It happened about five years ago. I was at a checkup when my doctor started to run through the usual list of questions.
“Do you smoke?”
“No.”
“Do you drink?”
“Occasionally.”
“Do you exercise?”
“I’d love to, but I don’t have time,” I said, using my long and exhausting daily commute to New York as an excuse. You see, I felt I was justified, as I would wake up while it was still dark to start the 90-minute (on a good day) trek, and get home just in time to start dinner. And my weekends were spent running all of the errands I couldn’t do during the week.
My doctor, however, wasn’t hearing it.
“If you don’t have time, you better make time. Your health is too important.”
Although I was annoyed at the same that he didn’t sympathize with my plight, the more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. I needed to make time.
Fast forward to today — I have a full-time job and two precocious 2-year-olds, but I still carve out time for exercise, whether it’s a yoga class, a bike ride, or going to the park. In order to do that, however, I’ve found I had to make sacrifices, whether it means preparing meals on Sunday that can be reheated throughout the week, or making peace with the fact that I’ll never again see the bottom of the laundry basket. I’ve realized how beneficial exercise is, both for my present self and my future self, and for that reason, I’ve made it a priority.
I couldn’t help but think about the need to exercise — despite having no time — as I attended a session during last week’s CHIME conference called, ‘What’s Next for Healthcare IT and the CIO Role?’ The answer was innovation.
According to Judy Kirby, president and CEO of Kirby Partners, the CIO role in the future is going to look “nothing like it does today,” when innovation tends to be more of a wish list item than a priority in many organizations. Kirby and CHIME Board member Gretchen Tegethoff surveyed hospital leaders, and found that the vast majority of CIOs (80 percent) said they spend about 10 percent of their time on innovation. When asked if there was a specific position in the organization directly responsible for innovation, 89 percent said no.
Not surprisingly, the biggest obstacles are time and resources. Many CIOs are still mired in the day-to-day operations of attesting to Meaningful Use, increasing physician EHR adoption, integration, and countless other tasks. And when you feel like you’re on a constant treadmill, as many CIOs do, according to Kirby, innovation tends to take a back seat.
But, just like the person who can’t find time to exercise, organizations that don’t start to innovate now will pay deeply down the road, which is why it’s critical to carve out some time to seek out new ideas that will help reduce costs and improve care quality. And it doesn’t have to be a revolutionary concept. For example, Sentara Health has implemented a surgery companion program that helps guide patients along the entire process, from preparation to recovery. Without even leaving home, patients can track their progress, pose questions to physicians, take a presurgery class, and order medications.
Tegethoff cited a number of other examples, including an innovation center at UPMC that started with one person and slowly grew by partnering with vendors “building on early wins.” Sutter Health sponsors innovation weekends that including professionals from outside of health IT with ideas to share, and others have partnered with local colleges and implemented reverse mentoring programs where leaders meet with the youngest groups of employees to hear their thoughts.
“Innovation can come from anywhere,” said Tegethoff, who urged leaders to keep an open mind, and an eye toward the future. “Tomorrow’s CIO will be a catalyst for innovation and organizational transformation,” and that starts with reprioritizing, being willing to take risks, and stepping off the treadmill.
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