#21 – From Bedside to Byte: Doug Vanderslice on Children’s Healthcare & Virtual Care Revolution

Introduction

Join us as we embark on an insightful journey with Doug Vanderslice, the EVP of Enterprise Services and System CFO at Boston Children’s Hospital. As our guest on the Seamless Connection podcast, Doug offers a panoramic view of his experience in the children’s healthcare sector.

Doug’s Enriching Journey in Healthcare

Spanning over a decade, Doug’s association with Boston Children’s Hospital has been nothing short of remarkable. From holding the reins as CFO to spearheading IT, digital applications, network development, and even real estate strategy, Doug’s growth trajectory is awe-inspiring. Before this, his contributions to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Children’s Health in Dallas are notable, where he laid the foundation of his career with revenue cycle management.

The Allure of Children’s Hospitals

Though not a premeditated choice, Doug’s venture into pediatric hospitals became an inevitable path, thanks to a Deloitte colleague’s nudge. Once acquainted with the noble mission of these hospitals and the fervent dedication of their staff, there was no turning back for Doug.

Drawing the Line: Children’s Hospitals vs. Regular Hospitals

Several factors set children’s hospitals apart:

• Culture: Children’s hospitals exude an unmatched warmth and ethos.
• Patient Acuity: They cater to a wide spectrum, from commonplace procedures to tackling intricate and rare health anomalies.
• Special Considerations: Meeting the unique demands, like the precise medication dosages based on a child’s age or managing kids with multiple health conditions, marks the day.
• Financial Nuances: Institutions, especially ones akin to Boston’s, are predominantly reliant on Medicaid, bringing its own set of fiscal challenges.

The Digital Pivot: Virtual Care’s Dominance:

COVID-19 rewrote the playbook for patient care. A staggering transition from mere 10-15 virtual cases weekly to a whopping 90% virtual consultations during the pandemic peak bears testimony. Even in the aftermath, virtual consultations constitute a significant 18-20% of the hospital’s total visits.

Guiding Virtual Care Decisions:

Contrary to the increasing dependence on tech-driven solutions, Boston Children’s Hospital upholds specialty-specific policies and patient preferences to dictate the mode of consultation.

Tech Renaissance:

The Epic Transition: With an objective far beyond mere system adoption, the transition to Epic at Boston Children’s Hospital focuses on optimizing software efficiency. Overcoming the hurdles of juggling between multiple platforms like Epic, Cerner, and a slew of customized apps was paramount.

Slice of Healthcare Wrap Up

Doug’s inadvertent yet profound journey in children’s hospitals imparts unparalleled wisdom to the domain. Embracing the digital era of care, magnified by the pandemic, is undeniably the way forward. At the heart of healthcare evolution lies the essence of seamless tech integration.