LEADING THE WAY

Tampa General Hospital is building a tech-centric health care system centered around the patient experience

BY MARY MURRAY

When John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital, described the culture of innovation at TGH, he made an apt comparison to Apple.

“Our goal is to create an ecosystem akin to what Apple has done with its business model,” Couris said. “Most of us enjoy Apple phones, iPads, and computers because of the ecosystem that they’ve created. They’ve created intuitive, reliable, secure systems. We’re doing the same thing, but in health care. That’s the journey we’re on.”

Fueling this journey is the goal of designing a health care experience so tapped into the needs of patients that caregivers can devote their time to not just healing patients, but connecting with them on a personal level. From CareComm, the hospital’s patient care coordination command center powered by artificial intelligence and backed by GE Healthcare, to InnoVentures, a progressive program that invests in and supports medical start-ups and other health care companies as well as drives innovative programs within TGH, Tampa General is solving the problems of today while transforming the future of health care.

These efforts have not gone unnoticed. TGH has earned Chime Digital Health’s Most Wired Award nine years in a row and was named one of Healthcare Global’s Top 10 Best Smart Hospitals, one of only three hospitals in the U.S. to receive such an accolade in 2021. Advances recently sat down with Couris to discuss the technological innovations and programs that set TGH apart.

Q. What does it mean to be a smart hospital?

A. Healthcare Global defines smart hospitals as hospitals striving for innovation and research within the health care industry. It’s demonstrated by providing specialized services and facilities and the ability to redesign clinical processes that lead to higher patient satisfaction. What it means for us is that we’re an organization that is completely wired around the team member experience and the patient experience. It means that we have a responsibility and an obligation to provide the best technology, innovations, and systems to drive real value for the health care consumer.

I’ll give you a consumer-oriented example. We’ve implemented something called a geo fence. If a patient comes to one of our outpatient clinics and they’ve registered online, as they drive up and get into the parking lot, the minute they cross that geo fence, we send a notification saying, “Welcome to Tampa General. You’re going to be seen soon. Would you like to finish your registration online on your phone?” They can go online, answer a few questions, pay their co-pay—before they even walk in the door, they’re already registered. Not a lot of hospitals do that. That’s an example of a smart hospital and of having a direct impact on the consumer experience.

Q. TGH partnered with GE Healthcare to create CareComm. How has this system benefited patient care?

A. CareComm allows us to use artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to manage the efficiency, throughput, and quality of our institution. CareComm allows us to anticipate the needs of our patients, physicians, and nurses before they become needs. An example of that would be nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and a whole team who are on multidisciplinary rounds, they notice that there’s an issue or there will be an issue with a patient unless they attend to it. The nurse or the doctor can push a button on their tablet that alerts the CareComm team; they can then articulate the problem, and the CareComm team goes into action before it becomes a problem, such as a delay in care. This technology enables us to get out ahead of it.

CareComm runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that’s powerful. It’s kind of like the ad for IBM Watson that shows a repair guy coming into an office building to fix an elevator, and the security guards says, “Why are you here?” And the repair guy says, “Well, your elevator’s about to break down and I need to fix it before it does.” CareComm anticipates and solves the problems that can cause decreased efficiency, and that matters.

Q. How does being a teaching hospital aligned with the University of South Florida support this culture of innovation?

A. Our relationship with the University of South Florida is very strong. We’re completely integrated. We have one of the largest academic medical groups in the state—more than 800 physicians and advanced practice providers. The whole idea is to mutually align our interests around quality, clinical outcomes, safety, and value for the consumer. We believe that academic medicine is critically important in defining how medicine is practiced. This relationship enhances our ability to do that for the community.

For example, we have one of the busiest transplant institutes in the country. Well, that’s a collaboration between the medical center and the medical school. We have one of the largest neurosciences programs in the country, with outstanding quality and results. That’s another example of the power of academic medicine. The collaboration drives research, education, and innovative care.

Q. Can you point to a research initiative that exemplifies TGH’s leadership in innovation?

A. COVID. At one point through COVID, we had over 70 COVID-related research trials. When Regeneron was made famous by then-President Donald Trump, we had already been working with it and administering the monoclonal antibodies. We were giving them to people in this community who met the protocol for research. Then our program became the poster child for how it was implemented across the state of Florida. That was driven by Tampa General Hospital research and the academic alliance we have with USF.

Q. How has prioritizing advanced technology enabled TGH to evolve along with the needs of its patients?

A. All this technology is designed to give us more opportunity to be with our patients and create real value for them. When you take everything we’re talking about—CareComm, research, the smart hospital—these advances have allowed us to continue to grow. We’ve gone from having 17 locations to over 85 locations. We are investing $550 million into our community through the expansion of our footprint. All these things have allowed us to do what we’re doing today. There isn’t one thing that makes it happen. And we look at technology as a strategic differentiator that allows us to engage in a much more personal way with the patient. ALL THIS TECHNOLOGY IS DESIGNED TO GIVE US MORE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH OUR PATIENTS AND CREATE REAL VALUE FOR THEM.”

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WELCOME TO TAMPA BAY’S

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EMERGING MEDICAL AND RESEARCH DISTRICT

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TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL AND THE USF HEALTH MORSANI COLLEGE OF MEDICINE PROUDLY SERVE AS THE ANCHORS OF A NEW ECOSYSTEM IN DOWNTOWN TAMPA

Inspired by renowned medical districts in the nation’s greatest cities, Tampa Bay now houses a growing hub of world-class clinical care, academics, research and biotechnology anchored by one of the largest academic health institutions in the nation – Tampa General Hospital and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

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MEDICAL AND RESEARCH DISTRICT FOOTPRINT

1. Tampa General Hospital 2. USF Health Morsani College of Medicine 3. USF Health Center for Advanced Medical

Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) 4. Tampa General Medical Group 5. USF Health South Tampa Center for

Advanced Healthcare 6. TGH Children’s Hospital 7. Global Emerging Diseases Institute (GEDI) 8. TGH | USF People Development Institute 9. Tampa General Medical Group 10. TGH Urgent Care Powered by Fast Track/

Tower Radiology 11. TGH Innoventures 12. TGH Urgent Care Powered By Fast Track 13. TGH Analytics Hub 14. UT Nursing & Allied Health 15. TGH Rehabilitation Hospital

Spring 2022

16. TGH Freestanding Emergency Department

Spring 2022

17. TGH Behavioral Health Hospital

2024

18. TGH Neuroscience Pavilion

Future

The Tampa Medical and Research District is attracting renowned clinicians and researchers, resulting in increased access to experts, cutting-edge research, education and technology for patients and students.

Serving as a collaborative, economic engine for the greater Tampa Bay area, the Tampa Medical and Research District is creating prosperity through new jobs, thriving industries and a healthier population.