Today is National Doctors Day, a chance to highlight the important work they do today and every day to keep us healthy. But we’re especially grateful now. Their dedication to the profession is on full display during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’re excited to highlight two doctors that work within our own organization, Dr. Rebekah Gardner and Dr. Chris Campanile.
Dr. Christopher Campanile, practices family medicine at Coastal Hillside Family Medicine and works with Healthcentric Advisors on a variety of projects. He had this to say about how our collaboration works:
“As a busy primary care physician, my consulting role at Healthcentric Advisors is to provide feedback from the provider community regarding the feasibility of their QI programs and champion HCA’s mission of quality and safety among my fellow health care professionals.”
Dr. Rebekah Gardner sat down with us for a brief interview. She’s an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Senior Medical Scientist at Healthcentric Advisors, and a practicing internist at Rhode Island Hospital.
Q: What are your most memorable experiences working at Healthcentric Advisors?
A: I’ve loved being part of our care transition work from the very beginning; each of the care transitions projects has been meaningful and has directly improved patients’ experiences and the quality of their care. I’ve also liked how the care transitions work pushed us as an organization to actively work across health care settings, which seems obvious now, but wasn’t at the time we started.
Another memorable experience has been the evolving health information technology survey that we administer on behalf of the Rhode Island Department of Health. We’ve come so far from simply asking if doctors have an EHR to where we are today, which is delving into the impact of that technology on doctors’ lives and using those data to affect policy.
Q: While working at Healthcentric Advisors were there any projects you felt impacted you personally?
A: I’ve learned so much from working with our partners in different health care settings; that’s been a gift and not something I would have gotten to experience otherwise.
I’ve also enjoyed the give and take of facilitating our Rhode Island Healthcare Advisory Board. I’m grateful to be part of an organization that can act so effectively as a neutral convener in our region. We are known for providing reliable data without bias to community partners.
Q: Do you have any goals you are hoping to meet while working here?
A: My goals have always included bringing a real-world clinical perspective on everything we do here at Healthcentric Advisors.
It’s also important to me to be part of the process of making sure our work is patient-centered.
Another goal is helping to disseminate the amazing work we do here through academic publications, local and national presentations, social media, and any other way we can!
Q: Would you like to share any insights to add about from your field?
A: I would want to add that a doctor’s role extends beyond being a healer of the sick, although that remains at the core. We are educators, we are scientists, we are researchers, and we are advocates.
Q: Is there anything you would like to highlight on National Doctors’ Day?
A: Something we’ve seen in our own work is the impact of burnout on physicians’ well-being and on our ability to care for patients. I’m hopeful that we can be part of the movement to stem the increasing flow of paperwork and burdensome regulations so we can return our focus to being present with our patients.
