Healthcare leaders today are operating in one of the most complex environments the industry has ever faced. Margins are thin, workforce shortages persist, cybersecurity threats are constant, and regulatory pressures continue to grow. At the same time, patients and families who now live in a digital world expect healthcare to[…]
Innovation in Healthcare: A Pragmatist’s Perspective
Innovation in Healthcare IT: From Ideas to Impact Innovation has become one of the most overused and misunderstood words in healthcare. We talk about it constantly. We celebrate it publicly. We fund it enthusiastically. Yet too often, innovation in healthcare information technology (HIT) produces pilots that never scale, tools that[…]
Beyond the Status Quo: 16 Transformative Steps for Healthcare in the Digital Age – Part 2
It’s that time of year again when prognosticators and futurists compile a top 10 list for the upcoming year. This blog focuses on healthcare writ large and healthcare IT (HIT) where overlaps are common. Given the increasing complexity of this shared environment, this top 10 list grew to 16. This[…]
Beyond the Status Quo: 16 Transformative Steps for Healthcare in the Digital Age – Part 1
It’s that time of year when prognosticators and futurists compile a top 10 list for the coming year. This blog focuses on healthcare writ large and healthcare IT (HIT) where overlaps are common. Given the increasing complexity of this shared environment, this top 10 list grew to 16. This is[…]
11 Steps to Prepare for 2025 – Big Challenges – Bigger Opportunities
If you’re fortunate enough to work in healthcare and IT, every year presents a significant mix of big challenges and even bigger opportunities. 2025 is no exception. One of HIT’s paradigms for approaching challenges is to focus on people, process, and technology – technology being the easiest of the three.[…]
What the US Could Learn from the UAE about Healthcare
I have spent much of the last four years working in the Middle East as an interim CIO and executive project director at two different hospitals. I have seen the healthcare systems of two different countries from both a business perspective and a patient perspective. Since I was primarily in[…]
Ring Theory – A Practical Tool for Dealing with Trauma and Crises
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about suicide prevention and promoting mental health. Suicide is very personal to me. My wife died from suicide. I wrote what started as a blog but became a longer story about my family’s experience with suicide and offered[…]
Is HIT Strategic Planning Still Relevant for Providers?
In the past there was little question about who owned the HIT Strategic Plan – the Chief Information Officer (CIO). That has changed in many organizations. Organizations are creating new C-suite officer roles – chief data and analytics (CDAO), chief digital officer (CDO or CDIO), chief data officer (CDO), chief[…]
An Effective Strategy for Valuing HIT Investments
Assessing the value of IT investments has posed a challenge throughout my 35+ year career as a healthcare CIO. With the growing demand for digital health solutions and the surge of interest in AI in its various forms, establishing a reliable IT investment valuation process has grown increasingly crucial. A[…]
The Disappointing State of Analytics at Most Hospitals & Health Systems
Over 60 years ago information systems were introduced into hospitals and health systems to assist with core financial areas of the business. Soon after, the first electronic medical record systems were installed. With very few exceptions, each and every application had a reporting feature that allowed its users to run various[…]