Appalachian State University Blog

In the middle of a hospital tour in Charlotte, North Carolina, a chief officer did something unexpected. A hamburger had fallen onto the floor, and as others walked past, the executive paused to pick it up. To Dr. Spaulding, it was more than a clean-up moment, it was leadership in action. 

“Even those at the highest rungs of leadership are willing to help where they can.” Dr. Spaulding says. “So I tell my students: Be humble, and if you see something you can do, do it.” 

Dr. Spaulding — an information systems expert, educator and faculty member in App State Online’s B.S. in Health Care Management Flight Path Program — has built his career on the idea that technology should serve people, not replace them. With a passion for systems and a heart for service, he has spent decades in information systems designing, building, and researching with the goal of making health care more human, not more mechanical. 

Dr. Spaulding’s journey into health care was guided by both personal and professional experiences. But working with private organizations, public health departments, and academic institutions has developed his passion for how a well-built system, paired with empathetic leadership, could transform outcomes. 

Now, he brings that same insight and conviction into the virtual classroom, preparing students to become the kind of thoughtful, tech-savvy health care leaders the industry desperately needs.

A Path Less Traveled: From Tech Enthusiast to Health Care Change Agent

Dr. Spaulding has always been drawn to technology and exploring its potential to solve problems. Early in his academic career, he was already tinkering with systems and building his technical knowledge, though health care wasn’t initially his focus. That began to shift when he married a registered nurse and briefly considered attending medical school himself. 

Those personal ties to clinical care planted the seed for a new direction — one that blended his love of technology with a growing interest in the challenges and complexities of health care delivery.

It was during his Ph.D. program that Dr. Spaulding found a true outlet for this intersection. He turned his focus to electronic health records (EHRs), diving into the technical backbone of modern health care delivery. Along the way, a summer job opportunity with Pace Symposia — a life support training provider for Kaiser Permanente — gave him hands-on experience with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system tailored to the medical field. 

The practical experience of designing and implementing systems gave Dr. Spaulding a passion for well designed systems that are user focused. On the other hand, Dr. Spaulding’s research showed how inefficient and error-prone health care operations could be. In extreme cases, organizations relied on tools like spreadsheets for critical, multi-user systems instead of integrated databases, causing error and confusion.

Teaching Tech With a Human Touch

Dr. Spaulding brings his life and professional experiences into the modern online classroom, using technology as a tool for empowerment. He knows that many students enter his courses with limited exposure to platforms like Excel or data analytics, so he starts with the basics and builds from there. 

Whether he’s teaching system life cycles, health informatics or how to test questions with data, Dr. Spaulding is focused on equipping his students with practical, usable skills. His goal is to help future health care managers feel confident when navigating the tools that increasingly shape the industry.

But Dr. Spaulding’s courses go beyond technical proficiency. He integrates real-world projects, current events and live industry guests into his coursework to bridge the gap between theory and application. He encourages students to think critically, ask better questions and design systems that actually support problem-solving in organizations. 

“I don’t expect that technology is going to solve all of the problems in health care,” Dr. Spaulding says. “I want our students to shift away from relying on technology to fix problems, and instead use the technology to enable people to do the best they can do.” 

When AI Isn’t the Answer, But Might Help Ask Better Questions

Technology in health care has come a long way since the early days of simple data collection. Dr. Spaulding has watched the arc of that evolution from decision support systems to statistical modeling and now into the era of artificial intelligence (AI). While he acknowledges the promise of AI-assisted tools that can mimic diagnostic behavior or surface patterns quickly, he’s clear-eyed about their limitations. 

He says he reminds his students that “AI is only as good as its training data.” Without quality inputs, even the most advanced tools risk reinforcing flawed assumptions or missing the critical human-centered context.

Dr. Spaulding sees AI as an opportunity, but not a silver bullet. He encourages future health care managers to think critically about how they use emerging tools and to remember that technology should enhance human judgment, not replace it. Improving communication, making smarter decisions and even professional and self improvement are all possible with AI tools, but only if organizations and individuals are intentional about their design, access and ethics when using them. 

For Dr. Spaulding, the goal isn’t to automate compassion or insight — it’s to create systems that give health care professionals more space to practice both.

Technology With a Soul: Calling the Next Generation to Humility and Human-Centered Care 

Dr. Trent Spaulding doesn’t claim technology will save health care. But he does believe it can help us save each other. He’s seen how well-designed systems can relieve burnout, improve communication and support better decisions. He’s also seen how misaligned incentives, siloed data and overreliance on automation can push health care providers further from the purpose that brought them into the field in the first place. 

“I’m a technologist who doesn’t believe in technology,” Dr. Spaulding says. “I love to use tech and see it applied correctly. But I think we look at these systems as solving the problem. And to me, the big issues in healthcare are structural issues and human issues.” 

That’s why he teaches his students to look beyond dashboards and algorithms. He wants them to ask: Who does this system serve? What problem does it really solve? 

Whether it’s AI-driven analysis, data analytics or a well-organized Excel sheet, Dr. Spaulding reminds his students that the most effective tools are the ones built with empathy and used with intention. Health care managers may not always be on the front lines, but their work behind the scenes — designing, supporting and improving systems — can shape how patients are treated and how professionals find purpose in their roles.

If you’re someone who wants to make a difference in health care at the systems level, the online B.S. in Health Care Management Flight Path Program at App State Online offers the tools, mentorship and flexibility to help you get there. With faculty like Dr. Spaulding leading the way, you’ll learn not just how to use technology, but how to make it more human.

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