At athenahealth, we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier, a healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier patients. But the complexities of modern health care tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most? That's where athenahealth can help. Our AI native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights
when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom lines. Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice can be that much simpler with athenahealth. See how simpler is healthier@athenahealth.com. Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Becker's Health Care podcast. I'm Scott King. Thrilled today to be joined by Matthew Harenstein, vice president and associate chief medical officer over at Northwell. Matthew, thanks
so much for joining us today. How are you doing? I'm great. Thanks so much for having me, Scott. It's a it's a great honor to be here and a a pleasure to share a little bit about what we've been doing. Of course. And we really appreciate your time, and and we're gonna appreciate your expertise diving into some kind of big topics and trends
going on in health care right now. But before before we jump to the questions, just wondering if you could please introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit about your background. Yes. Absolutely. So I'm doctor Matthew Harenstein. I am, vice president and an associate chief
medical officer at Northwell Health. I'm also a practicing cardiologist and have spent, much of my career focused on, cardiovascular imaging, specifically nuclear cardiology and echocardiography, as well as assessment of, perioperative patients and, in cardio oncology. Before joining Northwell, I spent about fifteen years at UPMC in Pittsburgh. I held roles, that bridge clinical medicine, physician leadership, and administration, both domestically and internationally.
What really drew drew me to Northwell was its phenomenal and unique culture. I think one that balances clinical excellence, optimal care of the patients, innovation, and really focuses on, the workforce. In my current role, I work, with our chief medical officer in the CMO office, as well as hospital leaders to help advance system integration, efforts to strengthen our culture, support our providers, and enhance engagement across our system.
Thanks so much for sharing that background information. And to get to the the trends in health care I I had mentioned, what opportunities and headwinds do you have your eye on right now in health care?
Great question. There there's a number of opportunities, really across the continuum, but, you know, the the couple that I'm focused on specifically are, really around using data and digital tools to advance our care and to allow providers, to spend more time with the patients and also helping to identify patients who may benefit,
from specific types of care. So a lot of opportunity to use AI and, you know, look at patients who might qualify for particular treatments or procedures and help them to to receive the right care that they need and also to really help with, our providers and promote, you know, a culture that allows them to be as satisfied as possible.
I think if we can use some of these tools to identify patients who'd benefit from procedures such as diabetes or cardiovascular care or things like structural heart procedures, we can help to really optimize our clinical pathways and workflows. Think another, opportunity is really for us around the integration between Northwell and Nuvance Health, which started, this year. It's it's not really just about combining two systems, but it's really about creating,
a system that's even stronger. It's now, allowing us to unify, you know, best practices from both Northwell and Nuvance, elevate, quality across, the regions, and really leverage all of the resources and clinical expertise that now, sit anywhere between Long Island through New York, and into Connecticut, and to really make those available to to all of our patients.
I think at the same time, regarding the headwinds that we're that we're seeing, I think a lot of these are ones that many health systems are facing right now in terms of workforce challenges, financial constraints, and the pace of change. The key is, I think, maintaining a culture where people feel valued and supported, and their well-being is promoted.
From my perspective, I think when employees feel satisfied in their roles, when they feel seen or heard or connected to their purpose, I think everyone is more efficient, productive, and ultimately happier. So if we can make sure that every one of our staff members from administration to ancillary services to the provider level is satisfied in what they're doing. I think everybody,
works better. And, really, who benefits the most is, our patients who receive the best care, and have the best experience. And, doctor Herndon, I just wanna follow-up on on something you said. You you said you're using your system's implementing AI to free up time with patients, and that that way you have more time to patients and and can really listen to them. How has that kinda early
implementation worked? Are you already seeing a lot more time with patients, at your system versus having to do, you know, all all the kind of administrative stuff? Yeah. So from that perspective, I think a lot of, systems are moving more towards the, Ambient AI in terms of, how to, better be able to produce clinical notes and focus, you know, less on the documentation and more on time spent with patient care.
And so this is, certainly something that is, going to be, rolled out at Northwell and, you know, creates an opportunity for, you know, more focus on the patient and and hopefully more satisfaction for the providers. Absolutely. And I also want to ask you, how are you thinking about growth and adding value to your organization?
So I think from a, you know, Northwell perspective, growth really isn't just measured by geography or or clinical volume, but it's also about, you know, value and and impact.
So we're focused on growing intelligently, really strengthening our clinical programs around transplantation, surgical areas, including cardiac, neurosurgery, abdominal, and others, and then leveraging digital tools to expand access and, building integrated teams that, you know, can help deliver care seamlessly across the health system. I think focusing on our network and focusing on strengthening our hospital medical staffs is really critically important.
The more that we can connect to the ambulatory to the hospital and make sure that people feel, a part of the community and know how to get their patients to move throughout the system, is really critically important. That's how patients are gonna be able to receive the care that they need, hopefully, as close to home as possible.
And the more we function as a network, the more providers are gonna know how and who to get in touch with and the more that ultimately the patients will be able to receive the best care. I also think, you know, as far as as growth, we're really deeply committed to cultivating, you know, a culture that is really more of a strategic asset.
And what I mean by that is, you know, programs, you know, in our perioperative areas where we're reinforcing what it means to lead with purpose and empathy in some of our hospitals, We really are emphasizing the best culture possible. And when you have a a really great culture where people feel respected, part of the team, it creates really the safest and highest quality care for the patients. And so really focusing on, you know, culture as a growth asset, is important,
as well. And, and, ultimately, when pay when people feel empowered and respected, they're gonna contribute ideas, solve problems, drive improvement, and that's only gonna lead to, to more growth opportunities. You mentioned digital tools. Obviously, we're we're seeing and and hearing about a lot of systems investing in more and more of them. What's one risk or investment worth making this year, you think? And would it be a a digital tool or something else?
Yeah. So, so great question and and one that definitely applies in our case. And, you know, I think one of the, you know, the the way I would phrase it is one of the most meaningful investments that we can make is is in our people and particularly, you know, leadership development, engagement, and and well-being. And one of the things that we have just implemented at Northwell is, the first wave of
of EPIC. And so, EPIC is going to be the new electronic health record, at Northwell, and it's going to be, implemented across a a couple of different waves. And we just had our first wave in several of our hospitals and ambulatory sites, and it's really, really occurred with great success. You saw, physicians, nurses, you know, frontline leaders who are all, working, you know, around the clock and really in concert with one another to make sure that this, you know, moves forward seamlessly.
And I was just so impressed with how well everything, worked out. And I had the opportunity, over the last week or so to visit many of our sites and talk with, people at all levels of the organization. And, really, we heard, myself and and one of my colleagues who, visited some of these sites, nothing but enthusiasm. You know, this time when you're moving from one EHR to another, particularly from a, you know, a different company, can be daunting for providers. It's a new
system. It's something that they're not familiar with. You know, even with all the training that you go through, once it's it's finally time for prime time, you know, it can be challenging. But we heard nothing but, excitement, and people were just talking about, already how much they're seeing improvement in some of their workflows and, that this is only gonna be more positive for their daily lives and for for the patient care. So really just, you know, extremely, excited.
And I think another investment, you know, when we think about it is is really moving forward with, you know, this this idea of this new EHR and what Epic can do for us is some of the the digital analytic capabilities. You know, again, how can we utilize AI to, help us with, you know, creating notes, with creating discharge summaries. We talked about that, previously. How can we, you know, better monitor patients?
And so all of these things that we can now do will will only enhance our communication amongst ourselves with the with the patients and hopefully, improve the well-being of, of our staff. It's great to hear the epic rollout is going very well, over at Northwell. That's wonderful news. And the last thing I wanted to ask you, doctor Harenstein, where do you see the best opportunities for growth in the future? So from my perspective, I think the growth, really lies in connection.
Connecting, our health systems between, Northwell Nuvance, connecting data, and, you know, really, connecting our people. And, you know, the the integration with Nuvance is a great example of that. We're bringing together, many talented teams, complementary resources, and, shared values, to deliver exceptional care in the communities.
But, also, it's important to think about strengthening our network to make sure that everyone has access to every resource in the health system that allows us to identify patients and, you know, to make sure that they're placed in in the right place for care. And so the more that we can connect our medical staffs, connect the community physicians, across all of our different areas, the more
successful we'll be. If you, enter care through, a primary care physician, which is a wonderful opportunity for us to think about growth in the future, if they know who to go directly to to receive care, that will just occur seamlessly. And now all of a sudden, that patient who may struggle to figure out, you know, where do I go next? Who do I go to for my referral? Now is going to be able to get that appointment, get into the system, and then, again, get
the treatment they need. That might be making sure that they're monitored for prevention purposes. It might be being, told that there's an opportunity for them to get a procedure that's going to help them that they now qualify for to to help them live longer or live a more, you know, healthy life. So these are, I I think, you know, just critical, opportunities for growth is is really to make those connections and to, you know, make sure that people know how to get through the
system. And for the procedures that might not be closest to home, now patients really throughout our health system can have access to those high acuity, procedures like transplantation and others. So I think that's really where I see, the most growth. And, you know, overall, I think health care is about, you know, people. It's the people we care for, the people that deliver the care.
I think when we have this this environment of connection, and, you know, promotion of well-being, Everyone has the opportunity to flourish, and, you know, hopefully, we can deliver the the best care, with the highest quality and and hopefully with a high level of innovation overall. Absolutely. And and certainly some great strategies and and insight on on growth there. And, doctor Henstein, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast. It was a great conversation. I look
forward to working with you again soon. Thanks so much. I appreciate the opportunity to join you and look forward to speaking again. At athenahealth, we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier, a healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier patients. But the complexities of modern health care tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most.
That's where athenahealth can help. Our AI native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom lines. Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice can be that much simpler with athenahealth. See how simpler is healthier at athenahealth.com.