Questions are at the core of how we listen, think, and interact between clinicians, our organizations and our patients. Most things are facilitated by questions and they push us to new territories and help us expand our role as CIO/CMIO leaders. Questions cannot complete what we have on our plates, install our EHRs or help our organization/ physicians achieve Meaningful Use. However, they can help us narrow the scope to find the most efficient value our HIT investments bring.
Last year I attended a strategic planning exercise that was to help the organization find commitments, develop priorities and arrive at a value proposition for the HIT goals that were important to care and quality. The facilitator was the author of a book entitled “Change Your Questions, Change Your Life”. My initial reaction was that the two days would distract me from the important HIT issues that my role demanded and might result in just an exercise. However, the author, who titled herself a Chief Question Officer, walked us through one of the most important exercises that would have a lasting effect upon our organization and helped us arrive at consensus of the important goals and priorities that could derive the greatest value to the organization. A product of the exercise was a series of ten questions!
Strategic discovery doesn’t have to be difficult, but the process sometimes makes HIT leaders uncomfortable. Strategy questions, if there is consensus, leads to uncovering clinical and administrative challenges, stimulates innovation and accelerates processes previously not envisioned.
So, what are the ten questions that CIOs/CMIOs should be able to answer when their organizations and their clinicians turn to them and say, “How do I achieve Meaningful Use?”.
Possibly, this Blog might become the catalyst to help you anticipate the questions and identify potential answers to those questions, helping your clinicians and your health system achieve meaningful use.
Now we have some important work to do, so let’s build on the questions and come to consensus on which questions, when answered, will provide the greatest value to our organizations and physicians. Future publication may build on the appropriate answers.
Who will throw out the first question ?
Donna Manley says
Mark,
Like many other industries, healthcare and its attempt to institutionalize the concept of meaningful use, is faced with the dilemma of not just defining and putting parameters around a concept, but determining how to reach across the broad band of physicians – from individual to group practices. So if I had to identify one question that a CIO/CMIO might be challenged with it would be one that will permeate the broad brush of physicians – How is implementing meaningful use going to enhance the care that I am currently providing my patients?