Lessons from Longwood

MCPHS double alumna Helen Figge speaks on seizing opportunity, the impact of Boston and her alma mater, and a career at the intersection of healthcare and technology.

One of the country’s leading women in healthcare technology is Helen Figge, PharmD ’87, BSP ’84, the Chief Strategy Officer for MedicaSoft, a provider of software solutions and health IT services for the industry.

An evangelist for saying “yes” to opportunity—and, ironically, often saying “no” to technology—she shared with us her professional journey and how she preserves her humanity in the face of constant change. Thanks to her role as Executive in Residence for the University’s School of Healthcare Business and Technology, that same wisdom is being imparted to today’s MCPHS students.

When you were studying at MCPHS, what did you imagine for your career?

I was from a very small town—Mechanicville, New York—so I thought I would go back home and work in a pharmacy. I remember visits to my local pharmacy with my grandfather, who didn’t speak any English. I would translate for him and got excited by that people interaction. Pharmacists at that time were like fantastic doctors at the counter.

But once I got to MCPHS, I couldn’t believe how much was there. I realized I had set limited expectations for myself. I started meeting students from around the world who enlightened me about what was out there, and I had real lightbulb moments.

Walking around Longwood Avenue and Harvard’s Countway Library always excited me. Seeing Nobel laureates on the street was like seeing a rock star. It was the medical mecca of the world.

What did MCPHS give you that has stayed with you throughout your career?

The ability to think logically based on objective facts. I was taught in black and white—this is the basics. If you don’t understand the basics like math, reading, and comprehension, you can’t decipher fact from fiction.

Too many people today assume if an answer came from technology, that it’s correct. We’re missing critical thinking, and that was the basis of my success.

I always tell students that the one thing you won’t ever lose is your education. It walks with you your entire life. My experience at MCPHS was inspiring; it gave me a pedigree. It was invaluable to my success.

You are consistently named one of the top women in healthcare technology. How did you find your way onto that path?

Boston is influential and a place to do great things. I was in the right place at the right time, but I also volunteered for tasks that most people found too hard, too beneath them, or too time consuming.

Over time, I met people who saw that I wasn’t afraid to say yes to things that others found meaningless. That’s how my career came to where it is today. I was extremely open-minded, so I got invited to learn new skills and join teams and projects.

I always wanted to be a sponge and keep learning, and I wasn’t afraid to try something that I might not do well. I’m here today because of that attitude. I never could have imagined this.

What challenges pushed you to grow the most in your career?

If I was in a room and people were talking about things I didn’t understand, I felt intimidated. I arrived at some jobs where they started talking about finance, spreadsheets, and debits and I thought that I better get a business background.

So, I took one course, and then another, and before you know it, I got my MBA. It wasn’t easy. I had kids and worked on my MBA from 11 pm to 1 am every night. It took me five years, but I did it and have no regrets.

You've worked in a wide range of settings, from health organizations to the Fortune 500. What has that breadth of experience taught you?

Interpersonal skills are invaluable in every setting. I was on time, ethical, professional, humble, and able to admit mistakes. Your reputation can’t be replaced by technology.

I was also friendly, and that got me into some doors. In the early days in Longwood, we used to have food trucks where I remember meeting people like Dr. Bernard Lown, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, and Emil Frei, who pioneered combination chemotherapy at Dana Farber. I would always say hello, and people remember that.

What have you learned about helping people navigate technological change?

Change is hard for some—and scary—but I always say there’s a time and place for everything. Right now, it’s the time and place to better understand technology.

Pay attention to what’s in your environment. Careers will be based more and more on that ability to discriminate. We think technology like AI is user friendly and saving us time, but the more it encroaches on the human side of life, the less control we have of our destiny. Hire people who can help you translate technology into your business. That will be the differentiator.

Where do you see technology improving healthcare—and where can it go too far?

We need rules of engagement as we infuse more and more technology into our processes, like electronic records and patient portals. Sometimes, technology can overshoot the human side of medicine.

I know a patient in her late 40s who was generally healthy but had a hip injury from playing pickleball. She got an MRI and the result came back through her portal late on a Friday afternoon—and it mentioned metastatic cancer. Her doctor was on vacation, so she sat for three days with that news and no doctor to talk to. It’s heartbreaking.

Because of that incident, that organization now has a requirement to hold all results for 24 hours, and a doctor must sign off before results are released to a patient. That’s an example of technology going astray.

How have you put guardrails around technology in your own life?

Technology is great in many ways, but we have to be educated to learn to control it.

I don’t have a patient portal, which is ironic. I would rather wait two hours for my doctor and see them face-to-face to talk about my health.

On my phone, I only have email, the phone, Google maps, and texting. No online banking. No apps. No food delivery. I have a LinkedIn profile, but no other social media.

I feel liberated because I don’t feel like I’m being watched or hacked. With technology, less is more in my life.

Looking back at your career, what are you proudest of—not just in what you’ve accomplished, but in how you’ve built your career?

I’ve had some walloping failures, but I’ve learned from them. People respect me, and that’s all I really want.

My family believed that if you work hard, do good, and help people, you will be the person you’re meant to be.

What advice do you give to your MCPHS students?

Be discriminating with technology and don’t just absorb it all into your life.

Always be learning something new, no matter where you are in your career.

Have integrity, ethics, and passion. Always try to see the other side and learn from it.

Look at challenges with a glass half full attitude. Make a difference.