Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1482786
75 CIO / HEALTH IT with the economics of the "value proposition" and the entire patient journey; evolving the system to keep up with best practices, as well as hospital expansion; and new regulatory challenges such as the 21st Century Cures Act, etc. Being a modern CMIO is no longer simply about implementing an integrated EHR. It has shied from being tactical to being more future-oriented and strategic, looking for opportunities to implement the hospital and exam room of the future; interacting with the internet of things; moving more care to the home and patient environment; and perhaps even connecting to the "metaverse" (whatever that is). I suspect that I have also changed over the years along with the role. It is a true blessing to always have new opportunities and challenges with the same goal of improving the health and lives of the patients we serve. David McSwain, MD. University of North Carolina Health (Chapel Hill): e simplest answer is that the focus has moved well beyond simply the electronic health record. e modern CMIO is more strategically oriented, more proactive and less reactive. e role is about integrating multiple existing and emerging technologies into a coherent whole that streamlines and improves the experience of healthcare for patients, families, providers and healthcare team members. Accomplishing that type of integration successfully depends on the ability to develop collaboration and alignment, understand the roles of people and teams across the organization, and successfully leverage the talents and skills of your teammates and colleagues toward strategic goals. You have to develop a strong team, which includes not only the people who report to you but teammates from across the institution and even beyond. Ednann Naz, MD. Saint Agnes Medical Center (Fresno, Calif.): e CMIO role is ever-changing. CMIOs are finally being asked to sit at the strategy and business development table. From analytics, telemedicine, long-term care, digital health, population management and [clinical decision support], these leaders help empower clinicians to improve healthcare with information, processes and tools. Gone are the days of pure implementation and support, as IT/[medical doctor]. True enterprise informatics teams now have [chief health information officers] with various CMIOs or medical directors advocating as catalysts of actionable improvement. Gregg Nicandri, MD. University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center: e CMIO role has evolved significantly in recent years. I think, for many organizations, the position was created to assist in driving the implementation of the electronic health record. Once EHRs became established and organizations focused on their contribution to burnout, the primary focus of the CMIO shied to optimization and enhancement. ough that remains a significant part of the role, the explosion of technology broadly, and digital health technology specifically, has led many of us to take on a more strategic position within our organizations. Instead of focusing solely on how we can make the EHR better for our partners and colleagues, we are also developing institutional strategy for things like digital transformation, data and analytics. is oen includes helping our systems develop relationships with less-traditional partners (Big Tech, [business to business], [business to consumer], and value-based care companies) to drive disruptive healthcare innovation. It is certainly an exciting time to be a CMIO! Jeana O'Brien, MD. Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas): From my perspective, the role of the CMIO in larger healthcare organizations has transitioned to responsibilities and scope across clinical disciplines and venues of care inclusive of digital and analytics to encompass the changing landscape of technological care delivery as a continuum — sometimes even referred to now as [chief health information officer] or chief transformation officer. Brett Oliver, MD. Baptist Health (Louisville, Ky.): I think the biggest change in my role over time is the recognition that technology touches nearly every part of the patient care continuum, and as a clinician in IT we have become a valuable intermediary to connect all things technology to the clinical and operational needs involved in patient care. No longer is it just about optimizing EHR use, but rather the global technology picture and how can we improve the care of patients and the lives of the caregivers inside and outside of our facilities. Claude Pirtle, MD. West Tennessee Healthcare (Jackson): e CMIO role has evolved and will continue to evolve over the next few decades. A number of years ago, the traditional CMIO was looked upon to aid in creating foundational workflows and structural processes while healthcare systems matured into an electronic ecosystem. We served and continue to serve as that bridge between clinical operations and technology. As most systems have completed electronic health record implementations and upgrades, the focus of the CMIO role is shiing and becoming more strategic, innovative and data-driven. We are at the forefront of leveraging data harnessed from the EHR platform to empower clinicians, promote health equity, and drive value in the data collated from diverse sources. Data is the future — and CMIOs will be pivotal in designing high-value experiences, optimizing the current state and leading future strategies. Sophia Saleem, MD. Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.): In my experience, the CMIO role started as being EMR implementation, process reconciliation, and then EMR optimization. Somewhere along the way, CMIOs became heavily involved in data capture and standardization for quality reporting and research while we continued to support upgrades, acquisitions and EMR transitions. Over the past two to three years, the digital transformation of healthcare has taken hold of most health systems that realize consumers expect to do everything digitally, including obtaining healthcare. is demand created a stronger relationship between my role as a CMIO and our patient experience teams to support integrated in-person and virtual care delivery. Another more pressing facet of the CMIO portfolio is an increased focus on provider experience and burnout. An entire body of literature is emerging with EMR data-driven studies about provider burnout. ese studies indicate it's more complicated than blaming provider burnout solely on the EMR. My job as CMIO has certainly evolved into a strategic partner understanding how we continue to support EMR operations while also supporting our most important assets — our clinical teams and our patients. Joseph Schneider, MD. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Informatics at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) (and a former CMIO): Some CMIOs are taking on much more responsibility for population health, data management and artificial intelligence introduction. It's becoming less about EHR conversion and optimization, although that remains important. Marcus Speaker, MD. Associate CMIO of Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.): e role of the CMIO has expanded in past years in many organizations. e role has moved from one of simple EMR governance to overseeing the EHR, data analytics and cognitive computing, telehealth initiatives, and in some instances driving innovation and clinical transformation. ere remains a good deal of variation, but the role has definitely expanded.