Thank you for taking the time to listen to my podcast and post your opinions, I truly do appreciate it.

I agree with everything that you have said in your comment, especially your number 1 comment. CIO’s need physician’s that we can partner with, but as you said, it has to be the right type of physician. I am lucky that even being in rural Colorado, I have a few M.D.’s that came from places like Mayo that are able to see the big picture.

When I am speaking to audiences that often have physicians in them, I equate the time that we are in right now with the time of Ignaz Semmelweis when in 1847 he discovered how important hand washing was. The example I use it to paint a mental picture of physicians walking around in a hospital of today, when someone from the Infection Control Department comes by and tells the physicians that there is evidence that hand-washing can cut down on the risk of infection. I role play out physician’s talking to each other, acting like having to wash their hands was going to take so much time during the day that they couldn’t see as many patients and it would cut into the productivity. Basically, we can come up so many reasons that we “can’t” do this. We have to put sinks in every room? What about the cost of soap? My productivity is going to be shot! This is just going to be way too cost prohibitive to do.

I hope you don’t mind, but I linked your comment to your website information so the listeners can access your resources that you mentioned.

I would love to have an opportunity to speak with you, and would love to have you as a guest on the podcast sometime. I am recording an interview with KLAS sometime this week, but let me know what you think.

Great podcasts!! Your discussion of the importance of CIO in hospital strategic planning is EXACTLY right… I have been involved in CPOE implementations and RHIO efforts and the lack of understanding and inclusion of HIT in the hospital strategic planning was a MAJOR problem!

Some suggestions of topics:
1. PHYSICIAN involvement in HIT. We (yes I am a doc) are critical in HIT but CIOs need the right kind of physician to partner with. CMIOs are becoming more common but vary in their training and background. There is a national organization for them now (AMDIS) and some of us who have had the roll are helping write a guide on this topic. I think a show on the importance of physician participation and leadership and who is the right type of physicain for this roll (NOT a geek with a stethescope!) would be great!!!!
2. State roll in HIT – I am biased here because I have just switched from being a CMIO to a position in the NYS DOH to work on this but the state roll is getting bigger and bigger as it becomes clear the feds won’t or can’t do a lot and some real policy decisions etc need to get done.
3. Medication management – huge topic from e-prescribing to CPOE but really where most of the improvements in patient safety currently have been proven… you can do it right but you can certainly do it wrong!! Tips on how to do it RIGHT plus the challenges that remain (again I am biased because this is a special area of interest for me as I have edited a book for HIMSS on e-prescribing and led a CPOE implementation as CMIO.

If you are still reading….thanks again for your podcast. I am very impressed with your insight…I am passing on the link to lots of folks…. nice job!!!!!!!!!

Keep up the good work!