With the healthcare landscape shifting dramatically, and more demands being placed on IT departments, CIOs are getting a new look – but not in terms of scope. “The job itself may not have changed,” said Chero Goswami, Chief Information & Digital Officer at University of Wisconsin Health System, “but the level of influence of the CIO has changed.”
Donna Roach, CIO at University of Utah Health, shared his sentiments. “The role has definitely evolved” and “become much more strategic and insightful,” she noted, “It’s not about being the order-taker or caretaker of the data center and applications – it’s much more than that.”
Donna Roach, CIO, University of Utah Health
Today, being a CIO also means prioritizing wellness through communication, reclaiming architecture, and prioritizing environmental sustainability. During a recent Keynote hosted by Bill Russell, Founder of This Week Health, Roach and Goswami shared their perspectives on the continued growth of IT leadership positions, while also emphasizing the importance of going back to basics.
For Goswami, that growth is reflected in the seven departments that fall under his purview, in addition to IS and digital. And while it certainly comes with a heavier workload, it has also provided him with “tremendous experience,” and helped him stay attuned to the changing needs of healthcare organizations. “The way I’ve always looked at technology is through three Ws: how does it influence the workforce, how does it help workflow, and how does it improve well-being,” he noted. “If you can’t tie it back to one of those three, why are we doing what we’re doing?”
Technology, Goswami believes, should act as “the glue between the health system and patients,” but that’s only possible if leaders are focused on enabling value rather than taking orders.
This is where communication can make all the difference, according to Roach, who believes that creating “strong dialogue relationships” among departments can promote collaboration – and hopefully eliminate order-giving – while elevating the role of the CIO. “We’re sometimes the only one at the table who can really push the exploitation of technology and where we can go with it,” she noted.
The “First role”
Along with that influence, however, comes the responsibility of driving change at an appropriate pace and ensuring teams aren’t overburdened, according to both speakers.
“As much as we talk about technology, the first role of a leader is to take care of people,” said Goswami, who spends more than 60 percent of his time meeting with staff. “Behavioral health of our employees is a serious concern,” particularly as the line between work and home life has become increasingly blurred.
As leaders, “We owe it to our team members to take time to understand what they’re looking for,” he said, noting that it may just be acknowledgement of their hard work. “Empathy is what they need. We have to show our vulnerability and not just spend time talking about project status, budgets, and contracts.”
Hearing the message
But while Goswami believes remote work has had a detrimental effect on well-being, Roach has had a different experience. “My staff is constantly saying, ‘don’t take away hybrid,’ and I feel that’s actually my saving grace” to be able to accommodate those preferences. “What’s important is that you’re listening to your staff, you’re hearing the message from them, and you’re addressing their needs.”
At the same time, however, Roach believes it’s imperative that leaders respect boundaries and refrain from sending emails or messages during the evening. “I don’t want them to be on from 6 in the morning until 8 at night,” she said. “I need them to disconnect, and part of that is on me.” And so, unless there’s a true emergency, she has made it a policy to wait until the following business day to contact team members. Otherwise, “it’s not fair to the staff. They need to separate from work.”
Running IT Like a Business
Another critical aspect of the CIO is monitoring emerging technologies, deciding which tools to pilot, and helping to make informed decisions around adoption. In the case of ambient listening, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive at Utah Health. In fact, “I can’t take it away from physicians right now,” said Roach. “They absolutely love it.”
Of course, these types of tools come with a heavy price tag, which is why she’s asking some of the more influential physicians to help make the case to the board. “There’s a cost model we have to address, but they see value in it. They say it’s a game changer.”
Chero Goswami, Chief Information & Digital Officer, University of Wisconsin Health System
The same is happening at UW Health, where leaders are contemplating fast-tracking ambient listening. “There’s no going back,” said Goswami.
However, as more solutions are added into the mix – and attached to the network – more pressure is placed on the infrastructure. This, according to Roach, is where architecture comes into play. “A lot of people bring in bright, shiny objects and say, ‘let’s use this,’ but if it’s not architected into the framework we’ve created, it’s not going to work, and we’ll spend too much time and effort trying to make it work.”
It’s critical, she added, to put solutions through the microscope and make sure the components fit within the existing foundation. It’s a job that originally belonged to IT, but was “given away” somewhere down the line, according to Roach. Now, “it’s an opportunity to bring it back in, whether you call it architecting or platforming the direction – those pieces are owned by the IT shop,” she noted. “It’s running IT like a business so that we can plug things in and make sure they work.”
Sustainability & the CIO
What’s just as critical as having the right framework, according to Roach and Goswami, is ensuring sustainability – not just for individual organizations, but the industry as a whole. Fortunately, tech companies like Apple are developing devices that are far more efficient from a power standpoint, but there’s still a long way to go toward reducing the carbon footprint.
“Going back to the role of the CIO, part of it is being sustainable,” said Roach. “We should not be a junk warehouse of old devices and things that just are drains on our power grids.” Instead, “we need to incorporate sustainability into the digital strategy and make sure we’re bringing that to the forefront. It shouldn’t be creating an environment that now my kids or my grandkids have to clean up after us.”
Similarly, Goswami has added sustainability as a priority for the IS and informatics leadership teams, which now track environmental, social, and governance data. “With all of the conversations around AI, where’s the conversation about the impact of GPUs on the environment?” he asked. “We’re creating disruption, but not necessarily in a positive way.” Sustainment, he believes, is “the litmus test we have to hold ourselves to, because we can’t leave the world in a worse place than the one we inherited.”
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