Highlights from the College’s 2002 Spring CIO Forum
"Emerging Healthcare Forces and the CIO Leadership Imperative"

The College’s first major networking and educational event of the year, the 2002 Spring CIO Forum, was a resounding success! More than 300 attendees (including 230 CIOs) gathered at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. Not only was it the kickoff to a new year of exciting College activities and opportunities, it was also the beginning of the College’s year long 10th anniversary celebration! The atmosphere struck a perfect balance between celebratory and serious as attendees listened to experts share their perspectives on the emerging forces in healthcare and the CIO leadership imperative. Thanks to all attendees for making this one of our most successful Forums ever! For those of you unable to attend, a summary of highlights follows:

The day began with keynote speaker Bruce Bradley, Bullfrog of the Leapfrog Group Steering Committee and Director of Managed Care, Health Care Initiatives for the General Motors Corporation. He explained the Leapfrog Group’s view on the “gridlock” in healthcare that is serving to increase healthcare prices while simultaneously decreasing patient safety. According to Bradley, one way to reverse this disturbing trend is for healthcare purchasers to take matters into their own hands. His presentation outlined the purchasing principles and strategies that employers can use to effect measurable changes (or “Leaps”) in patient safety. Bradley indicated that the ideal scenario would be achieved when health plans and delivery systems, held accountable by purchasers, fully meet the needs of the consumer in a safe and efficient manner. With an initial focus on prescription errors, ICU staffing, and evidence-based hospital referral, the somewhat controversial Leapfrog Group is quickly adding high-profile members and gaining momentum by pushing the healthcare envelope.

Quint Studer’s presentation, “Exceed Expectations! Strategies for Achieving Service and Operational Excellence in Healthcare”, was brimming with both information and inspiration. Using examples from his own experiences as President of the Baptist Leadership Institute at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, FL, Studer shared the strategy and process for organizational change that catapulted Baptist from one of the lowest rated hospitals in terms of market share, customer satisfaction, and staff retention, to one of the highest rated in just two years! The basis for this change, he said, was building a foundation with what he calls the “5 Pillars of Success”: service, quality, cost, people, and growth. Supporting these five pillars are numerous success strategies designed to empower employees and create customer loyalty, including scripting standards of behavior, educating future leaders, fully disclosing company information to employees, giving employees appropriate tools to do their jobs, and rewarding and recognizing outstanding behavior. Studer also named some common barriers to achieving operational excellence, including denial, rationalization, blame, unwillingness, and employees who are not skilled. Through leadership, inspiration, and dedication, Studer directed a monumental turnaround at Baptist Hospital with rapid and impressive results, and he encouraged healthcare CIOs to lead the charge for operational excellence within their own organizations.

In the post-lunch session, “Do No Harm: An Organizational Approach to Patient Safety,” Nancy Wilson discussed one of the hottest topics in today’s healthcare world. Drawing on her varied experiences as an MD and as Vice President of Clinical Affairs at VHA, Inc., Dr. Wilson discussed what she calls the “patient safety paradox”. This paradox stems from the fact that we are able to perform more and more medical “miracles” every year, yet these incredible advances lead to increased complexity, escalating change, information overload, increased expectations for perfect outcomes, and new patient vulnerabilities. These negative forces lead to medical errors and other undesirable outcomes that put our patient population at increasing risk. With physicians’ and patients’ general discontent regarding the state of managed care today increasing steadily, we’re seeing a healthcare system that must change in order to remain effective, safe, and viable. Dr. Wilson discussed both individual and organizational barriers that must be overcome in order to effect needed changes, and stressed that the changes can only happen through the cooperation of leaders, customers, and physicians. According to Dr. Wilson, IT will play a pivotal role in transforming healthcare by simplifying tasks and providing automatic correction of errors before they reach the patient.

In the final session of the day, William Dwyer shared his views on “Genomics: Mapping the Future of Medicine.” Dwyer, a healthcare futurist and a Divisional Vice President for Abbott’s HealthSystems Division, outlined four major storms that will be hitting healthcare in the upcoming years: 1) The completion of the human genome project, 2) Cloning, 3) Revolution and renaissance in drug discovery and vaccines tailored to patients’ individual DNA, and 4) Integration of computer science into the human body (bionics). Dwyer warned that these forces will be disruptive technologies that will change the face of healthcare as we know it – but healthcare CIOs will have opportunities to make the transition easier. From cloning organs to individualized cancer therapies, healthcare IT will be a major force in navigating this new, uncharted territory. Some of the areas in which IT will take an active leadership role include redesigning today’s work patterns (making work paperless), implementing voice activation (in places such as operating rooms), and the implementation of biotechnological devices. Dwyer stressed that these changes are inevitable. In order to survive them, healthcare must move past incorrect assumptions and progress - rather than protect - core business strategy.

The 2002 Spring CIO Forum was concluded with a prize raffle drawing. Attendees holding winning numbers had their choice of a portable DVD player, a digital camera, or a digital camcorder. Congratulations to the lucky winners: Pat Milostan, Lynn Brookshire, Buddy Hickman, Claudia Allen, Dennis L’Heureux, Harun Rashid, Jim Albin, Jaja Martinez, Chuck Emery, Peter Strombom, and Eric Yablonka. Also, congratulations to Pat McGuire, who won a special drawing for a Compaq iPaq 3850 pocket PC.

Thanks to all who attended for making this Forum such an outstanding event!

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