Becker's Hospital Review

49 CIO / HEALTH IT 'We should look at broadband like we look at electricity and plumbing': Jefferson Health CEO on telehealth equity By Jackie Drees W hen it comes to expanding telehealth access and reducing the digital divide, Stephen Klasko, MD, CEO of Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, considers broadband access for all to be one of the most important priorities. During a Jan. 12 interview with Yahoo Finance, Dr. Klasko, who also serves as president of Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University, highlighted the role that lack of broadband access plays in exacerbating health inequity. "I mean, think about this: … if you were from a certain ZIP code in Philadel- phia, you had a four or five times [greater] chance of dying of COVID than if you were from a different ZIP code," Dr. Klasko said. "And some of that is because you couldn't access things like telehealth if you didn't have the right broadband." The pandemic pushed Jefferson Health to accelerate initiatives such as telehealth to get care to people in their homes. The health system has been transitioning to a model it refers to as "healthcare at any address," to help adapt to physical distancing measures and keep patients and providers safe. Making broadband a right for all people is one of the first steps to reduce health inequity in virtual care, Dr. Klasko said. "There are countries in this world that have made that an absolute priority," he said. "We should look at broadband … like we look at electricity and plumbing. And that should be one of the major things." n Why CIOs are gaining more influence in front-office decisions in 2021 By Jackie Drees D igital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has carved a new role for CIOs in corporate boardrooms as decision makers, a shift that IT leaders expect to be permanent, according to a Jan. 5 report in The Wall Street Journal. "The pandemic has shown us that digital transformation is the No. 1 business imperative right now, and, as a result, the role of the CIO has never been more crucial," Chris Bedi, CIO of cloud-software company ServiceNow, told the Journal. Before COVID-19, issues such as corporate strategy were not primary re- sponsibilities for most senior IT managers; however, with the widespread adoption of cloud computing during the pandemic IT leaders have com- piled real-time data on fast-changing markets, giving more weight to ad- vanced analytics in the corporate decision-making process. With business decisions relying more on cloud computing and software applications, tech leaders told the Journal that they are increasingly being judged on business results rather than as leaders overseeing IT systems. n 3. Epic also increased research efforts over the past year with the launch of its public-facing re- search network in May. e Epic Health Research Network lets medical professionals publish ob- servational findings about COVID-19 and other public health issues. e EHR giant also worked with Cleveland Clinic to add the health system's COVID-19 risk prediction model to its EHR soware in November. 4. Ms. Faulkner shared her thoughts and predic- tions on the future of digital healthcare in 2020, touching on areas including interoperability and the potential of AI to improve clinical care. 5. Epic supported hundreds of go-lives in 2020, with 190 health systems rolling out its platform from September through the end of 2020. Some notable go-lives from 2020 include Altamon- te Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth, Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health and San Antonio-based University Health System. Meditech 1. Meditech inked a partnership with Google Cloud in December to deploy a new cloud- based, subscription model EHR platform. As an extension of the vendor's cloud-based Expanse EHR, Meditech Cloud Platform introduced several new capabilities including a virtual care feature that lets new and existing patients ac- cess urgent virtual care on demand through the provider's website. 2. Meditech also added voice assistant features to its EHR soware last year; the company worked with artificial intelligence developer Nuance to roll out a voice assistant for clinicians using Expanse. With the new tool, clinicians can use their voice to search patient charts for information including lab results and medications. 3. e American Health Information Manage- ment Association tapped Meditech's Expanse plat- form in September to serve as the flagship system for the organization's EHR digital training, which is offered to 16,000 students at more than 300 col- leges and universities. 4. Meditech also expanded several partnerships with providers throughout 2020; in January, Dallas-based Steward Health implemented Medi- tech's EHR across its 35 hospitals. On Oct. 1, Mil- ford (Mass.) Regional Medical Center went live on Meditech's Expanse EHR aer starting the $18 million implementation process in 2018. 5. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Med- itech supported virtual EHR go-lives at hospitals including Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cayuga Medical Center and Safford, Ariz.-based Mount Graham Regional Medical Center. Aer assisting with the virtual go-lives, Meditech established an imple- mentation task force to develop plans for post- COVID-19 virtual and in-person training and go-live plans. n

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