2011: Top 10 picks from the CMIO editor

Beth Walsh, Editor, CMIO

A review of the top stories brought to you by CMIO and its sister publications during the past 12 months represents the wide range of issues facing CMIOs. Many are working to not only implement EHRs and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) but to also ensure that the use of those systems is bringing about improved outcomes in both patient care and the bottom line.

But the implementation of EHRs remains on the front burner for many CMIOs. Despite the potential benefits, barriers to adoption still exist, mainly due to the changes in processes required by the caregivers. However, as EHR implementation becomes more commonplace—driven largely by the efficiency gains and financial incentives associated with meaningful use—the role of the CMIO changes from ensuring that the system meets the physicians’ needs to a focus on system optimization.

That shift from implementation to optimization affects the CMIO role and associated priorities. A CMIO roundtable with members of the CMIO editorial advisory board found that meaningful use is the top IT challenge and focus. The CMIOs’ other priorities and challenges differ depending on the facility but they agreed that change management and communication are key elements of the job.

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) were a relatively new term in 2011 with most health system executives and payor organizations taking a wait-and-see approach to participation. In webcast polls conducted in April, 39 percent of the hospital and health system executives surveyed didn’t know their organization’s position on participation, while another 25 percent said their organization would be “watching and waiting” and would not meet a Jan. 1, 2012 launch of the program under current proposed rules.

Other technologies also impact the CMIO role. Physicians across the practice setting spectrum are adopting mobile technology at a rapid rate, according to a study from QuantiaMD, with 83 percent of responding physicians reporting that they own a mobile device capable of downloading applications.

With about 72 percent of U.S. physicians using smartphones, according to Manhattan Research’s 2010 “Taking the Pulse” report, vendors are working to integrate EMR and mobile clinical computing into tablets and phones. John D. Halamka, MD, MS, health IT guru and CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, opined in a blog entry in November that iPhone/Android smartphones, iPod Touch, iPad, Playbook, Galaxy and Streak “will become the platform for healthcare.”

This increase in use and mobile computing applications led the federal government to announce last month that physicians may not submit orders via a mobile device.

Also under the new technology umbrella is remote patient monitoring. The arrival of 4G, improvements in smartphone cameras and more mainstream use of telehealth led to a wide range of pilot projects for remote patient monitoring.

Healthcare providers also needed to spend some time in 2011 addressing the conversion from HIPAA 4010 to 5010—a standard that regulates the electronic transmission of specific healthcare transactions.

While addressing all of these new technologies and mandates, CMIOs still had to work on more traditional IT tasks such as data security. In U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ annual report to Congress, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reported that between Jan. 1, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2010, breaches involving 500 or more individuals were less than 1 percent of the breaches reported, but accounted for more than 99 percent of the more than 5.4 million individuals who were affected.

With all of these responsibilities on their plates, our annual CMIO Compensation Survey showed that overall salary satisfaction was down somewhat from 2009. That decrease could be a direct result of the typical CMIO workload.

That workload shows no sign of slowing down in 2012. We look forward to bringing you the news most useful and important to CMIOs. Have a wonderful holiday and best wishes for the new year.

Beth Walsh
Editor, CMIO
bwalsh@trimedmedia.com