3 Questions with Dr. Thomas, Maddox, Executive Director, Healthcare Innovation Lab, BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine

CastLight Search  Q-1:  You are a practicing cardiologist, a professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine, and a health services researcher. What prompted your transition to Chief Innovation Officer and what is your vision for innovation for BJC Healthcare/Washington University School of Medicine?

Maddox:  After years of seeing and studying inefficiencies in the health system, both as a provider and a researcher, I was excited at the opportunity to help contribute to some solutions.  It’s a pretty great time to do so.  We are in a flourishing era of data, analytics, and ubiquitous computing.  The mission of the Healthcare Innovation Lab is to capitalize on this era by identifying and implementing care delivery solutions that use data, analytics, and technology to improve the health of our patients.

CastLight Search Q-2: Defining emerging leadership roles is always difficult because they are in a state of change.  What has been your biggest challenge in the chief innovation role? Are these challenges universal to innovation programs or unique?

Maddox:  One of my ongoing challenges is defining what innovation is to our health system. There are many ways to define it, and no one does it quite the same. For the purposes of our Lab, we are focused on those novel ideas that, when implemented, can create compelling value for our patients and our health care system. In other words, our Lab is focused on innovations that support clinical and operational efficiencies for our health system.  Importantly, we are not a commercialization engine for these new ideas.  We certainly support innovators bringing their ideas to market, but that’s not a focus for our Lab. I think the challenge of defining innovation is universal to all innovation programs.

CastLight Search Q-3:  How do you see the role evolving or what do you see as the future of your role?

Maddox:  I think my role is—first and foremost—to really listen to the members of our healthcare system, which consist of the providers, the patients, and those who support the operation of the health system. They are the ones that directly experience the inefficiencies, redundancy, and sheer madness of the system. If we can truly understand these problems, then we stand our best shot at finding solutions that work to address them.

Bonus question: What are you the most proud of accomplishing in your role?

Bonus answer:  I’m proud that the Lab has begun to generate some excitement around “what’s possible” in healthcare. The people in our healthcare system work really hard every day, and sometimes it’s difficult for them to find the time to lift their heads up and dream a little. Our Lab’s team has the luxury of doing that, and bringing that to our fellow health system members is really fun.

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