INNOVATION...A Current Must for Healthcare

For this post I refer to a brief article that I recently read. It was written by a friend of mine, Andrew Buhayar of Sg2 (a healthcare intelligence group). Here is a link to the article... http://members.sg2.com/content-detail-standard/default.aspx?contentid=7792222189707788447

In essence, the article communicates the need that we have in healthcare to refine our current thinking/care/model while at the same time identify new, creative, "innovative" ways of providing that same care. My first point is that we must work on both the current and future of healthcare. This topic is a passion of mine for many reasons. While I was at Mayo Clinic I worked with Andrew (the author of the article mentioned above) at the SPARC Innovation Lab where we identified care delivery needs and then provided innovative solutions for those needs. We would pilot these ideas, receive feedback, and then alter and try again. I saw the value that it provided to the provider AND the patient. I have also learned that if we are truly trying to be "patient centered" then we must do whatever it takes to please the customer/consumer/patient WHILE maintaining our own needs. The "WHILE" is an important distinction, and I believe that we can do both at the same time.


We read in the brief article by Andrew that Netflix is taking the steps to always be on the look-out for creative ways of providing their product. Well, many industry leaders are doing the same thing. This brings me to a second point. Many industries hold answers to the problems in healthcare (auto, airline, restaurant, hotel, media, manufacturing, entertainment) we just have to be willing to draw from the principles of those industries and apply them to healthcare. One of the major reasons I chose to complete an MBA instead of just an MHA is because of the education and exposure to other industries and principles they apply to improve performance, output, and customer satisfaction. In future posts I will discuss specific examples of this behavior, including; Disney and their guest experience, Toyota and LEAN, Southwest and "Time flies when your having fun", and many others. Other industries can teach us a lot if we are willing to learn!

Although this post is fairly short and unclear the point is simple. Change is inevitable, so let's prepare now by implementing for the future. I quote partially from Andrew's Sg2 Article. In order to meet the demands that we face ALONG WITH the patient demands we must continue "tirelessly refining what works today, while investing in activities that will disrupt the future." The patient must be a part of this "open innovation". I am a firm believer that the system must be changed and part of that change must be initiated by our own healthcare culture.

Ambitious, Human, Humble, Resilient

Thinking about a theme for the first management/healthcare centered post that I would make I searched through my file folder that is stacked full of little business and healthcare articles, quotes, and notes. Every so often, usually once a year or so, I will open up this folder and just look through the topics, concepts, poetry, themes, and models that I have considered important throughout my education and early career.

In the middle of all the articles and other paper I found a half-sheet, glossy program that I had been saving for nearly 5 years. On October 15, 2004 I was 2 months away from finishing my undergraduate degree at Utah State University in the College of Business. I knew that my career would be in healthcare and so I attended a presentation by a Ron K. Labrum, the President and CEO of a division of Cardinal Health. He was the guest speaker for the Dean's Convocation in the College of Business.

I don't remember much about the talk....other than things I wrote down and the fact that I felt embarrassed for the school seeing as how the presentation was given in the Business Building Auditorium which at the time was run-down, old, and dirty. The cleanliness of the auditorium is beside the point, however I would like to discuss those few notes that I jotted down during the presentation. Mr. Labrum shared a video with us of a physician in a busy downtown, urban hospital. The physician made a special point, and is something that I could use as my personal mission statement. He stated the following about leaders in healthcare (specifically referring to physicians), we must be;

"Ambitious enough to try my hardest the whole time,

Human enough to make mistakes,

Humble enough to accept the changes,

Resilient enough to bounce back."

Ambitious, human, humble, and resilient! I view these as the principles and characteristics of true leaders. There must be a recognition that throughout our lives we will not ALWAYS make the correct decisions or moves. However, we should try our hardest whether we are right or wrong, accept the changes that we need to make up, and continue work for something better. The thought this physician left was motivating and thought provoking.

Now, I know that simply sharing a principle or reading a special thought does not change behavior or lifestyle. These "soft" messages are simply motivating and can trigger action that if done consistently can become a part of lifestyle.....or an individuals mission statement!

As a sidenote, the only other note that I took during the speech was a thought of my own. I noted that one of the reasons I chose to become a hospital administrator is because "as administrator you put in to place systems and structures for the delivery of care." I recognize the importance of my job and hope to follow after the mission of being "ambitious, human, humble, and resilient."

*Ron K. Labrum (bachelors degree from Utah State University, College of Business) is still with Cardinal health and is now the CEO of their Healthcare Supply Chain Services.

The First Post

As an introduction, my name is Scott (Morty) Mortensen. I am married to an amazing, beautiful, caring woman named Kara. We currently have one little 3 year old boy named William. I enjoy healthcare and during my free time love ALL sports, reading, and all sorts of movies.

I have been intrigued with healthcare and leadership my whole life. I have chosen to follow my passions in life as a hospital administrator. Currently I am employed at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH as an Administrative Fellow. My career started in 2004 at Intermountain Healthcare (an amazing organization) where I learned the importance of reimbursement by acting as the Business Office Liason and Patient Financial Advocate for the Emergency Department at Logan Regional Hospital. From 2006-2009 I completed a Masters of Healthcare Administration (MHA) and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health and Carlson School of Management respectively. While completing my graudate education I worked at Mayo Clinic (2007) in Rochester, MN in the Department of Medicine and SPARC Innovation Lab...an amazing experience. While there I offered recommendations on improving resource utilization costs specifically in the area of CHF and Pneumonia and the diagnostic tests (lab, radiology, etc) that are related to such diseases.

I was also fortunate enough to work for UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest insurance/health plan companies in the nation. UHG, at the time, had 6 core business areas and I worked in the company they owned called OptumHealth. I was able to experience the importance of a clinical network, recruiting physicians, the credentialing process and all the major concerns that are linked to offering health plans and products to members of a network. While at OptumHealth I was able to provide a solution to move the over 70,000 network provider files to an electronic format. This was another wonderful learning experience!

During my final year as an MBA/MHA student I worked as a Healthcare Consultant for Carlson Ventures Enterprise (more-or-less a subsidiary of Carlson School of Management). The major project that I led, with 4 other consultant students, was a collaboration between HealthEast Care System, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN, Ecumen, and Ucare. These players were interested in a new, innovative model for the care of baby-boomer patients with chronic diseases such as heart failure, diabetes, and Alzheimers. After researching, ideating, seeking patient input, and developing a plan we formed a model of care for the future. We were able to present our recommendations to a load of different stakeholders including Sg2, and the Minnesota Department of Health, not to mention the sponsors of the project. A magnificent opportunity!

This blog will act as a journal of my insights, thoughts, expressions, learnings, and frustrations as they relate to healthcare and business in general. I keep this blog in order to organize my own life BUT also invite others that may be interested to follow along and provide their "two cents" on any given topic. So, here we go (Kara will be so proud of me)....