The CereCore Podcast

Kevin McDonald, chief information officer (CIO) for HCA Healthcare’s South Atlantic division, explains how preparation and partnership have been ingredients for operational excellence and strategic activities, especially when it comes to the adoption of Epic mobile capabilities. In this conversation, Kevin talks about the time when Rover, Epic’s mobile app, helped nurses and providers continue their usual activities during an outage. Plus, Kevin packs in words of wisdom throughout the conversation about taking on new career opportunities and developing high performing teams.

Al Smith, SVP and CIO of Lifepoint Health, shares experiences navigating change driven by growth. He steps through the decision-making process to find a partner who can help with scale and ways to build relationships across healthcare disciplines and geographic locations. Al’s passion for healthcare IT comes through in this conversation, as he talks about the importance of putting people first and ways that IT is a team sport.

Richard "Rick" Keller, senior vice president and chief information officer at Ardent Health Services, discusses how they have measured return on investment (ROI) for pivotal healthcare IT decisions like implementing Epic and outsourcing their IT help desk management to CereCore. In this conversation, Rick shares examples of how Epic has helped with physician recruitment and workflow efficiencies, MyChart with patient engagement and their vision to meet patients when and where they need care. Rick explains why outsourcing their IT help desk made sense and cites “ah-ha” moments rooted in metrics and analysis that have led to better customer service. He wraps up with advice on keeping pace, building a cross-industry network of CIO colleagues, and communicating “out” to stay aligned and have strong leadership team relationships.

Step into the shoes of L. Austin Fredrickson, MD, a board certified, general internist at Salem Regional Medical Center, as he explains the daily challenges of providing healthcare in his rural hometown of Salem, OH, how he uses healthcare technology and telemedicine, and what more he wishes IT could do. In this conversation, Dr. Fredrickson talks about their health system's recent move to MEDITECH Expanse, how to engage physicians in the process and ideas for bridging the gap between physicians, the C-suite and technology teams. He answers questions like: What does a successful MEDITECH Expanse implementation look like for a physician? What is the lifespan of the physician advisory committee (PAC)? What advice would you give healthcare IT leaders as they plan for a technology implementation and its effect on physicians?

Thomas Kurtz, Ph.D., Chief Administrative Officer at Memorial Healthcare, shares his experience moving a community hospital system to an integrated, singular patient record with MEDITECH Expanse. He walks through making key decisions from EMR to implementation partner selection. He discusses the resources and expertise needed for a successful implementation, immediate benefits physicians experienced, and the long journey of EMR optimization. Tom looks back on the decisions made and why today he still stands by their big-bang implementation approach. Listen in on this conversation with Thomas Kurtz for practical advice on how technology can help provide a holistic understanding of patient care.

Varun Gadhok, Chief Information Officer at Surgery Partners, talks about experiences that have helped him earn trust and form collaborative relationships among senior leaders and peers. He shares approaches he has used to build high performing IT teams and how he has seen managed services partnerships fuel company growth and contribute to both employee and customer satisfaction. Varun wraps up with lessons learned and career advice like why you need a personal board of directors. Listen in on this conversation with Varun Gadhok that's packed with practical advice for today's healthcare CIO.