Mark Jacobs, MHA, CPHIMSS, FHIMSS serves chief information officer of Delaware Health Information Network.
On Friday, Sepember 22, Mr. Jacobs will speak on a panel and give a presentation at Becker's Hospital Review 3rd Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place September 21 through September 23 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Mr. Jacob's sessions, click here.
Question: Looking at your IT budget, what is one item or expense that has surprised you in terms of ROI? How so?
Mark Jacobs: If you are talking about ROI in a positive way, the one item that surprised us most was our investment in a solution that did not exist before in our service line. We really had no dollar ROI to support the investment. It was our ADT-based Encounter Notification System that provides ADT-based alerts to providers and care coordinators all over Delaware about patient transitions from one healthcare setting to another. For example, providers are not always aware when their patient goes to an emergency department. Our health information exchange provides this service to providers and/or ACOs by triggering an alert when their patient is admitted, discharged or has a transfer event through our HIE. We process these messages in real-time from hospitals, urgent care centers and other care settings into an alert that is sent immediately to the primary care provider or care coordinator. These alerts provide for the most immediate intervention or long term/post-acute care transitions and allow ACOs to support patients with chronic diseases faster. We know there is evidence that such alerts help contain costs, however, it is difficult for our HIE to quantify the savings. Long term, it is our hope to quantify the savings through our analytics engine as we combine claims and explanation of benefits with the clinical data.
Q: Finding top tech talent is always a challenge. Say a CIO called you up today to ask for an interview question that would distinguish the best candidates from the mid- to low-performers. What question do you suggest he or she ask?
MJ: It might depend upon what type of CIO the organization was looking for. One of the questions I would suggest is: "Is there a pre-established blueprint that is or is not working for your organization?" Perhaps, if the organization wanted to just maintain its IT organization as a status quo, contain cost, keep capital investments to a minimum, the type of CIO they would be looking for would be more in the realm of core responsibilities. If the organization was focused on innovation, population management and bringing the patient and provider closer through an engagement strategy with IT for improved safety, quality and reduced cost, then I believe the question might be the same, but crafted differently. My other advice to that CIO would be to ask, "Can you describe your top three most pressing business issues that you are not achieving today, that you want me, as your new CIO, to help you solve?" To me, that would be the top of the pyramid question, to generate collaborative discussion and derive your value. The high performing CIO clearly needs to translate the imperatives and drivers for the current and future technology needs of that organization.
Q: We spend a lot of timing talking about the exciting innovation modernizing healthcare. It's also helpful to acknowledge what we've let go of. What is one form of technology, one process or one idea that once seemed routine to you but is now endangered, if not extinct? What existed in your organization two to five years ago but not anymore?
MJ: In the past, we used to install technology, implement systems and move data. Now there is a driving need for meaningful data at the point of contact from inside and outside the bricks and mortar of the organization. More importantly, we need to manage populations more effectively with data and different tools. That means we need to read the data, normalize, standardize, pull it all together and deliver it in different ways. So, in my view, the CIO needs to be able to assemble data to tell the story of the patient, share that story with the caregiver to make better decisions and improve outcomes for the patient. Now, we need to share the data with the patient. That is much different.
Q: Tell us about the last time you were truly, wildly amazed by technology. What did you see?
MJ: I am amazed everyday with technology, but wildly amazed when the technology provides me with value for the investment that I make or pay for on a regular basis. As an HIE, our stakeholders look to us to show them the value for their participation in our HIE technology. When technology improves the way I (they) work and improves upon a process that otherwise takes time to accomplish, without affecting my workflow, than I am amazed wildly!