Dr. Aaron Parker Banks, Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at UK St. Claire Healthcare treats patients in the clinic four days a week and he's using technology throughout the day to help him provide the best care to his tight-knit community in Kentucky. Listen to this “day in a life” episode to hear how this CMIO led physicians, nurses and staff through technology change during their EHR go-live. Dr. Banks shares personal stories that will leave you inspired by his passion for taking care of his community and encouraged in the ways you serve yours.

Key topics:

- Physician experiences with technology in patient care

- Maximizing use of technology

- Patient-centered decision making

- Rural and community healthcare

- Bridging the generational technology gap

A highly customized EHR in need of costly updates challenged the new CIO at Oklahoma Heart Hospital (OHH) to evaluate the technology stack he inherited and chart a new course at this award-winning healthcare organization. In this episode, Phil Sobol, Chief Commercial Officer, talks with David Miles, Chief Information Officer of OHH, and Jim Wetzel, the facility’s director of clinical systems. The duo shared valuable insights from their recent Epic implementation that was completed in just 11 months (earlier than the 12-month goal established at the onset of the project).

Key topics:

- Guiding principles for evaluating your healthcare technology stack

- Keys to OHH’s Epic implementation timeframe

- What’s next at OHH

“Every project you might be involved in is still a business project at the end of the day,” says Nayan Patel, CIO at Upson Regional Medical Center. Nayan explains how simple tools like a top 10 list can foster transparency and trust, highlighting technology’s impact on and value to healthcare projects. During this conversation with host Phil Sobol, chief commercial officer at CereCore, Nayan shares examples from the decades he has spent leading organizations during times of growth and transition. How does a health IT professional earn a seat at the executive table? What makes or breaks IT governance? Stream this episode for leadership advice you can apply in your healthcare organization.

Key topics

- How to align with the business

- Using governance to guide strategy and priorities

- Why technical debt and application rationalization deserve attention

- Mentoring others and professional development

Ajai Sehgal, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Mayo Clinic, discussed the building blocks of healthcare data strategy and the value of data analytics from examples of physicians and patients who experienced better care, time savings and reduced cost. “Early detection of disease is a way of both curing patients and delivering better healthcare, but also scaling our physicians,” said Sehgal in this interview with host Phil Sobol, Chief Commercial Officer of CereCore. Hear more about Mayo Clinic’s approach to data governance, stewardship and literacy programs, and physician engagement. If you’re wondering where to begin or how your healthcare organization can take advantage of data analytics, stream this episode for Sehgal’s advice.

Key topics:

- Career highlights and transition to healthcare at Mayo Clinic

- Data management and governance principles

- Examples of solving health problems with data and early disease detection

- Strategic direction, data governance and physician engagement

- Quantifiable value of data analytics

- Startup principles apply to data analytics

- Advice for managing technology change

Listen to this masterclass in healthcare IT leadership from Marty Paslick, retired SVP and CIO of HCA Healthcare. He shares experiences from his nearly four decades in HIT and covers topics from workplace culture where “technologists see themselves as healthcare professionals first,” to financial and operational resiliency during adversity. He's not shy about sharing what worked and didn't work when mentoring leaders. Plus, he explains his approach to achieving innovation and quiet operations, authentic communication and three fundamental leadership principles. Enjoy this story-packed conversation with Marty and host Phil Sobol, vice president of business development at CereCore.

Key topics

00:02:12 - Becoming a CIO

00:06:10 - Quiet Operations and Continual Improvement

00:10:10 - Evolution of Healthcare IT and CIO Role

00:11:38 - Building Authentic Relationships

00:14:03 - Communication Strategies

00:17:09 - Leadership Style and Flexibility

00:18:05 - Storytelling in Leadership

00:20:44 - Final Words of Wisdom

Strategic plans and EHR technology fueled with data are key for rural healthcare operations today. And what else? Step into the shoes of Alma Alexander, CFO from Cuero Regional Hospital. In this conversation with host Phil Sobol, Vice President of Business Development at CereCore, Alma shares what she’s learned as a healthcare finance leader in both large health systems and rural healthcare settings and how each are different and unique.

How does a chief financial officer (CFO) tackle top challenges in rural healthcare today? What’s the secret to financially preparing for and managing large IT investments like EHR systems? Alma gives practical advice on using strategic plans as communication tool to align C-suite leaders and the board of directors. Hear first-hand CFO advice as Cuero embarked on a multi-year process to prepare, plan and implement a modern EHR.

Key Topics

00:05:04 - Financial operations across different healthcare settings

Alma compares financial operations in reference labs, metropolitan, and rural hospitals.

00:08:16 - Top challenges for rural healthcare leaders

Alma talks about specific challenges faced in managing finances in a rural healthcare setting.

00:10:35 - Technology's impact on healthcare

Discussion on how IT advancements like AI and telemedicine are influencing rural healthcare.

00:14:43 - EHR implementation and strategic planning

Alma discusses the strategic planning and implementation process for a new EHR system.

00:18:37 - Decision making in EHR modernization

Hear about key decisions and pivotal moments in the EHR modernization process and what success looks like from a CFO perspective.

00:22:40 - Maintaining leadership alignment

Learn how this leadership team maintains alignment and communication regarding strategic plans.

00:25:59 - Closing thoughts and advice

Alma offers final thoughts and advice about the people side of healthcare.

Cyber criminals only have to be right once to wreak havoc. In healthcare, we have to be right 100% of the time to manage the risk of cyberattack. In this episode, Phil Sobol, Vice President of Business Development talks to Darcy Corcoran, Principal for Cybersecurity Advisory Services. Hear how she uses her extensive background in the Department of Defense and work with NATO and the Pentagon to inform organization-specific tactics and industry best practices for cybersecurity in healthcare. In their conversation they cover the must haves and explore an often-overlooked aspect of considering AI use cases.

Key topics:  

- Thoughts on cybersecurity in healthcare through lens of extensive cybersecurity background in defense 

- Misconceptions about malicious actors

- Factors to include in cybersecurity strategy

- The AI considerations leaders may overlook

- Leadership responsibilities for cybersecurity in healthcare organizations

Many healthcare organizations are facing single digit or negative EBITDA and are searching for strategies to improve profitability, patient care and sustained growth. Examining revenue cycle is often a great place to start because of its far-reaching impact, explains Kim Waters, Principal Consultant for Revenue Cycle at CereCore. In this episode with host Phil Sobol, Vice President of Business Development at CereCore, Kim shares her unique perspective having worked with healthcare leaders in managed services, revenue cycle, payer disciplines and now CereCore clients. Kim explains how her conversational approach uncovers quick wins, identifies root causes, and helps teams navigate complex changes. She brings business acumen and healthcare experience working with a variety of C-suite roles, health system boards of directors, and clinical teams. What common problems warrant an outside perspective? How can you achieve a productive partnership with a consultant? Kim answers these questions and explains why evaluating change readiness is important to innovation. She wraps up the conversation with a client story that highlights the impact care navigation can have on positive financial results for a health system, a patient and their family.

Key topics

- How to derive the most value from a consulting engagement

- Top areas C-suite leaders are looking to improve today

- Data, storytelling and the why behind decisions

- Revenue cycle optimization can be ripe with opportunity

- Care navigation client story: strategy yields savings for health system and patients

Maximizing the investment in an EHR platform is work that’s never really finished, and having the organizational discipline, resources, and mindset to continue pursuing EHR optimization often can feel like a battle. In this episode, Phil Sobol, Vice President of Business Development, talks with EHR experts Bob Gronberg, Assistant Vice President of MEDITECH Professional Services; John Walsh, Manager of MEDITECH Professional Services; and Stephanie Murray, Senior Director of Epic Services. Hear their strategic approaches for discovering optimization opportunities, common issues facilities face, and how assessments can help leaders prioritize optimizations and uncover root causes. The panel covers a wide range of topics such as managing through education needs and staff turnover, why getting behind on system updates can be costly and what a consistent maintenance and optimization process could look like. Each panelist shares parting words of wisdom based on their passion for healthcare and experience working in the EHR vendor setting and with healthcare leaders and clinicians in health systems across the US and abroad.

Key topics:

- Strategic approaches to EHR optimization and maintenance

- How an EHR optimization assessment works

- Things you can learn from an EHR assessment

- Quick wins and trends from an assessment

- Change management best practices

- Governance, clinical council and budgeting advice

An EHR implementation is a massive project, especially for rural healthcare locations. Ismelda Garza, CIO of Cuero Regional Hospital and senior consultant at CereCore, explains the multi-year journey their hospital has been on to prepare for the transition to a modern EHR like MEDITECH Expanse. What prep work is involved? Ismelda shares practical advice and her experiences in this conversation with Phil Sobol, Vice President of Business Development at CereCore. Hear more about the importance of infrastructure stability and early collaboration with third party application vendors to head off potential implementation delays and issues. Plus, Ismelda talks about her personal experience building solid relationships with her leadership team colleagues, staff and end users.

Key topics:

- How to prepare for EHR change, from infrastructure and vendors to staff

- The broad impact of technology implementation in a rural setting

- How to build solid C-suite relationships

- EHR investments in rural health

- HIT leadership career journey and passion for rural health