Roundtables

quality of support. Q: Over the past year, what has been your biggest accomplish- ment? Dr. Dallas: e successful transi- tion of a hospital EHR system from one product to another, in four hospitals concurrently, to move to a single database EHR model. Dr. Kudler: Doubling the projected revenue recognition of our clinical documentation improvement pro- gram. Launching the Pioneer Valley Information Exchange, the regional health information exchange of western Massachusetts. Dr. Wess: If I had to pick just one, I feel the biggest accomplishment has been to gain a better understanding of my new organization, which I joined in 2012. rough this un- derstanding of the business needs, I have been able to add value. Q: What's one piece of advice you'd offer to other CMIOs? Dr. Dallas: Keep patient care front and center with workflow and tech- nology design decisions. We oen get distracted by things we think, or perhaps are, what clinical end users want as the driver, and that does have to be considered. When there is a struggle to pick the best path, default to what is best for the pa- tient so everyone can move forward in a positive way. Dr. Kudler: Maintain your identity as a physician. It is the most critical part of this role in terms of credi- bility and communications. Physi- cians who go into administration typically relieve themselves of that identity, choosing to stop seeing patients and/or interacting with docs as docs. e CMIO should always use the tools they promote, and make that known to provider colleagues. Docs are not impressed by C-suite or VP titles; they are hungry for advocacy. I oen refer to a fourth component of the triple aim; improving the experience of the healthcare provider. Dr. Wess: My one piece of advice would be to adopt servant leader- ship. Given the accountability and responsibility, I feel this philosophy and set of practices ensures that the constituents' needs are represented best in the activities. In the health- care model, the patient's needs are primary and the healthcare staff is next. It creates a sound foundation of decisions and an effective and highly capable team. It also facili- tates change. n "The level of reporting and data needs make documentation complex in the EHR, and drives physicians, nurses and other caregivers to feel like they are treating the computer and not the patient." -Mary Dallas, MD, CMIO of St. Charles Health System 69 the quality of the vendor products, we experience challenges with usability, lacking functionality and quality of support. Q: Over the past year, what has been your biggest accomplishment? Dr. Dallas: The successful transition of a hospital EHR system from one product to another, in four hospitals concurrently, to move to a single data- base EHR model. Dr. Kudler: Doubling the projected revenue rec- ognition of our clinical documentation improve- ment program. Launching the Pioneer Valley Information Exchange, the regional health infor- mation exchange of western Massachusetts. Dr. Wess: If I had to pick just one, I feel the biggest accomplishment has been to gain a better under- standing of my new organization, which I joined in 2012. Through this understanding of the busi- ness needs, I have been able to add value. Q: What's one piece of advice you'd offer to other CMIOs? Dr. Dallas: Keep patient care front and center with workflow and technology design deci- sions. We often get distracted by things we think, or perhaps are, what clinical end users want as the driver, and that does have to be considered. When there is a struggle to pick the best path, default to what is best for the patient so everyone can move forward in a positive way. Dr. Kudler: Maintain your identity as a physi- cian. It is the most critical part of this role in terms of credibility and communications. Phy- sicians who go into administration typically relieve themselves of that identity, choosing to stop seeing patients and/or interacting with docs as docs. The CMIO should always use the tools they promote, and make that known to provider colleagues. Docs are not impressed by C-suite or VP titles; they are hungry for ad- vocacy. I often refer to a fourth component of the triple aim; improving the experience of the healthcare provider. Dr. Wess: My one piece of advice would be to adopt servant leadership. Given the account- ability and responsibility, I feel this philosophy and set of practices ensures that the constitu- ents' needs are represented best in the activities. In the healthcare model, the patient's needs are primary and the healthcare staff is next. It cre- ates a sound foundation of decisions and an ef- fective and highly capable team. It also facilitates change. n "The level of reporting and data needs make documentation complex in the EHR, and drives physicians, nurses and other caregivers to feel like they are treating the computer and not the patient." — Mary Dallas, MD, CMIO of St. Charles Health System MORE ONLINE: Want more reading about CMIOs? See the following stories available at www.BeckersHospitalReview.com: n CMIOs' Pay Increasing, But Satisfaction Decreasing (June 2014) n 4 Traits Hospitals Look for in CMIOs (June 2014) Vocera empowers integrated, intelligent communication in healthcare, hospitality, energy and other mission-critical mobile environ- ments. Vocera is widely recognized for developing smarter ways to communicate that improve patient and customer satisfaction with the Vocera Communication and Care Experience solutions. Vocera provides technology innovations and thought leadership that hu- manize healthcare for patients, families and care teams and improve customer experience in more than 1,200 organizations worldwide. Vocera is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offices in San Francisco, Tennessee, Canada, India, Dubai and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.vocera.com and @VoceraCom on Twitter. Three CMIOs on Their New and Changing Role 6

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