Health IT Influencers: Former HIMSS EVP Carla Smith, Chapter 2

The bar was set pretty high. During her 17-year tenure as EVP, Carla Smith helped guide HIMSS through periods of tremendous growth, launching several successful programs around public policy, workforce development, the advancement of women in Health IT, and innovation. As the industry evolved, so did her strategies.

And so, when it was time to start the next phase of her career, she wanted to find a way to leverage the experience she has gained, while zeroing in on the areas that are close to her heart. It’s precisely what she has achieved with CarlaSmith.Health, the consulting practice she introduced late last year.

In this interview, Smith opens up about what she enjoyed most about her time with HIMSS, what she believes are the most critical components of successful leadership, and what it takes for startup companies to get off – and stay off – the ground. She also talks about the ultimate goal of achieving gender and racial equality in leadership roles, and the “new reality” she has created.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



* Ultimate goal: no gender disparity

* “Parity in healthcare makes good economic sense.”

* Inequality at the executive level – “I see this changing”

* Intention as a “guiding philosophy”

* Lack of diversity in leadership

* Metro Health’s strategy

* Need for “new and creative pathways” to help others get into the pipeline

* Finding individuals who understand technology & healthcare – “It’s a challenge.”



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Bold Statements

My interest in helping women achieve parity is not code for being anti-male. I think that could be so easily be misunderstood. I want men and women and other genders and people who choose to not identify as a gender, to be compensated at the level that they deserve.

There’s been a big sea-change toward a multidisciplinary approach to effective healthcare, and there are economic implications that come with that. When you increasingly value roles that are predominantly held by a particular gender, you begin to see the compensation levels change.

It becomes an intentional conversation for a company to come up with new and creative pathways to help women, and then for other reasons, people of color, to get into the pipeline.

Diversity among the leadership ranks is believed to be a corporate asset and a corporate differentiator. It’s not something that will just happen on its own.

Gamble:  I want to talk about something I know is close to your heart, which is women in health IT leadership. I read a recent LinkedIn piece where you talked about the goal of healthcare becoming an industry where gender is a non-issue. What are your thoughts around that?

Smith:  One thing I’m incredibly careful about, because I never want to be misunderstood, is I mean it when I say I want a reality where there is no gender disparity. My interest in helping women achieve parity is not code for being anti-male. I think that could be so easily be misunderstood. I want men and women and other genders and people who choose to not identify as a gender, to be compensated at the level that they deserve and that the market will bear. One thing that has really resonated when I talk to audiences about this is when I say, ‘I have yet to meet an adult who is in a living arrangement with another adult, and wants that adult to bring home less money from their job because of their gender.’ I have never met that person. To me, this is an economic issue. Economies where people are paid a fair wage for what the market will bear, are healthier.