How to strategically increase system-wide productivity through IT initiatives: Summit Healthcare CIO Aaron Young

Aaron Young, CIO of Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center in Show Low, Ariz., discusses the impact that system-wide growth has had on Summit Healthcare's IT initiatives. He also discusses exciting upcoming projects.

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: What does your health IT budget look like this year? Is it trending up or down over previous years?

Aaron Young: Over the last four years, Summit Healthcare has increased IT spend year over year to improve infrastructure, support telehealth initiatives and improve security. The 2019 IT budget at Summit Healthcare has increased significantly as result of our EMR conversion and a new $90 million medical office building, ambulatory surgery center and administrative services building project; all will be completed mid-year. Our operational IT spend will begin to decrease next year as we eliminate redundant systems. I expect to see systemwide productivity increases as a result of more streamlined operations over the next 18 months to 24 months due to strategic IT initiatives we are pursuing.

Q: How are you allocating the budget? What difference is there this year compared to previous years?

AY: It's a very exciting time to be a part of Summit Healthcare as we are experiencing an exceptional amount of change as a result of our growth. In 2019, we are allocating our IT budget primarily to the EMR conversion and our construction project. Although we are focused on these two projects, we continue to allocate funds to improve the IT performance and security of current systems. Additionally, we are developing a new analytics department and have started allocating resources to enhance data-driven decisions.

Q: What projects are you most excited about for 2019?

AY: I'm very excited for the EMR conversion and the new building projects; however, the project I'm most excited for is the implementation of 2bPrecise, a precision medicine data delivery platform.

Pharmacogenomics will allow us to provide targeted care for our patients to improve outcomes and satisfaction, and I look forward to seeing the results of this implementation. On a smaller scale, I'm looking forward to what we are doing with our analytics and population health initiatives at Summit Healthcare as well as dipping our toes into robotic process automation.

To learn more about clinical and IT leadership, register for the Becker's Hospital Review 2nd Annual Health IT + Clinical Leadership Conference May 2-4, 2019 in Chicago. Click here to learn more and register.

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