Healthcare teams are drowning in hidden work. Although we talk a lot about digital transformation and AI, most clinicians still juggle critical tasks with email threads, spreadsheets, and sticky notes. That kind of makeshift system leads to mistakes, delays, and staff burnout—exactly what the system needs to avoid.
Mike Moore, host of The Health Tech Edge podcast, sat down with Dr. Michael Docktor—a pediatric gastroenterologist and CEO of Dock Health—to talk about what’s behind this problem: poor task management is a foundational issue across care delivery.
Dr. Docktor puts it simply: as a doctor, he's used to innovation in project management outside clinical care. But there’s no parallel in healthcare for managing tasks like there is in every other industry. That’s the lightbulb moment—patients are like projects, and a clearer, accountable task system could make a world of difference.
Why This Matters
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Care suffers: Without clear task systems, both care delivery and quality suffer.
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Staff burnout is real: Administrative drag adds to stress and frustration.
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Innovation misses the mark: Despite advanced tech, clinics still rely on manual, error-prone workflows.
The Vision: Smarter Tasking as the First Step
This isn’t about adding another tool for the sake of it. It’s about rethinking how healthcare teams get work done.
Think simple: identify what needs to get done, make it visible, hold someone accountable, and track closure. That kind of clarity empowers both clinicians and support staff to work smarter—not harder.
A Clinician’s & Tech Leader’s Perspective
Dr. Docktor’s background positioned him uniquely. As a practicing doctor and innovation leader, he saw firsthand how task tools transformed software work. That contrast—clinic vs. development—sparked the push for redesigning task work in healthcare. It’s not about new tech—it’s about understanding the problem and designing for it.
What This Means for Innovation
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Focus on real friction, not hype. Start where the pain is greatest—in everyday task overload.
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Define processes, not just tools. Tools only help when there’s clarity around expectations and accountability.
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Invest in tasking infrastructure. Task management should be at the core of healthcare operations—just like it is in other industries.
Bottom Line
Good task management isn’t fancy. It just means getting clarity, accountability, and visibility on the things that matter. Reducing burnout and improving patient care begins with getting tasks right.
Dr. Docktor’s point is simple and easy to overlook: task work is the missing layer in healthcare’s digital toolbox. And until that changes, AI and digital tools won’t deliver their full value.
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