MINNESOTA HEALTH CARE ROUNDTABLE
52ND SESSION
The COVID-19 Pandemic Strategies moving forward
CHRISTOPHER (KIT) CRANCER,
is director of the Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI) and serves as Senior Director of State Legislative Policy. He is a registered lobbyist in a number of state capitols, including Hartford CT, and manages CDI’s contract lobbyists and legislative priorities. Prior to joining CDI, Mr. Crancer served as chief of staff to multiple Missouri state senators.
JESSE BETHEKE GOMEZ, MMA, is a member of the Over 51 previous sessions, the Minnesota Health Care Roundtable was held before a live audience. In response to the pandemic we have pivoted the format of this “conference-in-print” editorial feature to bring you essentially the same information, however distilled from electronic responses vs. the transcript of a discussion. In many capacities this new process presents a superior report on any subject. It allows participants more time to prepare their thoughts and increases the range of potential participation. Not without some irony the first topic to be explored in this new format is lessons learned from, and preparing for life after, the pandemic. We extend our special thanks to the participants and sponsors for their commitments of time and expertise in bringing you this report. In November we will publish the 53 session of the Minnesota Health Care Roundtable on the topic of improving clinical and non-clinical care team interoperability. We welcome comments and suggestions. What were the biggest problems your organization faced as a result of COVID? KIT: The confusion surrounding the elective procedure prohibition. It
resulted in a significant drop in patient procedures and a patient backlog that was difficult for all concerned to work through. As an additional consequence many providers were forced to go through reductions in force due to the extreme drop in patient volumes. RUTH: The uncertainty, the broad sense when it was announced. What would be the impact on our employment setting, on doctors, how would our services be effected and how would they be delivered? How would we do what we do? We went to 100% remote in 10 days. An immediate problem was getting all the council members set up to access data remotely. There were technology challenges, and daily problems with lost connectivity. It happened during our peak period to process licenses – going from working in the office to working from home was enough of a hurdle but doing it at one of our busiest times of the year made the problems more difficult. The bulk of our complaints come in writing and processing mail became another work-around. Finally, a lot of our work is accomplished through conferences which were forced to stop and we had to find new ways to facilitate interaction. JESSE: Metropolitan Center for Independent Living is among the 405 Centers
of Independent Living in the United States. We assist with direct services for
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APRIL 2021 MINNESOTA PHYSICIAN
leadership team for Disability Hub MN and Executive Director of Metropolitan Center for Independent Living, a provider of comprehensive services assisting people with disabilities in the seven county Minneapolis–St. Paul area. He has worked in leadership roles in behavioral health care at CLUES, the American Red Cross and the United Way.
SCOTT KETOVER MD, AGAF, FASGE, is president and CEO at Minnesota Gastroenterology, where he holds a leadership role with the Board of Directors. He is also the founding president and CEO of the Digestive Health Physicians Association. A Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners, he is board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology.
RUTH MARTINEZ MA, is Executive Director, MN Board of Medical Practice. She oversees protecting the public’s health and safety by assuring that the people who practice medicine or as an allied health professional are competent, ethical practitioners with the necessary knowledge and skills. She is also a liaison to related national organizations and professional associations. VICTOR MONTORI, MD,
is professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic. He is a practicing endocrinologist, researcher, and author. He co-developed the concept of minimally disruptive medicine and works to advance person-centered care for patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions. He is the author of the book Why We Revolt: A Patient Revolution for Careful and Kind Care.
DEEPTI PANDITA MD, FACP, FAMIA, is the Chief Health Information Officer for Hennepin Healthcare. She is the Program Director of the clinical Informatics Fellowship at Hennepin Healthcare and a member of the EHR consortium steering group. She oversees EHR, Informatics and Analytics at Hennepin Healthcare.
