EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S COLUMN by Susan E. Sedory Holzer, MA, CAE


IR embracing “patient-driven”


and experiment with new delivery models such as alternative patient models and accountable care organizations. Americans are living longer and more of them are insured than ever before. But one of the most disruptive changes to the industry is the sharp rise of “mobile consumerization” of health care— the trend in which individual patients, enabled by networks, apps and data, are taking a much different, more active role in their own care.


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You know what I mean. Patients are coming to your offices armed with medical information printed out from websites or pulled up on their iPhones. They may know how much money you received last year from industry-sponsored activities and probably read your last patient’s review on Yelp. They willingly admit they’re “shopping around” for the best value in medical care, because they know variations in cost and quality do exist. With more data in their smartphone than is in your hospital’s patient portal, they have shifted from being passengers to drivers of health care and are looking for physicians who encourage and value them as such.


I would say that the field of interventional radiology is ideal for this patient-driven market. You give patients what they want: minimally invasive therapies—with less risk and minimal discomfort—that address their symptoms regardless of where they occur in the body. Your treatments allow patients to return to their normal lives sooner than they could with other treatment options such as surgery. And you won’t stop innovating new techniques and solutions.


I would also say that growing our emphasis on being patient- driven is also ideal for SIR and one of the reasons why your


“Patient-driven” empowers physicians to collaborate with patients to understand their needs and desires and to jointly design plans of care that are as sensitive and consistent as possible with those needs and desires.


e say that the changes taking place in today’s health care environment may be a once-in-a- lifetime phenomenon. Payers are driving us to focus as never before on value-based care


leadership made this concept one of the five brand pillars in our relaunched brand.


In his IRQ column, Dr. Alan Matsumoto discusses how your collaboration brings IR’s “voice to the table” to influence care quality. Your active involvement in organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Venous Forum and the Society for Vascular Medicine also has a direct impact on patient care. By serving on committees or working groups with various associations, you ensure that our field’s innovative perspectives and minimally invasive approaches to therapies are incorporated into clinical care guidelines and other patient care approaches.


Recently, the society launched SIR Connect—an online IR community that empowers volunteers and members to more efficiently collaborate and work online. Already, this community has grown to nearly 6,000 individuals who are engaging in conversations everyday about challenges and successes of patient care. These members are passing on best practices and discussing how they’re applying the very best of today’s medicine.


SIR is also changing how we present ourselves to the public through our website. This new site will prominently showcase SIR’s brand and feature a new online patient center. It will present information about the field and about the innovative, minimally invasive approaches you take to treating conditions in a more consumer-friendly manner. We’re excited to launch this new site in 2016 and greatly appreciate all the input we’ve received from members on this project.


“Patient-driven” does not mean that patients take over the role of doctors and nurses. It means patient attitudes and opinions are sought, not just through posttreatment surveys, online portals or corporate websites, but instead through interactive decision-making, informed by resources that omit technical jargon and are segmented for various audiences. “Patient- driven” empowers physicians to collaborate with patients to understand their needs and desires and to jointly design plans of care that are as sensitive and consistent as possible with those needs and desires.


This is where IR excels. You will continue to find and perfect breakthrough treatments that harness the power of image-guided therapies, particularly when what patients want most isn’t quite yet possible.


6 IR QUARTERLY | WINTER 2016


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