By Kirk Mahlen, Advisor To quote from a popular Farmers Insurance ad: “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two”. The reality associated with unplanned / unexpected CIO turnover is that, while there may be themes, the number of possible scenarios is infinite and I[…]
8 Tips for Telehealth Success
Telehealth or connected health as some call it, takes different forms depending on the provider organization and their strategy. The primary driver may be extending geographic reach by providing services to rural areas. Or it may be largely a focus on consumer engagement. Regardless, there are common themes for successful[…]
Selective Sourcing vs Complete Outsourcing in HIT
by Rich Pollack, Advisor Unlike many other industries, complete IT outsourcing in healthcare provider organizations is a fairly rare bird. There are reasons for this, technical, financial and cultural. On the other hand, selectively outsourcing defined and limited subcomponents of a healthcare IT department can be both a successful and[…]
Look for Durability, Not Disruption, in HIT in 2018: Part 3
By Diane M. Carr, M.A., FHIMSS, Advisor As the health and information technology industries prepare to convene at the annual HIMSS conference in Las Vegas, the “interoperability experience” will be top of mind for many participants. Tens of thousands of individuals and companies who collect, access, analyze and exchange data[…]
Look for Durability not Disruption in 2018: Part 2
By Diane M. Carr, Advisor Tackling barriers to data usability and interoperability is one priority for action in 2018 that almost everyone in healthcare can agree on. Providers, payers, consumers, IT professionals and vendors too often find ourselves in the paradoxical position of being data rich and information poor. While[…]
Look for Durability, not Disruption, in HIT for 2018
By Diane M. Carr, Advisor The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently held its annual meeting in Washington DC. This is an opportunity for policy wonks, HIT geeks, healthcare providers and vendors to get together and get a sense of the national issues facing our industry[…]
Patients First! Patience Always!
Soon after I began working as a CIO at Presbyterian Healthcare System (PHS) in Dallas in 1992 – 25 years ago – I asked the staff to hang a banner with those 4 words printed with a bold 12-inch font in the data center. It was placed strategically to ensure[…]
Today’s Solutions, Tomorrow’s Leaders
Change is a given. And change at the top of organizations is more common than you expect. So what do you do when a key IT leadership position unexpectedly opens? Do you look internally at your strong second to step in as an interim and possibly take the permanent position?[…]
Startup Field Report #1
How hard could it be? To start a company, collaborate with innovative leaders, help them advance healthcare with technology solutions? Especially for two healthcare IT rock stars–Sue Schade and David Muntz–and me. Sue and David come from similar backgrounds—CIOs at world renowned academic medical centers, both with top industry recognition, one even with a White House appointment. I, on the[…]
Words and Context Matter
Like many people in HIT, science fiction and fact fascinate me. So, I took my wife on an HIT person’s kind of date to see the “stellar” movie Arrival. [You can read on from here without any concerns about spoiler alerts beyond what the movie trailers reveal.] She loved it.[…]