Working in a hospital IT department is no walk in the park. Complying with federal regulations such as meaningful use and ICD-10 have most IT teams strapped, stressed and constantly shifting their priorities in attempt to meet the requirements that keep piling up -- all this in addition to their regular workload.
IT teams who were named to our 2013 Best Hospital IT Departments list opened up about what keeps them up at night, and how, amidst growing burdens, they keep employees motivated, retain top talent and manage to meet deadlines -- all without losing their minds.
First, as Becki Weber, senior vice president of IT at the six-hospital Meridian Health in N.J. (which took first in the large Best Hospital IT Departments category) sees it, you have to acknowledge certain realities to be able to address them.
"Everyone in healthcare is extremely stressed out right now," she said. "We're absolutely in the majority," Weber said of her 211-person IT team.
[See also: At Meridian, it's all for one, and one for all]
That's why, under her leadership, Meridian Health has established a Fun Committee that plans regular events, fundraisers and team games as a way to de-stress and bring staff together. The team also organizes special lunches where they'll bring a dish or specialty items from their particular culture.
For Judy Comitto, chief information officer of the 535-bed Trinitas Regional Medical Center in New Jersey (which earned the No. 1 spot in the medium-sized Best Hospital category), stress management involves bringing in external help.
"Because there are so many projects in the pipeline at this time, we will use outside help from time to time to alleviate the burden to internal staff members," she said.
[See also: Trinitas staffers demonstrate 'intense loyalty']
In terms of what keeps IT leaders up at night? Better sit down; there's a lot.
Chris Brown, assistant vice president of IT at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, Md. (the hospital snagged first place in the small Best Hospital IT Departments category) said sometimes what keeps her up is an actual call at three o'clock in the morning from a nurse who can't access patient medical information.
It's also making sure her 17-member IT team are able to shift priorities efficiently. "I'd being lying by saying that my staff isn't stressed out right now," Brown said.
For Comitto, it's managing how to do more with less. Meeting Stage 2 requirements, preparing for ICD-10 go-live and trying to get the clinical staff on board with all of these requirements on top of typical day-to-day deadlines proves a constant stressor for her and the team.
"How to meet trying to accomplish everything that we're all doing right now with limited funds and limited staffing is definitely the biggest challenge," she said.
Also a struggle, as Weber pointed out, is when clinical staff and docs fail to understand priorities such as ICD-10. "I seem to feel that the physicians are a bit disengaged," she said. "I'm not sure they see it as a real issue, and I think that's going to be a surprise for them," specifically in the form of revenue. The clinical side perceives I10 as an IT-led project, rather than a clinical or financial, so there's that disconnect, she explained.
When asked how she's working to fix this, Weber said Meridian Health has several workgroups that discuss the topic. "I want to move to more accountability for the clinical departments," she added. "I want to make sure that they well understand it and they are accountable and responsible for the numbers reported."
On top of the disconnect between physicians and regulatory priorities, Brown, Comitto and Weber said the ICD-10 vendors have also dropped the ball. Big time.
"What's been happening is that the vendors that we need to upgrade the software are not timely, so that is pinching our test time and the downstream functions," said Comitto,
"We started ICD-10 planning years ago, but the vendors just now seem to be releasing software that's supposed to be ready for ICD-10 but really isn't," said Brown.
Improving customer service
In healthcare IT, an important part of the job is also about serving the customer, which is why, on Weber's team, a lot of emphasis is placed on customer service. "You have to be a people person," she said.
"We monitor how long does it take to answer a call, how many people do we have that have leave a message, and we have goals, and we post them every single week," said Weber. For instance, when a physician calls in, they don't want them to hold for more than nine seconds.
Good customer service is also about making staff available and present, Weber added. Despite being a centralized location for IT, Meridian Health has 180 different locations, so the team regularly gets sent out in the field. "We have people that just go there and walk around, ask how they can help with their IT shirt on, so we're seen as available and caring."
For MedStar, customers are surveyed electronically whenever we close a help desk ticket, said Brown. "And the scores that we get are part of everyone's performance reviews each year," which really has helped make customer service a priority.
Overall, Brown, Comitto and Weber say they're working hard to lead successful IT teams with tighter budgets and more work. It's no easy task, but they're making it happen. When asked if relief would come soon whether in the form of more funding, more staff or fewer projects. They all echoed each other's sentiments: don't count on it.
