On Best Practices

When innovation means plan B

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It was already Thursday morning and I had no blog topic in mind for this week. By Thursday night I had several. So, what happened in between?canstockphoto6581040 plan b

I attended the New England HIMSS Chapter’s Annual Spring Conference – something I’d planned to do for a while. On my way there, I figured something that day would light a fire and I’d have a topic to talk about. Instead, there was a different kind of fire.

One of the chapter board members called me in the car and said she had heard I was on my way to the conference. I thought to myself, I’m stuck in traffic and may get there after the opening keynote starts, but did I have to admit that to her? No, that was just my guilt about leaving the house 15 minutes later than I should have. She was calling for a “small favor, no actually a big favor” as she said.

Turns out one of the afternoon speakers had gotten stuck in New York with flight cancellations and couldn’t make it. So, a panel with 3 chapter members was being hastily put together – would I be willing to participate? Of course I would. I said yes without knowing what we’d talk about or who else was being asked to be on the panel.

Two other panelists were being enlisted in that same rush of phone calls and conversations. Arthur Harvey, chapter board member and CIO at Boston Medical Center, had already arrived at the venue. He was of course very sympathetic to the dilemma and ready to help. Arthur and I were on the CIO panel together at the 2017 spring conference. He was already starting to percolate on a relevant topic we could address. Dirk Stanley, CMIO at UConn Health, was on his way to the conference from Connecticut and got a call like mine. I only knew Dirk from social media, so I was looking forward to meeting him in person.

When I arrived at the conference and was greeted warmly by board members who were pulling this backup plan together, I asked which speaker had to cancel and what was their topic. Answer: Blockchain. I laughed and said, well we’re not doing a panel on blockchain. Continue reading →

Sabbaticals for CIOs – why not?

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I talk to several CIOs each week. I listen to them and try to figure out how we might help them through our advisory services at StarBridge Advisors. Depending on where the CIO is in his or her career, they canstockphoto51125301 sabbaticalsometimes ask, “How and when can I join you at StarBridge?”. The idea of getting off the permanent CIO track and having more flexibility can be appealing.

The idea of a “substitute CIO” came up from one of the CIOs I talked to recently. He was thinking about how to get his organization prepared for someone else to lead for a period with the knowledge that he would be back after several months. I told him it sounded like a sabbatical to me – not a bad idea.

Sabbatical means a rest from work or a break. When we think about sabbaticals, we typically think of professors and ministers. It’s a time for them to go away, reflect, study, research, write, and get rejuvenated.

Just think what a CIO could do with an opportunity like that!

When I was working as a CIO fulltime and would visit other countries on vacation, I thought how awesome it would be to spend several months studying another country’s healthcare system. The lessons and new ideas I could bring back to my organization. But that’s just one idea. What about taking time to learn about leading edge healthcare organizations in the U.S. Or studying a particular problem that every healthcare organization is trying to solve. Or working with start-ups on a new and innovative product.

Wouldn’t our industry benefit from letting our senior practitioners step back from the day-to-day and go deeper on work we need to do?

You earn vacation time each year, so why not earn sabbatical time? Continue reading →

Hotels, healthcare and the DMV

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What do these experiences have in common? Customer service – good or bad. I’ve experienced all three in the past two weeks – good and bad.canstockphoto20052265 (002) customer service

It started with the Rhode Island DMV. Rhode Island is a small state of 1,200 square miles and a population of just over 1 million. There is one central DMV. Yes, there are several satellite offices but something as simple as renewing your driver’s license can’t happen at a satellite. And in certain circumstances, online renewal is not an option. That was the case for my husband and I who got our first Rhode Island drivers licenses a year ago. We had to renew in person before our respective birthdays. Not sure why, it’s like we were on probation as Rhode Island residents for a year. Who knows. But rules are rules.

So, we headed over to the central DMV location first thing on a Monday morning to do a simple transaction. We needed to be out in a short time for later commitments later that morning. Silly us.

We arrived just 20 minutes after they opened and found about 150 people ahead of us in the generic “check-in” line. What?? Busier than usual because it was Patriots Day in neighboring Massachusetts, so more Rhode Island people took the day off? Was it the beginning of spring break, so kids were out of school? Or just a typical Monday?

It took us 70 minutes just to get through that check-in line. Then we waited about 45 minutes for our number to be called. Once it was our turn, it was just a 5-7 minute transaction for each of us. Our paperwork was reviewed and updated in their system; we gave them a check. A new photo was taken, and a temporary driver’s license was printed to use until a new one would be sent in the mail. I had hoped for an online task, but it took 3 hours, including the drive there and back.

Tuesday, I had a long overdue doctor appointment. Continue reading →

Being valued, doing meaningful work

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I’ve had at least three different conversations in recent days providing career advice to colleagues. Different industries, organizations and types of roles. And each person was at a different stage of their canstockphoto10463933 (002) career choicescareer. Yet, there were common themes we discussed that are worth sharing:

Being valued – Do people listen to you? Is your input taken seriously? Is your work appreciated? For most people, there are many signs each work week that show whether you are valued or not. Don’t ignore them.

Doing meaningful work – We each define what we consider meaningful and what we are passionate about. And we all probably do some tasks that we dislike as part of our jobs. Overall, finding your passion and doing work that you consider meaningful can keep you happy and motivated to go back every day.

Options – As you consider to stay or go, to move up or out, there is always more than one option. Make sure you are clear with yourself and stay grounded in what really matters to you as you frame and evaluate those options.

On your terms – Take control of the discussion and shape the opportunity if there is room for negotiation on the type of work and the role. Remember that you own your own career.

Trust – Do you trust the people you are working with or negotiating with? Continue reading →

8 tips for start-ups

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Are you used to working in a large organization with a lot of support departments, established policies and procedures, and administrative systems? If so, you may complain about some of it as being bureaucratic,Landscape of wooden pathway with the changing environment too slow and burdensome. You may take a lot of it for granted. But it also helps you get your work done most days.

Before you think the grass is greener on the other side as the saying goes, remember that start-ups don’t have any of this day one. By the end of the first year they probably have the basics in place. As they grow and scale, they create the new systems and processes they need.

I am one of those people who worked my entire career in very large organizations. I’ve been on the start-up side with StarBridge Advisors now for a year and a half. We were fortunate to have basic back office functions available day one through a shared service agreement. But there has still been a lot of new to create.

Based on this new world for me, it’s probably no surprise that I have some lessons and tips to pass along. Here goes:

Create standard templates – Whether it’s administrative tools to reuse such as your master services agreement (MSA) and statement of work (SOW) or tools for client work such as interview forms and assessment outlines, you need to create and continually evolve them. It will make you more efficient and provide consistency for your team and your clients. Our Toolkit for Interim IT Leaders is one example of those tools.

Establish repeatable processes – That old saying “no need to re-invent the wheel” is applicable here. But first you need to create your “wheels” for different processes then regularly revisit them to ensure they are as streamlined as possible.

Share documents – Creating a document repository with good version control should be a first order of business for even the smallest of firms. After all, you need a place for all those templates and documented processes.

Don’t duplicate efforts – Be clear who is responsible for what and who owns what. Collaborate and get feedback from one another but don’t trip over each other. You have a small team and limited hours so every minute counts. Continue reading →

Facebook: cute pics, political organizing or privacy threat?

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Chances are you are on Facebook. More than 2 billion people around the world are active monthly users. I joined in 2006 because my brother said he wouldn’t send pictures of his first grandchild by email canstockphoto7547507 facebookanymore – I could see them on Facebook instead. I joined. And then I soon figured out it was a great way to keep in touch with family and friends around the country.

I have always been suspicious of apps that I could sign into through Facebook. I didn’t want uncontrolled data sharing. I did not answer the many Facebook quizzes; I had heard someone say that the answers were probably building a profile on you for who knows what purpose.

I sometimes check out a sponsored ad if the product really grabs my attention, but I rarely purchase it. It’s an online shopping/browsing thing like looking at catalogs that still come in the mail.

I am vocal about my politics in my original posts, my likes, comments and shares of other posts. And I have joined certain private groups that share my politics. So yes, somewhere there is a profile on me and my politics.

On Twitter, I try to maintain a professional presence as much as possible and leave politics for my Facebook circle instead. I have read so much about online harassment of women on Twitter, and we do have a President who appears to be the cyberbully-in-chief.

With the latest exposure that Cambridge Analytica used Facebook data on 50 million Americans to influence the 2016 election, I am questioning how we can protect our personal information yet continue to utilize social media platforms and all the good they bring: keeping families and friends in touch or accelerating social movements around important issues. Continue reading →

What keeps you up at night – the wrong question

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What do healthcare CIOs have in common as they start off 2018? And how can they get the additional bandwidth they need to achieve all their objectives?canstockphoto13538474 question

When I talk with CIOs. I want to understand their current priorities and challenges. Our team of advisors at StarBridge Advisors can be an extender for a CIO – partnering with them to accomplish key initiatives that they or their leadership team don’t have the time to do.

When I meet with CIOs that I don’t know or who serve organizations I’m not familiar with, I try to get as much background in advance as I can.  It’s easy to do these days. You look at the organization’s website, press releases, and online profiles of individuals and their career history. When I was a CIO, I remember when new vendors would call on me and they’d eerily seem to know a lot about me. I realize now that they were just doing their basic homework.

But as consultants, we don’t know until we talk with a CIO what their priorities and areas of need are.

I stay away from that standard question I heard so many times as a CIO – what keeps you up at night? I like to just sit down with a CIO and learn about their agenda and challenges. Through dialog we can mutually identify potential gaps that StarBridge Advisors might fill.

Based on recent conversations with several CIOs, there are common themes. Are they AI, machine learning, or blockchain? Continue reading →

Another year, another chance

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Whatever resolutions or goals, personal or professional, you had in 2017 – it’s time to revisit, revise, and recommit. The most common ones are go to the gym, eat healthy, lose weight, read more, watch less TV, canstockphoto24043991 (002) NYEspend more time with your family, get organized.

And then there are bigger, loftier goals. My daughter has a saying on the wall of her home office, “Do Something Great Today”. It means doing something bigger than herself.  For her, it is helping her company act more responsibly, to act more sustainably. It is a great motivator to live her values and find ways to have a greater impact.

She also has her personal mission statement on her office wall – “live a life that I’d want for my two daughters”. If she wants something for them, then she must do the same – like be healthy or be a good friend.

I was inspired by a Happy New Year post on LinkedIn from Vicki Davis, VP at Healthcare IT Leaders. She said, “No matter what life has for us, we should enjoy every minute of it. Celebrate the beginning of a new year the most, as it is a clean slate. Set positive goals and resolutions. Hang them where you can see them every hour of the new year. Choose your actions and words wisely this year so that you are remembered as a good human being, a great friend and a true guide when you end this year.”

We all are driven by different motivations. But fundamentally, I believe we all want to be good people and do good for others.

I look forward to another year of learning and making a difference through my client work and the non-profit organizations where I volunteer my time. With my colleagues at StarBridge Advisors, we work with organizations to advance healthcare by leveraging technology.

While I have yet to formulate any bigger than me goals for this year, I am recommitting to some basic resolutions. Continue reading →

2017 lessons from an entrepreneur

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If 2016 was a year of transition for me, then 2017 was the year of settling into the new. That is, if launching a new business and working with new clients can be called settling in. As 2018 looms, it’s time canstockphoto46064496 (002)to reflect on lessons from 2017.

2017 has been a year of learning what it takes to grow a business and gain the trust of clients. I covered this in the post, “One year anniversary, how are we doing?” It’s also been a year of learning how to spend more time with family – my retired husband, my daughters and grandkids. But that will have to wait for a future post.

My most important business lessons this year:

Do what you love and are good at – Yes, it’s important to have stretch goals and get out of your comfort zone. But if you truly love what you do, you are going to get better all the time. Our client work at StarBridge Advisors involves a range of IT consulting, interim management and leadership coaching. As an operations type person and change agent, I enjoy being an interim CIO. To work for a period with a new team and figure out how best to help them succeed is challenging and rewarding. And to work with someone as an executive coach as they learn about themselves, identify their development needs and goals, and work through their action plan is also very challenging and rewarding.

Relationships are everything – Whether it’s our clients or channel partners, developing and sustaining honest, open and trusting relationships is critical to success. Continue reading →

HIMSS Stage 7: what does it take?

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This week, I participated in another HIMSS Analytics Acute Care EMRAM Stage 7 review team as the CIO reviewer. During the opening presentations by the organization’s leadership, I leaned over to theHIMSS EMRAM 2018

full-time HIMSS reviewer to say, “They are hitting it out of the ballpark”. By the end of the day, our three-person review team had indeed reached that conclusion. The full-time reviewer said, “Some organizations barely clear the bar but this one far exceeded it.”

Only 6.1% of hospitals have achieved Stage 7.  What does it take?

On review day, the review team is presented with information that includes a system overview, including governance, clinical and business intelligence, health information exchange, and plans for disaster recovery and business continuity.

The review team has been given a 17-page document that includes checklists for each major clinical area.

Several case studies are presented that demonstrate how the organization has used the system to improve clinical care.

The organization prepares for this visit for months, developing the case studies and verifying they have met every specific criterion. The full-time reviewer spends time on the phone reviewing their readiness.

Achieving Stage 7 takes teamwork throughout the organization to fully leverage all aspects of the vendor’s product. It takes engagement and passion from executives and clinicians.

The organization we were reviewing implemented their EMR according to these guiding principles: Continue reading →