< + > Featured Health IT Job: Chief Health Information Officer

We like to regularly feature a healthcare IT job that might be of interest to readers. Today, we’re featuring the Chief Health Information Officer position that was recently posted on Healthcare IT Central. This position was posted by Hennepin Healthcare and is located in Minneapolis, MN.

Here’s a description of the position:

Hennepin Healthcare System (HHS) operates as an integrated care system which includes HCMC, a nationally recognized Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center along with a high-quality acute care hospital. This comprehensive healthcare network includes a 473-bed academic medical center, a Clinic & Specialty Center catering to outpatient needs, a substantial psychiatric program, and an extensive array of primary and specialty care clinics situated both in Minneapolis and its surrounding suburban areas. HHS has maintained a tradition of excellence in education as the state’s first teaching hospital with education programs that include graduate medical education, undergraduate medical education, and advanced practice provider education and support approximately 1,000 learners annually. Additionally, HHS collaborates with the University of Minnesota to provide rotations in over 40 specialties each year. Medical research is supported by the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute.

Our unwavering dedication to our mission is rooted in collaboration, working closely with our community, patients, and families to ensure that exceptional care is accessible to all. Additionally, we take immense pride in our role to train the upcoming generation of healthcare professionals. At the heart of our philosophy is the conviction that equity stands as a fundamental pillar for achieving optimal health outcomes. We are resolutely committed to partnering with both our internal and external communities to empower them to reach their highest health potential, proactively dismantling barriers stemming from racism or other societal factors that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

Hennepin Healthcare is currently seeking a full-time Chief Health Information Officer (CHIO) who will provide leadership for the organization’s strategies in Informatics, Analytics, and Information Technology. In this role, the CHIO will be accountable for driving the strategic development of technology and tools that aim to enhance clinical outcomes, streamline workflows, and optimize efficiency for physicians and providers. The CHIO will play a pivotal role in leveraging data and technology to transform healthcare delivery and support the organization’s mission of providing high-quality care to patients.

Working in collaboration with the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the Chief Health Informatics Officer (CHIO) serves as the physician/provider leader responsible for medical staff engagement, adoption, and optimization of clinical information systems and clinical informatics. One of their key roles is to ensure that clinical information systems effectively support best clinical practices by integrating evidence-based medicine and data-driven decision making. The CHIO plays a central role in ensuring that these systems align with the needs of physicians/providers and facilitate efficient and effective patient care.

Minimum Qualifications

• Doctorate Degree (MD, DO, or equivalent), Physician Assistant (PA-C) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with a minimum of five (5) years clinical experience after training is required
• Formal experience in clinical informatics and/or informatics
• Current (or eligible for) professional license by the applicable State Board to practice in the State of Minnesota
• Board certified/eligible in an ABMS recognized specialty and clinical informatics thorough the ABPM (if a physician)
• Appropriate Board Certification for PA-C or APRN
• If applicable, must hold or be eligible for an academic appointment at the University of Minnesota.

Leadership, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Administrative leadership experience at the institution, department, or section level
• Ability to empathize with clinical staff and develop creative solutions to simplify their work
• An expert user of an Electronic Health Record system in clinical practice
• Deep understanding of how clinicians use technology or could use technology to achieve the triple aim
• Collaborative leader who actively builds relationships and offers support
• Demonstrated success in leading clinical organizations through periods of change
• Strong knowledge of technical systems used in healthcare systems
• Proven, successful and progressive leadership responsibilities with a strong track record of building internal and external collaborative relationships that yield successful management and execution results
• Demonstrated ability to research, plan and implement clinical and business strategies that have a positive impact on quality, finances, and operations within an integrated healthcare system
• Ability to establish work plans, set goals, and effectively manage towards those objectives
• An effective team builder and leader with a track record of integrating functions and fostering a positive work environment that motivates staff to achieve their potential
• Devoted to steering and supporting a team within a work culture that is trauma-informed and antiracist, upholding and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion

Physician and Provider positions at Hennepin Healthcare are credentialed through the Office of the Medical Staff in accordance with its policies and procedures.

Note: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Hennepin Healthcare is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

You’ve made the right choice in considering Hennepin Healthcare for your employment. We offer a wealth of opportunities for individuals who want to make an impact on our patients’ lives. We are dedicated to providing Equal Employment Opportunities to both current and prospective employees. We are driven to connect talented individuals with life-changing career opportunities, enabling you to provide exceptional care without exception. Thank you for considering Hennepin Healthcare as a future employer.

We greatly value the knowledge and perspective that comes with having a diverse workforce and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply, including, but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+ people, and individuals with disabilities.

Interested candidates should submit an application and also attach a CV and letter of interest. If you have additional questions about this position prior to applying, please email Jessica Endres (Provider Recruiter) at Jessica.Endres@hcmed.org.

Please Note: Offers of employment from Hennepin Healthcare are conditional and contingent upon successful clearance of all background checks and pre-employment requirements.

Looks like a great opportunity for those with experience in clinical informatics! If this looks like a position that would interest you, check out the full details for the job and how to apply.

As always, you can search our Health IT job board for a variety of jobs from leading companies in the industry. You can also register for free and post your resume where recruiters search for job candidates regularly.

< + > St John of God Health Care taking Magentus' oncology IMS Australia-wide

The decision comes following a successful pilot at the Subiaco Hospital. 

< + > Ascom names new ANZ manager

A former 3M and Medtronic executive will be replacing pandemic-era manager David William.

< + > What Healthcare Interoperability Topic Are Not Enough People Talking About?

So many topics to cover in healthcare but tragically so little time! We don’t even have the time or word count to cover it all in this article, so instead we will be focusing on healthcare interoperability. What isn’t being talked about enough when it comes to sharing health data? At the recent Civitas Conference, we took the time to ask various members of our talented Healthcare IT Today Community to see where their thoughts were on this subject. The video below is a compilation of their answers.

Here’s a quick summary of what everyone is saying in the video:

Laura Young, Executive Director at San Diego Health Connect – I think that community information exchange, which is typically around the social determinants of health data, and that integration with a health information exchange is being done by a few organizations but isn’t being talked about enough.

Susan Clark, Principal Health IT Consultant at Briljent – Usability workflow – what happens in real life, on the ground, and the people who are interacting.

Scott Stuewe, President and CEO at DirectTrust – For the people who are trying to make these TEFCA decisions – If they’re going to be participants under a QHIN, the QHIN is going to have to be something to mitigate their risk associated with these partners that are beneath them.

Kathryn Bingman, Vice President of Interoperability Adoption at eHealthExchange – Right now with TEFCA, the initial use cases are just treatment and individual access. People are exchanging very successfully for treatment purposes, but down the road, we’re going to be adding additional use cases. We really want people to adopt TEFCA before those additional use cases, but we haven’t been talking enough about the adoption.

Gregg Church, President at 4medica – Data quality and patient identification. We’re doing all this great work to bring these data sets together, but to make it usable, informational, and keep the patient at the focus, we need to think about the quality of the data first.

Lindsey Ferris, DrPH, Senior Interoperability and Public Health Director at PointClickCare – We’re working with standards today and pushing the boundaries wherever we can, but as health data utilities continue to formalize and get adopted within this industry, I think it’s going to be very fascinating to see what other use cases can be done.

Justin Villines, MBA, HIT Policy Director at SHARE HIE – I think listening to our customers and our participants.

Kathryn Ayers Wickenhauser, Senior Director of Community Strategy at DirectTrust – I would love to see more people of the spirit of #TeamInterop and talking about collaboration.

Huge thank you to everyone who took the time out of their day to come speak with us to make this video possible! And thank you to all of you for taking the time out of your day to read this and watch the video!! We wouldn’t be here without your support and we would love to hear from you as well. Comment down below or on social media what healthcare interoperability topic you think isn’t being talked about enough.

< + > AHA says OCR's online tracking tool rules need to go

The American Hospital Association says new regs from the HHS Office for Civil Rights clash with HIPAA, contradict interoperability efforts and are "flawed as a matter of law and harmful as a matter of policy."

< + > How Queuing Technology for Pharmacies Can Improve Safety & Efficiency

The following is a guest article by Yoni Lavi, Founder and CEO at Qtrac

Few things should take priority over access to necessary medications, particularly prescriptions. However, managing your prescription medications at the pharmacy isn’t always easy. Staff shortages, constantly changing regulations, and growing demand make it difficult to keep up with optimizing procedures and protocols.

Often busy environments, pharmacies are notorious for long waits, overworked employees, and frustrated customers. To make matters even more complicated, many new programs, including one recently announced by Walmart, are expanding pharmacists’ roles in testing and treating illnesses. Additional responsibilities like these are increasingly common in pharmacy stores around the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which only makes ensuring an organized, high-quality experience for customers more challenging.

Addressing Common Pharmacy Challenges

Especially in the healthcare space, safe and comfortable in-person interactions are crucial. The diversity amongst clientele can make improving the efficiency of these environments particularly challenging, as pharmacies must consider specific audience attributes such as:

• Individual health status
• Type of service needed (pickup, drop off, etc.)
• Disability accommodations
• Vaccination status
• Necessary or preferred level of privacy
• Language accommodations

With limited time, space, and bandwidth, these locations often struggle to remain productive while prioritizing the various needs of their clientele. Modern queuing technology, however, may present the solution to many of the inefficiencies commonly experienced at pharmacies by effectively:

Dispersing Crowds

Pharmacies can use virtual queuing technology to quickly identify and personalize service for customers, resulting in less crowding and faster service. Queuing software can be used to segment visitors based on a predetermined need and match them with the appropriate store associate. Not only does this help to streamline service regardless of what’s needed (e.g., pharmacist consultation, vaccination, pick up or drop off of a prescription), but it also betters the overall service quality.

The advanced customer segmentation achieved with digital queuing technology is also useful in maintaining safety and privacy standards. Keeping pharmacy visitors and staff healthy and protected is much easier when stores can seamlessly manage customer flow using a unified and accessible interface. For example, people who are sick can be redirected from potentially vulnerable populations, receive the care they need, and be promptly on their way. This approach, versus a traditional queuing model that requires needless physical contact, minimizes risk for everyone involved by proactively dispersing crowds. 

Improving In-Store Experiences

One significant advantage of this technology is that it improves efficiency for employees while reducing wait times for customers. When employees are sufficiently engaged with their work and visitors’ needs are adequately met, everyone has a better in-store experience. 

When queuing technology segments visitors, it’s leveraging staff members’ strengths so they can be more productive with limited resources. Not only does it alleviate some pressure on staff, but more targeted service also helps interactions go smoother and faster. Thanks to the data proactively captured by virtual queuing software, the right associate knows what their customer needs before the conversation even starts, personalizing the visitor’s experience and reducing wait times overall. Processing work in meaningful batches like this offers a unique operational benefit: an all-in-one service that keeps waiting at a minimum.

Additional Advantages of Queue Management Technology

The ultimate goal of queue management is a frictionless, enjoyable customer experience. Below are a few more ways virtual queuing software can benefit pharmacy retail stores.

Harnessing the Power of Data

Digital queuing software gathers and analyzes critical intelligence regarding customer satisfaction and internal operations. This data can reveal valuable information to the leadership team, including blind spots or strategic weaknesses that can be optimized for better performance. For example, a store can assess which services are taking the longest, which times are the busiest, and how often a visitor abandons the line.

With access to meaningful metrics that identify vulnerabilities, pharmacies can find out how to better align staffing and scheduling, leading to increased productivity. This productivity can then be measured and compared to other locations — or, in some cases, even competitors. 

Giving Back Valuable Time

Visitors feel more productive when they have control over their time and personal schedule. Virtual queuing gives them this valuable autonomy because they can manage and monitor their position in the queue using their own device. This feature of digital queuing technology is particularly beneficial for pharmacies with multiple locations within a region. Customers can optimize their time by finding the location with the shortest wait time, changing their place in line if needed, and knowing for certain how long their wait will last.

Software That Prioritizes Everyone’s Needs

The value of queuing technology lies in its ability to improve everyone’s overall experience at the pharmacy. Engaged personnel and satisfied customers are the foundation of effective customer flow management. To support this, digital queuing software accounts for privacy, safety, service needs, accessibility, and individual timelines while still considering what the organization requires for operational success. With the ability to be effortlessly integrated into existing IT systems, virtual queuing systems help address growing challenges (e.g., increased demand, peak times, staff shortages) as they arise without interrupting current processes. 

A progressive solution to an age-old dilemma, queue management software helps uncover inefficiencies so pharmacies can more easily identify areas for improvement and better the retail experience for all.

About Yoni Lavi

CEO and Founder of Qtrac Yoni Lavi is responsible for the global operations of the company, bringing more than 10 years of experience. His experience and leadership have been focused on developing and delivering technology-driven business services and solutions, providing outstanding client service, and driving profitable revenue growth. Yoni has successfully led strategic growth efforts at Qtrac in a variety of industries including retail, airline, construction, transportation, government, hospitality, banking, education, stadium and arena, healthcare, and entertainment.

< + > Avel eCare Expands Hospitalist and Senior Care Telemedicine Services with Acquisition of Fident Health

The Deal Helps Strengthen and Scale Avel eCare’s Acute and Post-Acute Care Telemedicine Services to Meet the Growing Demand for Hospitalist and Senior Care Support Amidst Challenges of Clinician Burnout and Staffing Shortages

Avel eCare, the nation’s leading provider of clinician-to-clinician telemedicine services, today announced the acquisition of Fident Health, a Texas-based virtual hospitalist provider dedicated to delivering high-quality telemedicine care to rural and suburban communities. The deal strengthens Avel eCare’s existing clinician network and builds on the company’s successful acute and post-acute telemedicine solutions to help hospitals, health systems, and senior care facilities throughout the United States deliver state-of-the-art care to their communities.

“Providers across the country are experiencing staffing shortages and burnout among clinicians, which ultimately impacts patient care. The problem is particularly acute in rural America where patients are already feeling the impact of the crisis. Fident Health is uniquely positioned to address those needs with its highly experienced team of virtual clinicians. Together, we can expand telemedicine support as we work to address health equity and ensure quality care is accessible to all,” said Doug Duskin, CEO at Avel eCare.

Fident Health brings its highly experienced clinical team to augment Avel eCare’s successful hospitalist and senior care services. Combined, the two companies will serve over 220 Senior Care Facilities and over 350 hospitals (community, regional, and critical care hospitals) across the country.

“Avel eCare was one of the first telemedicine care providers to offer clinician-to-clinician services and remains a leading player in the industry. We’re proud to join forces and build on their ongoing success. Our experienced clinical team and customizable approach will not only enhance Avel eCare’s capabilities and accelerate nationwide growth but also aid the development of future solutions that help meet the evolving needs of providers across the entire continuum of care,” said Denise S. Brown, M.D., CEO at Fident Health.

With ten service lines, Avel eCare delivers the broadest array of solutions and care delivery models to meet the needs of a wide range of hospitals, care centers, health systems, and other ambulatory care providers. Partner sites receive a mobile cart equipped with everything necessary for a virtual visit. When providers need assistance, they simply call to connect with Avel’s virtual hospital hub. The Avel team collaborates with the bedside team to provide the best possible care for patients. Avel does not replace bedside staff, rather it supports staff to improve the efficiency and timeliness of patient care, reduce clinician burnout, and increase retention and recruiting capabilities.

Earlier this year, Avel eCare announced the acquisition of Nightwatch, a provider of remote pharmacy services to hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes throughout the Midwest and mid-Atlantic region.

For more information on Avel eCare’s telemedicine services, visit avelecare.com.

About Avel eCare

Avel eCare was one of the first telemedicine care providers in the nation to offer clinician-to-clinician services via telemedicine. Since 1993, Avel physicians, nurses, and clinicians have partnered with more than 600 healthcare systems, hospitals, clinics, senior care facilities, schools, and law enforcement agencies across the country to deliver high-quality virtual care impacting millions of patients. Services include behavioral health, crisis care, emergency, EMS, critical care, pharmacy, hospitalist, senior care, school health, specialty clinic, and more. Learn more at avelecare.com.

Originally announced September 19th, 2023