Eric Snyder stands as a beacon of innovation within the academic healthcare technology domain, with an impressive track record that spans over twenty years. As the visionary leader of the University of Rochester, Wilmot Cancer Institute’s Technology Innovation Group, he leads a multidisciplinary team comprising developers, architects, product managers, designers, and analysts, Eric has not only excelled in team leadership but has also distinguished himself as a published author in peer-reviewed journals, a national speaker, and a recipient of multiple technology accolades.
His leadership has catalyzed the creation and development of industry innovations. Among these is CANVAS, a geospatial analysis platform that garnered the Digital Health Award, showcasing its exceptional contribution to the field. Another, HyperGen, an advanced web application designed to automate complex bioinformatics pipelines, thereby simplifying genomics analysis. He was the creator and visionary behind the implementation of Hyperion, a comprehensive data and application platform that simulates a healthcare metaverse-like environment, offering seamless integration for plug-and-play applications.
In 2023, Eric and his team earned a nomination for the prestigious Galien Award, often likened to the Nobel Prize within the healthcare technology sector, a testament to their significant impact and innovation. This recognition was not a one-time achievement, as they find themselves contenders for this esteemed award once again in 2024. Eric Snyder's journey is a testament to relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation in healthcare technology, paving the way for future advancements in the field.
Eric Snyder, Executive Director, Technology Innovation
Hi Eric, it’s great to have you. Can you start off by telling us a little bit about your journey?
Thank you for having me! I've enjoyed a career that I would consider quite unique, as I've had the opportunity to work across a variety of industries, including law, marketing, health, software vendors, pharmacy, pathology, and cybersecurity, in addition to acting as a consultant in the healthcare space. Through this consultancy, I've traveled to most of the states in America and quite a few countries, with a primary focus on academic healthcare centers. Here, I visited easily a couple dozen well-known groups and began to identify some fundamental principles in healthcare technology. It became clear that nearly everyone faced the same issues with data, applications, EHRs, and overall, technology was contributing to burnout among physicians and staff. This was not the sole reason, but a significant contributing factor, one I believed I could help address.
So, when I returned to the University of Rochester and the Wilmot Cancer Institute, I brought this unique knowledge with the intention of truly changing the paradigm. Initially, my approach might have seemed counterintuitive to many, as I aimed to deconstruct the problem in order to rebuild it from the ground up. Essentially, I discovered that nearly every healthcare group lacks a true, solid foundational structure. Many institutions struggle to keep pace with the rapid advancement of technology, attempting to implement systems like AI, ML, Blockchain, and other advanced technical concepts without the necessary foundational support to fully realize their potential.
That's why, in my first year, I chose to do the opposite of chasing the "cool" factor. I focused solely on building the best data foundational platform possible. My goal was to lower the skill floor for foundational elements to the point where building advanced systems on top of it would be seamless. This approach proved to be highly effective, allowing us to develop and push out products at an incredible rate.
Speaking of pushing out products, what are you and your team working on?
In the initial years, our focus was primarily on addressing fundamental challenges related to data management, reporting, and analytics. However, as our team grew in size, we ventured into more complex technological domains, with the intent on advancing the strategic objectives of the cancer institute. A notable example of our work is CANVAS, a geospatial suite designed to identify healthcare disparities across counties. This initiative led to the establishment of a multimillion-dollar facility aimed at bridging the gap in care. We’ve developed tools that proactively identify social determinants of health by analyzing various data points such as income, housing, and cash flow as well. These tools, integrated with clinical insights, enable us to offer proactive support to individuals in need.
Our innovation extends to sophisticated visual systems like Eos, which facilitates real-time monitoring and management across our extensive network of servers, applications, and scripts significantly lowering technical debt.
As we move forward, our focus is on the next generation of these products, with a significant emphasis on integrating advanced AI and ML technologies. This includes expanding our gene search suites and cohort analysis tools, furthering our commitment to leveraging technology for impactful healthcare solutions. Our journey underscores a dedication to innovation, collaboration, and community service, driving forward the mission of the Wilmot Cancer Institute.
It’s important to note, my tenure here has allowed me the honor of collaborating with some of the most remarkable individuals. What sets this team apart is not just their exceptional talent but their diverse backgrounds, innovative thinking, and a shared commitment to making a significant impact on the community. It's crucial to emphasize that the foundation of our success is the collective effort of the team.
The team is very unique. Do you think the different leadership styles you are utilizing are contributing to some of these successes?
Yes, I do believe that the different leadership styles and product management approaches have significantly contributed to our success. Our team maintains a hierarchical structure, yet we've embraced a "trust and inspire" approach. This means that while I set the overall vision for our technical achievements, aligned with the strategic goals of the broader organization, the execution and technical details are delegated to the individual development leads of each project. This autonomy eliminates the need for approvals at every iteration and change, allowing us to adapt and evolve rapidly in an agile manner. An integral part of this approach is embracing the possibility of failure. We acknowledge that this method may lead to "failing fast," which is a risk we are prepared to take. Due to this risk, it's essential to establish a strong trust with our stakeholders, ensuring them that any issues will be promptly addressed.
This approach has proven effective in previous roles I've held. For instance, during a major multi-million-dollar implementation for a cardiology practice, my lead product manager and I built direct, personal relationships with the staff months before the launch. Despite a significant challenge on the go-live day, which temporarily halted the system, our established trust ensured the practice staff had confidence in our ability to resolve the issue quickly. We managed to relaunch successfully the following day. Remarkably, an executive commented on the seamless nature of the implementation, stating that he had never seen an implementation of this size without a single complaint. I mostly just smiled. That is the power of trust and relationships.
We get asked a lot how people can break into the health tech space. What do you look for when hiring new people to the team?
This is challenging question for me. My focus tends to be on the tacit knowledge rather than what's explicitly documented. I value a candidate's eagerness to learn new things highly. Mastery of clinical or technical skills is less critical to me compared to how one navigates the perpetual "grey" area of healthcare. Additionally, it's crucial for the individual to be driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact on the community at large. I've noticed that many applicants inherently possess this motivation, likely because almost everyone knows someone affected by cancer, which serves as a powerful incentive.
You are on the cutting edge of this space. Where do you see your industry going in the future?
That’s a tough one. I think some easy answers exist, such as AI and ML becoming a huge part of the industry. Anytime you have an industry like healthcare, where budgets are thin, staffing is lacking, and there is significant burnout among clinical staff, the answer is going to be to find ways to help lessen those burdens. AI is one of those ways, through assisted clinical decision support, charting, and abstraction.
That being said, I think the tougher answer is to say we need to find better ways to handle data interoperability and curation. Healthcare data is so poor, we spend so much time on the curation, handling, and validation of it, and even then, it’s not great. This creates situations where creating downstream systems, even if they are wonderful, becomes problematic. We can solve these problems in singular institutions, but I don’t think anyone has really solved it on a national level. Perhaps that will require better laws informed and backed by true data experts, or perhaps it will require some compromises and a better ‘Esperanto’-like language layer.
Your team was up for the Galien Foundation award in 2023 and again in 2024. Can you tell us a little about the award?
Yes! The Galien Award is regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Health Technology. It's given to only one group every year. Many of these groups we were up against have backing worth millions, and sometimes billions, of dollars. It's a very distinct honor to be among the finalists in that crowd with our small team of embedded technologists in an academic healthcare setting. The selection panel consists of Nobel Laureates and many large industry players.
I really attribute this level of success to the team. Their dedication to making a difference in the community is truly remarkable. I've mentioned it before, but it deserves mentioning again: the diverse backgrounds, skills, and thoughts of this team really enable it to excel beyond the norm and achieve recognition in awards such as this one.
What technologies or projects are you most interested in?
I have a profound interest in technology, particularly in many of the projects I've previously mentioned, which interest me greatly. One project I haven't yet discussed is our Patient Wallet proposal, which leverages CRDTs (Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types). Fundamentally, CRDTs are data structures designed to permit concurrent updates from multiple parties across various locations, without requiring central coordination, thereby ensuring eventual consistency across all data. This concept intrigues me immensely, especially since I've also been deeply interested in similar technologies like blockchain. However, due to concerns such as privacy and the general skepticism towards cryptocurrency technologies in healthcare, CRDTs present a much more appealing option. The vision is to develop a patient wallet based on this technology, which excites me as it seems to be a viable way to enhance transparency and empower patients further.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us! Last question – What motivates you to keep pushing boundaries?
Within my current role, my motivation is primarily driven by the desire to support clinicians and, by extension, the community at large. Being married to a physician and closely associated with many others, I witness firsthand the burnout they face, which, while not solely attributed to technology, is partly exacerbated by the cognitive load from numerous unnecessary clicks that don't directly enhance patient care but are mandated for various reasons.
On the pure technology side, my passion for technology and innovation is the driving force behind my commitment to progress. I relish in understanding how things work and finding the most effective ways to apply technological solutions to any given problem. I enjoy thinking creatively, challenging conventional wisdom when necessary, and I'm exhilarated by the prospect of devising new solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges. The concept of finding a way to achieve the 'impossible' resonates deeply with me. This mindset is what truly motivates me.
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