IT Blog

For Fast Company’s Shape of Tomorrow series, we’re asking business leaders to share their inside perspective on how the COVID-19 era is transforming their industries. Here’s what’s been lost—and what could be gained—in the new world order.

James Merlino, chief clinical transformation officer of the Cleveland Clinic

The old saying in crisis is “never let the opportunity go to waste.” We’ve learned a couple things. One is that this has reemphasized the importance of safety. We’re doing thermal screening for healthcare providers. We’re testing any patient who’s coming in for any surgery or ambulatory care. If they’re COVID-positive, we’ll delay their procedure unless it’s an emergency. 

The second thing is we’re seeing technology innovations, such as virtual rounding done on an iPad and virtual [visits]. Before COVID hit, we were doing 3,000 virtual visits a month. In March, we did 60,000. Then there are small things, such as putting IV pumps and…