Roundtables

delivery network. Our great- est goal has been developing a greater collaboration with the IDN, and we've increased the IT governance and vision at Saint Vincent's as a result. Mr. Richardville: I do not keep track of "my" accomplishments, because there is nothing that I can accomplish alone. But as a team, our greatest accomplish- ment has been to embrace this future, to have the courage to stay the course and to set our chosen strategy and to drive and lead the transformation of our industry. I am very proud of our team, all our teammates, and feel extremely fortunate to be a part of it. Mr. Smith: I'm still relatively new in my CIO role at Banner Health, but a key accomplish- ment has been the development and endorsement of a three-year IT strategic plan to consolidate and integrate our EHR systems and enhance our consumer digi- tal experiences. Q: What's one piece of advice you'd offer to other CIOs? Mr. Canfield: You can't do it alone. You must build effective relationships with other leaders in your organization and with your peers in other organiza- tions. Mr. Hess: Don't be afraid to stretch the boundaries of being a CIO. I love being a CIO, but much of what I do is not what you would think of a traditional IT leader doing. ere is a lot of work in the areas of opera- tional/clinical strategy, process improvement, organizational change management, outreach, merger/acquisition, accountabil- ity structures, building physician relationships and many other things. ere is nothing better than making IT work and work well, but without connecting the people and the processes, the in- formation technology itself really doesn't matter. Don't just focus on the IT delivery, focus on the total picture. Mr. Kinsella: As a "recover- ing consultant," I had a rule of thumb that continues to apply on this side of the desk: Don't ask customers about what they want — because oen they really don't know. It's better to work to understand what they are look- ing to accomplish and come back to them with solutions, including options varying in effort, cost and time to deliver. Mr. Lewkoski: Partner close with your physicians. It's extremely important that they believe the technology and systems are there for them and they have a very active role guiding their usage. Mr. Ong: I think we, as health- care CIOs, have to understand health IT is an enabler, and health IT can be a differentiator. As we focus on EHRs, the focus goes from the transactional EHR to a 'smart' EHR, and it becomes integral to us delivering quality and efficient care. As we focus on EHRs from a business per- spective, we also have to look at how to reduce risk, ensure the availability of appropriate care and manage the patient flow. It's about having the right care at the right time in the right place. ough, many of my peers al- ready know this. Mr. Richardville: Get a flak jack- et, because we must continue to thrive to lead our organizations and move our industry forward. ere is a lot of change, and a lot of change at one time. Change management is difficult, defining new standards of work is diffi- cult, working with new technol- ogy is difficult, and someone has to take the heat. But [your orga- nization needs] to transform, we have to transform. We [as CIOs] need to lead the transformation and keep our organizations rele- vant and focus first and foremost on our patients. Mr. Smith: Establish a solid partnership with key business and clinical executives to mutu- ally develop and set the strategic IT direction for the organization. Leverage those partnerships to help set the IT vision and 'sell' the organization on becoming a technology-enabled business. n Healthcare CIOs: Past, Present and Future 7

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