In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across the world scrambled to adopt new telemedicine technologies as a way to ensure continuity of care for their patients. Today, what was once an unchartered tool has become an important part of Texas Children’s core operations with around 11% of our daily appointment volume taking place virtually. We even crossed the tremendous milestone of one million telemedicine appointments in late 2023. However, a few years ago, the path to embracing digital health was less clear.
In March 2021, Texas Children’s Hospital eHealth Medical Director Dr. Robert Ball served on a U.S. News & World Report webinar panel with three other pediatric digital health leaders. Recognizing the value of collaboration to solve shared challenges, the group agreed to meet monthly. Over the past three years, the group of four has grown organically to over 80 participants representing 20 different children’s hospitals and recently rebranded to CONNECT – The Pediatric Digital Health Collaborative.
Texas Children’s recently hosted the group for its first in-person symposium, facilitating two days of intensive collaboration and knowledge exchange to illuminate pathways to transform care through digital innovation. Over 30 digital health leaders from 15 leading children’s hospitals, along with representatives from Epic and Texas Children’s digital health and Innovation Hub teams, came together to tackle key strategic areas. From virtual nursing to remote patient management and leveraging telemedicine for equitable access, participants worked to create strategic programmatic roadmaps. What made this session particularly noteworthy was the absence of passive observers; instead, every attendee became an active participant, contributing diverse perspectives and insights to shape future initiatives.
“We can go further when we go together,” shared Director of Business Operations & Strategic Planning Grace Karon, co-founder of CONNECT. “Unlike other conferences where peers gather to share work that is well matured, we are able to collectively share current, common problems with no competition and no hesitancy to speak up, talk through similar struggles and operationalize the best tools for our patients and families.”
Texas Children’s Pediatrics e-Health Medical Director Dr. Michael Chapman recognizes the important thought leadership opportunity we have as the facilitating organization of CONNECT. “I am so proud that Texas Children’s created and hosted this inaugural event. It is truly amazing how much collaboration there was with so many national leaders. Once again…TCH leading the way!”
Innovation is hard. It requires us to challenge the status quo, think differently and embrace the uncertainties that come with change. By fostering a culture of openness, inclusivity and innovation, stakeholders can continue to leverage digital technologies to enhance care delivery, improve outcomes and ultimately transform the lives of pediatric patients and their families.
Texas Children’s Innovation Hub partners closely with operational leaders to move new ideas from the discovery and design phase through delivery and operationalization – and CONNECT offers a unique opportunity to develop solutions with input from the collective intelligence of the field’s most forward thinking organizations. If you have an innovation idea, click here to request Innovation Hub support.