Women In Health IT

The founder of hcsmSA and co-founder of hcsmAFRICA talks about her hero, pet peeves, and what’s top-of-mind among her social media followers. 

The immediate past chair of the North America HIMSS Board of Directors has contributed to nursing and healthcare through leadership roles as an advanced practice nurse, chief nursing officer and CEO.

Access to healthcare is underpinned in large part on a health consumer’s access to information about available health care services, their location, price, and if the patient is very fortunate to glean, quality. As people take on more responsibility for managing their health care utilization and financing in America, their access to information that is easy-to-find, clear, comprehensive and current is critical to personal and public health outcomes. But consumers are dissatisfied with the state of health care information in their lives, discovered through a survey supported by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Oliver Wyman, and conducted by the Altarum Institute. Results of this study were published in the report, Right Place, Right Time: Health Information and Vulnerable Populations. Oliver Wyman featured these findings in a conversation held at the World Economic Forum in Davos week titled, Vulnerable Populations and the Great Health Divide. The study’s top-line insight was that vulnerable US health citizens are health information-compromised. This group of people tends to be uninsured, Spanish-speaking, caregiving, and enrolled in Medicaid. The lack of health/care information access jeopardizes care access and quality, putting people at-risk for worse health outcomes, eventual higher costs, and greater burden of disease compared with people who enjoy health information access. Health consumers want financial transparency; simpler, direct language; mobile-friendly formats; and, respect. This is a lightbulb moment finding in the survey; see the Hot Points, below. The study’s key findings were that: Consumers demand cost information and mobile-friendly websites Consumers seek improvements to information about cost of care, accessibility, and comparisons Caregivers use the most health care information but struggle to find resources to help themselves Uninsured people have greater difficulty accessing health care information Spanish speaking people struggle with language barriers, and rely on friends and family to offer advice and remedies Patients who feel disrespected by providers are less likely to trust health care information or follow medical advice. For the poll, Altarum Institute interviewed 4,068 consumers via a mail and web survey, and conducted interviews and focus groups with 65 consumers. Research was fielded between June and August 2016. Health Populi’s Hot Points:  The role of respect in the relationship between patient-consumer and provider cannot be underestimated, based on the clinical evidence found in this study. Specifically: feeling disrespected was linked to medication non-adherence. Thirty-two percent of people without health insurance feel disrespected, this study found. People who are sicker tend to feel less respected, as well as those with lower incomes. The Rodney Dangerfield feeling of “can’t get respect” leads to health consumers being three times less likely to trust information provided by their doctors. Furthermore, patients who feel disrespected by providers are twice as likely to be non-adherent to medication regimens. For example, people with diabetes (PWD) who do not feel respected are one-third more likely to have poorly-controlled diabetes compared with PWDs who feel respect from their providers.  User-centered design is mandatory for the health information economy. Health information portals are poorly utilized because they lack good design informed by patients’ values, digital literacy, and life-flows. Empathy is part of this ethos. The report notes that, “Good patient-provider relationships are not just part of good bedside manner…positive patient-provider relationships should be considered a medical priority, and should be encouraged through training, education and, potentially, compensation changes.” Throughout the health/care ecosystem, as we work to incorporate health in all policies and cultures of health, we must be mindful that empathy, caring, and respect are key ingredients in user-centered design. Check out the approach of Dignity Health’s #hellohumankindness as an example of branding and delivering on empathy in healthcare. This post originally appeared on Health Populi.

I’ve written many posts on leadership. As we witness the peaceful transfer of power in the Office of the President, it seems fitting to reflect again on leadership and what we should expect of leaders. When I think of critical leadership qualities at the executive level, I think of vision, integrity, presence, communication, and authenticity.  If you look at position descriptions for executive level leaders in business, you will see all of these and more.   I’ve talked in the past about the core principles and values I share with my staff when starting a new leadership position. In that early period, I want my team to get to know me and to understand what’s important to me. I want them to hold me accountable for living these values every day in every situation. And I also expect everyone on my team to live them as we work together. Here they are again but with a more generic description that can fit any leadership position: Teamwork – the leader must set a tone in all their words and actions that people are expected to respect one another and work collaboratively toward common goals in the best interest of all. Transparency – the leader must practice open, honest, and proactive communication and expect that from others. Customer service – the leader must remember who they are ultimately serving and have that guide their decisions. Accountability – the leader must be accountable, take ownership and deliver on their commitments. Innovation – the leader must create an environment where people are encouraged to be creative and bold in their thinking. Continuous improvement – the leader must encourage change and not allow the status quo to be the norm if it no longer works. Results focus – the leader must focus on end results with appropriate respect for the rules and processes. You should expect no less of your leaders. You should expect all this and far more. This post was first published on Sue Schade's Health IT Connect blog.

Think about the little girls you know. Did they get even more dolls for holiday gifts? Or did they get toys and games that teach creative thinking and how to build things? Or did they maybe even get toys officiallylabeled in the STEM category? Social norms start young. I recently played a match game with my two-year-old granddaughter. When we matched the truck picture, she took it over to her 6-month-old baby brother as though it was his domain! This granddaughter and her two-year-old girl cousin have a variety of developmental toys. But when it’s free play, they are often clutching one of their dolls, whether it’s Princess Sofia the First or the newest Disney Princess Elena of Avalor. At least these characters are both confident, strong and compassionate princesses! My four-year-old granddaughter isn’t as attached to dolls these days. After a break, she is back in dance class, my birthday gift to her. I know she loves it.  At Christmas, with her mother’s advice, I gave her 3 months of Koala Crate – a creative, educational activity box for 3-5 year olds. She loved the first box – making stuffed reptiles and learning about them. You may be saying it’s all about exposing kids to a lot of different things. I agree. But it’s important to not fall into the gender norms when they are young. Let’s fast forward from my three little granddaughters to some of the female leaders in our health IT industry. The CHIME-HIMSS John E. Gall Jr CIO of the Year is Pam Arora, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Children’s Health System of Texas. I am delighted. Pam is a leader in our industry and deserves this honor. I can’t help noting though that Pam is only the fifth woman to receive this award which began over 25 years ago. I spoke on  a HIMSS Women in Health IT webinar on Tuesday, January 17th titled “Yes we can, attracting the future leaders in STEM”. To prepare my talk, I asked Pam and the past female CIOs of the Year about how they got into IT and what advice they would now give their younger self. While there are many women health IT leaders, why not turn to these recognized and accomplished women for some advice? They got into IT because of the encouragement of either a parent, a teacher, or a boss. These important influencers encouraged an early interest in math and helped them stay with it as they started working. For two of them, like myself, their first IT job was programming. And it was back in the day of punch cards and programming languages you’d not recognize today. The advice to their younger selves and to young women going into IT and STEM fields today was to have a can-do, positive attitude and to find balance. Stephanie Reel is the Chief Information Officer and Vice Provost for Information Technology for the Johns Hopkins University, and Vice President for Information Services for Johns Hopkins Medicine. A bigger and broader role than the average healthcare CIO. She advised: “Be happy; be proud; go home a bit earlier to enjoy time with family”. She is a strong advocate for building a healthy work environment. She went on to say “We need to be kinder and gentler, and we should never allow ourselves to be bullied, or made to feel inadequate.” Pat Skarulis is the Vice President and CIO at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Her advice is “Just do it. Take as much math and science as you can early in your academic career.” She also advised to not overlook the arts which are very important to your development and career. Pam McNutt, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Methodist Health System, remembered the advice from her parents. “Don’t focus on the differences between men and women, just do your best and show value”. Her father told her she could do anything; the sky is the limit. Her mother taught her how to be a woman in what was a man’s world. Per Pam Arora, it’s important to stretch and not be afraid of new challenges. “Don’t be afraid of work you have never done before. It’s a first for everyone at some point. Dare to be the first!” I have great respect for all these women. We can all learn from them. The two leading professional organizations in our industry, HIMSS and CHIME, recognize the importance of developing women. I applaud the efforts they have launched under Carla Smith and Liz Johnson’s leadership respectively. Resources: HIMSS Women in Health IT CHIME Eyes Programs to Improve Leadership Diversity  This post was first published on Sue Schade's Health IT Connect blog.

The HIMSS and CHIME award winner, and chief information officer of Children’s Health in Dallas, on her strengths as a leader, gender inequity in health IT, and what excites her most career-wise.

Current chief executive Robert Henkel will retire on July 1, 2017.

The healthcare consultant discusses her followers’ most pressing issues, picks a health IT hero and reveals that very few people know her real first name. 

The doctorpreneur also shared what is top of mind among her social media followers, and who her health IT hero is. 

CHIME CEO Russ Branzell commended her for pushing the envelope of what it means to be a chief information officer and HIMSS CEO Stephen Lieber said Arora advances the connection between IT and care quality.