Merging Technology with Healthcare

By Lynn Gibson, VP/CTO, CHRISTUS Health, Irving Texas

Lynn Gibson, VP/CTO, CHRISTUS Health, Irving Texas

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations

To just start a quick list there are: meeting meaningful use stage 2 requirements; ICD-10; Accountable Care Initiatives; growing demand for broader and deeper tools for business intelligences; the growing use of personal devices such as tablets and smart phones; and a changing set of expectations with new self-management tools for the end user.  Each one is placing tremendous challenges on our technology.  As to a wish list for 2013.

The areas in business environment where solutions do not yet exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier

We are so dependent on multiple interface engines and tools still that any interruption could and does create delays and potential corruptions. The clinical process and business processes do not always align and those create the potential of information not being captured correctly. Add the changing governmental rules and the set of tools becoming available to end users to perform self-diagnosis, the incentives to use and the accuracy of these new apps worries me as to how medicine and treatment will be handled by the average person.

Manner in which Data is used to head off problems and complications before they happen

We are pursuing a population management solution which when matched with our business intelligence tools and information will allow us to begin a predictive approach to treatment which will drive all of those elements such as duplication, avoid adverse events, etc.

Thoughts on how IT strategic planning supports organization-wide efforts to improve quality, cut costs and improve efficiency in the financial sector

Picking the right solution to track clinical quality; report changes and incidents; or process inventory orders to support just in time deliveries to the operating room thus reducing cost of carrying inventory; it will be the effective IT system that supported the process.

Technology Trends Impacting Enterprise Business Environment

As more data becomes available and can be merged into a particular disease management appliance on a tablet, more and more people will utilize the app and leave the physician office visit or in patient procedure to the more critical issues and need for direct contact with a care provider.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO

A successful CIO is no longer the tech guy the operational people go to because the computer is not working.  He/She have become the business process expert that understands how the company functions; where the information resides; how to respond to governmental inquiries; what it will take to acquire a competitor or enter into a new market.

Lessons learnt and your advice for fellow CIOs

Over the years, I learned several different lessons and have constantly strived to not repeat the lessons.  But four things in particular have always rung true: don’t get so dependent upon a vendor that when something better does come along, you will not be agile and able to respond. Second, clinicians (and most end users) learn differently than technical people and therefore approach things differently.Third, the healthcare IT environment today is becoming more and more like the human body. Always test for the most complex bizarre arrangement (not just what you are implementing). Last, security is something that you should surround yourself with strong expertise. 

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