Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/821337
104 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP ton, D.C. We should be taking the lead on healthcare reform, and we should all embrace these principles on transparency, on being more consumer-focused, on providing more affordable healthcare through operational efficiencies, and continuing to align so we can coordinate care better. So continue that alignment between hospitals, physicians and insurers. We also need to advocate for the needy, the folks that are most disadvantaged in our society. We have a responsibility to do that. My best advice would be for our colleagues in the healthcare indus- try to follow these principles and take the lead in these categories. We shouldn't wait for Washington, D.C., or in our case Trenton, N.J. We should really be taking the lead. We are healthcare leaders. We should put together healthcare reform that makes sense for our entire nation and system. n 5 Reflections on Next Generation Leadership with Carolinas HealthCare System's Chief of Staff Debra Plousha Moore By Mackenzie Bean A new class of leaders is set to succeed their baby boom- er predecessors, and these up-and-comers will manage a very different type of health system due to the rapid development of new ideas, policies and technolo- gies, according to Debra Plousha Moore, system chief of staff and ex- ecutive vice president at Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System. Ms. Plousha Moore shared her thoughts on the next genera- tion of healthcare leaders during a conversation with Russell Williamson, vice president and general manager of enterprise corporate accounts for Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health. New leaders must be able to lead through the disruption of changing patient-provider relationships, care delivery mod- els, health plans and more, according to Ms. Plousha Moore. She and Mr. Williamson discussed the main attributes this new class of leaders must demonstrate to successfully man- age constant change and how their leadership roles — and expectations — will differ from their predecessors'. Note: Responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity Russell Williamson: How would you describe the trans- formation in today's healthcare industry? Debra Plousha Moore: A couple of things stick out in my mind. One is the use of technology, which has changed ev- erything in our world, and changed healthcare. The EMR allows us to connect with patients throughout our entire enterprise to improve the patient experience and provide continuity of care. How we deliver care is also changing. We're moving away from the model where patients have to come in and wait 45 minutes for a very brief interaction with a provider. The patients of today want access and convenience – and they want information quickly. We've responded to how we de- liver care based on how patients and consumers have ap- proached us about how they want their experiences. First we saw the emergency department as the access point to convenient care. Then it was urgent care. Now we have vir- tual visits, where patients can interact with providers online. Another big change in the industry is hospitals providing incentives for teammates, employees and associates to improve their own health and to create, within employer plans, individual experiences designed by the consumer about how they want to access health. This is a much more interactive experience, influenced by employees. RW: How would you describe the challenges faced by the next generation of healthcare leaders compared to those faced by their predecessors? DPM: As a baby boomer, I'm coming to the end of my ca- reer as an executive. It is very rewarding to see the next generation of healthcare leaders. They are managing a very different business than what we managed. When most of us came into healthcare, it was very physician-driven. We didn't have Internet access to look up our own symptoms and voice opinions about our diagnoses. The transformation of healthcare is happening right in front of us and will continue to change. When many of us started our careers, our patients and clients were passive consum- ers. Today we have active consumers, and that shift takes a different kind of leader. New leaders have to be comfort- able with changes in health plans, delivery models, infor- mation access and the immediate needs of customers. They need to be comfortable with real-time feedback about the care experience and people sharing insights about how we can improve care. There is a difference between disruption and chaos, however. It is important to be the kind of leader who builds trust with every stakeholder, because change without trust is chaos. RW: How is the relationship between healthcare pro- viders and consumers changing? DPM: The demographics are changing. Medical school en- rollment over the last 25 years has evolved to 50 percent women or higher. As you bring more women, more people of color and more international diversity into the healthcare delivery model, the relationships between providers and consumers change. When I was just starting in healthcare, it was not unusual to have mostly men as OB-GYNs. I made a conscious decision to seek out a female OB-GYN, which was a big deal at the time. Now, there's so much more diversity in healthcare, and the cur- rent generation would probably wonder why my decision to see a female physician was one I had to say out loud. Now, patients are making more decisions about who they want as their providers and what they want their conversation