During a keynote panel discussion Sept. 22 at Becker's Hospital Review 3rd Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference in Chicago, speakers discussed various ways to ensure return on investment from health IT.
Panelists included:
- Robin Sarkar, PhD, CIO, Lakeland Health (St. Joseph, Mich.)
- Mark Jacobs, MHA, CIO, Delaware Health Information Network (Dover)
- Theresa Hiltunen, associate CIO, entities, Penn Medicine (Philadelphia)
- Vince Panozzo, head of enterprise solutions, Outcome Health (Chicago)
Impediments to change
Dr. Sarkar observed the greatest challenges to IT integration are primarily nontechnical, meaning technology itself usually isn't the most difficult element. Rather, he noted people's inherent distrust of processes different from their familiar way of doing things; cultural resistance to change; and passive resistance to using new technology were the most significant obstacles.
"It's human nature," Dr. Sarkar said. "We tend to back away from the unfamiliar."
Routine and protocol are especially difficult to change in healthcare, Ms. Hiltunen agreed. She suggested that because of this resistance to change among medical providers, getting clinicians to actively engage in the implementation process is particularly important.
"We are partnering without clinical folks and wanting them to feel an ownership in [the technology] so they don't become passive and they can bring their ideas forward to us," Ms. Hiltunen said.
Gaining physician buy-in
A key part of fostering clinician ownership in IT is building clinician buy-in. Mr. Panozzo has observed healthcare organizations that appoint an internal IT champion are more likely to succeed at building clinician support.
"Having someone who can support that initiative internally and be your champion and be willing to be held accountable is pretty integral," he said. "A lot of people want to participate [in IT adoption] but no one is willing to be the tip of the spear."
The most successful IT leaders appeal to physicians personally and emotionally to gain their investment in IT.
"We try to do things in a way that generates emotional commitment and passion from clinicians," he said. "We are in the business of compassion and care we try to touch the hearts of our providers. When we bring new IT we ask, 'How can we help [the clinicians] save time and save lives? When you talk about garnering buy-in, you have to capture their hearts first, then their intellects follow."
Characteristics of valuable health IT
Part of what makes health IT valuable and compelling to clinicians is the potential to simplify their work lives and drive patient outcomes.
"A trait of valuable IT is it brings back the joy of practicing medicine to physicians," Mr. Panozzo said. "Physicians chose to work in medicine to have an impact on humans. But today some of the joy is gone. IT can help … relieve that [administrative] burden to enable joy to flourish."
Dr. Sarkar noted simplifying clinicians' workflow is one way to bring back the joy of medicine. Hospitals and health systems often don't need expensive or complicated technology to achieve this end.
"One of the challenges in our health system was all of the [patient] information was hidden in a box and not visible," Dr. Sarkar said. His organization drew inspiration from the airline industry and made patients' health statuses visible on large TV screen in a secure clinician area to overcome the need to login to the EHR for every patient update. "We grabbed one of the large TV screens and hooked it up to our EHR, and we significantly helped our nursing and operational teams. IT doesn't have to be expensive; simplicity can often drive the best outcomes."
Ms. Hiltunen agreed. "That IT is making physicians' lives more complicated is a common complaint at our system because it inhibits workflow," she said. "Especially as physicians become increasingly mobile, they need tools that support and enable that mobility. [Valuable IT] is about understanding physician challenges and working to support that, that's how to drive physician satisfaction."
The "wow" factor
Panelists weighed in on which technology he or she believes has the greatest potential to drive change moving forward.
"I firmly believe … we are just scratching the surface of telemedicine and understanding the power of it," Ms. Hiltunen said. "Patients may have a particular oncologist who they like, but there may be impediments [to seeing them]. Just being able to schedule a visit might be several months down the road. Telemedicine can change that dynamic."
Mr. Panozzo also expressed excitement about technologies that improve physician-patient connection. "I'm excited technologies that help to facilitate better communication between patients and physicians. IT that can help patients navigate complicated treatment decisions and recommend treatment protocols to help people choose the option that's best for them is really promising."
Mr. Jacobs noted the potential to drive patient engagement using technologies that securely share personal health information. "How do you liberate data [from the EHR] to get that [high level] of patient engagement? That's been our biggest challenge," Mr. Jacobs said. "One of the things we're doing is providing the personal health record to patients, so we're experimenting with blockchain to do that."