Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1161749
46 CIO / HEALTH IT Can Amazon, Apple and Google disrupt healthcare delivery? 4 hospital execs weigh in By Laura Dyrda L arge technology companies including Amazon, Apple and Google have made well-documented moves into the healthcare space. On both the operational and clinical sides, these companies leverage big data to make processes more precise and improve decision-mak- ing accuracy. But is a bigger, more disruptive technology around the corner? Four hospital and health system executives discuss how Amazon, Apple and Google could realistically change healthcare, and how they are preparing for the future. Question: How do you think Amazon, Apple and Google will change healthcare? Is disruption possible? Lance Spranger. CIO of St. John's Health (Jackson, Wyo.): ey have already started. You›re seeing health executives and physicians talk about data and artificial intelligence in reviewing imaging studies. e platforms can see thousands of slices of a CT scan and determine which are normal and where to focus efforts. AI and machine learning is where big tech partners can work with big healthcare. It will take further innovation and partnership, but whether it's from the EHR or imaging perspective, we can use technology to drive innovation and push forward digital medicine. Health systems and physicians must change their practices or be le behind. e ones that grasp the technology and use it to their advan- tage will succeed; those that don't will struggle. We have been pumping data into EHRs for years, and data manage- ment is one of the things that Amazon and Google have done well. If they host the data, they can provide us with tools to help the deci- sion-making process, such as precision medicine. We can customize it down to the individual level. As humans, we can't work fast enough to process the data, but machines can. Let's leverage that technical ability and organize data to help us make valuable decisions. Michelle Conger. Chief Strategy Officer at OSF HealthCare (Peo- ria, Ill.): ese companies are coming up with care models that don›t require individuals to go to a doctor›s office. ey will use data to better understand their customers› (who are also our patients) wants and needs so they can deliver a customized experience. I do believe that, Amazon, Apple and Google could disrupt the industry, but I actually see their entry as a call to action and perhaps a source of future partnerships. It serves as a stimulus for healthcare provid- ers to take control of our destinies by optimizing care, adding val-