Steve Stanic, VP & CIO, Mississippi Baptist Health System, Chapter 3

Like many CIOs, Steve Stanic has a love-hate relationship with Meaningful Use. While he takes issue with patient engagement requirements and the lack of an identifier, he still believes “it was what needed to be done.” In this interview, Stanic shares his honest thoughts about the program that has helped revolutionize the industry, and discusses the biggest projects on his plate, including the migration to McKesson Paragon, and a statewide effort to create a clinical integrated organization. He also discusses his team’s five-point engagement strategy, the valuable lesson he learned during his time in consulting, and what drew him to Mississippi Baptist.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3



* Career path — From CIO to Perot to CIO

* “I like to figure out the problem and be part of working to get it resolved.”

* MBHS’ “strong commitment to technology”

* Recruiting challenges

* Rapidly changing HIT industry

* Thoughts on MU — “I like the spirit of the law.”

* Weighing the pros and cons



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

Bold Statements

I’m much more of a guy that likes to figure out the problem and then be part of working to get it resolved. That gives me a greater sense of professional satisfaction as opposed to, ‘here’s what you need to do. We’ll check back on you in a month.’

You find folks that are very dedicated or committed to the area and you’re able to invest some training and education and they tend to stay loyal, as opposed to if you were in Atlanta, where there’s a lot of healthcare IT talent around, but there’s also a lot of healthcare IT opportunities.

I like the spirit of the law. I think they did it right by saying, ‘We’re going to offer you a carrot first. For organizations that are going to have issues getting there, we’re going to prime the pump a little bit with some stimulus dollars. And then we’re going to put a stick afterwards if you don’t continue doing this.’

The problem I had is the government did not get involved in one aspect that they should have that would have made everything a whole heck of a lot easier. They should have come up with a standard patient identifier.

I think it is eventually going to be re-addressed, but it sure would have been great if it was addressed three or four years ago.

Gamble:  You said you’ve been at the organization about five years?

Stanic:  Correct.

Gamble:  And where were you prior to that?

Stanic:  I did a year and a half at Perot Systems as a consultant managing the Triad contract, which actually was acquired by Community Health Systems. Before that for about eight years I was the VP and CIO at Memorial Health in Savannah, Georgia.

Gamble:  Having that time at Memorial Health and then in consulting, I’m sure there were some interesting perspectives.

Stanic:  I learned I didn’t want to be a consultant.

Gamble:  That’s a tough life, right?

Stanic:  Well, the way I guess people would look at it is in the consulting world, there are folks who just love it because you go in, you tell them what the problem is, and you tell them what they need to do to fix it, and then you move on to your next deal. I’m much more of a guy that likes to figure out the problem and then be part of working to get it resolved. That gives me a greater sense of professional satisfaction as opposed to, ‘okay, here’s your issue. Here’s what you need to do. We’ll check back on you in a month. Bye.’ That’s just a personal thing more than anything.