Digital Health with Aaron Martin, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Providence St. Joseph Health

This is the second of two inspiring interviews featuring the integration of digital health into one of the largest integrated delivery networks in the country.  In this episode of Creating a New Healthcare, Dr. Zeev Neuwirth interviews Aaron Martin, who came to Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH) directly from spending nearly a decade at Amazon, where he was an executive - the North American director of Kindle & print-on-demand services.  In that role, Aaron led a disruption of the print publishing industry that catalyzed tremendous value for readers as well as writers.  What is remarkable about this interview is that, despite being a technical leader in the digital realm, Aaron spends the first few minutes of the interview describing the leadership principles & cultural norms that were critical factors in Amazon’s success.  In those first few minutes, what becomes abundantly apparent is that Aaron brings to his work an intense dedication to patients and providers; as well as a unique combination of value-based thinking, authentic leadership, and industry-leading technical capability in healthcare redesign and innovation.  In what is an inspiring and refreshing dialogue, Aaron describes the two most important stakeholders in healthcare - the ‘creator’ of value (the provider of care), and the ‘customer’ (the patient or consumer of care) in the healthcare value chain. In this interview, he shares how he views his role as supporting the professional commitment of providers & enabling the ‘sacred moments of care’ between provider & patient. Aaron views digital health & the consumerist approach as integral enablers of medical care, and not as disintermediaries.  He also lays out a very clear picture of why and how design thinking, digital health, and a consumerist approach are critical success factors for any organization that expects to thrive in the future healthcare delivery market.  With straightforward examples, Aaron demonstrates that, unlike some previous deployments of technology, digital health leads to a markedly better consumer experience for both patients and providers; leverages and enhances the value proposition of providers; improves health outcomes, and solves for major organizational challenges such as access to care, growth and affordability.  Aaron and his colleagues hold themselves accountable for producing demonstrable and measurable results - outcomes that matter to patients, providers, and payers.