Scott Arnold and Rachel Feinman of Tampa General Hospital Named ‘Hospital and Health System Chief Innovation Officers to Know’

 

The academic health system’s EVP and Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, and VP of Innovation and Managing Director of TGH Innoventures are recognized for their efforts to drive innovation.

 

Tampa, FL (Oct. 25, 2023) – Tampa General Hospital (TGH) announced that Scott Arnold, the academic health system’s executive vice president and chief digital and innovation officer, and Rachel Feinman, vice president of Innovation and managing director of TGH Innoventures, have been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2023 list of “Hospital and Health System Chief Innovation Officers to Know.” With this recognition, Arnold and Feinman join just 33 other leaders recognized nationally for fostering a culture of innovation, creativity and open-mindedness, leading to novel technologies, enhanced patient care models and new partnerships.

“As Tampa General continues on its growth trajectory, innovation at all levels will remain at the forefront of our systemwide strategy,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “Scott and Rachel have done a remarkable job laying a rock-solid foundation for the transformational work ahead of us and we’re proud to see them earn national recognition for their efforts to infuse innovation into the fabric of our organizational culture.”  

In his role, Arnold oversees biomedical devices and their integration with existing technologies systemwide. He pushes the advancement of Tampa General’s technology systems to position the academic health system as a leader in innovation. His approach is rooted in his belief that technology should be another tool at health care providers’ disposal to make the coordination of patient care streamlined and intuitive, recognizing the important role this plays in overall care experience and patient satisfaction.

Arnold has evolved the patient experience through the automation of scheduling appointments — transitioning the system to an online booking system where new and returning patients can schedule an appointment with the click of a button. This effort alone led to an increase in new patient acquisitions which had not previously been seen. Arnold is currently working with his team to reduce interoperability friction by successfully transitioning all of Tampa General to the same platform and connecting through one hub. This transition will play the most prominent role when patients reach out to the call center — positioning it more as an “experience center,” where the person on the other end of the phone will be able to provide support across all scheduling and medical coordination needs via a single pane of a CRM system. Team members will be able to get to know their patients better and see the big picture of the patient’s journey and experience.

“We’ve rallied Tampa General around our vision of becoming the safest and most innovative academic health system in the nation,” said Arnold. “By extension, this recognition also honors our collective team and serves as an important reminder that innovation can — and should — come from anyone or anywhere within an organization.”

Feinman was recognized for demonstrating excellence in her management of innovation projects and partnerships for the academic health system. In her capacity as managing director of TGH Innoventures, Tampa General’s innovation center and corporate venture fund, she leads venture investing on behalf of Tampa General. Under her leadership, the academic health system has engaged in strategic partnerships with ProcessBolt, ModifyHealth, Health Snap and Navina, among others.

To reinforce a culture of innovation at Tampa General, Feinman led TGH Innoventures’ partnership with the academic health system’s People Development Institute (PDI), a career development and growth facility developed by Tampa General and the University of South Florida's Muma College of Business to launch IdeaMVP. The IdeaMVP program, modeled after Shark Tank, enables health system staff to shepherd an innovative idea or technology from concept to solution and pitch their ideas to a panel of leaders, with winning ideas backed with resources for implementation.

 “I think one of Tampa General’s key differentiators is that we understand innovation is more than a buzzword or disruption for disruption’s sake,” said Feinman. “We’ve been successful in forging new paths and propelling innovation because we are focused on solving real-world problems for our patients and team members.”

 Becker’s Hospital Review is a leading source of hospital business news and analysis for the health care industry. Arnold, Feinman and the remainder of this year’s “Hospital and Health System Chief Innovation Officers to Know” honorees are profiled online here.