“We’re focusing on the real issues.”

Since Bradd Busick arrived at MultiCare Health System two years ago, his core objective has been to find better ways of doing things. Not because the organization wasn’t on the right path — it was, and continues to be. “The vision for transformation is real,” he said during a recent interview with Kate Gamble, Managing Editor at healthsystemCIO.com. “It’s palpable. And frankly, it’s now an expectation.”

What the 11-hospital, Pacific Northwest-based system needed was someone who could help steer it in the right direction, whether that means ensuring Epic is fully optimized, leading an infrastructure modernization effort, or making customer service a key priority. Busick, who spent several years with the Gates Foundation, seemed like the right candidate for the job.

In the interview, he spoke about what it was like to begin his first CIO role in “firefighter mode” as the organization dealt with Covid; the huge importance of having “an incredible leadership team and business partners”; why he’s optimistic about the next generation; and the many lessons healthcare can learn from outside industries.

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Key Takeaways

* One of the first Epic shops in the country, Multicare is constantly focused on being the latest version of Epic and ensuring the system is fully optimized.

* Stepping into the CIO role right when Covid-19 hit meant having to jump right into firefighter mode. But it also helped Busick quickly develop relationships and drive change.

* Rather than relying on a long-term strategy, MultiCare can pivot every 90 days based on the most pressing needs. “The magic in this process is the fluidity.”

* Being a high-reliability organization is about more than just patient safety (although that is critical). It’s implementing processes “where we crosscheck each other to say, ‘let’s stop the line. We have something that looks out of the norm.’”

Q&A with Bradd Busick, CIO, MultiCare Health System, Part 1

Gamble:  Hi Bradd, thanks so much for taking some time to speak with us. I’d like to talk about the work your team is doing, as well as your career path. Let’s start with an overview of Multicare Health System.

Busick:  Multicare is located in the Pacific Northwest, which we define as Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho. We have 20,000-plus people, including employees and providers. As of December, we now have 11 hospitals between eastern and western Washington. We have a pretty aggressive growth strategy; not only from an expansion perspective, but also in terms of capabilities. We have an urgent care platform via Indigo with a few hundred clinics scattered around eastern and western Washington as well. It’s been a great time to come into healthcare, as we’re scaling at a pretty rapid pace.

 

Gamble:  Definitely. And in terms of the EHR, you’re on Epic, correct?

Busick:  We’re an Epic shop. We actually were one of the first shops in the country to put in Epic. As you know, these systems require a ton of care and feeding. We’re in the process right now of optimizing and moving to Epic Foundation so that we can take advantage of the capabilities, as opposed to admiring them and watching them sit on the shelf. We’re embracing them more than we have in the past.

 

Gamble:  Right. So, Epic has been in place for a while. But as you said, so much goes into the care and feeding.

Busick:  Absolutely. We have a team that’s focused on that aspect. But if you think about the depth and breadth of a s...