Center Focuses Whitepaper on "21st Century Intelligent Health System: An Individual-Centered Approach"
As America’s health systems transform into individual-centered places of care, they need guidance and best practices to pave the road ahead. CEO’s Wayne Sensor, Alegent Health Systems and Steve Bonner, Cancer Treatment Centers of America are the co-chairs of the 21st Century Intelligent Hospital Project with the Center for Health Transformation which released its newest whitepaper “21st Century Intelligent Health System: An Individual-Centered Approach” at the CHT March Member Meeting in Omaha.
After the introduction by Founder of CHT Newt Gingrich and CEO Nancy Desmond, the paper takes a unique stance by not only relying on the knowledge and know-how of healthcare experts across the country, but it also puts the individual at the center of the paper. Individuals, caregivers and patients themselves contribute to the piece providing impact and personalizing the stories behind transforming our health systems.
“The scientific community needs to collaborate with the clinical and patient communities to drive innovation in areas patients most need,” said Ross Mason, Founder of HINRI - the Healthcare Institute for Neuro-Recovery and Innovation; Chairman, Georgia Free Clinic Network; and Senior Fellow at CHT. “Together they can then communicate these priorities to philanthropic, government and business leaders to more strategically allocate limited resources.”
The paper includes sections devoted to drilling down to the basic components of a revitalized health system, focusing on the world that works, and recommendations for implementing these strategies.
Center for Health Transformation members and other innovative leaders in healthcare including, Alegent Health, CTCA, Guidon, Gundersen Lutheran Health System, Henry Ford Health System, MCGHealth, Sanford Health, MinuteClinic, SSM Health Care and WellStar Health System contributed to the paper.
The co-chairs of the project brought their own advice to the whitepaper. Building a new system from the ground up, Steve Bonner, Cancer Treatment Centers of America stated, “What we teach our folks is that no matter who you are or where you are, if you encounter a patient, the question you ask yourself is, ‘If this were my mother what would I want to do for her at this point in time?’”
Alegent Health System CEO Wayne Sensor had a difficult challenge of transforming a century old system into an individually-centered system for the 21st Century. In addition to this being quite an accomplishment, he challenges others to take of the mantel, “What worries me most about the healthcare system is that we, from within the industry, won't seize the opportunity to be transformational leaders and we’ll wait for somebody else to figure out how to fix healthcare. There is an incredible commitment to this honorable profession right within our industry, but time is ticking. We built a healthcare system that is not sustainable. How much are we willing to spend on healthcare, particularly for an ineffective and inefficient system? And the time to act is now. So, my challenge to my colleagues in the industry is be bold, be innovative, take some steps. It’s ours to save.”
