We recently sat down with Interop Hero, Travis White, Senior Vice President of Market Strategy and Adoption at Kno2. During the conversation, we learned how he and his team are leveraging existing technology in new ways to solve problems for providers and patients.

To kick things off, Travis spoke about person-centered technology — a term we hear quite a bit in the health IT space. Travis shared that the intersection of people and technology constantly motivates him.

“It is my firm belief that the focus should always be on the people that technology serves. Period.”

That’s how Travis and the team at Kno2 say they approach work every day. They keep people at the center of everything they do, whether that’s conversations about standards, profiles, or technology.

In order to produce effective IT solutions, end-user interactions must be highly considered. Travis shared his workflow, including his philosophy around how different components compliment person-centered technology. He believes that technology should be positioned to help for people to do more, where they’re at. IT solutions should be simple and convenient.

His approach to creating person-centered solutions is not necessarily focused on the latest and greatest technology, but rather on using what’s already been created. Travis is mindful to take a step back and ask, “Is this something providers want or need? Does this solve the problem?” User feedback is important because it helps inform the design. With that feedback, Kno2 is able to create evidence-based solutions they believe are catalyzing real change for the people who use them. Travis says this approach has an added bonus of making users and stakeholders more excited to use their product because they’ve essentially had a hand in its creation.

In speaking with Travis, we got the opportunity to hear this approach in action. He walked us through the work Kno2 has done around signing workflows that burden the system. (Think, filling out the same paperwork at your clinic every six months.) We can all relate to the repetitive forms needed to see our doctor. Travis articulates the sentiment best:

“You constantly are met with that question of, ‘I feel like you should know this because I feel like I’ve done it six times.’”

Signing workflows is an area where Kno2 is leaning in to maximize existing interoperability frameworks as a way to remove redundancies. During this initiative, the Kno2 team worked with clinicians, administrators, and even patients to streamline the workflow.

“As a result of those conversations and…evidence-based innovation, we took that forward into a solution that allows us to enable e-signing to occur within trusted and secure signing platforms that are very well known, such as DocuSign.”

This is a great example of how we can think about the workflows we have today and address issues that exist within them using technology that has already been developed. According to Travis, the latest and greatest isn’t always necessary when it comes to solving some of the challenges we see in healthcare. He points out that at the end of the day, people really just care whether or not the solution works. Many aren’t interested in knowing the ins and outs of the technology. To them, it’s a means to an end that makes life easier. Sometimes the message to providers is: Let’s use what we have.

“There’s a lot that we can do with what we have in the market. And there’s a lot of technology that is sitting there idle — maybe even dusty in the corner — that we haven’t even tapped into because of education and because people don’t understand that there’s an opportunity here.”

Travis expressed gratitude in the final part of our interview – gratitude for the fortune to surround himself with talented people and help make a difference for providers and patients alike. Travis extends that appreciation to everyone working in the industry, noting the work they do really matters. In closing, he reminded us that his commitment is unwavering, and that he believes his team at Kno2 will make healthcare communication more effective.

Thank you to Travis White of Kno2 for sharing your experience and perspective with us!

Learn more about the Interoperability Hero Initiative and check out our Q3 2022 class of Interop Heroes!

This post was contributed by Alyssa Foggia-Hamm.