The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced U.S. health care facilities to adapt swiftly to novel and urgent needs. Virtually overnight, leaders at Penn Medicine, based in Philadelphia, were asked to establish a testing site to accommodate a high volume of patients and clinicians were forced to convert quickly to telemedicine. Factors leading to a successful response included use of makeshift approaches that could grow and shrink with patient flow, use of small provider squads empowered to make decisions about needed changes and a willingness among leaders to make quick decisions and embrace telehealth technology. Leaders at Penn Medicine attributed their ability to meet the demands of the crisis to a bias towards action within the organization and an enabling infrastructure already in place. (Harvard Business Review story, 6/22/20)
