April 7, 2020: It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means: It’s news day. Today, Drex DeFord joins us to walk through some of the latest stories making headlines. Bill kicks off this episode by reflecting on some of the field reports he has done over the past week. He has spoken to CIOs around the country and has seen some incredible, varied responses to the pandemic. As demand for the show continues to grow, Drex has come on-board to interview CISOs, so that we can get a clearer idea of the progress being made as well as the challenges that lie ahead. Drex shares some of the difficulties in the security space, from email phishing to how the fast-paced development could leave gaps in many organizations. We then talk about furloughs and discuss how several hospitals around the country are dealing with the issue. While it is disconcerting to see hospitals letting so many people go, they are businesses and have to make tough decisions. There is a clear tension between smooth business operations and optimal public benefit, which will continue to unfold as the crisis progresses. Finally, Drex and Bill talk about field hospitals. As a veteran, Drex has extensive knowledge of the subject and provides some excellent insights from how they are set up for sharing information and more. Bill and Drex also touch on the positive long-term changes they hope the crisis will bring. We need to use this as an opportunity to rethink so much of what we’re doing and hopefully change for the better. Be sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Find out how Drex has been keeping busy and what he’s doing to facilitate dialogue.
• A recap of who Bill has interviewed over the past week and his main takeaways.
• Some of the main security issues and concerns that Drex discovered during interviews.
• The long-term dangers of laying healthcare workers off or letting them go on furlough.
• Positives that have come from coronavirus should be built on for public health benefit.
• Why Bill believes that post-pandemic there will be a great deal of IT innovation.
• Learn what it takes to get a field hospital to stand up and details of the one in Seattle.
• Additional accommodations COVID field hospitals have made that aren’t used in combat.
• What Drex thinks will happen with getting data to the field hospital.
• How CIOs can maintain the digital innovations in healthcare post-pandemic.
• Some changes Bill and Drex believe are likely to last once the pandemic has tapered off.