Digital Transformation in Healthcare: Dr Michael Green Of Winona Health On How Medical Practices Can Use Digital Transformation To Provide Better Care
An Interview With David McNeil
A Growth Mindset. A goal is a dream with a deadline. Continually setting goals and making an action plan to achieve them is essential for every business’ success, including medical practices.
As a part of our series about “Medical Practices Can Use Digital Transformation To Provide Better Care”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Michael Green.
Dr. Michael Green, MD is a board certified OB/GYN living in Lake Arrowhead, CA. Dr. Green did his undergraduate studies in chemistry at The University of California at Berkeley and received a Master of Science in chemistry at California State University Northridge. He received his MD at St. Louis University of Medicine in 1993.
Dr. Green completed a Family Medicine Residency at the Ventura County Medical Center and became board certified in family medicine in 1996. Due to his interest in women’s health and his love of delivering babies, Dr. Green did a second residency in OB/GYN at The Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC.
Dr. Green spent the first 17 years of his career doing full scope OB/GYN as Chief of OB for the Centers for Family Health in Ventura, CA. He is currently the site director for OBHG at Northridge Medical Center in Northridge, CA where he works as an OB hospitalist. He has a successful YouTube channel, Medtwice, with more than 27,000 subscribers and 7 million views. Medtwice is a patient education channel focusing on OB/GYN. Dr. Green loves fishing, skiing, and spending time with his family. He has been married for 33 years to his lovely wife, Stephanie.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you share the most interesting or most exciting story that has happened to you since you began at your company?
I helped launch a YouTube channel called Med Twice that has grown to almost 33,000 subscribers. Some of the videos have more than 100,000 views.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Then, can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I honestly can’t think of a significant mistake I made early on to share, but I did learn a valuable lesson from someone else’s mistake. I heard a story about an OB/GYN who caught a complaint to the medical board for calling his patients by endearing terms like “sweetheart” and “honey.” While some people may see this as nothing more than southern hospitality, others could interpret it as unprofessional and inappropriate. That taught me to always be mindful of my words and how I say them.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Integrity: When working in the health care profession, a person must possess a high level of integrity. You must take a vow to protect patient privacy, and many people entrust you with sensitive information.
Listening: From a young age, I’ve been told that I’m a good listener. That quality translates well into my work as a doctor, because patients want to feel like their physician is truly attentive to their questions and concerns. I always pay close attention to the details so that we can approach their health care in the right way.
Communication: Communicating effectively is something I strive for. It goes hand in hand with another passion of mine — educating others. I like presenting ideas in a clear and effective way so that people truly learn something that will help them improve their health.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I’ve been looking into speaking opportunities in my area geared towards women’s health. I like getting out into the community and providing education to audiences that will benefit from it.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about Digital Transformation in Healthcare. I am particularly passionate about this topic because my work focuses on how practices can streamline processes to better serve their patients. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly Digital Transformation means? On a practical level what does it look like for a medical practice to engage in a digital transformation?
Digital transformation happens when we adopt new technologies that faze out others.
In health care, digital transformation could take the form of medical management platforms, like DrChrono, CureMD and CareCloud Central, that can help streamline billing and scheduling processes. (In particular, DrChrono includes customizable medical forms and e-prescribing capabilities). Telemedicine is another great example of how digital transformation is being used in health care.
What are the specific pain points that digital transformation can help address in a medical practice?
Digital transformation in its many forms makes medical practices run more efficiently. The right technology can enable practices to save a sizable amount of time and money. By relieving health care workers of certain menial tasks, they are able to focus on providing an exceptional patient experience.
What are the obstacles that prevent a medical practice from engaging in a digital transformation?
Some practices shy away from new technologies when the leadership does not fully understand the technology and the benefits offered. This is particularly true when it comes to process management software. Integrating more advanced software, while it may provide benefits, may also require a larger investment in IT staff to work out bugs and issues.
Managing a healthcare facility is more challenging than it has ever been. Based on your experience or research, can you please share with our readers a few examples of how digital transformation can help a medical practice to provide better care? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
I’d like to circle back to telehealth, which is a powerful example of digital transformation in a health care setting. I’m the head of clinical operations at Winona, and we are a 100% virtual care platform that provides hormone replacement therapy to menopause patients. One of the things I love most about telehealth is that it really helps us serve our most vulnerable populations — the disabled and the elderly. It’s great to know that we are helping to provide care to some patients who may not seek it otherwise.
I’d also like to call out the role tech giants are playing in the evolution of telehealth. LG’s 2022 smart TVs come equipped with a telehealth app from the senior-focused health platform Independa, which accommodates telehealth appointments. The use of telehealth services offers a layer of convenience for both providers and patients, and it can be particularly beneficial for seniors who have mobility issues or lack dependable transportation.
Going hand-in-hand with telemedicine, there are also remote patient monitoring devices, or RPMs, that can help doctors collect health data from a patient from a distance. There is great potential for growth in this area.
Can you share a few examples of how digital interactions or digital intake processes can help create a frictionless patient experience and increase access for patients?
At Winona, we have fully embraced chatbot technology. According to HubSpot, 42% of customers are more likely to communicate through live chat, so we see this as catering to our patients’ preferences. The software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help route queries to the correct place, which can help eliminate unnecessary frustrations.
Based on your opinion and experience, what are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Effective Medical Practice” and why.
- Adaptability
It’s important to pivot when the situation calls for it. Don’t keep pouring resources into initiatives that aren’t producing a justifiable return. If a marketing campaign isn’t producing results in a reasonable amount of time, pull the plug and do something different.
2. Quality People
A company can only be as good as the people who work there. If you have a person answering the phone who doesn’t greet customers with a friendly tone, for example, that’s a problem.
3. A Positive Culture
The best way to attract quality talent is to offer a culture that values its employees. That means offering competitive benefits and a good work-life balance.
4. Future-Mindedness
In a medical practice in particular, it’s important to be able to see around every corner so that you can predict and squash potential problems before they arise. For example, staying up-to-date on the latest health care policies will help ensure you stay compliant with current laws and regulations.
5. A Growth Mindset
A goal is a dream with a deadline. Continually setting goals and making an action plan to achieve them is essential for every business’ success, including medical practices.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
I would like to educate more young women about the benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for treating menopause symptoms. I think the earlier a woman knows what to expect during this inevitable stage of life and what her options are, the better she will be able to manage it. HRT is something many women feel intimidated by, but it’s a safe and effective option that can really help improve a woman’s quality of life.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Visit our website at http://bywinona.com/.
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
About The Interviewer: David McNeil is the President of PatientPop, a Tebra company, a market leader in practice growth technology. McNeil is highly committed to helping the company build a modern go-to-market organization that delivers great value to practices in a time of rapid change in healthcare. McNeil’s business insights have been featured in publications such as Medical Economics and Los Angeles Business Journal.
