Q&A with Karen Marhefka, Part 2: “In a remote structure, everyone has more of a voice.”

Things have changed quite a bit since 2012 in healthcare IT.

When it comes to EHR implementations, how much has really changed since 2012? There’s one way to find out: by taking on a similar initiative in today’s world and comparing notes. Last spring, Karen Marhefka had the chance to do just that when she accepted a CIO with a medical group that was rolling out Epic. For Marhefka, who had been through an extremely similar situation with UMass Memorial nine years ago, it felt like déjà vu at its finest.

There were, however, a few major differences. This time around, Marhefka was in perfect spot from a career standpoint; she had just completed her Doctorate of Healthcare Administration and was looking for an opportunity to channel her passion for helping organizations with implementation and optimization efforts.

And of course, there was another key factor. “Health systems know so much more. The vendors know so much more,” she said. “It was like we all graduated with PhDs in how this works.”

A year after her arrival, the rollout is rolling along smoothly, thanks to the “intense amount of planning” put forth by leadership, and the decision to utilize a phased approach, according to Marhefka. During a recent interview, she talked about how RWJBarnabas is working to merge cultures; how Epic is nudging her team toward standardization; and why it’s critical to focus more on operational change than technology change. She also opens up about what she learned during her time with Liz Johnson, and why powerful people need someone watching their blindside.

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Key Takeaways



* For Marhefka, taking on the interim CIO role at RWJBarnabas offered the perfect opportunity to channel her passion for “helping organizations and continuing with implementations and optimizing what they’ve achieved.”

* The difference between rolling out Epic in 2012 and 2021 was significant for Marhefka, who brought nearly a decade of industry experience and knowledge the second time around.

* As an advisor to Liz Smith, then CIO of Acute Care Hospitals and Applied Clinical Informatics at Tenet Healthcare, Marhefka was able to hone her skills in “navigating the different levels of hierarchy in the IT world, and the politics and all of the nuances that go into the profession.”

* Not only can working in the remote setting increase productivity; it was also encourage independence and add “some individuality into how work gets done.”



 

Q&A with Karen Marhefka, Part 2 [Click here to read Part 1]

Gamble:  What was your approach coming into the role?

Marhefka:  I had just joined a new firm, Impact Advisors. This was during Covid when many consulting firms weren’t hiring to the bench; they were hiring to fill a need where a request has been made. A person within Impact who has become a very good friend called and asked if I wanted the role and I thought, ‘do I want to go back into a CIO role with a medical group that’s just deploying Epic? I don’t know that I want to do that again.’

My husband was actually sitting on the couch next to me and he looked at me said, ‘You absolutely want to do that again.’ And we talked about all the reasons for that. I had just finished a doctorate. I wanted to focus my work from a consulting perspective into something — where am I going to put all this passion that I have and for helping organizations,