“To me, the most important thing is how does this affect patients? And how do we make patient lives easier, better, more fulfilled?”
A laser focus on patient care is where Richard Zane, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, begins all his work.
Zane embraces the need for change and innovation in how healthcare is delivered. His drive comes from simply being a doctor, trying to treat and better the lives of his patients.
In the video below – produced as part of the “This Is Breakthrough” marketing campaign promoting the remarkable talent and innovation at CU Anschutz – learn more about what drives Zane to make patient-focused innovations in healthcare delivery and how the CU Anschutz campus makes those innovations possible, even during COVID-19.
“COVID-19 has been a shock to everybody's system. It has fundamentally altered the way in which we all think about healthcare,” Zane said, pointing to the increase in treating patients remotely. A key takeaway from the pandemic, according to Zane, was that the “adoption of technology in healthcare was doable and actually made it better, faster, safer."
Among the several technologies to improve the patient experience Zane has championed with CU Innovations is a remote health tracker from the company BioIntelliSense. The tracker can monitor a patient’s vital signs and alert a care team if problems arise – an intervention that normally could take days or weeks to get scheduled.
Zane credits the unique CU Anschutz environment for bringing industry, academia and healthcare together to improve patient experiences and outcomes.
Between actively caring for patients – particularly during COVID-19 – and designing new solutions for future care, Zane said, most of all, he is humbled by the experience.
“We get to change the world. It's an honor to do what we do, and no one else gets to do this. It's just an incredible thing to get to do.”
