Interview with Next Wave Connect

I had a great time speaking with Zachary B. Fountain-Metz from Next Wave Connect about Meaningful Use and Patient Portals.  Here is the link to the blog page.

http://nextwaveconnect.com/blog/everybody-every-time-sit-tom-johnson/

Also, they have recorded our conversation for listening if you prefer that method. 

http://goo.gl/p3AYvm


Thanks again Zac.

Small Hospital, Big Focus on Stage 2

Tom Johnson, CIO of DuBois Regional Medical Center

'I know the measures very well. I get down into the details and make sure the reports are right.'

DUBOIS, PA | September 12, 2014

 

If Tom Johnson, CIO of DuBois Regional Medical Center, had to pick one word to describe his hospital's success – particularly on the meaningful use front – it would be "focus." He's the kind of guy who likes to keep his eye on the ball.
The word "focus" crops up often as he describes the IT team's approach to work. And, it's likely focus that got DuBois Regional to the head of the line when it was time to attest to meaningful use, Stage 2. The 250-bed hospital, part of a small, integrated delivery network in Northwestern Pennsylvania, was first to attest among a handful of hospitals that attested early. Though more hospitals have attested to date, the number could still be counted on a couple sets of hands.
"For us it's our No. 1 mission," Johnson told Healthcare IT News. "It's top priority and the focus for us." Johnson said. "So, I don't know that all hospitals are going to agree that meaningful use is their No. 1 focus. Literally, it's our competitive advantage because our patients are the beneficiaries of all this improved safety, improved quality, improved efficiencies."
[See also: Stage 2: Rubber meets the road.]
He points out that being a small hospital in a small network probably gives it an advantage when it comes to achieving Stage 2. Huge health systems are probably juggling many projects.
"We're not starting companies, and building new and innovative products," he said. "Our focus is delivering patient care and doing the best job that we can with it. So, we're able to align our IT projects with all the other projects in our hospital, and integrate them all together. So, everybody is literally working on this – with one focus throughout our entire hospital."
There were some items that were challenging. One of them was the patient portal, engaging patients and families in their care and the HIE, or health information exchange. "Those are the ones that took the bulk of the time, effort and focus to really position us to be the first hospital to attest in the country, which we were," Johnson said.
Providing the focus are about 30 IT staffers, among them a hard-core group of six people "that really made all of this happen," Johnson said. "So, not a lot of people, but highly focused and motivated people."
"Myself as the CIO," Johnson continues, "I know the measures very well. I get down into the details and make sure the reports are right. I talk to the end users. It's very important to me as well, personally. Getting involved, leading by example, and getting everyone focused and working together is important for us, so we make it a priority."
[See also: Will Stage 2 climb inspire or derail?.]
There are a number of core measures for meaningful use, and some have to be achieved at a certain percentage. Then, there are so-called menu items from which to choose a certain number.
"So, they might have six optional items," Johnson said. "We try to do all six because we know we're eventually going to have to do them. And, we don't just do 5 percent, or 10 percent. We try to do 100 percent. It's very hard to do something 5 percent of the time if you're going to do it well and reliably.
The way Johnson and is team like to handle a new IT project is to write up policies and procedures, get leadership to adopt them, and give it 100 percent.
"That's the right thing to do for patients," Johnson said. "That's the right thing to do for sustainability. If you do something 5 percent of the time, you check the box. Come back in three months and see if you're still doing it. Probably not."
Dubois Regional and one other hospital of the four-hospital IDN have a Cerner EHR. One hospital has a Meditech system and another has a Siemens system. Both are expected to switch to Cerner, Johnson said, so all the hospitals will operate on the same platform.
"So, that's the direction we're heading, but it's not been contracted," he said.
Colleagues and others in the IT field ask Johnson: How much more did it cost than Stage 1? Are you going to be able to do Stage 3? How many additional staff did I hire?
"The answer to that is "almost nothing," he said. "We've made very little investment, hired no additional people, and we're well positioned for Stage 3, whatever that's going to be."
Johnson sure makes it sound easy.
"It's like everything else in life, he said. "If you're focused and your well positioned to do it. Then, it's just your ability to execute on it."

Link to Full Article:   http://www.healthcareitnews.com/Small Hospital

Western PA HIMSS Feature

Here the recent feature from the Western PA HIMSS website.  It was nice of them to put me on the homepage of their members site.

WPA HIMSS Member Spotlight

Tom Johnson, MBA, CPA
Chief Information Officer, Penn Highlands Healthcare

 Operating as a healthcare organization today means finding a sustainable balance between multitudes of items, including superior patient care, cost saving measures, and regulatory demands.  Across the country, hospitals and medical practices have been scrambling towards Meaningful Use Stage 2 attestation since the beginning of April.  For Stage 2 attestation, hospitals must prove that their implemented EHR increases patient engagement, is capable of transmitting care summaries across multiple settings, and comply with greater requirements around e-prescribing and lap results, according to CMS.
So far, Stage 2 attestation results have been underwhelming at best, with only 78 hospitals attesting as of August 1, according to CMS data. One area hospital, however, can proudly say they were able to attest in April.
Penn Highlands Dubois attested for Stage 2 on April 7, one of, if not the first hospital in the nation to do so.  This accomplishment was made possible due to foresight, dedicated planning, and a hardworking team, according to Penn Highlands CIO, Tom Johnson.  “We started our preparations when the HITECH came out back in early 2009,” said Johnson.  His organization worked on Stage 1 since early in 2010 and focused its efforts on “exceeding every measure, shooting for 100% in every category, including all the operational measures.”  Ultimately, Johnson credits the organization’s team of leaders and IT professionals for the success.  “Their creativity, knowledge and passion for their work is really what made this all happen,” according to Johnson.
As hospitals across the organization continue to grapple with meeting Stage 2 objectives, we congratulate Johnson and Penn Highlands Dubois on their well-deserved accomplishment!

Link to their website http://wpa.himsschapter.org/

Trip to the HIMSS Innovation Center Cleveland, OH

On September 5th I will be traveling to Cleveland, Ohio to be on a distinguished panel of experts to discuss Big Data.  We will also get the opportunity to tour the new HIMSS Innovation Center. See the invite/agenda below.

Join the Western PA Chapter and Northern Ohio Chapter of HIMSS for a day at the Global Center for Health Innovation in Cleveland, OH for a day of "BIG DATA and Healthcare" presentations, panel discussions and networking. WPHIMSS will provide transportation (as needed) from Erie, Pittsburgh and Altoona/Johnstown.

The formal tour will enable us to take part in an interactive learning experience where we'll:

• Learn about innovative Information Technology products and services that can positively transform the quality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and access to care;
• See simulated clinical scenarios in which health information is securely and appropriately shared;
• Learn how health information technologies can improve patient care; and Participate in state-of-the art use of Information Technology in health and healthcare practices.

AGENDA:

• 7:30am: Leave Erie, Pittsburgh or Altoona/Johnstown (if taking the provided transportation)


• 10:30am: Arrive at the Cleveland Innovation Center


• 11:00am: Chapter Presidents Welcome


• 11:15am: Keynote Speaker: Anil Jain, MD in HIMSS Conference Room


• 12:15pm: Lunch on showcase area on HIMSS Floor


• 1:15pm: Keynote Speaker, Sridhar Srinivasan, IBM, Vice President and General                                         Manager, Big Data Platform – Healthcare, Life Sciences and Government


• 2:15pm: Panel Discussion
  • Moderator: Rasu Shrestha
  • Panelists:  Tom Johnson, Patrick Mergler, Daniel Wolf, Anil Jain, and Sridhar Srinivasan
     
• 3:45pm: Brief overview of the Center presented by John Paganini


• 4:00pm: Tour of Center and Networking


• 5:00pm: Depart Cleveland


• 8:00pm: Arrive in downtown Pittsburgh

Health Systems CIO Webinar

I really enjoyed sharing my lessons learned and our journey to Stage 2 Meaningful use with the 53 participants on my webinar.  You can find the slide deck and playback instructions by following the link below.

Health System CIO Webinar Playback

Slide Deck

MU Stage 2 Webinar

HealthSystemCIO.Com has asked me to host a webinar detailing our process for attesting to Stage 2.  This will be my first opportunity to explain our process via webinar to a large group.  See the details below:

8/28 - Summiting Mount Meaningful Use 2: Thomas Johnson, CIO, Penn Highlands Healthcare

A Complimentary Webinar from healthsystemCIO.com,

Coming Thursday, Aug. 28 @ 12:00 PM ET

 

 

While hundreds of hospitals have attested to MU Stage 1, as of today only a handful have done so for Stage 2. Why? First off, there's lots for CIOs to do and, secondly, it's not easy. But fear not. In this webinar, you'll hear from one of the first CIOs in the country to make the grade, and learn the keys to conquering MU2's most onerous challenges.

Clinical Innovations and Technology feature

My "Two CIO's" interview was recently picked up and published by Clinical Innovations and Technology.  It is good to see this artical getting more traction.  See the full article below.

Clinical Innovations Interview


I think this is the third posting of this article and the most I have ever enjoyed for one article.  Maybe we will see some more takers soon?