Q&A with William Walders, Part 2: “Creating discipline around IT business management is my top priority.”

There are few things more daunting than dealing with a natural disaster; especially when you’re new to the organization, and the storm headed your way is a category 5 hurricane. It’s the type of news that would send any leader into a panic — unless the individual in question has quite a bit of experience with disasters. Like, say, being in a submarine during a tsunami. Or providing relief after a devastating earthquake. Or, perhaps most terrifying, having to testify before Congress.

Once you’ve weathered those types of storms — as William Walders has — it’s hard to be rattled. And so when Hurricane Dorian threatened the Florida coast (and ended up veering in another direction), he was ready. And Health First, which impressed him with its high level of disaster preparedness, was ready to focus on building a framework to enable better care, and a better overall experience.

Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Walders about his team’s core objectives, why effective communication is the basis for pretty much everything, his approach to professional development, and how his military career prepared him for the CIO role.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



* New EHR as “a huge recruiting tool.”

* Top priority: “Creating discipline around IT business management”

* Data plumbing

* Goal to “support the IDN from an IDN level, not a point solution level”

* Competing with Amazon, Harris & others

* “What if we don’t train folks and they get complacent?”

* His early career as a submarine engineer with the Navy

* Seeking advice from former military folks on the “drastically different” landscape



LISTEN NOW USING THE PLAYER BELOW OR CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR iTUNES PODCAST FEED

Bold Statements

Standardizing that environment and creating discipline around IT business management has been my number one priority. And that means building a framework for basic blocking and tackling, having IT speak the same language, and providing transparency of the services that we provide.

We’ve increased the size of our enterprise architecture staff from three to 14 so we can build a framework, have a clear understanding, and support the IDN from an IDN level, as opposed to a point solution level.

I had started operating as a commercial hospital early on, which proved to be really helpful. I think that differentiated me from my peers.

What better way to understand what you own, and what you have, than by pulling every contract and looking at it? I spent a lot of time reading contracts and was able to have some big wins. If something doesn’t look right, you need to ask, ‘What is this?’

Gamble:  I would imagine having an ambulatory solution that’s almost turnkey, as you said, can definitely be a physician satisfier.

Walders:  It absolutely is. The new system has not only improved satisfaction among our existing physicians, but also the independent physicians in our community. It’s been a huge recruiting tool and is paying dividends by allowing physicians to gain access to the tools we offer in their practices.

 

Gamble:  What are some of the other big objectives from an IT standpoint?

Walders:  There are a few. We’ve grown immensely, and it’s been organic. We partnered with a health plan, we had an acquisition for a medical group, and we acquired hospitals, and everything got bolted on. As a result, IT came along with it — that’s the environment I inherited. Standardizing that environment and creating discipline around IT business management has been my number one priority. And that means building a framework for basic blocking and tac...