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The evolution of technology over the past 20 years has profoundly transformed nearly every aspect of our lives. With each technological advancement comes new opportunities to improve how we deliver care and new challenges to overcome.

Technology is woven into every aspect of modern health care from the tools and equipment we use to how we communicate and access information. Advanced diagnostic tools enable more accurate and earlier detection of diseases. Similar tools also improve post-operation efforts to educate and follow up with patients, helping reduce instances of infection and potential complications.

Robotic-assisted surgeries and equipment, like the new Varian linear accelerator at the Sanford Joe Lueken Cancer Center, offer precision and less invasive options for patients, resulting in faster recovery times and better patient experience.

It is because of this interconnectivity and greater reliance on technology that Sanford Health must proactively manage and strategically plan for the future. This includes planning for potential incidents, like the blue screen issues that PCs recently faced worldwide.

Providing health care is essential. If a system is down or there’s a natural disaster, it doesn’t mean that people stop needing care. Here at Sanford Health, we have a responsibility to prepare and plan for every possible emergency scenario. This includes planning for system outages.

At Sanford Health, we use an incident command and planning structure that’s similar to what the Federal Emergency Management Agency uses when they respond to disasters. This structure allows us to quickly assess and respond to incidents, big and small.

In the instance of the blue screen issues, our local incident command allowed us to determine what computers were impacted, notify staff to use downtime procedures, adjust impacted appointment schedules and implement an action plan to fix all impacted computers throughout the Bemidji region in a manner that minimized impact to patient care.

I cannot express my gratitude enough to our local Technology Solutions team who visited every impacted unit, clinic and location to help support our staff and minimize the impact on patient care.

Now more than ever, patients can engage with and customize their health care to suit their needs. Online platforms, like allow patients to not only securely access their medical records and lab results in real-time but also give them the flexibility to manage appointments, refill prescriptions and communicate with their clinicians at a time and location that is convenient for them.

A huge part of preventative health is keeping up with recommended screenings, checkups and vaccinations. With the help of customized reminders, patients don’t have to guess or hope they remember when they need to come in for a mammogram or colonoscopy. It gives them more freedom to plan their health care visits around their lives instead of planning their lives around their health care visits.

Virtual care is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve access to health care. When we provide the most advanced technology close to home, patients can immediately access care, monitor their health and connect with a trusted provider from home or nearby satellite clinic.

Over the last decade, Sanford Health has provided more than 760,000 virtual consults, saving patients from traveling over 29 million miles on country roads or through harsh winter weather to access high-quality care in time to make a difference.

In addition to helping patients, telemedicine also opens the door for clinician collaboration and consultation. This past year, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center implemented telemedicine in its ICU through a partnership with Sanford Fargo Medical Center. This program established a direct channel of communication between local clinicians and those in Fargo.

We are already seeing positive outcomes through this partnership. This spring, Bemidji and Fargo clinicians were able to easily discuss whether a postpartum mother needed to be transported for a higher level of care elsewhere. Together, they found the best course of treatment, and, as a result, mom and baby were able to stay close to home while receiving the care they needed.

These are just a few of the many ongoing opportunities to leverage technology in our local community. Technology has and will continue to play an integral role in rural health care.

Learning this new technology is not always easy. We are here to help patients navigate barriers and assist in-person, online and over the phone. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to

Karla Eischens, RPh, is the President and CEO of Sanford Health’s Bemidji region located in northern Minnesota. She can be reached at (218) 333-5264 or  karla.eischens@sanfordhealth.org.