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DHI Residency Track

In the bustling world of medicine, the need for a bridge between health care and cutting-edge technology is apparent. Dr. Heather Reyes, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care Specialist, recognized this gap and created the Digital Health Innovation (DHI) Track. Supported by the Department of Pediatrics and the UR Health Lab, the DHI Track equips participants with the knowledge and skills to harness technology and data in health care delivery.

Residency Track

With cohorts starting in 2021, the DHI Track taps into the expertise of facilitators across UR Medicine and the university campus, spanning disciplines such as anesthesiology, pediatrics, data and computer science, business, and ethics. Three fundamental questions guide the program:

What is Digital Health?
How does Digital Health exist in academia?
How can one become an entrepreneur?

When accepted into the program, participants embark with a two-week intensive, followed by a logitudinal mentored project in their area of interest. Projects take various forms, from traditional research to entrepreneurial proof-of-concept. Mentors throughout the institution guide participants through their chosen projects based on their skills and interests.

Health care is demanding, often leaving little room for additional pursuits. To address this challenge, the DHI Track is divided into two parts. First, participants take a two-week didactic bootcamp, offering them comprehensive knowledge across various areas, including telehealth, medical devices, mobile and web applications, electronic health records, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.This also enables them to make informed decisions about their project focus. The second part focuses on their experiential project, allowing for a deep dive into a digital health-related topic of their choice.

Though time and resources are constant challenges, the DHI Track relies on strong relationships across disciplines. This allows those involved to identify commonalities across the health system and employ digital health innovation to approach problems collaboratively.

On the organizational side, Dr. Reyes received a Dean's Teaching Fellowship to further develop the program from 2022 to 2024. The program has experienced exponential growth, serving more residents and departments each year. From its humble beginnings with one pediatric resident, it expanded to four residents in the second year and further to four residents along with four nursing professionals in the third year. The DHI Track's trajectory indicated its growing impact on healthcare and its commitment to shaping future innovators.

The DHI Track exemplifies how combining medical expertise with technology could transform healthcare, paving the way for a brighter, more interconnected future in medicine.