Merriam Webster dictionary’s definition of “bizarro:” characterized by a fantastic or unconventional approach.

Recognizing the inflection point we’re experiencing as an industry and as a people, the time has never been better for healthcare to embrace a fantastic and unconventional approach to achieve more.

Industry dynamics are attracting aggressive moves from a multitude of parties, including new market entrants with expertise in technology, retail consumerism, and alternate care settings — and with fewer legacy restrictions, such as geographical boundaries, access to capital, and maintenance of physical assets.

Many of these agile health and digital upstarts are feared to be focused on taking important and profitable service lines away from traditional hospitals.

However, rather than becoming paralyzed by what may be seen as an existential threat, leading health systems are seizing the compelling opportunity represented by these disruptors to create bizarro new relationships.  

Health systems are prioritizing an important new capability: quickly and creatively developing strategic partnerships with disruptive new entrants to better adapt to new consumer expectations, payment models, and cost pressures.

Incumbent providers are making moves that, from a distance, may seem puzzling or even self-sabotaging. 

Some hospitals are now looking outside their health systems for others to provide urgent care and a previously unattainable ability to “age in place” through access to on-demand care for acute medical issues in the home rather than the hospital or clinic.   Some are yielding patient engagement and personalized primary care of commercially insured consumers to third-party telehealth providers.  Some are entrusting consumer-centric apps and outside coaches to empower people with chronic conditions to stay out of the hospital altogether.

To help health systems better understand the rationale, strategies and tactics behind successful, innovative partnerships, we at AVIA have created our own “bizarro” opportunity for knowledge-sharing and networking.  

We have designed a new approach to virtual interaction that specifically addresses some of the drawbacks of traditional in-person panel discussions or live webinars, including:

• Availability – the event may be happening when you have a scheduling conflict
• Questions – there is not enough time or you are too shy to ask all of your questions of the speakers during or immediately after the panel
• Answers – sometimes the best insights may be held not by the panelists, but the audience, which does not get the opportunity to share 
• Serendipity – you may meet people sitting on either side of you, but there is little opportunity to know and connect with other potential collaborators in the audience
• Distraction – while the panel is speaking, you may break out your phone to search google, websites and LinkedIn to learn more about the topic, organizations, people and products
• Action – to effectively operationalize the ideas shared, you need to engage and update colleagues from my organization not in attendance

Our first virtual, asynchronous panel will be on the topic of Creating Innovative Strategic Partnerships with leading health systems and innovative new market entrants on AVIA Connect, AVIA’s digital platform for innovation.

You can now learn and engage on your schedule, ongoing throughout the week of June 22nd (and beyond).  

Jody Tropeano from HLTH and I will be moderating questions and answers led by executives including:

• Aimee Quirk, CEO innovationOchsner, Ochsner Health
• Patrick Carroll, MD, Chief Medical Officer, hims & hers

Learn how telehealth startups and innovative health systems can work together to ensure patients have access to a broad spectrum of high-quality care

• Christi McCarren, RN, SVP, Retail Health & Community-Based Care, MultiCare Health System 
• Kevin Riddleberger MBA, MS, PA-C, Chief Strategy Officer, DispatchHealth 
• David Friedersdorf, Chief, Provider Strategy and Solutions, DispatchHealth

Discover how and why MultiCare brings high acuity care to home to produce cost savings and exceptional patient satisfaction 

• Robin Sheldon, SVP Strategic Business Development & Partnerships, Jefferson Health 
• Bimal Shah, Chief Medical Officer, Livongo

Understand the benefits of Jefferson Health reducing diabetes medical spend, ER visits, and hospital admission rates 

Within the platform, you’ll have access to not only the Q&A, but additional contextualized information (best practices, metrics, solution landscapes, related company profiles, networks, etc.) to enhance your understanding of the topics discussed. 

In addition to these organizations illustrating their innovative partnerships, we invite you to share your examples and lessons learned. Simply register for AVIA Connect, follow the Building Strategic Partnerships capability to join the conversation, and offer your own insights and experiences. Feel free to extend this invitation to your colleagues to advance thinking across the group.

Together, we will advance fantastic, unconventional approaches to improving healthcare delivery …  and the way in which knowledge sharing and networking are delivered to accelerate the future of health.