Q&A with CIO Danny Scott, Part 2: Change Management “Is All About Education.”

Danny Scott considers himself to be ‘a cheerleader by nature.’ Perhaps that’s why he wasn’t fazed by the idea of taking on an IS leadership role just weeks before a scheduled Epic go-live. And it wasn’t a simple conversation; Good Samaritan was migrating from an in-house EHR to a hosted Epic model. The staff, understandably, were “shell-shocked,” but Scott saw it as an opportunity to create a better environment.

Three years later, the IS department at Good Sam is barely recognizable. Not only are service and ticket management processes in place, but now, thanks to an enormous effort, IT is viewed as a “true partner.”

Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Scott how he was able to develop a strategic plan, the change in thinking that was sorely needed among IS staff, and the importance of communicating and assessing needs when creating a strategic plan. He also talks about why he’s “excited, but anxious” about the future of healthcare, the skills he believes are most valuable, and how his background has helped shape him as a leader.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



* Becoming CIO 2 weeks before go-live

* Good Sam’s hosted Epic model

* Community Connect advisory board – “I want to make sure the affiliate voice is heard.”

* Treating the hub site as a “partner”

* Leading by example – “We have to show we can work together.”

* Nurses as IS leaders – “They get it.”

* Future of health IT: “We’re going to see massive changes.”



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Bold Statements

The biggest thing I had to do during the first six months after go-live was manage the culture.

Some organizations treat the hub site like a vendor — you can’t do that. They’re not a vendor. They’re a partner that’s helping you get access to this great tool.

If people don’t understand why you’re doing something, they’ll never buy into it. Never. It’s all about education. Why are we doing this? What are the benefits? What’s the ultimate gain? Because at the end of the day, all people care about is, how is this going to affect me?

My job is be a translator. That’s something I think I bring to the table; being able to take very complex terms and processes and things that we’re doing, and make that understandable to someone who is not an IT person.

Over the next 10 years, I think we’re going to see many massive changes — not only in the technology of healthcare, but how healthcare functions as a whole. I think it’s going to look totally different.

Gamble:  Can you talk about the EHR environment and what’s being done in that area?

Scott:  My claim to fame is I started two weeks before they went live on Epic. They had already gone live in all of the provider offices, but the hospital was yet to be done. And so, when I walked in the door, a lot of people were shell-shocked. They had been working crazy hours.

We have a unique situation in which we use Epic but we don’t contract directly with them. We’re part of a connect model where it’s hosted by another organization and we use their instance of Epic. We do all the training. We work with our constituency every day to use the tool. My staff are experts in Epic. They’re certified in different areas, but again, we have that unique situation where the other organization — which is located about an hour south of us — is a hub, and we’re an affiliate. And actually, this type of arrangement is becoming more common; a lot of sites are doing it because it gives people the ability to use Epic, which is considered the industry leader in EHRs, but not have the financial burden.