Healthcare CIOs have spent the last several years coming up with new solutions at warp speed while also dealing with staffing shortages, cybersecurity, new work environments, and ongoing financial struggles. There’s no doubt that teams are experiencing burnout from the demands of employees, leadership, stakeholders, and the speed of digital transformation efforts. COVID-19 is far from over, so CIOs are still struggling to maintain efficiency and productivity while attempting to build resilience in preparation for future disruptions.
Gartner guides technology decisions with peer-driven insights. In a recent real-time poll, Gartner revealed the following data points from 100 CIOs:
- 61% of CIOs are prioritizing a hybrid/flexible work infrastructure.
- 52% of CIOs are prioritizing cybersecurity.
- 46% of CIOs say digital transformation is a priority.
- 57% of CIOs are implementing AI/ML tools.
- 51% of CIOs are implementing BI tools.
What are the top-of-mind issues affecting most healthcare CIOs?
How to Recruit and Retain the Right Talent
The Great Resignation changed the labor market significantly, and finding the right candidates then convincing them to join your organization grows more challenging every day. The primary purpose of a CIO’s leadership team is to serve the overall IT functions of the organization. To find the right talent, CIOs have had to make the leap from technology leaders to business continuity drivers. The actions they take largely determine whether healthcare organizations can meet their future aspirations. The biggest challenges today include communication issues (especially with remote work), and shortfalls with tech tools. By acting strategically, CIOs can prioritize technology skill-sets and focus on hiring the best talent to support ongoing initiatives. By automating or partnering with experienced vendors, they are able to quickly ramp up in areas that are not covered in-house, or make better financial sense to white label. CIOs must focus on building trust in technology, company culture (people), and the future of work during this uncertain time.
How to Flex in Times of Flux
Successful healthcare organizations require digital dexterity. We witnessed this at the peak of the pandemic, as hospitals and provider offices were scurrying to offer telehealth options, mental health triage, and safety protocols to reduce infection rates. While in this fight or flight mode, most rushed the (long overdue) onboarding of technologies that could increase productivity while reducing burnout. These automated technologies provided the flexibility to work from home, support employee safety, and continue business as usual. Northwestern Medicine stated, “We had three days to shift people, desks, computers, and ancillary equipment to homes, kitchen tables, and remote work environments, and in many of these situations, people had never worked from home before. During this time of complete upheaval, we did not lose one day of claims submissions, due to automation.” CIOs learned how to flex in times of flux, by integrating automation projects to focus on the needs of a hybrid workforce, and better manage big data across multiple, disparate environments.
How to Balance Operational Excellence with Innovation
The need for operational excellence to work hand-in-hand with innovation has never been higher. The three operational goals to consider are: operations, finance, and people. Digital transformation efforts must include improvements that will result in greater efficiency, improved productivity, and a fast return on investments. Going through a digital transformation allows organizations to include sustainability initiatives. The two go hand-in-hand because once you make data easier to access, decision-makers, providers, patients, and stakeholders can improve outcomes across the board. CIOs realize that automation has the potential to revolutionize healthcare while addressing challenges in the supply chain, revenue cycle, materials management, interoperability barriers, and cybersecurity.
Why Boston Software Systems?
At Boston Software Systems, we have been successfully aligning technology processes with people for over 30 years. We built and retained a loyal customer base by treating our customers well, and giving them a reason to do business with us again (and again). Our customer experience scores are high because we keep our promises, and remain true to the level of service our clients have come to expect from us. We’ve worked with all EHR vendors and applications, and provide automation services onsite or in the AWS cloud.