Q&A with CIO Tom Barnett, Part 1: “It’s Not Always About Technology.”

There’s nothing “easy” about being a healthcare IT leader. But what many have begun to realize is that implementing the actual software that’s meant to change the game was the “easier” part. What has proven more difficult, of course, is the operationalization phase. Now, it’s about taking the next step: “How do you innovation? What slice of your time or your team’s bandwidth can you put toward that?” Like many CIOs, Tom Barnett is dealing with these precise questions. And although there are no simple answers, there are ways to begin to focus more on transformation itself, and less on the building blocks. Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Barnett about how his team at University of Rochester Medical Center is approaching their core objectives, how they’re organizing teams while maintaining collaboration, and the challenge of prioritization. He also talks about what he learned from previous roles, and what it takes to get IT to the table – really. Chapter 1 * URMC’s 3-fold mission: clinical, research & medical school * Multi-year plan to convert affiliate hospitals to Epic * “We have a variety of strategies for being able to connect & deliver results.” * Big-bang, go-live of Epic RCM * The “long and sometimes complicated” optimization phase * McDonald’s philosophy – “To me, that’s the essence of optimization.” * Working toward a consolidated EDW * Creating an ITSM – “We can make sure we’re working on the right things.” LISTEN NOW USING THE PLAYER BELOW OR CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR iTUNES PODCAST FEED Bold Statements It was ensuring we paid attention to the provider experience. That comes with any EMR, but particularly with Epic, where once you get it deployed, there’s a long and sometimes complicated optimization phase. What was really important was having people who understood how an ambulatory office works, how a physician works, and why something needs to be done. To me, that’s the essence of optimization, because it’s not always technology; it’s workflow as well. There are lean principles and streamlining tools that can be brought to bear so that the technology supports and optimizes workflow as opposed to the technology trying to drive workflow. We want to make sure we get everybody’s point of view so we can build an architecture and a plan that will get the medical center where it needs to be. There were core fundamental and foundational processes and operational considerations that we needed within IT, such as establishing and growing a project management office, and being able to keep track of our in-flight projects. Gamble:  Hi Tom, let’s start with some information about University of Rochester Medical Center. Can you provide a high-level overview? Barnett:  The University of Rochester Medical Center is located in Rochester, which is in the western New York region. We’re about equidistant between Buffalo to the west and Syracuse to the east. They’re both about an hour away from us. The medical center itself is part of the University of Rochester. What’s interesting is, the way it’s structured, there’s really a three-fold mission on behalf of the medical center. The first mission, clinical operations, is anchored by our academic flagship, Strong Memorial Hospital, which is an 850-bed teaching hospital. We also have five community hospitals: Highland, Thompson, Jones Memorial, Noyes, and St. James, which cover the southern region. Rochester is in the north part of the state — not that far from Lake Ontario, actually. Our Southern Tier includes some of the smaller and critical access hospitals, and that extends all the way to the Pennsylvania border. We also have a medical group, as well as employed physicians. There are about 950 physicians in the University of Rochester M...