Startups

4 ways Stephen Klasko is making Jefferson a hotbed of health innovation

The chief of the med school and health system spoke at last week's Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange.

Jefferson CEO Stephen Klasko speaks at the 2015 Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange. (Photo by Mo Manklang)

Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.
Stephen Klasko does not like the word impossible, and he has brought this ideology of innovation to Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health as president and CEO.
The organizations have been making big changes in the past few years, both inside and outside. From locking up naming rights to its nearby SEPTA station to the latest technology in booking appointments, Jefferson wants to be known for innovation.
Klasko spoke at last week’s Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange, and we left with these four takeaways:

  • Appointments made easy: Jefferson is implementing a new way to followup with your doctor: a video session, eliminating the need to travel. This new progress in telehealth allows doctors to work with patients more efficiently, saving time and money as well as creating a better experience for the patient.
  • Health is all we do: Klasko’s “overriding vision” for health and health education is to make the focus on health — something that really shouldn’t be so revolutionary. This includes not just high test scores among Jefferson students, but also emotional ability evaluation — they want their doctors to have the best bedside manner around.
  • Medicine + Design: Jefferson is working with Princeton University’s design and engineering students, who will be guaranteed admission to Jefferson as way of developing creative physicians.
  • IRL SEO: Klasko’s book, The Phantom Stethoscope, sold 50,000 copies because it came up in the “If you might like this, you might also like” section of Amazon’s listing of Harry Potter books.
Companies: Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

Our services Preferred partners The journalism fund
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Philly’s tech and innovation ecosystem runs on collaboration 

Look inside: Franklin Institute’s Giant Heart reopens with new immersive exhibits

Robot dogs, startup lawsuits and bouncing back from snubs: Philly tech’s biggest stories of the year

How Berkadia's innovation conference demonstrates its commitment to people and technology

Technically Media