At HCI, we rely on our readers to help make our stories deeply useful and effective. Please take a close look at the lineup below. If you are a C-suite technology leader, consultant or analyst interested in participating, please send me an e-mail. Inquiries regarding these stories are welcome until July 16.
And, as always, if you’ve got other story suggestions for us, let me know.
Thanks,
Anthony Guerra, Editor-in-Chief
Cover Story
Biomedical device/IT integration: a shifting landscape
CIOs are facing a rapidly shifting landscape when it comes to the topic of biomedical devices — the full range of vital signs and diagnostic devices, infusion pumps, dialysis devices, anesthesia machines, ventilators, oximeters, et al, that once stood alone, but that are virtually all now computerized and microchipped. Integrating these devices into an organization's network and connecting them to the EMR (and sometimes the pharmacy and eMAR systems as well) for improved patient care quality and safety, and improved clinician workflow, is extremely important. But there is a host of issues for CIOs to handle — strategic, operational, human resources, governance, and technological. Indeed, biomedical engineering is increasingly coming under the aegis of IT. What are the biggest issues to master in this area, and how are industry-leading hospitals and health systems succeeding in this complex area? And how can CIOs and their teams collaborate most effectively with the clinicians and biomedical engineers in their organizations to achieve success with their integration strategies?
Clinical
More than a few hospitals have recently broken ground on a brand new building. Constructing facilities from the ground up can be an IT opportunity for CIOs to live out their cutting edge wish list — or it can be an integration nightmare. How new can you go when you already have legacy systems in the rest of your hospital? Can new IT in these new facilities stand alone, or is this the time to make changes across the board? What are the biggest challenges when building from the ground up? And what are the toys that everyone wants? We’ll talk to CIOs who can tell us what it’s like.
Financial
CIOs have already earned their spot in the C-suite. But now that the IT department has evolved, mastering an important dynamic is critical: the CIO/CFO relationship. Though CIOs used to report to the CFO, that’s often not the case today. So now that the reporting structure has changed, what has that meant for the relationship? Both CIOs and CFOs can wield tremendous power in an organization, either working together for the common good or squabbling over “who’s in charge” to the detriment of all. Are CIOs and CFOs adversaries or kindred spirits? We’ll talk to some “power couples” from hospitals across the country.
Administrative
Efficient supply chain management is critical to a hospital’s success, as it impacts several key components of business, including finance, purchasing, materials management and information technology applications, among others. The needs of the supply chain are complex, and meeting those needs can be extremely challenging for the CIO. A number of hospitals are implementing asset recovery programs, materials replenishment processing systems and other innovative initiatives in order to improve supply chain management across the network. This article will examine how these and other initiatives can be leveraged to increase supply chain efficiency and improve patient safety.
Wireless
The problems associated with computers on carts have been well-documented; many clinicians find them to be too difficult to maneuver and they often collect dust while information is gathered on paper and double-documented. Mobile clinical devices offer a more practical solution, enabling clinicians to access hospital information systems and scan patient wristbands and medications using a single, portable device. In this article, we’ll examine how these solutions can be leveraged for different functionalities such as RFID and medication administration, how they integrate with the hospital’s information systems, and how CIOs can leverage these technologies as part of a system-wide strategy.
Imaging
It’s been well documented in the pages of HCI that imaging has moved throughout the hospital, out of radiology into cardiology and oncology, for example. In this story, we help CIOs navigate what’s can be called “PACS Politics” — the nuances and people skills required to make sure everyone with a stake in the imaging game feels like they are being heard.
Policy
ONCHIT recently released its long-term plan. In our September issue Policy story, we highlight the plan’s highlights, then shift to analysis, giving CIOs advice and guidance about what it means to them. How should they deal with some of the implications? What should they be doing to stay in line with expectations the plan raises? Do people see ONCHIT gaining power or becoming irrelevant? Does the plan bode well for the organization’s future?
