Health IT Influencers: Former CIO Craig Richardville, Chapter 2

Few arguments have sparked as much ire (and eye-rolling) than the comparison between the healthcare and banking industries when it comes to consumer engagement, and it’s understandable. Healthcare is extremely complex; the mere suggestion that the same strategies used to manage finances can be used to manage care is ludicrous.

But what if we looked at it in a different way? What if patients were given tools to help diagnose and treat conditions that don’t require an in-person visit? What if, rather than being directed to a message during peak hours, patients can use an automated system to make an appointment? The banking industry has empowered consumers to perform certain tasks, while also establishing parameters and proving human assistance when needed. Craig Richardville, former CIO at Carolinas HealthCare System (now Atrium Health), believes they’re onto something.

In this interview, he spoke with healthsystemCIO.com about the key lessons learned during his 30-plus years in the CIO role, why he believes taking a sabbatical can be extremely beneficial, and his thoughts on where the industry is headed. Richardville also provides advice for CIOs on a number of issues, from the importance of collaborating with leaders outside of healthcare, why IT steering committees should be eliminated, and why optimization “never really ends.”

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



* The patient-provider meter

* Consumer engagement & “misaligned incentives”

* The banking analogy: “We need to start with simple things”

* Robots & chatbots

* The “great learning experience” in taking a sabbatical

* Advice for CIOs: “Leave your door open”

* The value in small companies – “There’s a problem no one has solved.”

* Building a better healthcare environment



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Bold Statements

That’s why you’re seeing urgent care centers and virtual service — things that provide a spectrum of being 12 hours, like 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or even 24/7 like virtual care. Because those times outside of office hours really are easier for patients.

I think that’s where we have to start in healthcare — with simple things where I can self-diagnose and start a treatment plan without an interaction.

The complexity aspects are still going to require interactions because we don’t have the exact science yet. It’s still, in some cases, an art; once it becomes a science, we should be able to take steps toward automation.

You’re going to get the 80/20 with the larger companies. You’re not going to go wrong. Things are going to be fine, but there are gaps, and unless those gaps somehow make their product or their service market competitive more, those companies are not going to fill the gaps.

The reason why new companies or products or industries are created is because there’s a problem that nobody has solved — that’s why they’re able to come in and have value.

Richardville:  One of the tools I used was a meter that went from zero to 100 that worked as a gauge. I’d put the provider on one side and the patient on the other side. And when we made decisions, we’d ask, who’s it easier for? Is it easier for the provider or is it easier for the patient? And if we’re going to be more patient-centric and focus on the patient, which is why we’re here, then when decisions are made, it’s very easy to say, ‘well, that’s going to be a strain on me as a provider or provider organization,’ but it makes it much easier for the patient/consumer.

A great example of that, going back many decades, is why are office hours typically from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.