Tag Archives: learning

7 years later

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I started this weekly blog 7 years ago right before our major Epic go live when I was serving as CIO at University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. Given my decades of experience in health IT leadership roles, I decided that I had plenty of lessons and experiences to share. A blog seemed like a great forum to do so.

7 years later, I am still writing. I have shared lessons and experiences that have included my interim CIO and CTO engagements at three other healthcare systems since I left Michigan – University Hospitals in Cleveland, Stony Brook Medicine on Long Island, and University of Vermont Health Network. Since March, I have been serving as interim SVP and CIO at Boston Children’s Hospital.

I often wonder how much longer to keep this going. How much more do I have to share and who cares? The feedback and appreciation I get in notes and comments from readers keeps me going. And the topic ideas keep coming.

I was asked recently how I find time to write each week. Good question. I am pretty busy. I am a full-time interim CIO and am helping my colleagues keep things going at our firm, StarBridge Advisors. My response to the question is that I have a lot of ideas and not enough time to write. With this week’s post I am changing when I publish. I will try to write on the weekends and publish early in the week instead of percolate an idea all week and then finally write it Thursday night when I am exhausted.

And while I have a lot of topic ideas, I am definitely open to suggestions from my readers. I was recently asked by a CIO colleague if he could suggest topics – of course I said yes.

At this 7-year mark you might be interested in knowing which posts have gotten the most attention. In the world of social media, keywords, amplification, and cross linking are key. The top 5 most read posts since I started are:

It is worth mentioning that #6 is “New year, next chapter”. Continue reading →

What is a “Digital Dog”?

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My colleague, David Muntz, coined the term “digital dog” this week when he described to our StarBridge Advisors team how my two little dogs are so well informed as they walk with me every day while I listen to podcasts. I loved the term and the image!

There is so much great content to listen to. I sometimes feel like my little dogs with their short legs trying to keep up with me as I try to keep up with my two favorite podcasts – This Week in Health IT and In the Bubble. Yes, I subscribe to many more, but these are the top two that I keep up with best I can.

This Week in Health IT is three different weekly shows (each approximately 45 minutes long) – Newsday (Monday), Solution Showcase (Wednesday), and Influencers (Friday). And starting this year Bill Russell decided his audience could benefit from another option so he launched a daily news show on a separate channel – Today in Health IT (shorter at 8-10 minutes each).

I agreed to be one of the rotating co-hosts on Newsday this year. My second episode with Bill was this week – Newsday – Drive-Thru Vaccine Distribution, Reaching the Marginalized, and CIO Priorities. The first topic we covered was the UC Health Mass Vaccination Playbook – a comprehensive resource that is worth downloading. Even if you are already doing similar mass vaccine sites, I am sure there is something to learn from their playbook to refine and improve your own operation. Best practice sharing is what we do in healthcare! Check out the podcast to hear all the stories we discussed.

So that’s my plug for the best podcast series to keep up with what’s happening in health IT.

Turning to my other top podcast, In the Bubble. This is how I stay educated on COVID-19 and all things related. Continue reading →

Developing next generation leaders 2021 style  

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In 2021, I have said yes to one more way I can help develop next generation leaders. I am excited to be one of the rotating co-hosts on This Week In Health IT Monday Newsday series. Bill Russell has done an amazing job the past three years growing and evolving This Week In Health IT into several different podcast series and channels. Bill shares my commitment to developing next generation leaders through his many different offerings, so I quickly said yes when asked to be one of the co-hosts in the new format of the Newsday series.  Our first episode together will be available January 11, so I hope you will check it out.

Bill’s commitment and goal is clear: develop the next generation of health leaders by amplifying the best thinking. This Week In Health IT has proven to be a valuable contribution to our industry. My health IT advisory firm, StarBridge Advisors, is proud to continue as a channel sponsor in 2021.

After a very successful 2020 with 230,000 downloads and 177 new episodes including the daily COVID Field Report series from March to July, Bill has changed things up yet again for 2021. There are several options to pick and choose from for yourself and to share with your teams. These offerings provide a no-cost, easy, accessible way for staying current and continuing to learn from others.

Monday Newsday – replacing the Tuesday Newsday show, every Monday Bill will have a co-host to discuss key stories in the news.

Wednesday Solutions Showcase – 2020 episodes highlighted AI, Robotic Process Automation, Machine Learning, End Point Security, Social Determinants of Health partnerships, Mental Health integration with primary care and more.

Friday Influencers – Interviews with industry leaders. Guests include IT leaders, health executives and experts who can shed light on the challenges that healthcare faces and the potential solutions. Continue reading →

Doomscrolling? Break the habit with a good book

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I guess I am behind again. The first time I heard the term “doomscrolling” was several days ago when someone tweeted that they looked forward to when they could just read a good book at bedtime instead of doomscrolling. I presume they were referring to getting past the election in two weeks. It resonated with me.

Doing a google search, I see articles going back to the summer months about doomscrolling and anxiety and how to break the cycle. It is described as the practice of endlessly consuming doom-and-gloom news. I find myself looking to see what awful things have happened, been spoken, or tweeted when I get up in the morning and again late at night.

The practice of always having a good book that I’m reading has been harder since this pandemic started. A novel I had just started in early March was set aside for months. I just couldn’t concentrate on reading a book in those early months. A political book I was reading was also set aside. I realized I didn’t need to know the inside story about all the outrageous things that had happened since 2016. I eventually finished the novel though I had to go back many pages to refamiliarize myself with the characters. I have yet to pick up that particular political book again and probably never will.

I just finished a novel that I would highly recommend – “The Daughters of Erietown” by Connie Schultz. It is an excellent story starting in the mid-1940s tracking four generations of women in a northeast Ohio town. It weaves daily life in a blue-collar community with significant historical events including the 1970 shootings at Kent State and the early days of the women’s movement. And yes, I am open to recommendations on my next novel.

I’ve started a non-fiction business book that one of my coachees sent me a while back – “Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder” by Chip Conley. It is described as part manifesto and part playbook for how to become indispensable in the second half of your working life. Continue reading →

This Week in Health IT – Keeping current

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I have highlighted Bill Russell’s podcast series, This Week in Health IT, in several previous blogs and shared many of the episodes on social media. If you work in health IT and are not yet listening to them and subscribing, what are you waiting for? This podcast represents some of the best content available in our industry.

Bill launched the podcast in early 2018. Starting this past March, he pivoted from twice a week to a daily podcast with a COVID-19 Field Report series made possible by the generous sponsorship of Sirius Healthcare. In the first six months of 2020, there were 100,000 downloads compared to 120,000 in all of 2019. With the Field Report series still available for listening, Bill has gone to a three day a week schedule – Tuesday NewsDay and Influence interviews on Wednesdays and Fridays.

There will only be one episode this week – Tuesday Newsday with guest host Drex DeFord as Bill is taking a week off. Drex is a frequent guest on the show and he offers yet another way to receive relevant content with 3xDrex – what he describes as “3 Must-Reads, 3 Days/Week curated by a real healthcare exec” delivered via text.

I highly recommend that you listen to three recent This Week in Health IT episodes:

Atmosphere: State of Healthcare – Bill was the guest speaker at the recent Aruba Atmosphere Digital Conference. His talk provides great insight on the major changes in healthcare and IT the past several months as well as projections for the future. It is truly a unique episode with lots to learn from one of the best! Continue reading →

Healthcare leaders continue to learn and share lessons

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Virtual learning opportunities have increased significantly in the past few months as healthcare leaders are eager to learn from the experiences of others or share their own lessons during this pandemic. There are far more webinars, live sessions, and interviews than I have seen in the past. Most of these sessions are recorded so you can listen or watch when you have time. The trick is to register – if you end up not being able to join at the scheduled time at least you will be sent the archive link. And of course there are always podcasts – so many good ones as I have recommended in previous posts.

This week, there is yet another virtual learning opportunity that I am excited about joining – the HealthIMPACT Live’s Summer Forum. I have participated in their previous in-person forums and found them to be very thought-provoking programs with top-notch speakers on relevant topics. With limited attendance, there is always plenty of opportunity for dialogue. The forum organizers have pivoted and are promising a great virtual experience. The topics are very timely and divided into four parts over two afternoons:

Part I: Your People – Healthcare Workforce Reimagined – From Crisis Management to System-Wide Transformation

Part II: Your Processes – Sustaining Gains in Telemedicine and Virtual Care Delivery- Building on Successes and Lessons Learned Connecting Patients and Providers in Response to COVID-19 Continue reading →

Staying fit and informed

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If you are working from home during this pandemic, getting enough exercise each day can be a challenge. I spoke to a CIO colleague recently who said he used to get 10,000 steps a day just at work given the size of his office complex.

I recently decided that I needed to up my exercise routine to ensure I get 10,000 steps a day. A long dog walk at the end of the workday plus the steps inside my house from my home office to the kitchen and back are just not enough. While I have never been an early morning exerciser, I am now two plus weeks into a new routine. Instead of rolling out of bed and starting on email and work right away, I now go for a brisk walk. I try to do a minimum of 30 minutes but depending on the time of my first scheduled call of the day, I do anywhere from 20-45 minutes. The end of day dog walk rounds it out to ensure I hit my 10,000 steps.

Besides the physical and mental health benefits of more exercise, I also have more time to stay informed via podcasts. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my latest podcast recommendations. With my new exercise routine, I am ready to recommend two more:

The Osterholm Update: COVID-19 – If you had not heard of Dr. Michael Osterholm pre-COVID, you probably recognize his name by now. Continue reading →

Time to reimagine industry conferences

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Large gatherings such as sporting events and concerts seem impossible to return prior to a vaccine and treatment for the coronavirus. Yet alternatives are being considered and reimagined. In the business world, industry conferences and conventions are in that same large gatherings bucket. So, they too should be reimagined.

Scientists and public health officials would say do not plan on these types of events until sometime in 2021. I do not want to minimize the challenges and complexities involved in these decisions and plans. But I do believe that leaders everywhere must trust science to keep people safe.

The American Telehealth Association (ATA) held a virtual conference last week. Of course, if any organization should be able to successfully pull off a virtual conference, it is the people who do telehealth.

But I am fresh off an entirely different virtual conference experience and I could not be more impressed with what they did and what is possible. It was not an organization in the tech industry but rather a faith community. I am a Unitarian Universalist (UU) and our annual church conference (General Assembly or GA) is held each June. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) board made the decision in March to not cancel but rather to go all virtual.

This meant they had to pull off a five-day conference that included large general sessions, discussion/debate on resolutions, delegate voting, workshops, poster sessions, worship services and special collections – all virtual. The result was higher attendance (close to 5000 registered) than many in-person conferences in past years, education and discussion on everything from spiritual practices, to congregational growth, to anti-racism organizing, and to getting out the vote in November. While people missed the hugs and hallway conversations, it was an overall positive experience for thousands of UUs.

That same UUA leadership had the foresight back in April to advise all congregations to plan on virtual Sunday services through May 2021. UU congregations all over the country are adapting to virtual services as the new normal and they are doing so in varying and creative ways. Many congregations report higher “attendance” than in the past.

The lessons are clear – it is time to reimagine and embrace the virtual world we now live in where we can. If planned and executed right, little is lost and much is gained.

So back to our health IT industry. What does the typical lineup of Fall conferences look like? Continue reading →

More podcast recommendations – going beyond HIT

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If you are like me, there is no gym time and no commute time these days. But there are still ways to get exercise every day. My long daily dog walks are one of those times when I try to get smarter. And podcasts are the means.

I have made podcast recommendations in the past and still have my favorite “go to” for health IT but I have added a few more in recent months.

ThisWeekinHealthIT – this has been my “go to” podcast since Bill Russell started it in 2018 as a weekly show. In 2019 he went to a twice weekly format. And during the pandemic, he went to daily podcasts with an excellent and very timely Field Report series – interviews with health IT leaders on how they are managing during this crisis and preparing for recovery and the new, better normal. Many great lessons and insights have been shared the past few months. Kudos to all his guests for their incredible work and making time to share with others. And kudos to Bill for his ongoing commitment to developing next generation leaders. My firm, StarBridge Advisors, is a proud sponsor of the show and share in that commitment.

Digital Health Leaders – this is a relatively new podcast series started by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) a few months ago. Russ Branzell, CHIME President and CEO, interviews IT leaders on a range of topics.

Relentless Health Value – this is a podcast I first became acquainted with when I was asked to be a guest back in 2018 – my episode was “The Evolving Role of the Chief Information Officer”. But IT is not the focus. Stacey Richter, a healthcare entrepreneur and innovator, has hosted the show since 2014. The website describes the podcast this way: “The show that connects you with other health care leaders trying to achieve the quadruple aim of improving population health and patient and provider experience, while managing costs effectively. Our mission is to help transform health care by breaking down silos and connecting disconnected parts of our industry. The first step toward collaboration is simply knowing what others are working on and wrestling to overcome.” So, if you want the big picture on healthcare and not just IT, add this one to your list. And like Bill, Stacy has a special COVID-19 series as well.

And continuing down the beyond IT path, I have recently started listening to a few other ones: Continue reading →

Practicing SODOTO with a new system

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I know that “see one, do one, teach one” is common in the training of medical professionals. But until I googled it, I didn’t realize it was a known method with an acronym – SODOTO.

With our new implementation of Salesforce at StarBridge Advisors, I am in the SODOTO mode. We are a small team. We recently hired a consultant to help us get it configured and designed the way we need it. My mantra as I worked with the consultant was KISS – keep it simple.

We are in the training, practice, and start to use it everyday phase. While we have a ways to go on data cleanup from our previous version, the new system is in production.

I’ve watched several short videos on how to create lists, reports and dashboards – literally “see one”. Then I made time to set up a few of each before I forgot what I’d just learned – the “do one” part. I think that would be considered “just in time” learning. I will show my colleagues how to do the same encouraging them to watch the videos as well – the “teach one” part. I still need to watch some videos on key features we may want to use so I can advise our team and make decisions together as we optimize the system.

Granted, our system is very small scale compared to the major EHR and ERP implementations I’ve overseen at many healthcare organizations. But here are my key takeaways applicable to any new system implementation:

  • Out of the box – Another way of saying don’t customize unless you really can’t work with the standard system.
  • Decision making – Key stakeholders need to be part of design decisions to ensure all use cases and workflows are identified and there is buy-in and adoption once the system is up and running.
  • Minimum data fields – Between what is available “out of the box” and custom fields you might think you need, be cautious. You can always add something later if you need it.
  • Workflow – Consider all your common use cases and basic workflows to design a simple, streamlined system that meets your unique needs.
  • Reports and dashboards – Data fields and workflows are too often the primary focus, but you need to be able to get the data out of the system in a usable format.
  • Adoption and consistent use – With any new system, all users need to understand what’s expected of them.

Major system implementations typically have optimization phases post go live. As much as the project team tries to account for everything, there are always changes requested once users start to actually use the system. It’s fair to say that I’ll be working with our own small-scale optimization phase of Salesforce in the next few weeks.

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