Advisory Services Practice Lead John Distefano was recently interviewed as part of a series called, "5 Things We Must Do To Improve the US Healthcare System." Below is a short excerpt from the article featured in Authority Magazine.
John is head of Nordic’s Advisory Services, where he leads a practice dedicated to bringing transformational solutions to clients’ most pressing issues across clinical, operational, and health IT domains. For more than 30 years, John has been catalyzing innovation with payers, providers, and government clients, helping senior executives align their business strategies to the challenges and opportunities presented by a transforming healthcare environment. Prior to joining Nordic, John was a consultant at Accenture and Ernst and Young, where he was recognized by Consultant Magazine as one of the nation’s top 25 consultants for his achievements in healthcare.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into our interview, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Like everyone, I have plenty of stories of loved ones interacting with the health system; in some cases those experiences were less than optimal. That prompted me, as a kid recently out of college with a degree in Computer Science, to join what was the largest Health IT firm at the time (McDonnel Douglas Health Systems). I had the intention of working full time and studying for a Masters in Information Technology (which did happen thanks to an understanding wife, a flexible employer and committed instructors!).
Right away, however, I saw real opportunities to make meaningful change in health delivery using technology. Before there were EMR/EHRs, there were clinical information systems. I thought that helping provider systems to implement and use those technologies would be a fast way to solve the gaps in care and other problems presented by paper and pen records.
I discovered that I had a passion for bringing tech to the forefront of care (and that there were no quick fixes). That has stayed with me even today; while we’ve made huge gains, there is still much that can be done to improve the quality and cost efficiency of health care using tech.
To read the article in its entirety, click here.