Design Perspectives: Lauren Lederman

Meet Lauren Lederman, Healthcare Strategist. With a breadth of experience from various health systems in strategic planning, business development, clinical operations, and physician relations roles, Lauren is driven by a passion for translating clients’ strategies into tangible business successes.

My passion for healthcare is driven by my desire to help others and to connect with like-minded people. Healthcare is full of unique, complex challenges that take many great minds and hands to solve. I love bringing diverse expertise together to create innovative solutions within the framework of an organization’s strategic priorities and mission.

The healthcare industry is ever-evolving. What are some of the biggest drivers for change in the field right now?

The laundry list of constantly evolving healthcare drivers reflects the dynamic nature of the industry, and the impossible task of keeping up with the latest innovations and trends. AI. Workforce challenges. Value-based care. Telehealth. Health equity. Population health management. Consumerism. Social determinants of health. Precision medicine. Digital transformation. Aging Population. Sustainability. Shift to ambulatory. The list goes on. Couple this with the recent financial instability of the market and the ever-changing regulatory landscape, and you end up with a daunting environment for healthcare providers.

This environment highlights the importance of strategic planning for health systems and hospitals. While none of us have a crystal ball, we do have access to more data than ever before. With transformations ongoing in how patients access care, who provides care, and where the care is delivered, flexible planning for uncertainty is a necessity. By taking a strategically led, data-informed approach, health systems can create effective, flexible, future-focused growth plans.

How does your background in hospital system operations inform how you think about healthcare design?

My background in hospital operations provides a strong foundation for understanding the complexities of healthcare delivery and the role that design plays in supporting operational efficiency, patient safety, and staff satisfaction. For example, I led a project to implement a case cart system in an outpatient operating room (OR) as part of an initiative to optimize workflows, space utilization, infection control, and inventory management. We worked with the clinical staff to organize OR materials by specialty and utilization, trained our materials staff on ordering through an inventory management system that linked to the electronic health record, and collaborated with surgical technologists on refining surgical material lists by case type and surgeon. This project fostered a safer, more productive OR environment that empowered staff, ensuring they felt heard, valued, and actively engaged in the process.

Design can solve many challenges but must do so through collaboration with the clinicians who utilize the space. There is no “one size fits all” in healthcare, and certainly not in healthcare design!

How does data inform your decision making when guiding strategy for a client?

Strategy, like medicine, is part art and part science. Data informs the “scientific” principles, such as patient origin, market share, projected demand scenarios, and physician need. However, strategy also requires an artistic or humanistic approach acknowledging that all health systems, hospitals, and every patient is unique. The “art” of strategy is how to interpret the data, market intelligence, and the broad healthcare landscape to formulate a visionary plan that promotes a client’s organizational culture, goals, and mission.