Q&A with CIO Jamie Nelson, Part 2: “There Is a Gender Issue.”

It’s not about getting things done quickly; it’s about getting things done right. Doesn’t exactly sound like the type of statement one might expect from a leader in healthcare IT, one of the most rapidly changing industries in the world. And it certainly isn’t what one would expect from a CIO based in New York City, where everything seems to happen at the speed of light.

But for Jamie Nelson, who has amassed decades of experience leading successful IT teams, it’s never been about speed. Especially during the eight years she has spent with HSS, which has been ranked number 1 in orthopedics for 10 straight years, according to US News & World Report. Recently, she spoke with healthsystemCIO about the “slow, deliberate approach” her team has employed (and will continue to employ going forward) in adopting technology, and how they’re working to ensure a consistent experience as the organization expands. Nelson also talks about what it means to be a “pilot organization,” what HSS is doing to help curb opioid abuse, and why she believes promoting more diversity should be a priority for everyone — not just women.

Part 1

Part 2



* Epic’s MyChart Bedside

* Workflow’s critical role in transformation – “How do we get nurses to see this as a value-add?”

* HSS’ agile philosophy

* Leveraging existing Epic tools to reduce opioid prescriptions

* Acknowledging gender bias

* “It shouldn’t just be women helping women.”

* Building a pipeline through education

* Evolving organizations, evolving CIO role



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Bold Statements

We’ve always had a one service at a time, one floor at a time approach. We’ve always done things in small chunks — making sure it’s right, then moving forward. And so we’ve have to shift a lot of mindset more toward that agile framework in terms of rolling out new technologies as well.

We’re very proud of the results we’ve seen so far by making the EMR something that’s a value to our clinicians versus something they have to use. We’re helping them to change prescribing patterns using our tools, which I think is a major win.

It shouldn’t just be women CIOs helping women. It’s not a woman’s issue; it’s an organizational issue, because when you have diversity across teams and boards, you get better outcomes. We need to look at this as an issue that organizations solve, not women.

It’s about understanding the organizational dynamic and being curious about technology and the application of technology to solve problems. You don’t have to have a strong technology educational background, but you do have to understand it and love it and be passionate about it.

Gamble:  I imagine the transformation piece can really be a challenge for CIOs, no matter what the initiative might be.

Nelson:  Yes. We’re implementing Epic’s MyChart Bedside; we piloted it a few weeks ago. It’s a tablet that lets patients see who their caregivers are, when their physical therapy appointments are, when they’re going to radiology, and how to order a meal — typical things you’d want a patient to be able to do, without using a whiteboard. It’s about getting the patient comfortable and also getting nursing comfortable; having them understand the value of instructing patients on how to use this and helping them. It’s having nurses see it not just as one more task in their extremely busy workflows, but something that they value and that patients will like.

That’s where the transformation piece comes in — how do we get our nursing colleagues to see this as a value-add to what they do every day to su...