Dr. Seleem R. Choudhury

Recently, my organization went through system-wide strategic planning sessions. Too often, even the best of strategic plans are not implemented successfully because organizations do not consider strategy execution in these discussions, neglecting to ask themselves how their organizations can prepare to implement the plans crafted (Cote, 2020). Our facilitator, Costin Jordache of Adventist Healthcare, lead us through our planning session, taking care to define the ingredients of execution. The following article explores his format for successful execution.

By Dr. Seleem R. Choudhury

Consistency in the day-to-day requirements of leadership is essential, but the best leaders also know how to intentionally create moments that inspire, engage, drive imagination, and have an impact that far outlasts the moment itself.

By Pamela J. Gallagher

AI is here to stay. The question leaders must grapple with is how to embrace it wisely and with purpose.

Machine learning is not going to be a panacea for all problems, and has great potential to create new ones. There are many considerations that healthcare leaders must make as they evaluate AI in their particular contexts.

By Rand O’Leary

Throughout my life, I have seen that it is true that your thoughts become your words, and your words become your actions. I wonder if it is possible to reverse-engineer this adage, using our actions and words to impact our thoughts. As another old adage says: whatever you feed will grow. How do we feed positive thinking? Through kindness and gratitude in word and deed.

The only way to solve the problem of healthcare costs is to educate, empower, activate, and engage patients. Providers and public health programs need to give patients the information they need about their own health and how to care for themselves, but patients must also be educated about the real costs of healthcare.

From my vantage point as a financial executive in the healthcare industry, I believe virtual financial services offer tremendous value to organizations—to a point.

By Dr. Seleem R. Choudhury

National Public Radio (NPR) recently did a story on how, for the first time in 100 years, life expectancy in the U.S. has dropped for two straight years. In 2019, someone born in the U.S. had a life expectancy of 79 years. As a result of the pandemic, life expectancy dropped to 77 years in 2020, and dropped again in 2021 to 76.1 years (Greenhalgh & Simmons-Duffin, 2022).

Often, we are flattered when we’re asked to join something—and reasonably so! —and so we assume it must be a good thing and a worthy organization. But to maintain an active commitment for the entire length of your board service, you need clarity from the start on what it would entail to accept the board assignment and the values you share with the organization.

The COVID-19 pandemic initiated a digital health revolution in the healthcare space, providing a convenient and safe way for patients to receive care outside of the four walls of the hospital or clinic. In droves, nonprofit and for-profit health systems invested in digital health strategies to help increase hospital capacity, divert from the crowded emergency department, ease staff burden, and enable providers to care for their patients from afar. Beyond COVID-19 response, these strategies have helped healthcare entities deliver comprehensive care, increase access, reduce costs, and improve patient convenience.

By Pamela J. Gallagher

I have been very fortunate with the bosses I’ve had over the years. On the whole, they have been people I respect and have been able to learn from. Who you work with—and for—can make or break a job. I have even seen colleagues whose entire careers have been upended by a terrible boss. Whether it’s a personality clash, a lack of management or leadership skills, or consistent issues with no improvement, how do you deal with a less-than-ideal boss, especially when you enjoy your work?

We all need to play a role in reducing the effects of climate change on our planet. All of us. As a clinician and healthcare executive, I have had the opportunity to see the direct impact of climate change on many of the patients we serve.

There I sat in a hard plastic chair, waiting. Waiting for it to be our turn. After two cancellations, a gate change, and now another delay, it is time to get home. I eagerly, but with somewhat decreasing optimism, wait for the latest update. Again, I check my phone again to see what emails or texts have come through since I last checked it. Searching for a Wi-Fi connection fast enough to talk to my workplace and let them know it might be a little while longer. I reflect that this is why we must continually communicate in our hospitals and clinics.

By Dr. Seleem R. Choudhury

“Uberization" is a catchphrase that has quickly become part of common parlance in discussions about the pandemic-induced economy. Uberization is the movement by organizations to “replace fixed wage contracts with ‘dynamic pricing’ for labor” (Davis, & Sinha, 2021). It is transforming many elements of the economy and replacing employees employed by the organization with a type of self-employed or contract employee. In essence, it allows businesses to “recruit labour at a large scale in new ways” (Davis, & Sinha, 2021).

By Pamela J. Gallagher

Once, I was headed to a meeting where my team was in charge of providing dessert. On the way, I passed a bakery with a large chocolate cake in the window that was on sale. When I arrived at the office, I asked one of my colleagues to go get a cake from this bakery and gave him the money he’d need to buy the discounted cake in the window. When he arrived back from the bakery, he set down the carrot cake he had bought and told me I owed him $10. I questioned him about the chocolate cake I had seen on sale in the window display. It was only then I realized that I hadn’t told him which specific cake I wanted, only that I wanted him to get a cake from this particular bakery.

By Keith Hovan

Thriving primary care practices are foundational to our entire health system, so widespread reports of burnout among primary care physicians (PCPs) are cause for great concern. Beyond the stress of providing care during a two-year pandemic, navigating the complexities of the electronic health record (EHR) has long been a drain of time and energy.

By Pamela J. Gallagher

During a recent conversation with a colleague who used to serve in the military, we discussed the instability of the past several years and how best to find a way forward. I shared that I saw the need for more collaboration as we try to effectively cope with all the changes we’ve experienced. He looked completely shocked by my suggestion! “Why on earth would you want to collaborate?” he asked.

In these volatile times, evaluating your current cybersecurity measures should be a priority of every organization, no matter its size. My organization had some measures in place prior to the ransomware attack, but it still created a major crisis within our organization. I share our story and the lessons we learned from the cyberattack in hopes that it will create a sense of urgency among my fellow leaders take steps now to protect their organizations.

By Dr. Seleem R. Choudhury

On the cusp of entering an endemic state, organizations are deciding what to turn their attention to “after COVID.” Wise leaders will recognize that this is not as simple as carrying on with their pre-COVID strategies. No organization has been immune to the shockwave of disruption that the pandemic has caused (Lagasse, 2020). This is especially true in the healthcare field. Hospital staff and resources are strained from bearing the weight of pandemic changes and regulations as well as the loss of skilled staff in the Great Resignation. You simply cannot “pick up where you left off” strategically when your workforce—the essential piece to actually accomplishing any strategy—is burned out and struggling. Something has to give.