Technology Done For You, Not To You (ft. Leigh Williams)

AI is every— everywhere. Tell us one thing about like AI.

The implementation of our physician AI assistant was the first time that she felt technology had been done for her as opposed to, to her. I think we're finally at the point where we're going to have some tools that can really meaningfully improve the practice for not only the physicians, but revenue cycle folks and front desk clerks. You see your niche or something that you're interested in, find your place, find your bliss, and absolutely go for it. Welcome to Digital Voices, where healthcare and life science leaders explore the real work behind transformation. This podcast is about people, leadership, and the conversations that move healthcare forward. Now your host, Ed Marx.

Welcome to another edition of Digital Voices. It's your host, Ed Marx, and I'm glad to have my friend Lee Williams with us. Lee, welcome to Digital Voices.

Thank you, and thank you for having me today. I'm so glad to be here with you.

No, it's great because, you know, you're a great leader and you and I connected back in 2016. We were just reminiscing bootcamp. It's a great, I love bootcamp, a great environment, right, to learn. I took bootcamp and I love teaching it because it just reminded me of all the core leadership principles. And then I got to meet fantastic leaders like yourself. So, um, it's so good to reconnect. So the most important question though that we have for the entire episode, What kind of music do you like to listen to?

Yeah, so I really love music like the Eagles, and I saw them earlier this year at the Sphere, which was fantastic. But my most recent vibe is Olivia Dean. She is really cool, and she's got this song called Dive, and it is one of my walk-up songs in the morning as I'm heading into the office because she just has this beautiful voice and kind of a jazzy, cool Yeah, I'm going to look that up.

That's a new one for me.

Yeah.

And I love what you said, Lean. I think you said it on purpose. You said it was your walk-up music to your job.

Yes. Yeah.

Yeah.

Everybody's got to have a little inspiration. And right now, I think that is one of the things that I bring to the team is some daily joy and excitement about what we're doing in healthcare these days. It's all really difficult. So, I love singing along to that. staying in that positive mental frame to help lead others.

I love that. I was totally stealing that because, yeah, we save up like this walk-up song for like, you're gonna go up and, uh, you know, hit a home run or you're gonna go on stage and do this amazing keynote. But you're talking about it like every day you go in.

Yeah.

Dang, we could stop recording right now because—

You love that? Yeah. So Olivia Dean for some morning vibe.

Yeah. I, I'm going, To the dive, right? D-I-V-E is the answer. Yeah. All right.

I just like that groove. And then she's got a lot of great music. So I love listening to new stuff. So old stuff and new stuff, I would say my list is both.

Yeah. And I love that. And I'm also super jealous. I love the Eagles. I did see them in their tour, but, you know, it was maybe 10 years ago now.

Yeah.

You saw them at the Sphere. I mean, that's fantastic.

Yeah, it was great. And they're, they're still amazing musicians. And seeing Joe Walsh do the Hotel California solo. And I mean, they're like 80 now, and they are awesome musicians, and it's fantastic. And Vince Gill sings the Glenn Frey parts, and he has such a beautiful voice, and it comes together really well. So it's— that was a very magical experience that I enjoyed.

Wow. Yeah, I'm so jealous. And you're right, sometimes, you know, these supergroups are still around that we listened to back, you know, when we were in elementary school. Yes. And a lot of them are still really good. I've run into a couple that probably should retire, but—

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The Eagles, yeah, they still got it.

Totally. No, it was perfect music, and they've done a nice job of bringing other musicians in, and it was just, it was delicious. The whole Sphere experience was amazing.

That is cool. So, what about life message and mantra? Are there words or a quote that you kind of live by?

Yeah, so I have a few, but one of them is stay curious. So, I think curiosity is one of my superpowers and one of the superpowers of people that are able to innovate and lead others forward. is just this insatiable curiosity around what's going on. And if you're going to be in health IT, there's constant change. So remaining curious about what's going on. And then another one is better together. I am all about the team and my role on the team, and I'd love to be the leader of the team, but I do consider that just a role on the team. And I understand what it means, but it also doesn't make me any better than anyone. It's just a different role. Part of the team. So I constantly am thinking about how we can be better together. And then in my personal life, be kind.

Yeah.

Yeah, that one, I just, you know, I try to remember and lead with kindness, whether I'm talking to my dog or I'm at work. It's all part of it.

You're just a good human.

Thanks, I try.

Tell us about yourself. So like, who are you? What's your story? Maybe talk about where were you born?

Yeah. So I was born in Ithaca, New York when my dad was at Cornell. So my first toy was a little Cornell red bear. And I've lived in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maine, Mississippi, Montana— no, I'm just kidding. Not all the M's. California, Arizona. I'm currently in Virginia. And I also spent time living in England and in Germany. So my dad was a professor and we got to travel all over. And I love that because it's taught me to really understand how to connect with various cultures and different types of people and be able to learn about the curiosity about the place that I'm in and be able to deeply understand that community and what is working there. So I've, I've enjoyed all the travels, but I sure love living in Virginia now.

Yeah. Well, do, do you have a football— do you follow football? And if you do, like, what's your team? Because you live a little bit— Okay.

Yeah, so I grew up in New England, so I'm a Patriots fan, and we had a really, really good run while it lasted.

Yeah.

Although I think we might have flown too close to the sun and come crashing back down. And then I went to both the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Ole Miss. So 2 SEC college teams that, um, so that the Patriots are from my time in New England where we watch professional sports, NFL, and then UT and Ole Miss from my time in the South. in the collegiate sports arena. So those are the teams.

Wow. All right, now we got a pretty good understanding, I think, about who you are. Let's talk about how you sort of got into healthcare. Like, how'd you get into healthcare? How'd you get into tech? How'd that all happen?

Yeah, so I actually went to Wellesley College and went for thinking I was gonna go into the legal field. And I did work in law for a short time, like early part of my career, but I realized that I, did not enjoy putting as much of myself into my work. I mean, I work pretty hard and I'm putting in a solid 40+ every single week, and I felt like I was working that hard to help other people make money.

Interesting.

And it wasn't very rewarding. And I had a good colleague whom I knew from the legal arena who was an HR leader and recruited me over to the University of Mississippi. Mississippi Medical Center and basically had a role that was similar to what I had been doing in the legal field, but that was in healthcare. And I fell in love because every day is rewarding and you can see the impact of your work on the community. And it was so much more than being in what felt to me like a job that was to serve individuals. And healthcare feels like We've all gotta lean in and help to fix it. So it was, it was really great to be recruited into that with, hey, I think you're really gonna like this. And I did instantly love it.

And did you already have sort of this tech bent? Like, where did the tech bent come from?

Oh, actually, so I, I have always been capable in the, the technology arena. I mean, we had like an Apple IIe when I was growing up and, you know, my dad, the professor, had all these things at the house. But then when I, Got my first job at, actually, at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research at Sloan School. I was doing— it was like 1996, and there were websites to be developed, and PowerPoint was a thing. And I was the young kid that knew how to do some of that stuff because we had done it in college. But I didn't really get into technology leadership until after I had spent several years in healthcare on the revenue cycle side. And then we went to do this thing called an EHR implementation.

Oh, yeah.

And I wound up leading a lot of the technology efforts simply because I found I had a knack for being able to talk with operational partners and clinicians about how the technology was going to aid us in our operational work. And quite frankly, I got a little frustrated with our IT colleagues because they were treating it like it was a software install and I was treating it more like, hey, this is an opportunity to really transform the way that we do our work. So I wound up doing more and more what was considered IT work and finally decided that I really felt like that was my calling, to be able to help and be a servant to all of the other operational areas as a technology leader. And it's been a very good choice for me.

Oh, that's awesome. What were a couple skills that maybe you probably still use them today, but what were a couple skills that helped you on your journey? Because you're a CIO now today. So, for listeners who aspire to be a CIO like yourself, What are a couple of things that they should be thinking about that helped you?

Yeah, so I would say the first one is the ability to listen. And I know that that's a soft skill and that is something that may seem like, yeah, everybody recommends that. But when you are going to be an effective technology leader, your ability to understand— so seek first to understand and then to be understood, right? So really being able to hear your nursing colleagues, your physician colleagues, your revenue cycle colleagues, whatever team you are working with in order to support their areas, your ability to have empathy for what they're doing and understand from their perspective what it is you're trying to accomplish can make your solutions and the teams that you lead so much more in tune with what really needs to be done. And so, I find that skill of listening and curiosity to be able to understand what we really need to accomplish and be that trusted advisor to those partners so that you can say, I understand the issue. I think we could approach it this way, or what about that way? And just being able to really get at the heart of what they're trying to solve and not be a ticket taker where you're sort of, you know, passive and standing back to have, you know, put in this software for us. It's more of that active role and you get there by earning that trust. And I think the first step on that trust journey is Yeah, I love that.

That's a great skill. And you also mentioned empathy, back to curiosity, and again, earning that trust.

I think that CIO role continues to evolve towards that trusted advisor. And you have to know enough about each of the disciplines that reports up to you, but it's not, I'm not called on to solve. I really value my team. I have wonderful, like hire well, your ability to hire a team is important and get the right people in. And demonstrating respect for them. And then they— you are as powerful as every one of the members of your team who is willing to step up and answer that question or help that implementation go well. So I do enough to be able to, to demonstrate my understanding and my fine level of expertise, but then rely on my team members and really hold them up as you're the real expert here. And I'm your partner and we'll pull you in. So enough tech. Knowledge and staying up to date on what's possible in order to be able to continue to lead in that space.

Yeah, that's, that's sage advice. So, you're CIO, you're— we know that in healthcare and in tech, it's more difficult, more challenging, can be for women. You obviously achieved CIO. Did you run into a glass ceiling? And if so, how did you break it?

I think that all of us have had times of running into barriers that feel like you're being held back from potential, and that can happen to everyone regardless of—

Yeah.

You know, what you look like. I know my friends who are introverts and don't have that extroverted personality to go out and make all those relationships and put the energy in. Sometimes it can feel like that can be more holding people back. But in my own experience, I grew up in this fantastic place called Amherst, Massachusetts, and we were very open to— it's an academic town, it's a college town. There are 5 colleges there, and it was this environment of everyone was studying and learning, and you could just excel based on your ability to learn and lead. And I very early on just was able to get some good confidence around that. And then I went to Wellesley College, which is a women's college, and We— Wellesley's motto is Women Who Will, Women Who Will Lead. And so I was very much given the opportunity to practice that leadership skill. And then I would say that one of the things that actually you helped me with back in 2016 was that I feel like I was putting some pressure on my own self to be very conformist to the way that the boardroom looked and the way that the medical executive committee looked. and the healthcare leadership team looked. I, I remember at like 30, 32 years old, I'm a 5'4 blonde chick and going into the boardroom and being with all of these physicians and other leaders. And I quickly learned how to talk about SEC sports because you had to be able to walk in and say, oh, the Gators were terrible this weekend. And how about, you know, Peyton Manning had just gotten into the NFL. How about, how about Peyton, how he's doing? And being able to hang that way. And I did put some pressure on myself to fit in with those crowds. And then in, I would say, the last 10 years, really relaxing a little bit and bringing more of my way of doing things and not caring so much. And maybe that comes with the confidence of being in a position. But the question I asked you at the CHCIO boot camp back in 2016, was that I love to bake, and I love to cook, and I love to share. That is a way that I am creative in my personal life. And that is a way that I show love and caring for others, is to bake wonderful foods and to serve these wonderful meals. And I said, I've always wanted to share that with my team, but I feel like that is somewhat stereotypical that I would be baking brownies and sharing that with the team. And I feel like that's a thing that I shouldn't do as a woman. is bake. And you were all in on, you should be you. Go and bake the cookies and do the brownies and make the— like, lead with love and lead with your heart and put that energy in there. And don't— so that was a good lesson for me of not boxing myself in. And I think as time goes by, wait, there are more— there's representation more often. And I just am enjoying these last few years. So thank you for advising. I baked the brownies. I really did. And they loved them. And I still do.

I love it. I'm, I'm definitely coming to visit and I expect baked goods of some sort. And I will eat them. I don't care if I'm on a sports diet or whatever. Yeah.

You can, you can go for a jog in the morning or a run in the morning and then we'll have, then we'll have brownies.

Yeah. That's awesome. Hey, tell us about Augusta Health. So like, where are you located? A little bit about the mission and vision.

Yeah, so Augusta Health is a 255-bed community health system hospital. We have 50 clinics in the central Shenandoah Valley, so right smack in the middle of Virginia, and we are surrounded by beautiful mountains and national parks. It is a fantastic place to be, and our hospital just celebrated its 30th anniversary. We were founded by the communities that brought together 2 existing hospitals that were in 2 of the urban centers within our County and decided to create one system in between both of those to serve the larger county. And we still do have a very close tie to the county and to this area. We have a community board that oversees our organization, and we do a tremendous amount of work for the people of our communities. And it's been wonderful for me because it falls right in line with my desire to see some good change in the world. And I feel very impactful here. And I see us working on really hard, intractable problems around chronic health conditions and others that we're facing some headwinds out of Washington with some of the funding and how are we going to help folks that are losing their insurance. And it just is a really mission-driven organization that focuses on bringing care to this community.

I love that. And I could just visualize, like, I just see these beautiful valleys and lots of trees and hills. It sounds like a beautiful spot. I'm definitely gonna have to check it out.

It is. Yeah, it is. Especially if you like to hike. It is amazing around here. We have so many good trails and some good breweries and wineries to boot. So something for everyone.

Yeah. No, did you say wineries?

Yes. Yes.

No, that's great. Tell us about some of the initiatives that you've all been working on for the last couple of years.

The most exciting thing that we've embarked on is our Care Reimagined journey. And so we have formed up a program The current phase is replacing our EHR. We've been actually preparing for this for about 2 years. And our tagline is, imagine if. Imagine if your ability to schedule with your provider was as easy as ordering a pizza. Imagine if you were able to get your prescriptions filled without a headache. Imagine if you understood which providers would take your insurance and you could get in to see them easily. We've done a million imagine ifs in healthcare around how it could be better. And we framed it up with 3 promises. And the first is to our team, that we will meaningfully improve the professional workday for our team members. And the second is we promise our patients that we will create compassionate, high-quality patient journeys designed around their needs. And the third is we promise our community we will steward our resources wisely to build a stronger future for our organization and the communities we serve. So everything that we're doing is focusing around those promises. So leading this EHR implementation has been absolutely fantastic. We are looking at every workflow that we have. We are even setting up metrics like how many pounds of paper can we get rid of per month? And, you know, how can we make workflows? I call it Make My Digital Day, right? Like a challenge of Make My Digital Day.

Yeah.

And as the CIO, I feel like I owe it to everyone to try very hard to make sure that everyone's day is transformed through this. So we look— it's been part of our plan and we're looking forward to 5 more years of staying focused on the promises and really driving transformation and innovation using technology tools, but focusing on human-centered design innovation techniques to get very well-designed technology in that's effective for our community and our team.

Dang, you make me want to move there now.

It's wonderful.

No, it's so clear. You know, a lot of times health systems and hospitals is very complex, you know, if you ask about, you know, what they'll focus on, priorities, but your 3 are very well stated and make a lot of sense and sort of drive the direction of the organization.

Yeah.

Tell us, tell us, you know, AI is everywhere. Tell us one thing about like AI. How does Augusta Health kind of think about AI?

So we are rather forward-thinking and want to use the AI tools that are safe, but also a little bit of emerging technology in order to be able to drive some of that transformation. So it feels like with some of the restrictions coming around reimbursement for healthcare, and our payer mix is largely— we've got lots of Medicaid and Medicare patients that we take care of. We're looking for ways to optimize our workforce and be able to also prepare for workforce shortages, especially in clinical roles. So we're doing a lot around AI, agentic AI tools that are able to help us speed up our digital day, promising our team meaningful improvement. A lot of that comes through automating some of those non-value-add tasks, looking for ways to be more efficient, to take away the tedious and allow our people to focus more on the human interactions and focusing on care in a way, a more personal way. So rather than having to fill out spreadsheets, get agents to do that. And then you can focus on the phone calls that you need to make of the people that you identified in that data set. We are doing a lot around ambient listening with AI for especially our physician assistant. And my favorite thing that anyone has probably said to me in my professional career is we have a wonderful primary care physician named Dr. Snodgrass. And she said to me that the implementation of our physician AI assistant was the first time that she felt Technology had been done for her as opposed to, to her. And that was a watershed moment for me. I think we're finally at the point where we're going to have some tools that can really meaningfully improve the practice for not only the physicians, but revenue cycle folks and front desk clerks and the nursing teams as well. So we are, we are looking for those right solutions that we feel will move us forward on the, on our priorities.

Yeah, I love that. And that's a great quote. I would definitely like— I'd get a picture of her and like blow it up and put that—

We're working on it because it is, uh, it's, it's not often that as a technologist we get to implement tools that are so rapidly impactful.

Yeah.

And even when people think that there is a learning curve or I need to figure this out, it's not intuitive to me, and sometimes it is, but there can be those barriers. This has been amazing to watch the rapid adoption And people who want to bust through the barriers. Maybe they don't understand it the first day, but they are so invested in figuring out what these types of technologies can do that they keep coming back and trying and working and, and taking it and making it their own. So that feels incredibly rewarding as someone who spends their life promoting adoption of technology tools and trying to get the right solutions in place and approaching it with innovation to actually see things that are so well-liked and impactful at the same time right out of the gate. And our physicians are amazingly well engaged and looking forward to bringing them some more advances. I think it's going to be an interesting few years to come.

Yeah, I agree with you. So exciting. And that's great stuff that you're doing. And that's why I want to kind of head into a different topic, and that's around leadership, because I think it's pretty easy to tell for our listeners after the first 5 minutes speaking with you, you're a pretty great leader. When was the first time you understood that you were a leader? Was there an aha moment when you were young, or when did that kind of happen? Like, oh, I think I'm a leader.

Yeah, yeah. So actually, I was reminiscing on this recently because we asked some of our emerging leaders at a HIMSS conference about it. And for myself, it was, I think I was in the first grade, and I was elected to our student council. And I hadn't run. I was like a write-in candidate and people voted for me and I got to represent Miss Mish's class. I mean, this is, you know, a big deal, right, in the world. It's a high position.

Yes.

And I remember being a little confused, like, why me? And then I realized that one of my skills is speaking in front of groups and I'm really comfortable with people. I feel like I could connect with them. So that was the first time that I was like, I didn't necessarily campaign or try to do it for myself, but others wanted me in that role. And I just continue to do that to this day. And I think early on, my first director role was early 30s, director in healthcare, late 20s, early 30s, and really enjoying the aspect of tending the flock and making sure other people were getting good opportunities. It really felt natural for me. So yeah, that first grade Miss Mish classroom taught me that even if I didn't wanna feel self-important or putting myself out there, that others felt comfortable with me as that role within the class, within the team.

Yeah, no, I, I, I love that and I'm glad you had that early recollection. And I just wondered too, you know, when you were speaking earlier about your university, I'm sure they've done studies. I'd be kind of curious. How, you know, if it's above average of the graduates compared to graduates from a more traditional school, like, who occupies the C-suite, you know, people like yourself. I—

yeah, yeah.

It'd be interesting, right?

Yeah. We are, one of the things I would say, and this is maybe some recommendation for anyone who is trying to have the confidence and not feel, what do we call it, imposter syndrome, is to just Yeah. Just be brave and get out there and serve the community and do your best. We need a lot of people doing really good work right now. The world is not going to figure itself out because we all sit home and let someone else take care of it. So if you see your niche or something that you're interested in, find your place, find your bliss, and absolutely go for it. And I think my upbringing, the college environment, All of it was— never were we thinking that we couldn't. I never thought I can't because of something about me. It was more based on if I get out there and I put in the effort, I'm going to push forward. And I just keep doing that.

Sounds like you have pretty fantastic parents as well.

Oh yeah, they are great.

Is there something that they forced you to do when you were young? And at the time you probably did the eye roll, if not physically, maybe inside your mind. Uh, but now that you look back, you're glad they kind of made you do it?

Yeah. So I went to 3rd grade in Germany and my parents was 8 years old. It was 1981 and I was, um, not, I didn't speak German and they were just, of course you're gonna go to school. And I went to the school, had one teacher who spoke English, but She wouldn't speak English to me. So I learned how to speak German, but it was a big— at the time it was incredibly stressful.

Oh yeah.

And I just didn't know anyone. And you change everything. I mean, we were living in a foreign country and all the food was different and the language is different and the customs are different. And I look back on that now and it was one of the very best things because I got pushed way outside of my comfort zone and learned that I could, I could learn the language. By the time we left, I was 3rd grader fluent. I, I don't know if I could have discussed politics, but I certainly could get around town. And that whole experience pushed me out of the comfort zone and, and gave me also that appreciation for other cultures and other people and how curious I was about that whole experience. So now I treasure it, but 8-year-old me was ready to tell some parents that they were a little ridiculous.

Yeah, that, that's scary. That's intense. That even would shake me to the bone.

So yeah, it was It was not fun at the— well, it was good at the time, but it was also a lot of anxiety. And now, I'm just really grateful for the opportunity.

Yeah. This has been amazing catching up with you, and I'm copiously taking notes. But, we talked about everything from Olivia Dean and Dive and the concept of the walk-up for your everyday. Oh, my gosh, it's so good. I wrote down actually 4 different life mantras, but bring inspiration every day, stay curious, better together, And then, of course, be kind. And then, yeah, learning about your life and some of the foundations that made you who you are and all the travel, but, you know, understanding and appreciating the different cultures. We talked a lot about your career and how you came up and like kind of the constant themes that you kept reinforcing as being a good listener, having empathy, staying curious.

Wow.

We talked about 4 or 5 times becoming that trusted environment, hiring well, and giving people respect. And then we talked about Augusta Health, which sounds like utopic, you know, A lot of organizations have, you know, 100-year history, which is good, right? Because I'm all about, yeah, that's cool because you have this legacy. But in some ways, having a younger health system kind of has its pros as well. And so, I really am going to try and visit you and get some big cookies out of you.

That's excellent.

And then we talked about the different things that you're doing and the appreciation that came from Dr. Snodgrass, if I got that right.

Yeah, that's great. Yeah, she's amazing.

Yeah, she sounds cool already. And then we talked a lot about leadership, again, reinforcing all the previous things I already said, but you also added, you know, find your place. And you, you touched on the word or the concept of imposter syndrome. And you're like, hey, you just got to lead whatever's on your heart, go and do, find your place. And, uh, that's cool. What did we miss? Or is there anything you want to double down on? I'll give you the last word.

The challenge that we face as technology leaders In healthcare in the United States, in this time, era, season that we're going through, is really important for us to band together and get it right. And it feels some days like the challenges are insurmountable, that we've got all the complexities, and there's so much scrutiny from outside about why can't you just fix it? Healthcare is terrible. And there's all this negativity. And it It feels sometimes like we're just pushing, like Atlas pushing up the hill. I would double down on we can do this. There's a better way and we can find it. And I love all of the work that people have done for decades to bring AI tools to us. I think it's going to be transformative and we need to stay in the game. This is not the time to take the foot off the pedal. We've got to figure out how to make some efficiencies happen so we can continue to provide good care for our communities. And maintain the health of our society and our communities all across the nation and hopefully the world with America leading. And it is important for us to stay curious, move forward, don't give up. It is a big challenge and it feels difficult, but I think we're in a great place for it with new tools that we've never had before and impact that is really needed in our society right now.

Leigh Williams, you're an amazing guest of Digital Voices. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you for listening to Digital Voices. We hope today's conversation sparked ideas, reflection, and connection. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify Podcasts so you don't miss an episode.