PA College Magazine - 3

SECOND
OPINION

Q
A

How will health care change in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Our experts weigh in.

"

"

Kurt Stillwagon

Sean P. Reynolds 

Director of Talent Acquisition, 
WellSpan Health

Vice President, Operations 
Specialty Physician Services, Penn Medicine
Lancaster General Health Physicians

At a local level, we are already seeing
the benefits of having employees
working from home. This has helped
not only with engagement and
efficiency, but also productivity.
This is due in large part to embracing
various technology platforms that allow
large groups to easily collaborate.
This technology has also allowed
us to virtually recruit and interview
candidates. This has not only made
the interview process much faster,
but also allowed us to get in front
of groups, like students, to talk to
them [virtually] about opportunities
at WellSpan. We have also experienced
some need for regulations to change
regarding how health systems can
be more flexible and utilize their
employees across entities. The
various regulatory bodies have been
great at allowing exceptions during
the pandemic. I would think we will
see some of these exceptions become
standards in the future.  

I am incredibly proud to have
witnessed the professionalism of the
health care workforce in response to
COVID-19. Team members embraced
new technologies, such as our move
to virtual care platforms, which helped
to accelerate our response to patient
needs. Those organizations who can
deliver care using emerging engagement
and technology resources will align
with the changing expectations of
the patients.
Training programs for new health care
workers will need to prepare for
change management and communication
skills related to teamwork. We value
partnerships with educational
institutions that continue to prepare
the clinical workforce for in-person
care, while looking across the landscape
for opportunities to change the
traditional delivery through innovation. 

"

Michael Ripchinski, MD,
MBA, CPE, FAAFP 
Chief Clinical Officer, 
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health 

We expect long-term impacts to the
health care delivery system. Pandemic
preparations and planning, along with
inventory management, will change.
Health systems will think differently
about preparing, testing and simulating
those plans. We may see a move away
from "just in time" inventory management
to a fixed-quantity strategy for products
like personal protective equipment.
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health 
has always looked for ways to interact
with patients and their families outside
of traditional office visits. We have teams
of nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and
community health workers who connect
with patients through phone and video.
The rapid move to telehealth during
COVID-19, if supported by the payment
structures for the long term, will represent
another potential method to ensure
patient engagement and achievement
of their health goals. n

PA College / Fall 2020

3
PA College Magazine

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