The Chartis Group Releases Paper "Bridging the Digital Divide in the Healthcare C-Suite"

CIOs must be positioned as true thought partners with executive leadership

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May 23, 2019, 16:50 ET

CHICAGO, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Within many healthcare delivery enterprises, CIOs are not well positioned as thought partners within the executive team regarding strategic decisions (many of which are centered on technology itself or have meaningful technology implications), nor are CIOs fully leveraged as change agents. The digital industrialization of healthcare and its dependence on informatics and technology makes the organizational model of the past no longer tenable. This paper, "Bridging the Digital Divide in the Healthcare C-Suite" provides a new model for how health systems must reframe the role of the CIO within the C-suite to bridge the digital divide.

Leading healthcare CEOs are painting a future which promotes a single vision and endorsement of digital starting at the top. Healthcare delivery enterprises that truly embrace digital will transform all aspects of their business, from care models to business operations to consumer engagement. Health systems require a clear vision around the role IT will play to inform and advance strategic imperatives in the near and long term, acknowledging that the bright-line distinction between strategy, operations and IT will converge in the coming years. This may require deliberate changes to accountabilities across the executive team, but the results can be powerful.

Parrish Aharam, Chartis Principal, and co-author of this paper stated, "CIOs must be viewed as a solution partner and an integral contributor to the executive council. For this reframing to work, CIOs must immerse themselves in the business and stay apprised of broader industry trends to connect the dots between their enterprise strategy, emerging tech and IT capabilities."

The paper discusses six tactics that CIOs should consider when reframing their IT model.

Define new roles and recruit new capabilities to bridge the digital divide
Assign an associate CIO, or comparable, responsible for all IT operations
Form a stronger relationship with the CSO, COO, patient engagement officer and other executives
Outsource the non-strategic aspects of IT
Shift the organizational structure to align competencies
Develop an integrated governance model around innovation

Ryan Bertram, Chartis Associate Principal and co-author of the paper noted, "Executive leaders must work together to collectively embrace change, collaborating to establish novel models and processes that help shepherd their organizations and cultures toward a new norm where 'digital health' will simply become 'health.'"

About The Chartis Group

The Chartis Group® (Chartis) provides comprehensive advisory services and analytics to the healthcare industry. With an unparalleled depth of expertise in strategic planning, performance excellence, informatics and technology, and health analytics, Chartis helps leading academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, children's hospitals and healthcare service organizations achieve transformative results. Chartis has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.chartis.com.

SOURCE The Chartis Group