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Episode #

39

AMDIS Roundtable: Beyond the Digital Front Door: Empowering Pediatric Families in the Digital Age

Families now expect digital tools that work seamlessly, speak their language, and reduce the burden of care. In this episode, Dr. Yaa Kumah-Crystal of Vanderbilt, Dr. Natalie Pageler of Stanford Children’s, and Dr. Sarah Rush of Akron Children’s explore what it takes to build a pediatric digital front door that meets those expectations. They discuss real stories from the bedside, the complexity of teen confidentiality, the promise of telehealth, and how emerging tools such as ambient documentation and wearable data reshape family engagement. Their insights show how thoughtful design can make pediatric digital care more intuitive, humane, and accessible.

EPISODE GUESTS

Natalie Pagelar

Stanford University School of Medicine

Associate Dean & Division Chief

Dr. Natalie Pageler, MD, MEd, FAMIA, is a prominent physician executive and pediatric critical care specialist serving as the Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) at Stanford Medicine Children's Health. A recognized pioneer in the field of clinical informatics, she leverages her dual expertise in medicine and education to drive digital health initiatives, optimize electronic medical records, and implement clinical decision support systems that enhance pediatric patient care. In addition to her executive role, Dr. Pageler is a Clinical Professor of Pediatric Critical Care and Clinical Informatics at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She also serves as the Program Director for Stanford's Clinical Informatics Fellowship, where she is deeply involved in training the next generation of physician informaticists. She earned her medical degree and completed her residency and fellowship training at Stanford University, alongside a Master's degree in Medical Education that heavily informs her approach to healthcare technology adoption, change management, and provider training.

Sarah Rush

Akron Children's Hospital

CMIO

Dr. Sarah Rush, MD, is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and physician executive serving as the Vice President of Informatics and Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) at Akron Children’s Hospital. In her leadership capacity, she oversees clinical information systems, guides the hospital's electronic medical record (EMR) strategy, and serves as the Marci M. Matthews Endowed Chair in Telehealth. Dr. Rush joined Akron Children’s in 2013 to develop the hospital's Neuro-oncology and Targeted Therapies program, leveraging her specialized clinical training from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Colorado. While she continues to see patients in a clinical role, her executive focus involves close collaboration with administration and IT departments to support clinicians in the delivery of patient care. She earned her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at Akron Children’s.

Yaa Kumah-Crystal

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

HealthIT Clinical Director

Dr. Yaa Kumah-Crystal, MD, MPH, MS, is an associate professor of biomedical informatics and pediatric endocrinology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), where she bridges clinical practice with groundbreaking research in medical AI and health technology. Serving as a clinical director and core design advisor within Vanderbilt HealthIT, she spearheads the innovations portfolio with a primary focus on voice assistant technology, conversational user interfaces, and generative AI integrations to streamline the electronic health record (EHR) provider workflow. Notably, she is the project lead for the Vanderbilt EHR Voice Assistant (VEVA) initiative, which uses natural language communication to improve data summarization, visualization, and accessibility for both clinicians and patients. In addition to her extensive informatics leadership, she remains an active, practicing physician, supervising pediatric endocrine fellows and treating clinic patients at VUMC.
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