job.

JRM: If you could have lunch with any leader, who would it be? Why?

AY: That’s a fun question! Since you’re offering, I’d love to have lunch with Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen. Her work has transformed many established and emerging industries, improved education in global communities, added significantly to the body of knowledge in many areas of study and is respected and followed by discerning people from all walks of life. I admire her capacity for deep, critical and creative thought, and her track record of influence and contribution.

JRM: What advice do you have for our readers on steps they can take to being a bold leader?

AY: Don’t hesitate to solve problems for your company (or community) just because nobody’s asked you to. Go find the gaps and work creatively with colleagues to fill those gaps. Look for new opportunities for your company to grow, to serve, to engage, and find ways to make it happen. Create your own work groups (buy pizza), your own study groups, create an unofficial team even before you have your own team to help you do great things for your company. Make sure other leaders know what you are doing – not so that you can be recognized, but so that the existence of the gap is recognized and adjustments can be made to ensure no future gap arises. Behave like a leader, and you will become one.

The Failed Promise of Fish Oil and Vitamin D Supplements

Posted on December 13, 2018April 15, 2024 by Staff Writer

In days of yore, charlatans hawked elixirs promising good health, virility, and even a greater crop yield. Those days are behind us now. Instead, we have health food stores, with shelves stocked with pills, powders, and herbal products. And sure, there’s solid science behind the benefits many of these supplements can offer to make hearty body and mind. But unfortunately, it appears not all of them are what they’re cracked up to be. New findings from a study led by Dr. JoAnn Manson at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital show that when it comes to fish oil and heart disease, or even fish oil and cancer, the magic just isn’t there. And sadly, the same is true for Vitamin D.

New studies show that Fish Oils and Vitamin D are ineffective in preventing cancer — Fish Oils and Vitamin D are ineffective in preventing cancer

Dispelling the Myths of Fish Oil and Cancer

Dietary supplements generally exist outside the scope of the Food and Drug Administration. As such, claims as to what they can and can’t do for the body have thus far been mostly anecdotal. And many of those anecdotes have painted a rosy picture.

“The idea that fish oil and omega-3s are good for your heart has been nutrition orthodoxy for decades,” said nutritionist Monica Reinagel in the Scientific American earlier this year. With fish oil ranked as the third most popular supplement, it’s not hard to see how ingrained those notions are to the public.

Similarly, many have suggested that vitamin D is integral in lowering blood pressure. Others say it decreases the risk of developing diabetes, cancer and heart disease. It’s also been hailed as a treatment for depression. As a result, vitamin D sales have skyrocketed as more and more doctors prescribe for vitamin D deficiencies.

However, nothing dispels myths like a carefully conducted scientific study. The research of Dr. Manson disproves these decades-old claims. As per the government-backed trial on omega-3 fish oils and vitamin D showed, these supplements do not effectively lower cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The relationship between vitamin D and cancer? The relationship between vitamin D and heart disease? Sorry, they’re just not there.

Vitamin D: A Marker, Not Maker

Of course, when it comes to vitamin D, it’s possible we’ve been looking at it wrong all along. The fact is, the body gets vitamin D from a variety of sources, like sunlight, and food such as eggs, milk, and fatty fish. Conversely, people develop vitamin D deficiencies if they smoke, are obese, or are generally in poor health. Perhaps vitamin D does not produce a healthy body, but only a marker of good health.

Furthermore, a 2001 study on calcium and vitamin D determined that most Americans actually get enough vitamin D daily, and the number of deficiencies might have been overblown. A similar study by the United States Preventive Services Task Force also said that it is not conclusive whether vitamin D supplements prevent diseases.

On the other hand, the American Heart Association does not recommend taking fish oil supplements for adults who are not afflicted with any heart diseases. Alternatively, eating more fish is a more realistic way of consuming fatty acids.

Other Potential Fish Oil and Vitamin D Benefits

While science now refutes any suggestions of links between fish oil and cancer, vitamin D and cancer, and both supplements to heart disease, not all is grim. The study did reveal a few potential upsides.

Tangentially, the study indicated that there might be other benefits to fish oils and vitamin D pills. While they may not be preventative, the analysis indicated that vitamin D can help reduce cancer deaths for people who have been taking them for at least two years. There we also fewer incidences of heart attacks and strokes for people who took fish oil regularly.

The assumption of links between fish oil and heart disease and vitamin D and cancer has been proven erroneous.

Another study’s analysis showed that there was a 28% reduction of heart attacks in people who took fish oil. There was a 40% reduction of heart disease in those who do not regularly eat fish and a 77% reduction in heart disease in African-Americans. The study involved almost 26,000 healthy American women and men, monitored for an average of five years.

Continuing Industry Research

There are no significant benefits nor downsides to taking these supplements. However, it is important not to overdose on daily supplement consumption. Overdosing on vitamin D can cause stomach pains, diarrhea, elevated blood calcium levels, bone loss, and kidney failure. Findings in new studies about vitamin C and fish oil supplements are generally inconclusive.

The rest of the world will still have to wait for any critical new findings about battling heart diseases and cancer. Researchers also suggest consulting your doctor for more accurate prescriptions for any supplements you may want to take.

Day: December 13, 2018