What is the biggest IT challenge on your plate right now?
This is a very exciting year for El Camino Hospital as we prepare for the November opening of a new, 300-bed, digital hospital that includes the latest and greatest technologies. This massive process has involved six years of planning and implementation. New technologies, ranging from robots that carry supplies to videoconferencing capabilities, biometric patient identification, digital signage, digital art, medical grade bedside computers, wall-to-wall wireless capabilities and much more will allow the hospital to be “born smart.” In the years ahead our smart hospital will grow up in new and innovative ways.
What is the next IT project on the verge of rollout at El Camino? Timetable?
One of the biggest challenges is making sure we retrofit our new technology with our current systems since all the pieces have to work together moving forward. We’ve been in “high gear” for the past 18 months, selecting and evaluating technologies such as our new digital modalities for the radiology department and the addition of a CyberKnife Radiosurgery System to our clinical robotics inventory.
Does being “the hospital of Silicon Valley” provide some pressure to excel on the IT front?
We don’t see it as pressure; rather, it’s an environment that allows us to be innovative. Silicon Valley is a place where people accept and welcome innovation and neighboring technology companies often contact us about their latest products. For instance, we recently introduced a technology from our Cisco neighbor called TelePresence that allows us to remotely interact with our new sister site in Los Gatos. Each patient room in our new hospital has the infrastructure in place to participate in telemedicine on this network.
How would you amend – or not – the incentives for healthcare IT adoption as spelled out in the HITECH Act?
For hospitals, the act carries a great deal of acute care focus. I would like to see more of an ambulatory care focus because that is where most healthcare actually happens. And I suspect many hospitals will struggle with the 10 percent goal for CPOE. El Camino Hospital has 40 years experience with CPOE, so while we appreciate all that it offers, especially in regard to quality care, we also understand the burden it brings and the unintended consequences of mandating CPOE, such as the tremendous culture change physicians must endure.
How is El Camino positioned to receive the incentive funds for the meaningful use of healthcare IT?
As installers of the world’s first computer-aided medical information system, we are in excellent shape. While we are not driving our strategic plan around this initiative, there is some intercept. As CIO, I am very aware that the government has now become a strategic planning partner and more than ever we’ll have to consider the government’s directives as we construct our plans.
What are you reading?
I just finished “Brain Rules” by John Medina. I liked it so much that I passed it on to my daughter who is about to enter college. It has a lot of practical suggestions about learning, and we are never too old to learn more about learning.
Editor Bernie Monegain interviewed Greg Walton.
