Highlights from the College's 2000 Fall CIO Forum
“E-Business Strategies for Healthcare CIOs”

Nearly 300 attendees gathered at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA October 17 – 20 to participate in the 2000 Fall CIO Forum. The Forum provided an ideal setting for attendees to network with colleagues and participate in discussions related to this year's topic, "E-Business Strategies for Healthcare CIOs". Thanks to all who attended for making this a very successful and enjoyable Forum! For those of you unable to attend this year's Fall CIO Forum, here's a summary of highlights:

Pre-forum activities began on Tuesday morning with seven pre-forum workshops. Not surprisingly, two of the most popular sessions focused on the topics of HIPAA and e-health. An evening reception closed out the day, and those arriving early enough were treated to a glimpse of the sun setting over a beautiful ocean vista. You couldn't ask for a better start to the forum!

During his Wednesday morning keynote address, Jeff Goldsmith, Ph.D., discussed trends in healthcare and information technology and the important role ahead for I.T. executives. Dr. Goldsmith identified reasons why he believes information technology and the Internet will continue to have a huge impact on healthcare. Though currently behind other industries in the adoption of advanced information technologies, such as the Internet, Goldsmith expressed his belief that healthcare WILL eventually integrate new technologies into core business structures.

Wednesday's panel session, “Strategies in Action: Real World Applications of E-Health & E-Business”, showcased College members giving candid answers to questions about Internet driven initiatives within their own organizations. The nuances of web strategy implementation in three unique environments (hospital/clinic, IDN, health plan) quickly became apparent. Answers particularly varied with respect to strategy owner (e.g. marketing, IT, shared?), focus (content branding, B2C, B2B, B2E), and customer (physicians, consumers).

Attendees spent the afternoon hours on Wednesday enjoying deep sea fishing, horseback riding along the beach, playing golf on Torrey Pines, and enjoying conversation with their colleagues. The evening reception left everyone feeling refreshed and ready for a full day on Thursday.

Thursday morning began with George Lundberg, MD sharing insights on how to influence physician behavior and win support for new information technologies. According to Dr. Lundberg, a physician's decision to use new technology is based on several factors, but healthcare CIOs are more likely to increase the probability of winning support for new technology by “gaining the support of leading physicians, and implementing administratively”. Most important for CIOs, he said, “if you know you're right and you've got the data to prove it – just do it!”

Nancy Place's presentation, “The Soft Side of Information Security…More Than I.T. at Risk!”, featured sound takeaways and good advice for improving the non-I.T. aspects of information security. Using examples from ten information security “best practices”, Place emphasized the development of sound security policies and controls that establish required levels of personal behavior and accountability while stressing the importance of continually monitoring new business risks and updating these policies and controls accordingly.

CHIME Foundation-sponsored focus groups were conducted Thursday afternoon, providing opportunities for College members and their vendor/consultant partners to share thoughts with each on current healthcare and technology issues. The Thursday evening reception, featuring a visit to the Scripps Aquarium, was definitely a highlight! There was an abundance of food, fun, and fishes…though some at the reception seemed to be pondering whether or not to dip into the aquarium's private reserves when the jumbo shrimp ran out.

Medibuy.com CEO, Dennis Murphy, began the final day of sessions on Friday morning with a discussion of the value of supply chain simplification. According to Murphy, online marketplaces can enable supply chain simplification, but the CIO must clearly define e-commerce goals and objectives to make it work. Murphy also emphasized the importance of integrating e-commerce solutions into existing systems, demonstrating ROI, and using e-commerce to supplement, not strain, current I.T. resources.

The last session on Friday featured Andy Greenawalt sharing insights on how the e-business transformation is working at Dell and suggesting ways to implement successful strategies into healthcare. Greenawalt detailed his “five keys for CIO success” in leading e-transformation, but the most important key to remember when moving and shaking your way through e-business transformation, he says, is “move or be shaken!”

The 2000 Fall CIO Forum was concluded with a prize raffle drawing featuring a number of great giveaways, including a high-tech, portable DVD player. Congratulations to the winners, and thanks again to everyone for making this Forum such a grand event!

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