Episode 8: Visionary Voices with Trinity Health

Larry Kaiser:
Hi, everybody, and welcome to today’s episode of Visionary Voices. I am joined for this episode by Mike Prokic, Vice President and Chief IT Strategy Officer, and Nick O’Connor, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer from Trinity Health. Which, you may not know, is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare systems in the nation, with 68 hospitals, 135 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 136 urgent care locations, and so many other health and well-being services. And on today’s conversation, we’re going to take a deep dive into IT modernization, specifically around PACS. Mike and Nick, thanks for joining the podcast today.

Nick O’Connor:
Hey, thanks, Larry. Good to be here.

Mike Prokic:
Thanks for having us.

Larry Kaiser:
Really excited for this conversation. So, like we do at every single episode here on Visionary Voices, we have a segment called Bandwidth Banter, which is our fun take on icebreakers and really allows our listeners to better understand our guests on a more personal level when we talk about business all the time. And you know, I know you guys are big sports fans out there in Michigan, and Nick, I know your roots are in Boston, so I’d love just to kind of have a quick conversation about sports.

So, Mike, I know you have a couple of jerseys on the wall behind you there. I want you to tell our listeners about those jerseys, and I know the one to the far right, Aiden Hutchinson, has a kind of a special connection to you in the area.

Mike Prokic:
Yeah, thanks, Larry. Oddly, the camera keeps zooming in and out, but over my left shoulder here is an Aiden Hutchinson jersey, autographed. I’m based in Plymouth, Michigan, and he’s a hometown guy, and really cool to see what he’s doing in the NFL and with the Detroit Lions.

So for me, there’s no question, it’s NFL football, it’s college football. There’s no place like being at Michigan Stadium on a Saturday in Ann Arbor. So by far football’s a big sport in our house.

Larry Kaiser:
Love it. And Nick, how about you?

Nick O’Connor:
Yeah, I mean, you called it out. I grew up in Boston, so you kind of don’t get a choice there. It’s the Red Sox, it’s the Patriots, it’s the Bruins, it’s the Celtics. But I will say, living in Michigan now, it’s hard not to get caught up in the Lions run and the excitement around them. So I’ve been enjoying that as well.

Larry Kaiser:
I love it. I love it. Always good to start with a little sports talk.

So let’s jump into what we’re really here to talk about today, which is modernization, and specifically around imaging and PACS. Trinity Health is obviously a massive organization. Can you guys talk a little bit about the environment you were dealing with before this modernization effort started?

Mike Prokic:
Yeah, absolutely. So as you can imagine, with a system our size and the number of markets we’re in, we had accumulated a lot of different imaging platforms over time. Different PACS systems, different archives, different workflows depending on the region or even the hospital.

And that created a lot of complexity, both operationally and technically. It made it harder to standardize workflows, harder to support clinicians consistently, and frankly harder to innovate because we were spending so much time just maintaining what we already had.

Nick O’Connor:
Yeah, and I’d add that from a technology standpoint, it also limited our ability to move forward with things like cloud adoption, advanced analytics, AI, and all the things we know are coming into the imaging space.

When you have that many disparate systems, it’s really difficult to build a unified data strategy or a unified platform that you can innovate on top of.

Larry Kaiser:
So what was the tipping point? Was there a moment where you said, “Okay, we really need to rethink this”?

Mike Prokic:
I don’t know that there was one single moment, but there was definitely a growing recognition that imaging is such a core part of clinical care now that we couldn’t treat it as just another departmental system.

We needed to think of it as an enterprise capability. And once you start thinking that way, you start asking different questions. You start asking about scalability, interoperability, clinician experience, and long-term sustainability, not just whether the system works today.

Nick O’Connor:
And I think the other factor was the pace of change in healthcare IT more broadly. We’re seeing a shift toward cloud-based platforms, toward more integrated data environments, toward AI-driven insights.

If we wanted to participate in that future, we needed to modernize the foundation first.

Larry Kaiser:
So let’s talk about that future. When you think about modernization in imaging, what does success actually look like?

Mike Prokic:
For me, success is really about three things.

First, it’s about clinician experience. Are we making it easier for radiologists and clinicians to do their jobs? Are we reducing friction, reducing clicks, reducing the time it takes to get information?

Second, it’s about operational efficiency. Are we simplifying our environment? Are we reducing duplication? Are we making it easier to support and maintain?

And third, it’s about positioning ourselves for innovation. Are we creating a platform that can support AI, analytics, new workflows, and whatever comes next?

Nick O’Connor:
Yeah, and I’d add that from a technology standpoint, success also means flexibility. We don’t want to be locked into something that limits our options down the road.

We want a platform that can evolve with us, that can integrate with new tools, and that can support new use cases we may not even be thinking about yet.

Larry Kaiser:
That makes a lot of sense. So as you were evaluating options, what were the key criteria you were looking at?

Mike Prokic:
Interoperability was huge. We needed something that could work across markets, across specialties, across care settings.

We also cared a lot about scalability and reliability. With the volume of imaging we do, downtime isn’t really an option.

And then we looked closely at the vendor’s roadmap. We wanted to partner with someone who was clearly investing in the future, not just maintaining the present.

Nick O’Connor:
And from my side, architecture mattered a lot. We were looking for something that aligned with our broader enterprise strategy around cloud, data, and integration.

We didn’t want a one-off solution. We wanted something that fit into the bigger picture of where Trinity Health is going as an organization.

Larry Kaiser:
Let’s talk about impact. What have you seen so far, either clinically or operationally?

Mike Prokic:
One of the biggest impacts has been around standardization. We’re starting to see more consistent workflows, more consistent experiences for clinicians, and that’s huge in an organization our size.

We’re also seeing benefits in terms of visibility into our data and our operations. When you start bringing things onto a more unified platform, you just understand your environment better.

Nick O’Connor:
And I think the other thing is we’ve created a foundation we can build on. We’re now in a position where we can start exploring AI use cases, advanced analytics, and other innovations in a much more practical way than before.

Larry Kaiser:
So if you were giving advice to another health system starting this journey, what would you tell them?

Mike Prokic:
I’d say start with the outcomes you want, not the technology. Be really clear about what problems you’re trying to solve and what success looks like for your clinicians and your patients.

And I’d also say don’t underestimate the change management piece. Technology is only part of it. Alignment, communication, and clinician engagement are just as important.

Nick O’Connor:
Yeah, I’d echo that. And I’d add that you should think long term. Don’t optimize just for the next year or two. Think about where healthcare IT is going and make decisions that keep your options open.

Larry Kaiser:
That’s great advice.

Well, guys, this has been a fantastic conversation. I really appreciate you both taking the time to join us today and share what you’re doing at Trinity Health.

And to our listeners, thank you for tuning in to this episode of Visionary Voices powered by Optimum Healthcare IT. And remember, the future of healthcare IT starts with your vision. We’ll catch you next time.