Examining Evolving Healthcare CIO Challenges
Changing healthcare regulations and an evolving landscape are making the role of CIO more complex and important.
- Healthcare IT consulting firm Impact Advisors and the Scottsdale Institute have released a new report that highlights strategies to address emerging informatics requirements in healthcare systems. The information in the report comes from a panel of eight Chief Information Officers (CIOs) convened in Chicago during the second annual Scottsdale Institute CIO Summit.
The CIOs represent healthcare organizations across the country which are responsible for $50 billion in annual net-patient revenue, 264 hospitals, 1,900 plus care sites and nearly 13,000 physicians in either an employed or foundation model in more than 30 states. The list of CIOs include:
• George Conklin- CHRISTUS Health
• John Delano- INTEGRIS Health
Can Next Generation ACO Drive Patient Engagement? Providers Leaving No Stone Unturned to Stop Medicare Payment Cuts Asthma Education Model Lowers Resource Use, Healthcare Costs • Robert Eardley- Houston Methodist
• Jon Manis- Sutter Health
• Ed Marx- Texas Health Resources
• Marcus Shipley- CHE Trinity Health, Inc.
• Bruce Smith- Advocate Health Care
• Brent Snyder- Adventist Health System
One of the biggest areas of focus for CIOs is the preparation for value-based payments. This is happening through the expansion of accountable care organizations and the implementation of population health strategies. In 2014, ACO participation will nearly double what was experienced in 2013. This creates a more focused approach on shared savings payments and the need to adopt coordinated care management to lower hospital utilization, including inpatient bed days, length of stay, admissions, readmissions and ED visits.
Regardless of whether a health system in officially an ACO, it needs to adopt that mentality because of regulatory trends, Medicare and Medicaid cuts and the trend for shared risks with commercial payers.
“We are going direct to employers with bundles, guaranteed price and quality/outcomes, we are preparing to go to full risk,” says Ed Marx. Marcus Shipley agrees, “this is at the heart of our clinical integration strategy.”
There are several strategies the CIOs discussed to optimize the potential of value-based payments. These include:
• Implementing big data and analytics carefully
• Establishing analytic governance with ownership outside of it
• Standardize all processes
• Enable care management across the continuum
• Analyze leakage
• Re-engineer or optimize workflows and processes for efficiency
• Consider adopting cloud technology
• Engage in software development
The CIOs also touched on other topics during the panel.
Consumerism – Many different industries are using a combination of social media, mobile and cloud technologies and analytics to create elevated levels of customer service. This is empowering consumers and the healthcare industry needs to provide a similar experience in order to keep up.
Information Security – With more practices and providers adopting electronic medical records and relying on the latest technology, cyber threats have increased also. There are countless examples of organizations that have been breached, which has resulted in the theft of personal patient information, social security numbers and credit card numbers among other data.
Changing role of the CIO – The role of the CIO will evolve to encapsulate every aspect of healthcare. It is not uncommon for a CIO to be deeply involved in the decision making process of clinical and operational needs. Ever changing regulatory requirements and government funding cuts have made managing costs a critical piece of daily operations.
