Dignity Health

Patricia Punzalan

This article is based on an interview with Patricia Punzalan, sr. director for patient care services at Dignity Health.

Impact Emerging Trends in Patient Care Services

AI is one of the buzzwords across industries. There is still a lot of work to explore how this type of technology can add value to a highly human-driven business like healthcare. I have read in one of the leading nursing journals how we will see the future of AI in hiring and recruitment. The goal is to streamline the first steps in this process and be able to screen potential candidates for job positions based on decision support built around key behavioral or qualitative metrics. It is interesting to see how this new learning will shape how we reconstruct our resumes. As much as this can take over some of the administrative work for our TA specialist, we still cannot underestimate the value of human connection in this process. The other trend I see is redesigning health care delivery, where we are now considering virtual nursing to be included in the paradigm. It is again another wait-and-see phenomenon as we continue to understand how it impacts care, reimbursement, quality, team dynamics, union relationships, and others. AIs have also been used to create algorithms to facilitate decision-making through the analysis and interpretation of data. However, there is no technology that can replace critical thinking, which can partly be guided by insights from lived experiences. I feel strongly that there is value to AI application to enhance the delivery of care & elevate the practice environment. At the same time, there is also an acknowledgment that no amount of advancement can replace the humanity that goes with caring.  

Experiences from One of the Initiatives That You Were Recently Involved In

I consider myself new to Dignity Health, being a year & plus months, and most of the efforts that my team of leaders are involved in are centered on realigning our clinical practices with evidence-based guidelines. We are looking into redesigning our workflows to mitigate redundancy & improve efficiency. 

Our work at this moment focuses on the foundations that will build the work towards excellence. We recently launched a learning series.

Aspects of Current Patient Care Services That Prevent Offering the Most Effective Solutions

We cannot wait for the time when we can consolidate our clinical, managerial and financial platforms. In my opinion, all institutions must be supported with standardized and unified platforms that allow a one-stop shop for your needs. An example would be HR or people management. We have to interact as much as we can with one system that staff & leaders can engage in. Information from licensure to certifications to continuing education, payroll, benefits, recruitment, and others in one platform. Again, it is all about efficiency. For time is money.

Critical Dos and Don’ts for Professionals within Various Healthcare Organizations

As a nurse leader, my critical DO is living with my core values. From my perspective, it is imperative that regardless of the world we live in–volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous (VUCA)- I will be able to authentically lead by standing my ground regardless of being alone in the arena. And, if at some point I drift from my core, I can humbly pivot back to my very core reason for being in healthcare. My passion to make a difference should be a personal & social obligation demonstrated in all my decision-making opportunities. There are two key behaviors that are important to thrive in any environment as a leader – self-awareness & self-management. If I cannot master these two key principles in leading myself & others, I see my journey ending in futility, for it is only in my ability to understand myself more that I can be effective and it is only in my ability to manage and own my responses that I can thrive the complexity of dealing of humanity. Therefore, the don’ts are anything that goes against these principles.