Lt. Col. Chani Cordero, CIO, Education & Training Directorate, Defense Health Agency, Chapter 3

When you’re a military-based health IT leader, one of the biggest challenges is to identify initiatives that align with the overall organizational strategy — and can be completed within a specific timeframe. Not an easy feat, but any means. For Lt. Col. Chani Cordero, who spent three years as CIO with the US Army’s Information Management Division and Medical Education Training Campus, that project involved a concept that hasn’t yet made its mark in healthcare: gamification.

That could soon change, says Cordero, who believes gaming has enormous potential as both a learning tool for medical students and a motivating factor in patient engagement. In this interview, she talks about how she incorporated gamification into her strategy and how it can be so beneficial. Cordero also discusses the military’s ultimate goal of standardizing IT systems, why it’s critical to bring naysayers into discussions, and what she has learned in her time with the Army. [**Please note that the opinions expressed by Lt. Col opinions are her own, and are not endorsed by the Defense Health Agency or the U.S. Army.]



Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3



* Using contractors to “take away the perception of being influenced.”

* Learning “how to be a leader” with the Army

* Benefits of getting “a different perspective”

* Caring for servicemen and women: “There’s no bigger honor”

* Next up: Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood

* Coming from “a heavy military family”

* Involvement with CHIME – “You really should be part of the community.”



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Bold Statements

I don’t actually choose the vendors. The contracting agency does that for us based on the request for proposal and the package they receive back. I think that helps a lot, because it takes away the perception of being influenced.

It had nothing to do with IT, but it was part of the healthcare spectrum. That gave me a different perspective; and now that I’ve done a job like that, it helps me understand how to provide support a lot more efficiently.

The military has provided me with opportunities that some people don’t every get to experience — just being able to work with the greatest nation on earth, and ensure that the healthcare needs of our service members are taken care of. There’s no bigger honor than that.

I believe that if you want to join a professional organization, you really should be a part of the community. What’s the purpose of joining if you’re not going to serve and be a part of it?

Gamble:  When you’re under certain constraints — and hospital leaders can relate to this — the onus is on you to make sure you’re getting the most out of vendor agreements and make sure it’s a partnership that benefits you as much as them.

Cordero:  Absolutely. We’re very fortunate in the public sector in that we have a contracting agency that provides a lot of those guidelines for us. Though I have some influence in how the statement of work is created, I don’t actually choose the vendors. The contracting agency does that for us based on the request for proposal and the package they receive back. I think that helps a lot, because it takes away the perception of being influenced; our contracting officers don’t know the vendor specifically. My task is to ensure that the statement at work details the requirement, and that it’s not, ‘I really like company XYZ because they took m...