Yearly Archives: 2023

From reflection to action – preparing for 2024

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It’s that time of year when you can find 2023 recaps and 2024 predictions everywhere you watch, listen to, or read content. In health IT, we are no exception to this. My StarBridge Advisors colleague, David Muntz, has written our final blog post of the year that health IT leaders may find useful – “12 Steps to Prepare for 2024 – Big Challenges – Bigger Opportunities”.

David is one of the kindest people I know. It is a true pleasure to have been on this StarBridge venture with him for the past 7 years and to have known him far longer than that from when we were CIO colleagues. It is no surprise that he starts his post by talking about how important it is to model kindness, mercy, and compassion in all that we do. He notes the workforce challenges that organizations face and the importance of recognizing that healthcare is a people business. He goes on to address specific opportunities in DEI, digital health, AI, security, and much more.

He closes with a call to make the best of these opportunities in 2024 to improve health and care in our communities, our nation, and our world. After all that is our common goal! I encourage you to add his blog post to your end of year reading list.

All the best to you in 2024! May it be a healthy, peaceful year filled with kindness.

Beyond Hero Culture: Trusting Your Team to Shine

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Do you trust your team to cover when you are gone? I was inspired to comment on the importance of team, especially at this time of year, after listening to one of Bill Russell’s Friday podcasts on his ThisWeekHealth Newsroom show. If you are a regular listener, you know Bill comments on various topics on Fridays rather than focusing on a specific news story. This episode was called – “Step Aside”. It’s definitely one worth listening to.

He talks about lessons from a recent golf tournament where the format was more than what we golfers know as “best ball”. In this tournament, whoever had the best ball didn’t get to hit the next ball. Only the other three could hit it. This ensured everyone was participating fully on the foursome team.

He also talked about “hero culture” which I’m afraid many IT shops still depend on. We know that IT takes a team. And there is no “I” in team! When you or someone else takes a break or is unavailable, can your team cover or can at least one other person step in?

Let’s take that question a step further and apply it to the holiday season. Who is doing the holiday decorating, gift shopping and party planning in your household? Do you have a holiday “hero culture” at home? Or are you sharing the tasks?

I am getting ready for a multi-week vacation which has included working the pre-holiday to do list. Happy to say gift shopping is done! I’ll get as far as I can on all my work tasks and then do my handoff document for my StarBridge Advisors colleagues before I leave. With our team approach, I know everything will be covered just fine.

Whether at work or at home, there is no need to be a hero – think team and know that others will step up and maybe even grow with some new responsibilities. Note to parents – your home team includes your kids!

Wishing you a happy, healthy, stress-free and joyous holiday season!!

Navigating career crossroads

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I’m fresh off another stimulating in person CHIME Fall Forum. Many colleagues have already posted on LinkedIn their recaps of the forum speakers and key takeaways. One of my takeaways is the importance of networking on many different levels. A common conversation for me was colleagues who are looking for their next career move or currently in between positions. As I organized my post CHIME to do list on the plane home, I found that I had several people to follow up with from that perspective.

Ironically, when I got home and back into my daily podcast listening routine, the first one I heard was the ThisWeekHealth Newsroom show from November 10 – “The Signs it’s Time to Move on as a Leader”. On Fridays, Bill Russell usually does a stream of conscience commentary on a topic. This one tied very well into some of my CHIME conversations. I encourage you to check it out – only 10 minutes long.

If the end of year approaching has you rethinking your own career plans, check out my previous blogs on career advice. Earlier ones are listed in this blog – “Career advice revisited”. Newer ones are referenced in this blog – “Considering a career move?”. You will find some useful insights and advice for your journey.

And if you’re looking for a career coach, this blog might be helpful – “When to use a career coach”. I’m happy to explore with you what a short 3-month engagement would look like and how best to customize it to meet your unique needs.

Health IT leadership searches and Interim management industry trends

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I have written in the past about interim management in terms of when it makes sense for an organization as well as my own experience. Over the past several years, I’ve been fortunate to serve four different healthcare providers as an interim leader – three as CIO, one as CTO. I’ve learned firsthand how interim leaders provide an important bridge during leadership transitions and can make a significant impact on an organization in a short time.

I encourage you to check out my recent StarBridge Advisors blog post – Bridge Builders: Interim Management Solutions for Health Systems. In this new post I cover industry trends I am seeing in health IT leadership searches and interim management decisions including internal interims, relocation and onsite requirements, financial and budget constraints, and more.

Related Posts:

Talent shortage? Great resignation? Interim leaders can help

Interim Management – Providing a Bridge During Transition

When an interim CIO makes sense

Stepping into an interim leadership role

From listener to host: conversations with health IT leaders

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I’ve been a fan of podcasts for several years and a regular consumer of many different ones. I’ve shared some of my favorites in past blog posts. My health IT favorites are the multiple shows that ThisWeekHealth offers.

While still an avid listener and consumer, I am also a regular contributor. Since 2022 I’ve been one of the Townhall show hosts for ThisWeekHealth. That means I’m committed to doing one interview a month with a health IT leader along with the 7 other hosts. New Townhall shows are aired every Tuesday and Thursday on the Conference Channel. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing many current and former health IT leaders in the past year including:

We have had so much to cover in my two most recent interviews that my guests each agreed to schedule a part 2. Continue reading →

Developing tomorrow’s leaders through mentorship and coaching

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My commitment to developing next generation leaders is something I’ve often talked and written about. That commitment is as strong as ever.

This week I started a 10-month formal mentor program through the NEHIMSS chapter for two different mentees. We’ll talk every other week for 30 minutes focusing on their goals for the mentorship. A few weeks ago, I started my newest coaching engagement with a seasoned IT leader. We are in the early stages of this process, including gathering input from peers. We’ll talk twice a month for an hour with assignments in between. And I’m finalizing a presentation focused on lessons in leadership to deliver virtually in early November to the management team for a CIO colleague at a large academic health system. He brings in an industry expert 6 times a year to share their views and help educate his team.

I’m impressed with the formality and structure of the NEHIMSS mentor program – it appears to be a great model for other chapters and organizations and has evolved since the program was first started in 2014. Mentor and mentee applications are submitted, the mentorship committee then reviews them, makes the matches, and communicates to the pairs with supporting materials including a FAQ and a list of Do’s and Don’ts. Both parties sign a mentorship partnership agreement that includes the mentee’s goals and the roles of the mentor and mentee for each goal.

I have provided professional coaching services for many health IT leaders over the past 7 years. And I have served as both an informal and formal mentor to many during my decades long health IT career. While both have value, coaching and mentoring are different. Continue reading →

Beyond Cost Cutting: Health IT’s Role in Financial Health

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Health systems continue to face complex financial challenges. Industry articles highlight the few that have strong operating margins while also noting the many facing continued operating losses. Becker’s Hospital CFO Report published the article, “25 factors that could affect health system performance in 2024”, by Alan Condon on September 8th. It is a comprehensive list and worth reviewing.

What do these financial challenges mean for health IT leaders? I talk to many CIOs who are faced with cost cutting targets and dealing with very limited budgets yet long lists of priority projects. It’s no surprise. Health systems often fall into the trap of relying solely on cost-cutting measures, particularly in the realm of IT and staffing.  While trimming expenses is essential, it’s just the starting point.  Organizations must carefully consider all the impacts on operations and especially morale.

At StarBridge Advisors, we advocate for a comprehensive approach that goes beyond mere savings, encompassing revenue growth, digital transformation, and effective change management. This multi-faceted strategy promises swift improvement to your bottom line, operational efficiency, improved staff morale and progress toward the goals of the Quintuple Aim.  IT enablement is often essential to these activities. You can use these opportunities to leverage the IT investments that have already been made.

In a recent series of four blogs written by Principal, David Muntz, we offer practical and pragmatic guidance on each crucial aspect of this approach.  The benefits are tangible and span from immediate gains to long-term sustainability.  Our expertise empowers your organization to undergo both tactical and strategic transformations, ensuring uninterrupted top-tier patient care without compromising on IT performance or security.

We can help your organization hardwire the Quintuple Aim. Partner with us to revitalize your health system’s trajectory, creating growth opportunities despite financial constraints.  I hope you’ll take time to review the series and let me know if we can help you and your organization.

StarBridge Advisors blog series:

 

Fulfilling life goals and bucket list dreams

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I don’t have a bucket list. But I did set four big broad life goals for myself about 10 years ago. They are doing work I like at a more manageable pace, travelling more, spending time with family, and having fun friends that I spend time with. Happy to say, I’m meeting these goals fairly well at this point.

My sister does have a bucket list. About 6 months after she lost her husband to cancer last year, she was still trying to figure out how much travel she was willing to do with family and friends. She mentioned to my husband and I that seeing the national parks was on her bucket list. My husband jumped on the idea and proposed a multi-week road trip itinerary to three parks – Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Glacier. My sister was in! Together they worked out the details and booked all the places we’ll stay – whether it’s one night while continuing to our park destinations or several nights near each of those parks.

That trip is happening now. My sister has been my best friend for as long as I can remember – she is only 16 months older than me. My husband and I have been best friends since the mid-1970s. I know the three of us will have a great time with lots of laughs and deep conversations as we traverse the miles together and take in the incredible scenery. She can check it off her bucket list and I’ll be meeting two of my big goals. Nothing wrong with that!

There is no “so what” to this post other than to encourage you to stay focused on your bucket list or life goals. I wish you all a happy end to the summer and hope you too have carved out some time for R&R with family and friends these past few months.

Related Posts:

Vacation season reminders for a more balanced life

4 tips when you must work on vacation

Take time to reboot

Do you know your big rocks?

The 6 R’s of summer

Nana Camp Chronicles: year 2 insights and adventures

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We held our second Nana Camp last week. Given how well it went (despite my husband and I being exhausted by Friday night), I think we’ll make it an annual event in the summer. Last year I wrote about our first one in my post “Leadership lessons from nana camp”. The rules we agreed on (pictured in that post) hung on our refrigerator until a few months ago when my husband went on a purging spree. Good thing I have a record here so we could revisit and decide on new/revised rules for this year.

Two (ages 10 and 8) of the four grandkids had their first away/overnight camps this year having attended Girl Scout camp. So, they came to Nana Camp with a new perspective. My daughter suggested that the 10-year-old could be a Counselor in Training (CIT) when we were last together as a family on Father’s Day. I wasn’t quite ready for that but I’m a fan of delegation! Not sure what a CIT would mean for us but as a start that day, she wrote down the list of ideas for this year and what they liked from last year. That list of course was put on the refrigerator door. We used it at our camp “orientation” session Monday morning to plan and vote on activities for the week.

The other two (ages 8 and 7) have been to day camps that are mornings only and gotten used to making their own lunches at home while their parents work in their home offices. Love hearing that! Means they all are capable of it and that I could expect them to do more for themselves at breakfast and lunch.

Together on Monday we agreed on activities for the week and what the rules would be. We also talked about their lessons from last year – mainly not to have stupid fights about everything – who sits by who at dinner, who sits by who in the car, who gets the first shower, who walks which dog – you get it! And of course, they are one year older and that much more mature!

Here is this year’s complete list of rules – a slight variation on last year with few additions: Continue reading →

Healthcare as a right in more progressive countries   

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I wasn’t going to write anything this week since my husband and I just returned from an 18-day trip with Road Scholar – The 4 Nordic Capitals. We spent 3-4 days in each – Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki. It was everything I had hoped it would be! But no one hopes for jet lag and feeling like a zombie the first day or two back.

So, on day 2 of re-entry, I was up very early after too short a night’s sleep as my body adjusts to the 7-hour time difference. Why not start writing? I learned so much on the trip and have lots to share in due time. No question that we can learn a lot from these progressive Nordic countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

I visited three of these capital cities when we were on a cruise in the Baltic Sea in 2018. But having only 6-8 hours in a port is nothing like immersing yourself for a few days and really learning about the country – their history, political structure, culture, social services, technology, and more.

A day with a Road Scholar tour like this includes a 1-2 hour lecture from the local guide or an outside expert and then guided tours to a variety of sites with usually some free time late afternoon to explore on your own.

Let’s start with how progressive they are. I could start from various angles – a strong focus on sustainability, extensive public transportation infrastructure, free education through the university level, lengthy required maternity/paternity leaves, and of course their healthcare system.

From my lecture notes, here are a few data points I captured on healthcare:

In Finland, healthcare is not completely free but pretty close. Prescriptions are subsidized and you pay a maximum of 700 euro in a year ($769.37 using today’s conversion rate). Think about the people you know in the U.S. who are paying thousands a month for just one critical prescription. Hospitalization is 49 euro a day regardless of what it is for ($53.86 using today’s conversion rate). Think about people in the U.S. who have to declare medical bankruptcy due to hospital bills or deplete their life savings for nursing home care. (A 2015 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that medical bills caused 1 million U.S. adults to declare bankruptcy every year and that 26% of Americans aged 18 to 64 struggle to pay medical bills. Medical bankruptcy is almost unheard of outside the U.S.)

In Sweden medical care is free until you are 19 years old and dental care is free until you are 24. For medical care you pay $25 per visit or procedure. After a maximum of $720 per year you don’t pay. (Local guide spoke in dollars vs euros for us).

Yes, people in these countries have high tax rates but their dollars go to services for the entire population. Healthcare is just one example – they truly believe healthcare is a right with every citizen having equal access to services.

More to come on lessons from the Nordic countries in future weeks….