Five Myths About Good Healthcare Leaders

“It may seem as though leaders know it all-especially if they have years of experience and embody confidence. It is natural to turn to a leader and expect them to have all of the answers. Part of this is true as a leader you need to ‘know your stuff’ and be at the top of your game. But, there is always room to grow, no matter how much experience and wisdom a leader may have. The truth is, you’re not expected to know everything, because leaders grow by consistently drawing contributions out from other people, and then collaborating on new ideas. It is also essential to always have a passion for learning and to nurture your curiosity, and to take risks and be open to feedback.”

-Diana Nole, CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health

“Business leaders, especially in widespread organizations, are extremely busy, with meetings, travel, and other priorities. However, this should not completely interfere with their ability to cultivate relationships with employees. Yes, it takes some flexibility and creativity to get face time with a team sometimes, but the more we value each other by listening, engaging and learning from others, we can more successfully achieve our goals. Employees want to see their leaders, and they need to if they are going to follow, trust, and believe them.

-Nole

“The majority of employers only communicate with employees about their health benefits one time per year, during open enrollment, and they operate with a just-in-time strategy that condenses communications into just a few weeks. Because most employees have low health and financial fluency, it can be a real struggle for them to understand the most basic concepts in such a short period of time. The truth is that to truly empower employees to make the best healthcare decisions, employers need to adjust their open enrollment strategies, beginning with thoughtful plan design that is supported by a year-round communication plan.”

-Steven Auerbach, CEO, Alegeus

“There’s a lot of talk in healthcare around AI, but, like many technological advancements, experts are touting it as a ‘fix-all’ that can be thrown at every problem. This is a myth because unlike many consumer and retail settings, healthcare is deeply personal. It faces challenges related to patient preference and delivery of sensitive information that requires person to person interaction. The truth is that while there’s incredible opportunity to implement AI into healthcare workflows, good leaders should take careful stock of balancing the implementation of AI technology with the need for human interaction across the patient journey-from clinical settings to patient communication.”

-Nagi Prabhu, chief product officer at Solutionreach

“While healthcare leaders know automating the revenue cycle via AI is critical, many are finding this challenge too difficult to manage internally because it requires substantial ramp-up, education, and resources; can be confusing and complicated, and comes with risk. By leveraging partners who are experts in both healthcare and intelligent automation, good leaders can step away from the DIY model and still be in charge-thus helping their organizations experience true RCM transformation and get results with certainty.”

-Joe Polaris, senior vice president of product & technology, R1 RCM