Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1465061
91 CIO / HEALTH IT CIO salaries up 21% as the role gains prominence By Naomi Diaz C IO pay increased by 21 percent this year from last, as technology played a vital role in businesses' and organizations' growth and development, The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 22. According to data from Mondo, a staffing firm, average CIO salaries were up by 21 percent to $287,500 from last year. More experienced CIOs at larger com- panies reported earning $350,000 in base salary, up from $300,000 last year. The growth is attributed to companies realizing the value technology can bring to their companies and the important role CIOs play in exploiting tech's grow- ing business possibilities. With this, companies are willing to pay CIOs more to reap the benefits technology has to offer. n 5 steps to fix data overload in healthcare By Andrew Cass H ealthcare organizations need an enterprise-wide data strategy to get managers the right data with the right analyses at the right time, according to a March 16 Harvard Business Review article. The following five steps, as put forth by two Press Ganey analysts, can be used to fix data overload: 1. Group data consumers based on their level in the organization and mea- sures that match their responsibilities. 2. Determine how to create value for each level of the data's consumers. 3. Integrate data to gain more insights to avoid compartmentalization. 4. Establish priorities so managers at all levels can ask, "Which three things should I focus upon?" 5. Format information in the most helpful way to its users. n Mayo Clinic inks 5-year deal with AI- powered pathology company By Georgina Gonzalez R ochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic signed a five year commercial agree- ment with Pramana, an artificial intelligence health technology company that focuses on pathology. As part of the agreement, Pramana will digitize 5 million of Mayo's clinical pathology slides, according to a March 16 news release. The company has a whole slide imaging system, which is fed by a robot and analyzed by AI algo- rithms to produce an automated quality assessment of the slides. Digitizing slides can transform data collected over the years into knowledge by making the slides accessible in the digital world, boosting their ability for use in personalized medicine and diagnostics, according to Pramana. n Gender- affirming care is patient protected information, HHS says By Naomi Diaz H HS issued guidance on the rights phy- sicians and providers have in protect- ing patient health information when it comes to gender-affirming care. e guidance, published March 2, came af- ter Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for state officials to investigate transition care, or care that includes puberty blockers or pre- scribed hormones for sexual development that matches patients' identified gender, for minors as child abuse. e HHS guidance assured providers of the following: • HIPAA prohibits disclosure of gender- affirming care that is PHI without an indi- vidual's consent, except in limited circum- stances. • Disclosures of PHI that do not meet the re- quired by law definition or exceed what is required by such law do not qualify as per- missible disclosures. • HIPAA limits the circumstances under which healthcare providers and other en- tities may disclose protected health infor- mation, such as gender-affirming physical or mental healthcare administered by a licensed provider. • Providers who may be concerned about their obligations to disclose information concerning gender-affirming care should seek additional legal guidance regarding their legal responsibilities and other laws. n