David Chou serves as Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President at Harris Health System.
David will participate in the panel "What CIOs Need to Thrive in 2021" at Becker's Hospital Review 11th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place virtually from May 10-27th.
To learn more about the conference and David's session, click here.
Question: Share one change brought on by the coronavirus pandemic that you’d like to see stick, especially in healthcare?
David Chou: Remember that work is not a location.
Work is not a place that employees go to, but rather an output of their effort to advance the organization. This has to be the new motto for healthcare—and it should be a motto that leaders can use to promote work-life balance. Healthcare teams include established professionals, and they should be trusted to complete their tasks without being in a particular location. If leaders do not trust their employees, then they probably should not have hired them. I would like to see this theme stick for healthcare organizations vs. the traditional model of work. The other side of the situation is that I also do understand the need for face-to-face communication, so the key is finding the right balance.
Q: What would you like to see as the defining theme of 2021 for your industry?
DC: Avoid “shiny object” syndrome.
This urge to turn to “shiny objects” should be resisted. This year – and even into 2022 – may not be the time for quick decisions about buying the latest technology to achieve transformational projects. Instead, the pandemic has called for all employees on deck to adapt care delivery to situational safety. Any efforts to modernize or optimize technology already in place likely have been pushed to the back burner. Existing technology in the current portfolio is likely underutilized.
The key for will be ramping up the technology to meet strategic projects that had been identified pre-pandemic.