Discussion: Northwell Health's Chief Information Officer Sophy Lu Talks About Change Management
In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare, traditional providers are adapting to digital disruption and the growing consumerization of the industry. Northwell Health, a leading healthcare provider, is spearheading this change by implementing agile organizational governance.
Before the pandemic, Northwell Health had development and innovation teams practicing an agile approach, particularly in digital first and health information exchange areas. This forward-thinking approach has proven invaluable in navigating the challenges of the digital age.
Agile organizational governance in healthcare aims to foster a culture of federated accountability, enabling people to manage and work on priorities within their areas of focus while aligned to the larger North Star of the organization. Northwell Health has taken significant strides in this direction, implementing agile governance that includes training on agile philosophies and certifications, retreats for alignment, and the creation of several agile delivery teams.
Sophy Lu, Northwell Health's CIO, believes that agility is crucial for traditional healthcare providers to navigate changes in patient preference and care delivery models led by digital health companies. Lu emphasizes the importance of the CIO being a partner at the table to think out the solution and the strategies of the future for the organization, not just for technology's sake alone.
Agile governance offers several benefits. It facilitates iterative development and adaptive planning, breaking work into smaller increments that can be quickly tested, refined, or adapted based on feedback from patients, providers, and regulatory changes. This approach overcomes the limitations of traditional, rigid development cycles that often fail to keep pace with rapid technological and market shifts.
Cross-functional collaboration is another key advantage. Agile governance brings together clinical experts, IT professionals, and other stakeholders to co-create solutions, ensuring that innovations fulfill actual patient needs and comply with evolving regulations like HIPAA or FDA rules.
Agile governance also allows healthcare organizations to respond to new technologies and consumer expectations more effectively. It enables the seamless incorporation of emerging technology such as AI, wearables, and remote monitoring into services, catering to consumer demands for convenient, personalized digital healthcare experiences.
Enhanced data governance is another crucial aspect of agile governance. As reliance on AI and automation increases, agile governance frameworks also emphasize transparency, bias mitigation, and privacy-enhancing technologies to maintain trust and regulatory compliance while enabling advanced data use.
Major companies such as Amazon, Walmart, and Apple are disrupting the healthcare industry, creating increased demand for immediacy and digital engagement. Northwell Health has evolved whole organizations into agile roles and delivery models, delivering initiatives outside of traditional development arenas.
Sophy Lu advises healthcare organizations to focus on primary goals and strategies for the next one to three years, rather than spreading resources too thin. Establishing agile governance in healthcare requires support from executive leadership, patience, organization, alignment of initiatives, transformation of mindset and comfort level of cross-department teams, and acceptance that not everything can be agile.
Traditional healthcare providers need to leverage their high acuity healthcare knowledge and subject matter expertise while also leveraging digital technology to make care coordination simpler and create a more joyful experience for patients. This adaptability is crucial for thriving amid digital disruption and the consumer-driven transformation of healthcare.
For further insights into digital transformation, innovation, IT governance, leadership, team collaboration, and patient data management, related articles are available. A video on change management and agile IT governance from HIMSS23 is also available for viewing.
- Northwell Health's implementation of agile organizational governance in healthcare extends beyond traditional development arenas, reflecting a strategic adaptation to cater to the digital demands of society, such as those created by companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Apple.
- Agile governance in education and self-development is crucial for several reasons, including fostering cross-functional collaboration and facilitating iterative development and adaptive planning, which overcomes the limitations of traditional approaches in rapidly evolving fields like technology, business, finance, and medical-conditions.
- In addition to enhancing digital healthcare experiences, agile governance in health and wellness ensures compliance with regulatory frameworks like HIPAA or FDA rules, while also emphasizing transparency, bias mitigation, and privacy-enhancing technologies in the era of AI, wearables, and remote monitoring.
