HIMSS16 Conference Recap Day 3 – Getting into the Groove

by | Mar 3, 2016 | Healthcare

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HIMSS16 logoYesterday marked Day 3 of the HIMSS16 Conference in Las Vegas. It was a day when most of us got into the groove of the show and really settled in to get down to business, whether that be attending one of the many educational sessions, or visiting vendor booths, or providing demos at our booth.

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In between meetings that I had scheduled at the show, I was able to attend some educational sessions that addressed some really interesting areas – and you may even see a couple of future blog posts on some of these topics since they really got me thinking about “what’s next” in health IT! Today, I’ll focus on one session I attended that talked about the CIO and the CMIO.

How the CIO and CMIO work together

HIMSS16 cio cmio discussionThe session I attended was called, “CIO and CMIO: Partners in Optimization and Transformation.” It was a panel discussion with the CIOs and CMIOs of the Cleveland Clinic and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York:

  • Martin Harris, M.D., Chief Information Officer and Chairman, Cleveland Clinic
  • Louis J. Capponi, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Information Officer, Cleveland Clinic
  • Pater Stetson, MD, Chief Health Informatics Officer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
  • Patricia C. Skarulis, Chief Information Officer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

These CIO/CMIO pairs discussed the importance of technology in their organizations, the natural tensions that exist, as well as how they collaborate. As I listened, there were a few interesting points that stood out to me:

  1. Data is important, but more important is what you do with that data. Several of the panelists talked about the importance of integrating data into the workflow so that the data is provided at the point of decision. Harris said that the Cleveland Clinic uses dashboards that fit into the flow of care, rather than just report on what previously happened. Skarulis discussed the challenge of providing data that is actionable for clinicians, which will vary based on their individual roles.
  2. Technology is not a limiting factor, but people are. One point that I found really interesting was made by Harris. He talked about the fact that the big investment over the last decade was in EHRs, and that in the next decade, the most important investment will be in analytics and big data. However, the most limiting factor to using big data right now is not that the technology isn’t there, but that there is a need for data scientists who live in clinical areas. These people need to understand not just the data, but how it is used in the organization, and right now, it’s really hard to find clinical people with that data-focused mind.
  3. Analytics projects need to involve the entire organization. Several of the panelists echoed the point that analytics doesn’t just live in one area, such as IT, but that for it to be successful, it has to engage multiple areas, including physicians and other clinical groups. Skarulis talked about how Sloan Kettering has 150 “super users” in the organization, and analytics is really infused throughout the different departments. Her colleague Stetson discussed that in their organization, there doesn’t just need to be an alignment between him and Skarulis, but that there needs to be an alignment between all areas, such as engineers, operations, clinicians, etc.
  4. Always keep the strategic goal in mind. The panelists from Sloan Kettering both discussed that whatever project they undertake, they always return to their six strategic goals to make sure these projects align with them. This point really resonated with me, as our customer Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, in Valencia, California, has said that sticking to its strategic plan was critical to the success of its analytics projects.

Dimensional Insight at HIMSS16

Today is the last day the exhibition hall is open, so please stop by if you are at the show and would like to learn more about us, our products, and why we won Best in KLAS in business intelligence/analytics for the 5th year! We are in booth #5237.

Ready for a test drive of our healthcare analytics software?

Kathy Sucich
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