What I learned from Vanderbilt University Medical Center

(by Patrick Talmadge Harris -  CEO & Founder, PatEx)

Recently, I have been reflecting on my early years I spent in healthcare business and product development.  I was very fortunate to work with Vanderbilt University on a variety of initiatives.  They provided a great incubator for our business at a variety of levels, a great resource for recruiting top student talent and a wonderful on-site learning experience for me.  The experience was great and I continue to incorporate what I learned into current projects.  Here are a few quick points to recap what I learned:

• Be open to communication with vendors;
• Promote student and business community interaction;
• People, environment and systems all contribute to the patient experience;
• Embrace the incubator and resources you can provide to help businesses innovate;
• Quality models are evolving and play a big part in process improvement and strategic planning.