Bringing light to issues in an effort to improve the quality of healthcare, provision, access to healthcare, and increase health literacy and patient engagement
Recommended Book/Resource:
Leadership Lessons by Shackleton
Best Way to Contact Fran:
The Population Health Challenge with Frances Ayalasomalajula, Head of Population Health Portfolio, Worldwide Healthcare at HP was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the latest audio-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors. Sonix is the best way to convert your audio to text in 2019.
Welcome to the Outcomes Rocket podcast, where we inspire collaborative thinking, improved outcomes, and business success, with today’s most successful and inspiring healthcare leaders and influencers. And now your host, Saul Marquez.
Saul Marquez:
Welcome back to the podcast. Today I have the privilege of hosting Fran Ayalasomayajula. She’s a Global Healthcare Solutions HP head. For over 20 years, Fran has been an Executive in healthcare, a Strategist and Technologist. She’s been dedicated to serving the interests of populations around the world in an effort to improve the quality of healthcare, provision, access to healthcare, and increase health literacy and patient engagement. Currently, she’s the Global Healthcare Population Health Information Technology and Innovation lead for HP as mentioned previously. There, she directs the organization and the development of strategies and innovations designed to advance and deliver improved clinical outcomes and better population health. Prior to HP, Fran worked for a major healthcare institutions, including the WHO, CDC, BMS and UHG. Fran holds degrees in epidemiology, public health, information technology and certification project and clinical trial management. She’s actively involved in the community of community minded initiatives such as Red Disease, Patient Advocacy, and the application of tech services for the promotion of aging with independents and community connectedness. In 2015, Fran was a contributing writer on the fact sheet submitted to the White House Conference on Aging and in 2017, co-author of The Leading Age White Paper on Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology for Long Term and Post Acute Care. As you’ve heard and will hear throughout our discussion, she’s very engaged and with the hope of awakening the thoughts and actions in population health and health technology. So with that, Fran, I just want to give you a warm welcome to the podcast. Thanks for being with us.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Thanks for having me Saul.
Saul Marquez:
Absolutely. Now, Fran, what got you into healthcare?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Well, I’ve always been in healthcare. I guess if I that’s despite my career from the beginning. But I think that if there were a moment at which I contemplated healthcare as an industry to pursue, it was really focused on my interest in being involved in initiatives that were significantly meaningful and that significantly meaningful impact. And I think that certainly health as a major indicator of the quality of life is sort of fundamental and makes for an area where significant impacts can be made.
Saul Marquez:
I totally agree with you there, Fran. And so as you think about it, you’ve covered a lot of ground. You’ve worn a lot of different hats in the industry from public policy to technology. So what would you say is a hot topic that needs to be on health leaders agenda? And how are you and your organization addressing that?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Unfortunately, it’s the ones that are kind of persistent in the industry of healthcare. And that really is around things like reducing the number of unnecessary deaths. They’re really focusing in on addressing medical errors and hospital acquired infections and not only missed diagnosis, but missed diagnosis right.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Those are the challenge areas. Those remain amongst the hot topics. I mean, we can say, look, we need to drive down costs, but we have to also recognize that certainly that all of these issues are are contributing to the ever rising cost of healthcare.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah, there’s definitely definitely there’s a big core issues that are happening. So I’d love to hear maybe some of the work that you’ve done at HP to help address some of those that are improving outcomes and improving results. Or maybe in another area of your of your career.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yes, sure. So I think, you know, across the board, while I have worked in all different segments. Right, I’ve worked for international nongovernmental organizations. I’ve worked for federal as well as state government. I’ve worked in the private sector. I work for biopharmaceutical for a long time. And now, you know, being and working with both small as well as big industry corporations such as HP. And one of the things been consistent around all of them has been around education. From a product perspective, how that translates with HP obviously has been around technology, the creation of technologies that really focus in on improving care delivery, improving ways in which patients are able to participate and engage. And for us, that a great example of this is that, you know, as one of our new lines, our healthcare edition product portfolio that’s focused on products that are safer, secure and smarter. That’s one of the areas where we’re really putting our commitment into. And so, for example, that is I was talking about unnecessary deaths. And, you know, when hospital acquired infections, one of the things we’ve done is create a line of products that are designed to help to control infectious disease by making products are fully sanitizable. As an example. But even in the creation of these products, the thing that is consistent with this product or any product or service offering that I’ve ever been engaged in or programs that I’ve had to implement, it’s really been around the education increasing the amount of awareness around the challenges and some of the areas of vulnerability that if we could address could help us to minimize some of the burdens that we’re, that are persistent in care. So as an example, you know, we don’t think about endpoint devices, all the computers that are in hospitals and how, you know, what role they can they play in contributing to the spread of disease. So being able to have a product line that’s focused on on that aspect is something that’s pretty powerful. And yet there’s a lot of education that has to go into bringing awareness to the value that’s that’s brought with these by this line of products.
Saul Marquez:
That’s super interesting. Right. And then something that you don’t typically think about, your computer. But in fact, you know, anything that a human touches and works with could be part of the chain that leads to healthcare acquired infections. As you mentioned. So I think it’s really, really, really good insight that you’re sharing here.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, I think so. There are just so many examples of that. And then, you know, there are other things, right. Like being able to get clinicians back to doing what they intended to do when they went into practice, which was being able to spend more time with patients. And today, there’s a lot of complain around the increased amount of administrative work that is having to be done and that minimizing the amount of time that the seven minutes so that all seven minutes that the physician has to actually interact with a patient. So, you know, incorporating new features and functionalities like embedded RFID readers and fingerprint readers directly into the devices themselves or improving the acoustic record of waste capability of devices. So that dictation can be done faster and easier with greater accuracy. They seem very subtle, but they have you know, they can have really big impacts on performance. And and that’s, you know, those things matter. So that’s what we’ve kind of been about these days.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah, they certainly matter in a big way. And Fran, if you had to point to to maybe one particular thing that you guys have done that’s made a difference. What would that be? I know you guys have done a lot, but if you had to choose one.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, I would say well, one great example would be the Wonder program. The Wonder program is focused on maternal mortality prevention. That’s kind of been one of the highlights, in fact, in my career because we won an award that good. The Green Electronic Council Catalyst Award divergence. Thank you. Yeah. That was a big deal. And one of reasons why it was a big deal because it was focused on catalyzing impact at scale. And so our ability to work with a nonprofit organization to create a solution that enables clinicians to have access to the data, basically decision support trees to be able to determine or identify patients pair, that is expectant mothers who are at high risk for preeclampsia and clampsia. So they get care earlier as well as those with severe anemia. That’s huge. Because if we’re able to identify those patients and begin to treat them sooner, then we’re able to do things like reduce hemorrhage during labor, which is an unfortunate cause of over 300000 lives around the world every year.
Saul Marquez:
And it shouldn’t be. And yeah, I think a lot of people underestimate the size of this problem even in the United States. I mean, it’s it’s gotten worse.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah.
Saul Marquez:
So I think that’s a great thing that you guys are focused there.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah. And the numbers, they are unfortunately increasing. And the interesting thing is that there is an increase in this. It seems like we’re like where we have had successes. We sometimes get a little bit like LAX. And so we take them for granted. So as an example, tuberculosis. Right. We’re starting to see an increase in tuberculosis research, say increase and measles. And these are not about on this podcast. Talk about the benefits of vaccination or immunizations, but they play a role. And it’s not just about the vaccination immunization. It’s about the education. Right. People understanding, having a better understanding is really important. And it’s also about, you know, knowing the signs and the symptoms and know what to do and how to and how to prevent. And that’s one thing that technology has the ability to do, is it has the ability to create access for folks who used to not have access and, you know, break down some of those barriers to care.
Saul Marquez:
So super interesting. And all roads lead back to education.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yep, they do.
Saul Marquez:
You know, such a simple thing, but it’s super powerful. And I’m glad you brought that up, Fran, and kudos to you and your team for winning that award for such an important focus. You know, mother and infant mortality shouldn’t happen. So I just want to recognize you for that.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah. How about the other side, Fran? Can you tell us about a time when something didn’t work and what you learned from it?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah. You know, that one’s always a hard one, right? People don’t like to talk about it, right?
Saul Marquez:
Right. It’s true.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
I know it’s true, but I am going to share. So I’m going to be candid about this. So it is like innovation, innovation, innovation. Right.
Saul Marquez:
Right.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Like how to innovate. And sometimes you innovate. You innovate things that create new categories or technology. Now, I’m just going to kind of broadly speak to it. But, you know, we introduce some really amazing immersive compute technologies. And they definitely have totally have a place in the market. And it’s not like you created this technology and then you’re just trying to find a place or a home for it. It’s really like, you know, their problems and we saw the problems first are like, hey, what if we did X, Y, Z? Right. We sort of built these immersive compute technologies, but there were new categories, sort of blended blended realities or merged realities. And then the beginning and even still now it’s a new it’s a new category of technology. And what it’s happened. And going back to that word, education again, is that when you create a new category of technology, it’s not always easy to enter in the market. The market’s not always ready.
Saul Marquez:
Right.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
I mean, when you like, say, wow, this particular technology can help you to increase education with patients. It can help you to collaborate better with your neighbors, your peers, and they get it. They don’t actually get it right. They’re still reluctant or hesitant to onboard something that categorically is new. And when they look to their left or their right, they don’t see their neighbors or their competitors. They don’t say, you know, the Joneses right now, are you using it? And they would like the question is, do we really want to be the first? How far out do we want to be the first and where are we willing to be the first? So sometimes that becomes a problem. And the result of that is, is that then you also have to think about the nature of the industry. Your investors, your stakeholders are always so patient. Educating a market on new technology takes time. And when there’s an impatience, then the result is you might come out with the greatest thing since sliced bread. But people just aren’t about it. And they’re not. They don’t have the tolerance because they’re not seeing the return as quickly as they like to see it in our world. And the role of technology that time can be like 12 to 18 months. I mean, it could be short lived by the time you get the product out. You have to. It has already be selling itself or your life cycle on it. The lifespan is short. Yeah, right. And so I’ve I’ve hit up against that an inverse of compute. And that was that was it really, really harsh lesson that I had to learn.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah. It’s a great call out Fran, and I think for a while, you know, voice is a great example. I like it when it came out. Right. Like voice technology.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yes.
Saul Marquez:
There’s so many solutions that could have worked, but the timing wasn’t right. Today, the timing’s right.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yes.
Saul Marquez:
You know. Yeah. And, you know, one of my favorite quotes is there’s nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, exactly. That is so true. In fact, you know, there are quite a few books that they talk about like, oh, what creates for, you know, success right or, you know, the next big thing. And the number one on the list is it’s just timing. It’s like, you know, you just have to have the right timing.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah. Now, I’m glad you brought it up, because a lot of people listening to this have solutions and a lot of people listening to this care and want to make a difference. But the reality is you’ve got to make a difference at the right time, especially when it comes to technology.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah. So, you know, what comes with that? Is this challenge about like, well, did how did you figure out for how long do you persist? Because that other element of like, you know, being a leader, being ahead is, you know, that persistence. Right. That diligence and for how long you go after it at all costs. It’s like…
Saul Marquez:
Yeah.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
What do you do, especially if you’re a startup and entrepreneur? Like, how do you gauge that? It’s almost like, is there a way to sort of put something on ice long enough to, like, let it like, you know, it’s not like let it die, but just like kind of let it be preserved, you know, long enough to shape the market in other ways, influence the market in other ways. And then you have option to reintroduce your technology, reintroduce your solution. That’s almost kind of what you sort of need to do. But it’s not it’s not easy.
Saul Marquez:
That’s the art. You know, that’s that’s the art of business, you know, and it’s like that. Come in you bringing up some really great a great discussion here. Fran, and you know, the art is figuring out, the timing, the sciences, the cash flow, solving the need. Right. Right. About the cash flow. You know, your car is not going to go anywhere.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, it’s kind of like I don’t ever remember that documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?
Saul Marquez:
Oh, no, I haven’t.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
There is a documentary. It’s a little dated. It’s called Who Killed the Electric Car? And of course, you know, these documentaries sometimes are really heavily slanted. But it talks about the industry and how all of the stakeholders. Right, the eco system and those who were. Everybody has their own mission. Right. And so they’re all kind of combating. And obviously, you know, an electric car isn’t those who are producers of oil or not, you know, as equally fine.
Saul Marquez:
Right.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Right? Of the electric car. Right. So least we forget the timing has come sort of. It’s now in full. Full fat, right? Full. Yeah, it’s trendy. So the electric car is now kind of getting or has its its place and you can, you know, roll up to a parking lot and charge up while you’re shopping. Yes. That be the case. And yet electric cars have been around a really long time. Right. So there have been a rebirth.
Saul Marquez:
That’s a great example. Yeah. Now, I appreciate you sharing that. And it’s such a real, real challenge for a lot of entrepreneurs and business leaders. And so definitely something to think about and consider. What about the other side of the coin? Fran, tell us about one of your most proud moments in the business of healthcare.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah. So when I think about that, I guess there’s there of. Well, first I shared about the award that we won with Wonder. There’s a lot of work to still be done there. But that definitely was, you know, one of the most recent highlights. The other thing is it has been really around education programs that are participating in regards to aging and technology. Every day in the US, over 10000 people turning age of 65 and globally by 2030, there’ll be more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18.
Saul Marquez:
You know, I’ve heard this stat many times, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to just park on that for a second to appreciate the seriousness of this. So the numbers, 10000 people every day.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yes.
Saul Marquez:
Will turn 65. And for how long will this happen, fran?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
We’re looking at it for approximately the next 10 plus years today. Yeah, 10 to 15 years. Because remember, we’ve got the baby boomers and we’re not just talking United States. We’re talking globally. Right. This is already hitting like Japan and China all over the world. I mean, so. So you I think of you don’t think about it. But let’s let me give you this really quickly, really quick here. You go to the airport. So I travel all the time. All right. There are probably a lot of listeners to your podcast, you know, like myself. There you an airplane right now. They’re in an airplane. Exactly. And it used to be you go to the airport and it’s just a bunch of guys in suits right now and suits, okay? Of course, if you go on the weekends and that’s when you see the families. Right. But what you’re starting to see more and more is you ever notice that the pre bought lines are getting longer? The free one I mentioned. Yeah. So you don’t think about it, but the pre bought lines are getting longer and you don’t just have to. Yeah, it’s there. That’s a set to a really quick example from a Christmas perspective seeing it and there’s a lot of good in it. Right. You know, we’re an aging population means that people are living longer and we have more they have more experience to share and contribute. And we need you know, it’s really a great opportunity to begin to seize that. But the important thing is that we make sure that we do create a… to create an environment in a world that’s inclusive, that really enables participation and that’s also the case when it comes to technology. And so what are the areas that we’re focused on? I love our mission statement of HP right now.
Saul Marquez:
What is it?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Now, it’s improving the lives of all people everywhere. And when I think about dieters, that…
Saul Marquez:
Powerful.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
That’s powerful, right? That’s just something that I can really get behind. And and then it comes out in the the you know, the messages I’m giving a lot lately around designing for all in healthcare, the opportunity to leverage technology to reach eat, you know, adult older adult populations. We have this tendency to think that older adults, you know, we’re okay seniors are not interested in technology, which is so far from the truth. You know, I think we have to consider consumer choice and the types of solutions that we present. And that means we have to be willing to introduce multiple different form factors. You know, one size isn’t always fit all when it comes to technology. So, you know, really focusing on not just like, you know, smartphones are great and tablets are great, but all in one piece or super popular amongst older adults. We did a study where we had non branded devices or placed in front of a group that was average age, about seventy three years of age. And it was an 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch device. The choice was a 12 inch device. They want to be able to see and hear. And then the perception of something being larger is a little bit. More stable, right, or stable more so? Sure. So these are form factors that have all the same capability of enabling participation in a remote patient monitoring and telehealth and giving love with a group called Self-Help Community Services. There out of Manhattan. But they’re they’ve a program called the Virtual Senior Center and it’s nationwide. You’ve got folks from as far west as as San Diego and as far east as Boston. You know, they’ve got a huge population. It’s really awesome. It’s a virtual senior center. So essentially, it’s the senior center. So you have all your you know, your taichi, your chair yoga, you’ve got a book club, etc. But everything you find a senior center, but it’s virtual. It’s all one line.
Saul Marquez:
Oh yeah?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, yeah, it’s all online. And what was great is this one participant, one of them is she turned 100 years old back at the end of February. She got her first computer at the age of eighty nine.
Saul Marquez:
This year right. That’s incredible. Is that cool?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
That’s really cool. And you know what she says today? She says that her computer is her lifeline.
Saul Marquez:
Wow.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
And the things that she points to are like, I’m able to get online and see people who are like me, because you think about a hundred while the number is increasing, there still aren’t a lot of people around.
Saul Marquez:
Right. Right.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Right So when she’s online, she’s able see people when her age, she actually used the language Google. That when she Googles, she’s able to, you know, find people who they’re her own age.
Saul Marquez:
Amazing.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Isn’t that amazing? It’s so amazing that it creates a new space for innovation opportunity. Right. This is a major market. And there have been studies showing that they have I’m cautious about calling it disposable income, but they have disposable income. And so, of course, you’re gonna proven about the way that they spend it. But if you’ve got the right product and service, there’s a market. It’s a huge market.
Saul Marquez:
Super interesting insights, Fran.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah. Thank you. I’m excited about it. So you say like, what is that? Yes. Now, this is one of the areas where I’m really excited about what we can do.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah. Very cool. Very cool. There’s no doubt you’re you’re a thinker in the space and definitely stretching our thinking here as as listeners of your message. So what’s an exciting project? What are you most excited about today?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, I think that would be, of course, one of them. But, you know, the work that we’re doing in regards to aging technology. But the other would also be around within population health. We have what’s called fit solutions, HP Solutions PHIT. So it’s Population Health Information Technology.
Saul Marquez:
OK, cool, cool. I like that. I like. I like it.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
I like it. It’s a fun one. So it’s like, okay, well, what is it? But what it really is, it’s around really centered around extending the continuum of care outside the four walls, the clinical setting. And when we talk about things like telehealth or remote patient monitoring, especially in industry, there’s a tendency to focus in on the on the institution itself.
Saul Marquez:
Right.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
So let’s just do that for just a second. Really quickly, I just kind of explain that, like when you think about that the I.T. organizations with any health care facility are focused on the enterprise, the inside of those four walls. Their primary focus is on making sure that the clinicians and the administrators are able to deliver care within those facilities. And now that we’ve created programs like remote patient monitoring. Right. Well, not great. They’ve been around a long time, but they’re finally like having their day as well. Right. They’re finally being adopted and the reimbursements are coming. And with that we’re seeing this this increase in the adoption, but it’s becoming a little there’s sort of a ceiling that’s being hit in terms of the scale, because these I.T. organizations are not designed to support the capacity and some and to be quite honest, brutally honest. They don’t have the skill sets necessarily to support the delivery of care outside the four walls, a clinical setting. So imagine a patient who’s being asked to participate in a program. And, you know, it may be there, a post heart attack patient. Right. Posted my patient being sent home. And you want to be a clinician. The cardiologist was below. Monitor this patient in their home. Well, you know, the way that we would do this with an Romo patient mining program is it gives them a kit. And that kit would be would have, you know, everything it need, like a blood pressure cuff, a weight scale, maybe a Bluetooth enabled pillbox to make sure taking their medication, because that’s one of the big problems, people not taking medications. Right. The adherence challenge. So when we asked for that to be done, well, we’ve got small scale programs right now for the most part that are running and the ability for the majority of organizations to go beyond the one hundred and fifty or the fifteen hundred patients to be able to touch the lives of one point five right, which sort of average number of our disease patients coming in and out of a hospital facility is something that an I.T. organization with enterprise is not prepared to be able do. So what we’re focused on is we have a model that’s really designed around that to become like a single source provider of a multi OS, like not only do those HP have Windows and an Android and Chrome devices, we also have what’s called HB Dash for Apple, which is an agreement we have with Apple, which enables customers to be able to source Apple devices through HP with HP services wrapped around it that enable us to be able to manage across all operating systems. And we’re able do the kidding and the disposal in addition to the deployment and configuring of those devices, which really lifts takes a lot of burden off the I.T. organizations and it makes for better confidence from the clinical teams who are wanting to participate in these programs because there are a lot of them out there who want to do it, but they’re needing something that’s a bit more turnkey and they need it really, quite frankly, from global providers. Right, like ourselves who have that, you know, have that universal presence and enable us to be able to provide things like technical support. From our perspective, it’s kind of like we are really at the point where we’re creating an offering that’s as easy as when you purchase a printer. Everybody knows HP for its printers.
Saul Marquez:
Yup.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
And when you think about the first time you get a printer, you take it home, you open it. It’s so simple to plug in.
Saul Marquez:
Very simple.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Right. And, you know, it’s plug and play. We have basically are trying to help organizations to have that same experience with remote patient monitoring. And it’s not just for locations…
Saul Marquez:
Love that.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
But for the patient.
Saul Marquez:
For the patients. Yeah.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Easy for the patients. They’re the ones using it right now.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah. That is exciting. And I love the parallel. Right, as it as you said it. I look left at my HP printer and I’m like, that was easy done.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
That was easy. That easy for when, you know, your loved one is needing to better manage their care and they’re given, you know, a kit to take home creating that confidence. That’s what we want to do. So we’ve been testing it out. We try to go with some of the most challenging areas to make that happen. That’s why the Wonder program was so awesome, because when we first started, we started in parts of India, an off road train where you could even cut off road vehicle on those areas. You have to go by foot. We started there. We went go the most challenging areas. We started with all older adult populations. If Sarah Francis, who’s a ninety nine year old Cleveland resident, is able to do it and she did, she received a kit. She has congestive heart failure and received a kit in the mail and was able to just push a button, turn it on and step on a scale. We want that for everybody. We want to be that simple.
Saul Marquez:
That’s powerful, very powerful. Thanks for sharing that.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah.
Saul Marquez:
So, Fran, getting close to the end here we’ve got the lightning round, followed by a book you recommend to the listeners and then we’ll wrap up. You ready for that?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah. Ready? Let’s do it.
Saul Marquez:
What’s the best way to improve healthcare outcomes?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, I think the best way to improve healthcare outcomes is to really be clear about the outcomes that you’re trying to create. I think prior to the podcast, I sort of explain that to contemplate. When we say healthcare outcomes, are we talking about the industry and outcomes for the industry? Are we talking about healthy outcomes, health outcomes for patients? I think we need to be really sincere about whose needs we’re trying to service. If it’s the needs of the patients and their care… personal care givers, then that changes the dialogue in a way that we think. I think it’s important that we get pretty genuine about what kind of outcomes we’re trying to achieve. Otherwise, I think that what we will see is this continuous draw out of our ability to achieve outcomes that, you know, achieve the rates of success that we’d like to have because our our interests are in the wrong place.
Saul Marquez:
What would you say is the biggest mistake or pitfall to avoid?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
I guess when I think about it, it would probably be trying to assume that because something worked well in the past, that it’s going to continue to work well in the future. The demographics are changing. People’s interests are changing. Technology is changing. The way we’re able to do things today is changing. And you’ve got to be willing to be open and receptive to that and stop feeling so vulnerable. You know, I like thing about artificial intelligence, right, A.I. and the things that it can can do to help us to better diagnose. As an example, physicians didn’t see that as a threat. They should see that as an extra tool in their arsenal of tools to help them to deliver better care. So they do have more time to converse with the patients and go deeper into what’s what’s going on with their patients.
Saul Marquez:
Love that. And what would you say is the best way to stay relevant despite constant change?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Well, I think they’re sort of well, a couple of really quick things. One, I’d say it’s we have to be willing to expose take on some risks. And part of that is having a culture that’s, you know, of education, being willing to take time out, to learn about and discover what’s new and what’s what new innovations are coming and also be open and bring in diverse talent, not just age, ethnicity and gender, but also think about different experiences and skill sets, transferable skill sets that can serve your organization and help you move in a new direction and get ahead.
Saul Marquez:
What’s an area of focus that drives everything in your work?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Well, innovation, of course, for us, is it right? I mean, that’s the big thing. But it’s not just innovation for innovative sake or for novelty. I think it’s around a commitment to quality and accessibility. We sell a lot of amazing companies and a lot of folks come to us willing to partner. But, you know, you got the quality and the product has to be there. You just can’t skip on that. That’s so important. And creating the accessibility, making accessible. If people can’t access it and you get access to it to be able to use it, then it won’t be used. And what good is that?
Saul Marquez:
So powerful. I love that. And Fran, these these next two are a little more on a personal note for the listeners to get to know you. What’s your number one health habit?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Well, the number one is I try to get sleep.
Saul Marquez:
To sleep.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
And, you know, they are. They say that sitting is the new smoking. So I’m standing more error more these days. I got a standing desk. Those would be all.
Saul Marquez:
Did you know? Nice.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, I did. I did. But now my issue is after remember to like, you know, use the motor, push that button. So I had to put a timer on it like a little buzz, some little clock, so funny.
Saul Marquez:
So funny.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
To remind me that “it’s now time to stand up.”.
Saul Marquez:
Oh, my gosh. That’s awesome. I love it.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah, it is. It is so true.
Saul Marquez:
It is true, it is true. And Fran, what would you say your number one success habit is?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Seek first to understand and then be understood. I really try to spend a lot of time understanding what’s going on. And that’s not always easy sometimes. I’m one of the people who will.. I’ll fold my arm and then put my finger up to my lip or up to my chin, right the chin and lip kind of thing, you know? I mean.
Saul Marquez:
Yeah,.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Sure. Yeah. It’s just that’s really a reminder to be quiet to myself so that my lips don’t move so that I’m able to listen because it’s hard to listen if you’re talking.
Saul Marquez:
I love that.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yes.
Saul Marquez:
That’s a good one. Two years, one month, right?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
That’s right.
Saul Marquez:
I love it. Fran, what book would you recommend to the listeners?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
I struggled with this one a little bit when people asked that kind of question. The first one on a business note, I always like, oh, Shackleton’s way, you know, Leadership Lessons because they shackleton’s way he talks about, you know, his explorations and you hear that story. And there is a lot and not just leadership. Ownership as well. And being able to overcome hurdles. So I think that would be one. One big one.
Saul Marquez:
Great recommendation. So folks for the show notes as well as links to the books recommended an entire transcript of our discussion go to outcomesrocket.health and and the search bar type in Fran, you’re going to find it there and just be able to interact with the content that we put on the website. Fran, this has been tremendous. I really appreciate the insights. Leave us with a closing thought and in the best place for the listeners could continue the conversation.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Sure, guys. Closing thoughts? I would say be brave, be bold to be you and be willing to step into the unknown. Go beyond the surface talk. It’s just there’s just so much noise out there. Go drive a little deeper. Really focus on understanding your customers, your partners, your competitors. And not only that, but also being willing to be vulnerable and understand yourself. There’s Johari Window. Have you ever heard of Johari?
Saul Marquez:
I have.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah. Right. That’s powerful. You know what you know about yours? What you don’t know about yourself, what others don’t know about you. And it’s very powerful. So I think go a little deeper. That’s what I leave you with.
Saul Marquez:
I love that. You know what? And I love your call to action that not just with your customers and patients, but also with yourself.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Yeah.
Saul Marquez:
That’s awesome. And then if if folks want to continue the conversation with your Fran. Where would they do it?
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
Oh, they can do it on LinkedIn, I’m on LinkedIn. And it’s I think it’s FA walls it’s the little tag there. So, yeah…
Saul Marquez:
We’ll put it in the show notes.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
That would be nice.
Saul Marquez:
So folks, if you want to connect the Fran, go to outcomesrocket.health in the search bar type in Fran. We’ll leave a link there for you to connect with her on LinkedIn. Fran, a blast. Thank you so much for your thoughts.
Fran Ayalasomayajula:
I know. This has been so much fun. It’s been amazing. I really appreciate the time. I’ve really enjoyed it. Thank you so much.
Thanks for listening to the Outcomes Rocket podcast. Be sure to visit us on the web at www.outcomesrocket.com for the show notes, resources, inspiration, and so much more.
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