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 Today in Health it, this story is day two of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. My name is Bill Russell. I'm a former CIO for a 16 hospital system and creator of this week in health. It . A channel dedicated to keeping health IT staff current and engaged. Today's sponsors VMware. VMware has put together a great session to demonstrate exactly how to defend the EMR from the growing threat of Cyber thieves.

Uh, the session's going going to be on the 22nd of January. It starts at 12 Eastern 9:00 AM Pacific. Uh, you can register at Bitly BI t.ly/two N two six. S pj. Yeah, that's right. I shortened the URL. The other URL was way too long. So here it is again. Bitly BIT LY slash two N two six s. pj, great topic. I think you're gonna want set aside some time to explore defending the EMR from cyber terrorists.

Here's today's story. Day two, the JP Morgan healthcare Conference is in the books. I am exploring universal themes from healthcare providers. Uh, the nonprofit track had 16 providers presenting. They actually had 17 presenters. One of 'em was, uh, blue, blue Shield of California, uh, which is really a payer.

So, uh, 16 providers presented. Uh, here's, here's who we heard from over the two days. Advocate, Aurora Prisma Health, mass General Brigham. . Intermountain. SSM, Baylor Scott and White Northwell Common Spirit, Ohio Health, blue Shield of California, as I said. Uh, spectrum Health, advent. Health Ascension, Jefferson Health, Providence, uh, Henry Ford and ProMedica.

I. . You know, yesterday I shared one of the overarching themes, which was diversification. Almost all of these organizations talked about divers diversification. They almost had to, uh, because the revenue took a hit over a three month period, and they had to talk about, you know, what, what filled that hole.

During that time, obviously the Caress Act money filled that hole somewhat. Uh, but also, uh, their diversification efforts. Really came to the fore. Uh, there are others that I'm gonna talk about over the next couple of days, but I wanted to see if I could come up with a universal theme. Uh, what did I hear from every health system?

You know, in the previous years, each health system had a set of, uh, growth strategies. And, uh, you know, it was interesting. I mean, they had global expansion. We saw . Uh, maps of the world and how these health systems were going into other parts of the, uh, of the world and how they were, uh, growing in, in Asia, in Europe, uh, in the Middle East.

Um, we saw investment in innovation strategies. Obviously, you're seeing those all over the place where. Health systems either decide to become, uh, VC themselves or private equity themselves, uh, or they partner, uh, strongly. That's obviously, you know, you see that at, uh, UPMC, Providence, you see that at Jefferson and, uh, and others obviously out there.

Uh, a new service organizations rising from within and, and taking outside. You see. Um, uh, you know, uh, some supply chain stuff. You see, uh, you know, debt and collections, you see call center, uh, a lot of different, uh, types of services. Uh, you know, they scale within these large health systems and then they take 'em out to the market.

Uh, m and a obviously is, is there. Uh, low asset moves. Uh, you know, the low asset moves into the markets, uh, was, uh, was a pretty interesting theme last year. Uh, didn't hear as much of it this year, actually didn't hear a lot about these growth strategies. Uh, JP Morgan Healthcare 21 was really about the core.

In fact, you know, growth was a theme last year. Uh, but this year it was really about, um, . You know, uh, can you deliver healthcare? Covid made all healthcare focus on and therefore present on their core business? You know, questions like, uh, how did you provide care for the communities that you serve? Uh, did your supply chain work?

How did you operate while keeping your staff safe? How was your, uh, communication with the community that you serve? How was your, your public relationship? Uh, you know, your, your relationship with your state, your relationship with your counties, uh, even your federal relationship. How'd you utilize technology and, and digital tools?

You know, were you able to, to, uh, you know, schedule things? Were you able to, um, you know, stand up your, your distance, your telehealth? Were you able to stand up your, your work from home? Uh, how did you address civil unrest in the, in your community, uh, and in your staff? And how did, how did you and will you address health disparities, inequities, and systemic racism?

Oh, and, and by the way, . Um, and, you know, how did you do all these things while maintaining a strong balance sheet in operating cash flow? Uh, you know, the, the the so what for today? Uh, just focusing in on that one thing, you know, how did you do at your core is, um, you know, everyone had to deal with these issues and it, it got back to how is your core?

Are you good at delivering healthcare in the communities that you serve? Uh, there is a truth that we don't like . Uh, because it really doesn't fit the narrative, and it is not everyone that works in healthcare is a hero. And not every healthcare delivery system is good at delivering healthcare in every community that they serve.

Uh, you know, if you handled this pandemic and handled it well, . Handled those questions of, you know, civil unrest, health inequities, um, you know, you, you kept your supply chain together. You kept your employees safe. Uh, your communication was, was good. Your, your digital strategy held up. Then, uh, you know, then you're ready to go.

And if you didn't, you have some work to do. You have to strengthen that core before you move forward. That's all for today. If you know someone that might benefit from our channel, please forward them a note. They can subscribe on our website this week, health.com, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Apple, Google Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher.

We are everywhere. Uh, we want to thank our channel sponsors who are investing in our vision and mission to develop the next generation of health IT leaders, VMware, Hillrom, and Starbridge Advisors. Thanks for listening. That's all for now.