Ardent Health, based in Nashville, operates 30 hospitals and over 280 care sites across six states, including Idaho, Kansas, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Recognizing the complexity of its operations, Ardent Health appointed Anika Gardenhire, RN, as its first Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) in 2023. She has since focused on enhancing the health system’s digital strategy.
Improving Provider Experience
Gardenhire emphasizes the importance of enhancing experiences for both patients and providers. She states:
- Utilizing ambient technologies to support providers.
- Automating vital science collection through sensors to assist nursing and allied health professionals.
- Implementing new telephony systems for outbound calling.
She believes that ambient listening AI significantly reduces administrative burdens on clinicians while improving documentation and coding accuracy.
Integrating Technology into Daily Operations
Gardenhire shares her approach to integrating technologies like AI into hospital operations:
- Clarify the use case: Understand the specific problem or operational improvement needed.
- Ensure operational partnerships and customer buy-in for successful integration.
- Focus on change management and stakeholder impact to facilitate smooth transitions.
Ardent Health has established governance focused on use cases to introduce impactful toolsets effectively.
Human-Centric Technology
Gardenhire advocates for a human-centric approach in technology implementation:
“Most technologists are product-focused. We create technology to impact human life. Without a human-centric approach, the technology loses its value.”
She stresses the need for intentional management of bias in digital transformation, ensuring equitable access to care through thoughtful design and implementation.
Advancing Augmented Intelligence
Gardenhire is committed to advancing what she calls augmented intelligence, which emphasizes human involvement in technology:
“Augmented intelligence means keeping humans in the loop. It’s crucial to ensure that technology not only predicts outcomes but also facilitates timely interventions.”
She highlights the importance of human-computer interaction, especially in clinical settings, to ensure effective use of technology.
Conclusion
Gardenhire concludes that achieving successful outcomes requires integrating human elements into technology solutions. She believes that without effective human interaction, the potential benefits of predictive technologies diminish.
For more insights, follow Bill Siwicki’s coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Siwicki
Email: bsiwicki@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.