Just-In-Time Learning Means Doctor & Nurses Have Answers When It Matters Most - Dr. Stephanie Lahr

It is not every day that a guest shows up to The Tech Glow Up sparkling more than I do. But I have to admit that Stephanie Lahr came to VIVE with more sequins, more sparkle and more energy than practically anyone in the whole event. It's always a pleasure to meet Doctor Informaticists like Dr. Stephanie, who see the value in the data and the impact that they can make through tech innovation. This is one of those peak founder stories where Stephanie saw a problem that was literally sucking the life out of her colleagues and chose to do something about it. She talks about putting the humanity back in healthcare and in medicine by helping people. Stay up to date and understand how to use the systems that they are around, right? We've put so much money into all of these systems and tools. Let's make sure that people can use them effectively and when they need it on time, on demand learning, powered by AI for almost every step of the healthcare journey. Such a fascinating and sparkling conversation with Dr. Stephanie Lahr CMO of uPerform.

on three. Okay. 1, 2, 3. Hello and welcome to the Tech Glow Up. I'm Nathan C, and today I'm talking with Stephanie Lahr, chief Medical Officer at uPerform. Stephanie, it's so good to talk with you finally. I

know. I feel like this has been a moment waiting to happen for so long.

I've seen you

sparkling. I wore my sequins just for you.

I did not wear enough sequins.

I know my unicorn is not here. So we both, you know, it's

a pretty good swag.

It is.

I've seen you sparkling across the the floor at so many HLTH events. And now finally at my first VIVE

Oh,

thank you for joining. Congratulations on that. Thank you. Thanks for joining me on the Tech Glow Up. Can you introduce yourself and the work that you do as Chief Medical Officer with uPerform? Sure.

Yeah, I would love to. So, I'm a internal medicine physician by background. Mm-hmm. informaticist by then training beyond that, went into the health tech space, as C-I-O-C-M-I-O. Mm-hmm. And then moved into the vendor space. and so kind of rounding all that out now, blending all those things together, I'm the Chief Medical Officer for uPerform, which is a just in time learning platform.

Amazing. And when you talk about just in time learning, who's doing the learning?

Yeah, so this is anybody in a health system. Mm-hmm. On any platform. Mostly what we see is E-H-R-E-R-P. Right. Where do people spend the most money? They spend the most money on those systems. We need to make sure people know how to use those systems.

Mm-hmm.

Not just in a moment of, oh, here's your onboarding training. Mm-hmm. But in any moment, in real time, shoot, I forgot how to do this. And that could be a physician trying to write an order. It could be a nurse trying to deliver a medication. It could be a revenue cycle person trying to get a bill out the door.

Yeah.

All of those areas, we have a real time need for people to get something quick accessible and figure it out.

There's this stereotype of like millennials working in tech where like their older bosses need them to like print something as a PDF. Oh, yes. Or like, remind them where a file is. It seems like. And, and not to discredit the, the strength of the technology that we're like fixing that problem space. Like, hey, people need information. People are busy. But like, instead of pausing what we're doing, breaking down the workflows, walking out of the patient room. Exactly. Like, let's see if we can get that information. Find that file right here and now.

Yeah, absolutely.'cause I mean, the re the cool thing is there's more information available to us and the systems can do more mm-hmm. Now than they've ever been able to do. The reality is no individual user is gonna have all of that in their head all the time. And there's some things you don't even do very often. Mm-hmm. So how do we in this moment, make sure with a couple of clicks and you know, almost like using a chat GPT search or whatever, get the information that you need to solve that problem in front of you at the moment. Mm-hmm. So that you can go back to whatever it is you're really trying to do, which in the clinical side is deliver care, but you know, any of those roles in their organization, health system, organization,

I am like. Strangely interested in the details on this one. Okay.

do

it. Like what is, what is my, so where my brain went is there's lots of different health records and it sounds like uPerform.s all about meeting the user where their information is.

Yeah.

so how do you insert that layer of learning? I have like five different MyCharts and I don't know how to use any of them. Like how do you insert that in, into where people are working and,

yeah. So. The tech, this platform itself Yeah. Is we deliver it to a training team.

Perfect.

Right. So a health system organization will have a training team Yep. That supports getting enablement and adoption, you know, to where it needs to be. They will then embed that. Mm-hmm. Right. In the workflow, it doesn't matter what the EHR is or what the ERP is, or, or it could be something else. We have organizations that are saying, Hey, we're trying to teach people about ai.

Mm-hmm.

And we need them to understand how those tools work. Can we use your platform to build out some classes that we can deliver, you know, directly into workflow if we went Yes. Great. Let's do that. So it's, it's a technology platform delivered to a team that then is gonna build out. The back end of it so that the front end user, mm-hmm. Can wherever they are, just click on the button right on the screen and say, I don't know how to do this, and it comes to them.

So the Doctor Informaticist, entrepreneur Pipeline Uhhuh is one that I've heard a few times.

Okay.

On the tech Glow Up. But I'm really curious, like, what, when did you catch that bug? When did you decide, right? Like Doctor is a pretty big job in its own. When did you decide to add, this like tech innovation side to what.

Yeah.

What you do.

Honestly, I was, I went through training during the time when we were transitioning from paper to EHR.

Mm-hmm.

went through a couple of those transitions, ended up in a story for another day, a hurricane, and all kinds of things that were impacting patient care allow. I ended up having an EHR to be able to use and it sort of just. Made me realize there was something different available there. So when I went into private practice, I just basically went to, you know, the team and said, Hey, we're using these systems. I'm happy to help if you might need some help. And then they were like, oh, really? By

the

way,

And then after a little while I was like, maybe this is a job. Mm-hmm. Maybe you should pay me for some of this. Maybe I, and then maybe I should get some actual education. Mm-hmm. So then I got more education. It just. It was not really a, I didn't sit down with a strategy map and say, okay, by year 10 in my medical training or my medical career, I'm gonna also be doing the like. Mm-hmm. In fact, if I, if you asked my med school self today. Hey, maybe someday you'll be the CIO at a health system. I first probably would've said, I don't know what that is. Mm-hmm. and then if they just said, and maybe you won't, you'll end up leaving from that and going and working in the health tech sector and vendors and whatever. I would've really thought that was not possible. So it just happened. Right? It was, and then as I got more into it, I wanted to bring the joy back to medicine.

Mm-hmm.

I was seeing that this technology that while I saw value in, was also in lots of cases sucking the life out of our clinicians and we were adding friction. Mm-hmm. And I knew that we could get to a point where that didn't have to be that way anymore. But I thought clinicians involved in it from the beginning is how we're gonna know when we've arrived is how we're gonna move that needle forward.

Mm-hmm.

So I just sort of little by little, made one decision at a time, and here we are.

I love it. But like that physicians are uniquely qualified. To see and address certain kinds of pain points within this ecosystem has been something, I've been learning, like I've been hearing and learning a lot on, and, I so appreciate like that additional perspective. So, Stephanie, the, the name of the show is The Glow Up, and I'm, I'm sure this concept is not new to you.

Yeah.

A Glow Up is a notable transformation, a rebirth, a coming of age of sorts. And like I've been hearing for a while that like healthcare needs change. So I'm curious, what's the Glow Up you see that healthcare needs to make in 2026 To be more effective. More responsive? Yeah. less full of provider burnout.

yeah. I think where we are is. We have the innovation. Mm-hmm. We have the tech.

Yeah.

How do we bring it to the people?

Mm-hmm.

The, the Glow Up is in an era when we've got more tech than we probably can even assimilate right now. Mm-hmm. How do we make people feel happy and comfortable using it, and how do we really get to the point that we wanted to get to, which is they're back to being the experts they were meant to be. Mm-hmm. We don't have a technology challenge. We don't even have an innovation challenge. We have a bit of a, I'm overwhelmed by all of this that you're providing to me. Mm-hmm. Challenge.

Yeah.

And a lack of focus on the idea that healthcare is still about people. That's where our focus needs to be.

I honestly like all of the inclusion of technology into the care room. Makes so much of that conversation. Like talking through a screen.

Yeah.

And like I cannot wait till there are that the technology just like blends in

100%

to the room and that like we can, like doctors have this kind

of keyboard, no screen,

Maybe a pin, maybe you know a camera.

Those, but they'll be ambiently integrated into the room where it's. Not intrusive, right? Yes. Because that's what we've seen is technology that's become intrusive.

Mm-hmm.

And alters not for the better. Right.

friction

Creates the friction.

So, as a doctor and as a technology leader, what's the Glow Up that you see in the next six months for uPerform.?

I think we're going to start to see. there's more, more information that people need at their fingertips

mm-hmm.

Than just how to use the EHR.

Mm-hmm.

And so we're gonna be digging in on what else is out there and what is that information that needs to be assimilated in real time.

Mm-hmm.

Not just on the how and the why, but even bigger picture than that.

I'm so curious.

Yeah. So Will at HLTH in the fall, we can have a follow up conversation.

yeah.

goals about, mm-hmm.

Here we go.

Yes. All right. Stephanie, doctors, like tech leaders are kind of a rare solo breed, and so. Often, like when they're out fixing the problems of the worlds, it can feel a bit little bit like you're on islands. But what I've heard and I've seen in the medical profession as well as in technology, that like mentors can make all the difference. In your career, in your journey, and, and I love this like additive, you know, everything I've done before, brings you to this moment. Can you talk about the roles that mentors and coaches have have played in, in your success in your journey as an entrepreneur? Yeah. So first I would say it's been an evolution in my career. It's been an evolution of mentors. I even had, and I have mentors from early in my career that now. The tables have shifted a little bit and I've mentored them in some ways yes. as their careers were changing. Right. So, and that is probably more gratifying than anything else because I was so appreciative of what they did in the mentoring of me that then to be able to have the table turn and give something back in a full circle way mm-hmm. Is super powerful. but. Probably the biggest thing I think is important in mentoring, and maybe it feels obvious, but I'm not sure it always does, is being open to the idea that you even need it and that it doesn't, it's not a constant see it. And so the person who was your best mentor today is not probably the person that you're gonna need a year from now. And yet, that doesn't mean that you've outgrown the need for a mentor. It just means you've outgrown where that person can take you and then it needs to go to the next. And so having that introspection mm-hmm. Of being able to say, where am I now? What do I need? And, and finding a mentor who will tell you the hard truth.

Yes.

One of my very early mentors, I was in an organization, there were some challenging things going on. He was new to the organization. I thought I was doing really great work. Mm-hmm. And I was super passionate about it, and I was like, but I was probably being a little too pushy, a little too, because I was just so excited about where things were going. And he came to me and he was like, yeah, there's some feedback that says you need to dial it back and maybe if you don't that you won't be staying. And I was like, what? What? I've never failed at anything. Like this is that you're telling me I'm not doing that right? Like, that can't be right. He was like, okay, Calm down. You're not going anywhere. there's lots of good in what you're doing. Mm-hmm. We just need to focus your passion in a different way. Right. We need to, you need to think a little bit differently about how you're communicating. Like some things we're really great things I needed to learn, and that is an experience that throughout the whole rest of my career, I've reflected on that conversation and his willingness. To have that hard conversation.

Oh yeah.

I've been a leader of people too, and that's, those are the most challenging conversations to have. Yeah. And so, but it continues to live on today.

Yeah.

And, but I had to be open to what that feedback was, and then when he gave the feedback, I had to be willing to do the work of saying, how do I do it differently? How do I grow from here? Mm-hmm. And then go back for more feedback and say is, I think I've moved the mark some, are we on the right track?

The, the idea. That you want to be surrounded by people who will show you how you're showing up, even if it's not the best news that you want to hear, right? Yeah. Like that is the kind of good advice that founders and, you know, I ideally doctors as well, everybody, right? Like are open, and right, that that is the sign to get that kind of feedback. There is trust, there is investment. I love it.

Yeah.

Oh, find a mentor who will give you that feedback that you need.

Yes.

Stephanie, we're getting very close. Okay. to the end of our time, I'd love to give you the opportunity to share a hot take, maybe a spicy soundbite about healthcare, technology, culture, or otherwise. do you have a spicy opinion this week?

But again, I, I kind of alluded maybe I even, gosh, maybe I, maybe I even,

you might have just

said it already, and now I've like, you know, shortchanged myself in my

magic of editing

of Oh, my moment.

Yeah.

I think at a conference like this where there's so much emphasis on the tech

Yep.

The investment. Yep. The, what we're doing, the healthcare runs on people, healthcare runs on people.

Mm-hmm.

And every. Strategic investment that we make. Every technology we decide to use needs to be helping us drive back. Mm-hmm. To how to bring that joy back to medicine. How to bring the humanity back to medicine.

Joy,

I know we we're gonna get there, we're gonna have joy.

I think we've got

And it's, yes, we're seeing the lights of it, right? Yep. In moments like this, and even in, in, you know, in-house systems, we're, we're seeing some of these tech. Deliveries start to build trust. Mm-hmm. And this idea that, oh, we, we've been through some challenging times and we are gonna see our way through and we're gonna become better. And this transformation is possible. It's not gonna be in giant platforms, it's gonna be in small changes.

Mm-hmm.

And it's gonna be human centered.

Real change in healthcare isn't gonna be giant systems. It's gonna be. Small bites and human centered, that's like worth saying over and over again. did I ask you about responsible, effective ai?

No.

Okay.

Yeah.

Where, so if like the baseline for like the kind of AI that should be used in healthcare is that it is responsible, it is effective and it's driving revenue or savings for the people who are using it.

Unexplainable.

unexplainable

explainable is a good one.

Where are we at today? What is responsible, effective AI in healthcare today?

It's a, it's a little bit, I think of a tricky question because in an organization, if you're talking about using AI on, you know, taking like from a data and analytics perspective mm-hmm. And trying to create prediction of outcomes and, you know, things like that. I don't think we're quite there yet. Mm-hmm. we have. Data problems. we have work to do on even how we capture, data to make it reliable so that then we can do these predictions

mm-hmm.

There's work to be done there.

Clean your data.

Am back to ambient technologies. Right. But do you But before that, there are some other easier things. There's workflow optimizations. There are workflow tools that we can use that are AI driven. Mm-hmm. That I think are fully baked and, and ready for, for use. I think there are some things that can drive, you know, decision support. And so that stuff, I think is, is responsible. It's explainable, there's a human in the loop.

Mm-hmm.

and I think we are still very much at the time when we need to see that human in the loop.

Yep.

I think we still have some work to do on some of the other kind of more predictive elements. And, and again, it's not because we don't have probably the, the technology to be able. To make the predictions. Mm-hmm. We don't have the data quality in order to be able to have those predictions be reliable quite yet.

Yeah.

So we all have some cleanup to do in that space.

Awesome. I'm so glad I asked Stephanie. How can people follow up and learn more, if they wanna follow your work and what you're up to? Yeah. Well maybe keep track of some of these six month Glow Up that

you're working on. Yes, exactly. For I would love for that. LinkedIn.

Yep.

Find me Stephanie Lahr. uPerform. also on LinkedIn. Our website, regular old www perform.com

regular

role.

Yep. Stephanie shines at all the health tech conferences I've seen, so

thank you. So good.

Oh my goodness. Uh, Stephanie Lahr, chief Medical Officer at uPerform making technology not only customer first, but also explainable and understandable. Wherever the people who are using it may be such a great time chatting with you today.

Yes, you too.

Amazing. There's one last thing to do.

Okay.

Do you know what it is?

No.

We're gonna clap it back out.

Oh,

well, of course.

1,

2, 3. Thank you. Thank

you.

Perfect.

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