Tim Zoph, IT Advisor & Former CIO, Chapter 1

In today’s health IT industry, there’s a lot of talk about the need for knowledge sharing among leaders, particularly CIOs. But for Tim Zoph, who was recently named chair of KLAS’ Interoperability Measurement Advisory Team, it’s more than just talk. When he was asked to share some of the most valuable lessons learned during his 30-year-career (which includes 22 years as CIO at Northwestern Memorial Hospital), he was happy to oblige. In this interview, Zoph offers perspective on the areas of utmost importance to health IT leaders, including talent management, operational excellence, work/life balance, and being a partner in the industry. He also discusses the new expectations of the CIO role — a hybrid of change agent, senior leader, and innovator; why teaching CHIME Boot Camp has been so rewarding for him; and what’s next in his journey.

Chapter 1



* 22 years at Northwestern

* First corporate CIO — “We needed better information.”

* New expectations for the CIO

* Taking on non-IT tasks — “It helped my credibility as a leader.”

* Early automation challenges

* Building trust — “I’m not walking away until this is right.”



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Bold Statements

Northwestern recognized that in order to really have a strategy, in order to be able to have the level of leadership it needed, it needed a member of the executive team that was a recognized technology leader and CIO.

They needed your perspectives and expertise on technology, but as much as anything else, they were looking for you to help lead the business and be a true senior manager. The concept was that if you’re a senior manager in the organization or an executive leader, you ought to be in a position to not only run your own domain, but be knowledgeable about the business.

I would look to my peer leaders to say, how do I get better engaged? What can I learn from you? How can I understand our business better? I really looked for ways that I could demonstrate my leadership beyond technology, and I believe ultimately that helped my credibility as a leader.

We came to the conclusion that there was no way to get there on paper, that we had to really double down our investment and our adoption in technology, and that the pathway to quality was through technology.

You have to recognize that it’s very difficult to get it right the first time. You have to really engage talented people throughout the organization that you trust, that will give you critical feedback, and that recognize that you’re in it for the long term.

Gamble:  Hi Tim, thank you so much for taking some time to speak with healthsystemCIO.com.

Zoph:  Pleased to be here, Kate.

Gamble:  When you and I met briefly at the CHIME, we talked about doing this and talking about some of what you’ve seen in your career as far as how the CIO role has changed, but I wanted to talk first a little bit about your time at Northwestern. You were there for 20 years or so?

Zoph:  Yes, 22 years and 20 years as a health system CIO.

Gamble:  I can imagine some really big changes occurred during that time period. When did you first start?

Zoph:  I started there in 1993.

Gamble:  Were you hired into the CIO role?

Zoph:  I was actually hired as the first corporate CIO executive, so I was the first technology leader and CIO that was the member of the senior management team. Before that, it was a director level role.

Gamble:  So the thinking behind that was to prepare for what needed to happen as far as the EHR journey?

Zoph:  Where Northwestern was, and I think this is where a lot of the industry recognized it needed to be, is that technology was beginning to get on the radar screen of academic medical centers and leading health systems in the early 90s...