A Reflection from NAACOS by Morgan Filippi
When the System Is Hard to Navigate for Experts, What Does That Mean for Everyone Else?
A Reflection from NAACOS by Morgan Filippi, AaNeel
At NAACOS last week, I had the opportunity to hear Jennifer Goldsack deliver the keynote, “Navigating the Rapids: Current State and Future Promise of Medicine in the Digital and AI Era.” Going in, the expectation was clear. This would be a forward-looking conversation about digital transformation, AI, and the role these technologies will play in advancing health outcomes.
And it was.
Jennifer’s perspective carries weight for a reason. As the founder and CEO of the Digital Medicine Society, her work sits at the intersection of innovation, research, and real-world application. Her focus has consistently been on how digital technologies can be used safely, effectively, and equitably to improve health, healthcare delivery, and research. She has contributed across academic medicine, national policy discussions, and global leadership forums, which gives her a vantage point that spans both strategy and execution.
What made the session stand out, though, was not just the discussion of where healthcare is going. It was how clearly she connected that future to the present reality patients are experiencing today.
She shared her own experience navigating the healthcare system.
We Talk About Access. Patients Experience Friction.
There is a tendency in healthcare to define access in measurable terms. We look at network coverage, appointment availability, and time to treatment. These are important indicators, but they do not always reflect what patients actually encounter as they move through the system.
What Jennifer described was something far more familiar than we might want to admit. Even with deep knowledge of healthcare and a career focused on improving it, the experience of accessing care was complex, fragmented, and at times difficult to navigate. The pieces were there, but they did not always connect in a way that made sense in real time.
This is where the gap becomes clear. A system can technically provide access and still create an experience that feels uncertain and disjointed. Delays between steps, unclear transitions, and inconsistent communication introduce friction that patients are left to manage on their own.
When that friction builds, the impact goes beyond inconvenience. It can delay diagnoses, interrupt treatment, and discourage patients from continuing through the process. These are not isolated issues. They are the result of a system that has not fully aligned around the patient journey.
Every Patient Is Someone’s Person
One of the most important reminders from the keynote was also the most grounded.
Every patient is someone’s loved one.
In environments driven by data and performance metrics, it is easy to focus on populations rather than individuals. That perspective is necessary for managing cost and outcomes, but it can create distance from the experience of care itself.
Patients are not navigating the system as abstract data points. They are doing it while managing work, family, and everything else that makes up their lives. They are trying to return to normalcy, not just complete a clinical pathway.
When the system is difficult to navigate, the impact is personal. It shows up in missed obligations, added stress, and moments of uncertainty that could have been avoided with clearer communication and better coordination.
We Have the Tools. The Question Is How We Use Them.
The broader theme of the keynote focused on the rapid advancement of digital health and AI, and the potential these tools hold to transform care. The capabilities exist to support earlier intervention, more personalized treatment, and more informed decision-making.
The challenge is not a lack of innovation. It is how that innovation is implemented.
There is a meaningful difference between introducing new technology and integrating it into workflows in a way that improves the patient experience. Prevention and personalization require more than advanced tools. They depend on how effectively those tools are aligned with care delivery and how seamlessly they support clinical and operational decision-making.
The organizations that will move ahead are not the ones that adopt the most technology. They are the ones that make that technology usable in the context of everyday care.
Sustainability Is More Than a Financial Equation
Another important point raised in the session is that sustainability cannot be defined by a single dimension. For healthcare to function effectively over time, it must be clinically effective, financially accessible for patients, and operationally sustainable for organizations.
These elements are interconnected, and when one is out of balance, the system begins to show strain.
What stood out is how closely sustainability ties back to the patient experience. When access is difficult, when costs feel uncertain, or when coordination breaks down, sustainability is no longer just an organizational concern. It becomes something patients feel directly as they navigate their care.
This Is a Connectivity Problem as Much as a Care Problem
Stepping back from the keynote, a consistent theme emerges. Many of the challenges described are not due to a lack of effort or even a lack of capability. They are the result of disconnection.
Information exists, but it does not always move when it is needed. Care teams are engaged, but they are not always aligned around the same information. Processes are in place, but they do not always function together in a cohesive way.
This is where communication, interoperability, and data alignment become critical. When information flows more consistently, decisions become clearer. When teams operate from a shared understanding, care becomes more coordinated. When data is used effectively, it supports real-time action rather than retrospective analysis.
Where This Connects to the Work We Do
At AaNeel, these are the challenges we see organizations working through every day. The gap between what healthcare is capable of and what patients actually experience is not theoretical. It is operational.
Improving interoperability, aligning data across systems, and enabling more connected workflows are foundational to closing that gap. These efforts are not just about efficiency or compliance. They are about making healthcare more navigable, more coordinated, and ultimately more effective for the people it is meant to serve.
A Final Thought
There are always a few sessions at conferences that stand out, but occasionally there is one that changes how you think about the work itself.
This keynote did that.
If we want to improve outcomes, reduce cost, and build more sustainable models of care, we have to start by making the experience of navigating that care less complicated.
Because if it is still difficult for those who understand the system best, it is a clear signal that there is more work to be done.
