healthsystemCIO – Strategies for Hospital IT Leaders

Although standardization often has a negative connotation, it can actually help drive optimization and foster innovation across an organization - if done right, says CIO Jim Noga.

Source: Jim Noga, CIO, Partners HealthCare, Chapter 2 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

The reality of being in a best-of-breed environment is that “there’s a lot of spaghetti connecting systems together,” says CIO Eric Raffin, who talks about how his team is working toward a solution.

Source: Eric Raffin, CIO, San Mateo County Health System, Chapter 1 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

After spending the past five years putting in a “platform for clinical transformation and innovation” through the eCare initiative, Partners is shifting its focus to digital health, says CIO Jim Noga.

Source: Jim Noga, CIO, Partners HealthCare, Chapter 1 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

The reason why interoperability wasn't baked into HITECH? Because ONC knew it couldn't be developed in a committee, but had to be done "in the real world," even if that meant it would be "messy," says Doug Fridsma.

Source: Doug Fridsma, MD, President & CEO, AMIA, Chapter 3 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

The most important characteristic in a team member isn’t technology acumen, but ability to communicate effectively and adapt to change, says CIO Skip Rollins.

Source: Skip Rollins, CIO & CISO, Freeman Health System, Chapter 3 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

If we want to make interoperability a reality, we need to stop thinking of it as a utopian place where data flows freely, and instead define it as the ability to incrementally improve functionality, says Doug Fridsma.

Source: Doug Fridsma, MD, President & CEO, AMIA, Chapter 2 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

If a vendor partnership is going to be successful, there has to be trust on both sides, says Skip Rollins, who also believes it’s critical that CIOs are willing to walk away if it’s no longer working.

Source: Skip Rollins, CIO & CISO, Freeman Health System, Chapter 2 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

To assume that patients don’t want access to their data “underestimates” what they can do, says AMIA CEO Doug Fridsma, who talks about why it can be empowering for patients, providers, and developers.

Source: Doug Fridsma, MD, President & CEO, AMIA, Chapter 1 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

Being CIO at a critical access hospital is more than just dealing with a tighter budget; it’s being willing to get your hands dirty and help out where it’s needed, says Jake Dorst.

Source: Jake Dorst, CIO, Tahoe Forest District Hospital, Chapter 3 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders

Being a community health system means not rushing into major decisions - especially deciding on a core EHR vendor, and finding ways to make sure resources are maximized, says CIO Skip Rollins.

Source: Skip Rollins, CIO & CISO, Freeman Health System, Chapter 1 on healthsystemcio.com - Interviews & Webinars with Health System IT Leaders