Q&A with CIO Linda Stevenson, Part 1: “There’s Always a Fear of Change.”

If an individual excels at programming or writing code, does it necessarily mean he or she is ready for a management title? Like many issues facing healthcare IT leaders, there is no simple answer, says Linda Stevenson, who recently became CIO at Fisher-Titus Medical Center. She believes the ability to determine whether an IT rock star has what it takes to climb the ladder is just of many soft skills leaders need to advance their organizations.

Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Stevenson about the work her team is doing at Fisher-Titus, particularly around patient engagement, and the strategy she employed as the new CIO to assess readiness for change. She also talked about the need to market to consumers, how her organization remains independent while also partnering with large organizations, the unique opportunity for those in IT, and how she uses yoga to keep her grounded.

Chapter 1



* About Fisher-Titus: small hospital, large slate of offerings

* “At-the-elbow support” for monthly go-lives

* Creating physician champions

* Marketing to consumers

* Remaining independent while working w/ partners – “We have the freedom to have the best of the best.”

* Her approach as new CIO – “From a technical standpoint, I was ready.”

* Communicating through change

* Finding the “big rocks”



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Bold Statements

We have a lot of projects on our list, but we need to make sure we’re doing the right projects in the right order to bring the biggest benefit to the organization.

When we take on these IT initiatives, they cost a lot of money and they take a lot of time. As a result, we want to make sure everybody receives the benefits, not just on the internal side.

When someone new comes to a leadership role, there’s always fear of change, so I had to get them to understand that I’m not here to rip the rug out from underneath them – what I’m here to do is help.

It was really important for me, even though I didn’t have the relationships yet, to get with all the leaders and have that discussion: ‘Tell me what’s on your roadmap, and then let’s go through it together and figure out what’s the biggest bang for our buck.’

Gamble:  Hi Linda, thanks so much for taking time to speak with us. Let’s start with an overview of Fisher-Titus Health System — what you have in terms of hospitals and other care offerings, and where you’re located.

Stevenson:  Sure. Fisher-Titus is located in Norwalk, Ohio, about an hour west of Cleveland. We’re a 100-bed hospital, but we have a lot of other services as part of our offerings. We have home health. We have hospice. We have assisted living. We have senior care. We also have a group of 75 employed physicians. And so while we may be small hospital-wise, we have a lot for our patients across the continuum of care.

 

Gamble:  We’re starting to see that where the emphasis isn’t on having a big hospital or having a certain number of beds, but focusing on the care continuum.

Stevenson:  I think it’s so important with the changes in the way we’re delivering care in the future, with less emphasis being on patients in-house. Of course, we want to be able to care for the patients in all stages of their clinical needs; this is a way to do that and make sure we have some control.

 

Gamble:  Right. In terms of the clinical application environment, what type of EHR systems do you have in place right now?

Stevenson:  We primarily use Cerner. Fisher-Titus has been on Cerner since long before I arrived. It’s been at least 10 years. Right now we’re in the process of implementing Cerner in the ambulatory setting. The nice thing is we actually have Cerner from registration all the way through...