TDP 209: Houston Methodist’s Michelle Stansbury: Why Siloed Innovation Labs Don’t Work, Making Innovation Financially Accountable, and Why Health Systems Must Disrupt Themselves or Risk Being Disrupted

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On this episode of The Digital Patient, Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO of SeamlessMD, and colleague, Alan Sardana, chat with Michelle Stansbury, Associate Chief Innovation Officer and Vice President of IT Applications at Houston Methodist, about "Why Siloed Innovation Labs Don’t Work, Making Innovation Financially Accountable, Why Health Systems Must Disrupt Themselves or Risk Being Disrupted, and more..." Click the play button to listen or read the show notes below.
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Audio:

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Guest(s):

• Michelle Stansbury, Associate Chief Innovation Officer and VP, IT Applications at Houston Methodist
• Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO at SeamlessMD

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‍Episode 209 - Show Notes:

[00:00:07] Episode preview

[00:06:03] How Ms. Stansbury's career path from oil and gas into hospital operations at Houston Methodist shaped her systems-level perspective on healthcare innovation.

[00:07:29] What Ms. Stansbury learned when moving from hospital operations into IT about the benefits of integrated EHRs like Epic—and the clinician burnout caused by documentation burden.

[00:08:30] Why Ms. Stansbury believes digital transformation must drive real organizational change in healthcare, not just produce dashboards or surface-level analytics.

[00:09:17] Why Houston Methodist chose to proactively disrupt itself rather than wait for external technology companies to reshape healthcare.

[00:09:56] How the Houston Methodist Center for Innovation was built to identify emerging technologies and solve real healthcare problems from inside the organization.

[00:11:38] The three priorities that guide Houston Methodist’s innovation strategy: patient experience, clinician efficiency, and operational and financial performance.

[00:12:26] How ambient listening technology is being used to reduce EHR documentation burden and refocus clinicians on patient conversations.

[00:13:46] Why Houston Methodist requires every innovation initiative to clearly define the problem it solves and demonstrate measurable ROI.

[00:15:07] How failed innovation pilots are evaluated, stopped quickly, and treated as learning opportunities rather than sunk costs.

[00:16:49] Why Houston Methodist prioritizes Epic-first solutions but partners externally when Epic lacks maturity, as demonstrated by its care pathway programs.

[00:21:40] Why Ms. Stansbury believes change management—not technology—is the hardest and most critical component of healthcare innovation.

[00:22:37] How early resistance to virtual nursing turned into strong clinician and patient support after pilots demonstrated real workflow benefits.

[00:23:41] What building a system-wide virtual care infrastructure made possible, including virtual nursing, telestroke, telepsych, pharmacy, and ED hospitalist coverage.

[00:25:17] How AI-powered OR cameras initially faced surgeon resistance but ultimately improved operating room efficiency, surgeon satisfaction, and patient access.

[00:29:46] The unexpected patient experience benefits that emerged from virtual admissions and discharges, including uninterrupted nurse interactions.

[00:30:59] How digital whiteboards replaced manual processes to give patients real-time access to care team information, vitals, pain management, and upcoming visits.

[00:35:35] Why Houston Methodist embeds innovation into day-to-day roles instead of isolating it in a separate innovation silo.

[00:39:04] How long-standing leadership trust and cultural continuity allow Houston Methodist to move faster than organizations with frequent turnover.

[00:45:19] What Houston Methodist has learned by placing its innovation team in Houston’s Ion district and collaborating across industries.

[00:52:23] Why Ms. Stansbury encourages healthcare leaders to share openly, learn from peers, and avoid repeating the same innovation mistakes.

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‍Fast 5 Lightning Round:

1. What is your favorite book or book you’ve gifted the most?
   Leading Change by John Kotter
2. If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?
   Speed reading.
3. Would you rather have Super strength, super speed, or the ability to read people’s minds?
   Super speed.
4. What is something in healthcare you believe others might find insane?
   The level of commitment healthcare leaders have to patients and colleagues, even in crises.
5. What is the last movie or TV show you saw?
   The Pitt — thought it was extremely well done and accurately portrayed the fast-paced, emotional realities of emergency care.

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