CIO Unplugged : Management

Why Health Care IT Lags

Edward Marx — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:05:00 GMT

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources (THR) or its subsidiaries. Last week, one of our hospitals went live on CPOE. My boss and I were there as part of the ribbon-cutting...(read more)

Best and Worst of Leading

Edward Marx — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:06:00 GMT

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources (THR) or its subsidiaries. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age...(read more)

Secret of Successful CPOE Adoption

Edward Marx — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:59:00 GMT

Before revealing the secret, let me establish credibility. I first implemented electronic health records in 1995. A few years later, while CIO at University Hospitals , we achieved a 95 percent CPOE rate at our academic medical center. Currently, with...(read more)

The Lost Art of Mentoring

Edward Marx — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:34:00 GMT

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources (THR) or its subsidiaries. Who taught you life skills? Did anyone coach you in the ways of culture and values? An uncle?...(read more)

Legacy Leaders

Edward Marx — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:31:00 GMT

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources (THR) or its subsidiaries. How can so many of us hold the title of leader, yet never be remembered? Why do some leaders...(read more)

It's Not About You

Edward Marx — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:40:00 GMT

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources (THR) or its subsidiaries. I dreaded visits from Battalion HQ. Bravo Company operated fine without Big Brother coming down...(read more)

Welcome, Welkommen, Bienvenu, Bem-vindo, Bienvenido, Vítaný

Edward Marx — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:56:00 GMT

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources (THR) or its subsidiaries. My family will host our 6th foreign exchange student this fall. Anne will join us from Germany...(read more)

CIO reDefined: CIO 2.0 Chief Innovation Officer

Edward Marx — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:25:00 GMT

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine personally, and are not necessarily representative of Texas Health Resources (THR) or its subsidiaries.

The roles of a CIO are as varied as the companies and sectors they serve. Even within these roles are multiple combinations and permutations that are expressed according to circumstance. The moniker "CIO" itself is not limited to "Chief Information Officer." No, to be effective in our calling we must stretch the traditional definition beyond this commonly accepted interpretation. This post continues a series on how the "CIO 2.0" will push the boundaries of conventional thinking surrounding the role. We continue with the "Chief Innovation Officer."

Neglecting science credits finally caught up with me my senior year of high school. I'd hoped to coast through my last year and focus on non-academic pursuits. Instead, I was stuck taking physics while friends took basket-weaving, underwater-firefighting and equivalents. Deep into the first semester, my grade sunk low enough to negate my eligibility for tennis and soccer. I became desperate. While negotiating with my teacher, he said if I came up with a unique physics project that would blow his socks off, he'd consider it extra credit worth one letter grade.

Partnered with a classmate in a similar predicament, I set out to demonstrate how human energy could be converted to electricity to power an appliance. For a couple of 17-year-olds with little experience and no formal instructions, this required some serious innovation. We found an old bike and welded it to a stand. We purchased a used car alternator, pirated a battery and "borrowed" an appliance. With some help from my classmate's dad, our prototype worked. We impressed our teacher enough to raise our grade and keep us in good standing with parents, coaches and our future universities.

Innovation is not reserved for youth. On the contrary, it is the price of admission for the CIO 2.0. We must have the talent to innovate, or at the very least, the vision for innovation. If we are unable to innovate, we must gather others around us who have this core talent, and then give them the freedom required for success.

I previously described an innovation that came about via a Glorious Mashup. We codenamed the innovation "CareTube" and trusted it would revolutionize training, especially for time- and pride-sensitive clinicians. It would also enhance our already high CPOE adoption rates. More recently, we worked with Microsoft and Infusion to create a new model for enhanced physician and patient communication. At a Gartner conference, our model was voted the most innovative application of technology. (For more detail, see ADVANCE's January 2009 print edition, page 30.)

For IT to become strategic and make a difference, IT leaders must innovate constantly. Remain decidedly against the status quo. Always ask, "How can this be leveraged or improved?" "What new use can be created out of...?" "What if...?" Change scenery regularly. Play games like Cranium or build with Rokenbok, anything that stimulates you to piece the world together differently. Read insatiably then set aside time to think, giving absorbed knowledge time to sift and settle. Understand when is the right time for the right innovation.

Are you innovating? If yes, model for others and replicate yourself. If no, then begin to or find and release those who are.