EHRs have dominated the attention of health system IT teams over the last two decades.
CIOs and their teams of technical experts coordinated vast EHR roll-outs and then worked to optimize capabilities. They have spent countless hours trying to eliminate the administrative burden for clinicians while also combatting cyberattacks and network disruptions. Because the EHR is such a big investment, additional applications and platforms are often selected for their ability to integrate with existing technology.
The EHR continues to take priority and consume a vast amount of the IT team’s energy. But that could be changing.
Over the next two years, Crystal Broj, enterprise chief digital transformation officer at Charleston, S.C.-based Medical University of South Carolina, sees IT teams shifting their approach EHR-adjacent projects.
“As tools become more nimble and adaptable, the outdated mindset that only EHR-related work deserves priority will fade,” she told Becker’s. “Instead, we’ll continue to maintain the EHR but also find a way to focus on initiatives that directly impact patient care and operational efficiency in new ways, requiring a new framework for evaluating, prioritizing and rapidly deploying high impact digital solutions.”
Artificial intelligence is a big factor in this evolution. IT teams are becoming more agile and cross-functional, with AI taking on the repetitive and rule-based tasks so experts can become more strategic and work to the top of their abilities. Technology teams are harnessing AI across operational and clinical domains, and sharpening skillsets systemwide.
“Prompt engineering will become essential – not just within IT but across departments – as teams learn to interact with AI tools in ways that enhance their daily work,” said Ms. Broj. “Change management will remain a cornerstone of our success, and the need for strong business analysis skills won’t fade. We’ll always need to understand business problems and identify the right technical solutions.”
Marcus Speaker, MD, associate CMIO at Roanoke, Va.-based Carilion Clinic, sees a deeper shift in IT team responsibilities to become more integrated into the system’s care delivery mission.
“Over the next two years, our health IT team will continue our transition from maintaining the Epic EHR to becoming proactive partners in enhancing clinician well-being,” he said. “We are placing strong emphasis on roles that blend clinical expertise with digital and data skills. Team members who can help integrate AI into clinical workflows to streamline care will be pivotal while tasks like manual data entry or basic system configuration will start to fade away through automation.”
AI tools like ambient documentation assistants and predictive analytics embedded into the clinical workflows allows clinicians to spend more time with patients and combat burnout. The overall nimbleness and flexibility of IT teams will be critical in coming years, Dr. Speaker said.
“We are exploring a more agile team culture capable of adapting to the shifting political and policy landscape,” he said. “From new interoperability mandates to changes in reimbursement models, we aim to quickly align our health IT priorities with evolving healthcare policies without losing focus on patient care.”
The leaders featured in this article will speak at the Becker’s 10th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + Revenue Cycle Conference Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Chicago. Click here to learn more and register.
