Forward-Thinking CIOs Debate Hot Issues Facing Hospitals in 2008
Hear what some of the leading CIOs in the industry had to say about today’s most pressing challenges facing healthcare organizations and their plans for leveraging technology.
Picis sponsored a roundtable event where forward-thinking CIOs discussed critical issues facing hospitals in 2008 and beyond. The panelists — each representing a Picis customer from different geographic areas of North America — addressed the challenges their institutions face and speculated on what the future will hold for CIOs and hospitals everywhere.
 Dave Garets
president and CEO
HIMSS Analytics
Dave Garets has 30 years of experience in information technology. He is an internationally known author and speaker on information technologies, strategies, benchmarking and the future of healthcare. He joined HIMSS Analytics in 2004 from Healthlink, where he was executive vice president. Prior to that, Garets was group vice president of Healthcare Industry Research and Advisory Services at Gartner, Inc. Before joining Gartner in 1998, he held a variety of senior management positions for leading organizations such as First Consulting Group, Magic Valley Regional Medical Center and AT&T. He was a course director and on the faculty of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Information Management Executive Courses for 11 years.
Additionally, Garets serves on the editorial advisory boards of three healthcare IT journals and magazines as well as the board of directors of HIMSS Analytics and is currently an affiliate professor at the Medical College of Virginia at Commonwealth University. He is a HIMSS Fellow and was chair of the HIMSS Board for 2003-2004. Garets graduated with a bachelor's of business administration in marketing from Texas Tech University.
HIMSS Analytics supports improved decision-making for healthcare organizations, and healthcare IT companies and consulting firms by delivering high quality data and analytical expertise. The company collects and analyzes healthcare organization data relating to IT processes and environments, products, IS department composition and costs, IS department management metrics, healthcare delivery trends and purchasing related decisions. HIMSS Analytics is a wholly-owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
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Richard McKnight
senior vice president and CIO
Novant Health
Richard McKnight joined the IT department at Novant Health in 2005. Prior to joining Novant, McKnight held various leadership roles for IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the State of Florida, where he utilized his skills in large-scale program management, staff management, executive client relationship management, process improvement, practice management and business development. McKnight graduated from the University of West Florida, Pensacola in 1971 with a Bachelors of Science degree. He is a Certified Data Processor and Certified Information Systems Auditor. Additionally, he is a member of several committees for Novant and is currently the vice president of the Board of Directors for MedAssist.
Novant Health is a not-for-profit integrated group of hospitals and physician clinics, ranked as one of the nation's 10 best healthcare systems. Hospital affiliates include Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville, Presbyterian Hospital Matthews, Forsyth Medical Center, Medical Park Hospital, Thomasville Medical Center, and Brunswick Community Hospital.
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Joseph Sullivan
senior vice president and CIO
Saint Barnabas Health Care System
Joseph Sullivan plays an essential role in providing leadership for the strategic planning and implementation of information systems and technology for Saint Barnabas Health Care System. Prior to joining the Saint Barnabas system, Sullivan had an extensive background in information technology strategy development and implementation in support of medical centers and integrated delivery systems while working at Yale-New Haven Hospital as its administrative director for information systems. He also worked at General Cable Corporation, a Fortune 500 telecommunications cable manufacturer, where he served as director of management information services. Sullivan began his career in information technology with Electronic Data Systems (EDS).
Sullivan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Bridgeport and is a graduate of the Management Development Program from the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University. He is a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and Healthcare Information Systems Executive Association (HISEA), where he served as chairman from 1997 to 1998. Additionally, Sullivan has been a guest lecturer in information technology Masters degree programs at the University of New Haven, Wagner College, Seton Hall University, New York University and The New School For Social Research.
The Saint Barnabas Health Care System is New Jersey’s largest integrated health care delivery system. It provides treatment and services for more than 225,000 inpatients and same day surgery patients, 450,000 Emergency Department patients and over 1.5 million outpatients each year, and delivers more than 17,500 babies annually.
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William Spooner
senior vice president and CIO
Sharp HealthCare
Bill Spooner is responsible for information technology and telecommunications across Sharp HealthCare, overseeing a department that manages the system-wide clinical, financial and administrative computer systems. A Sharp employee since 1981, Spooner led the effort that established Sharp’s information systems organization in the mid-1980s and was a key member of the leadership team that directed the strategic planning and implementation of integrated information systems for the Sharp enterprise. He is currently leading Sharp’s efforts to implement physician order entry, a key component of Sharp’s patient safety initiative and the foundation for its emerging electronic medical record.
In addition to his experience in information technology leadership, Spooner has a financial background, having held financial management positions in three multi-facility health care systems prior to joining Sharp as Sharp Cabrillo Hospital’s chief financial officer in 1981. He is a member of several industry associations, including the Healthcare Information Systems Executive Association (HISEA), College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the HealthCare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
He served as the chair of CHIME in 2006 and currently serves as chair of the CHIME Foundation. He has consulted with several multi-facility systems and presented at numerous industry conferences on information systems for integrated delivery networks. Spooner has a Bachelor’s degree in business/accounting.
Ranked as the number-one integrated health care system in California by Modern Healthcare, Sharp HealthCare is San Diego’s most comprehensive health care delivery system. It is recognized for clinical excellence for services in cardiac, cancer, and multiorgan transplantation, as well as orthopaedics, rehabilitation, behavioral health and women’s health. The Sharp system includes four acute-care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, three affiliated medical groups and a health plan.
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Judy Middleton
CIO
William Osler Health Centre
Judy Middleton is the chief information officer at William Osler Health Centre and e-Health lead for the Central West LHIN (LHIN #5). Her corporate responsibilities at Osler include information technology, telecommunications, health information management, registration, clinical informatics, library services and the technology implementation at the new Brampton Civic Hospital.
Middleton has been the leader of much change throughout her many years in healthcare, with a passion for enhancing processes and outcomes. She is both an IT professional and Registered Nurse who truly understands the relationship between technology and clinical practice.
William Osler Health Centre presently has approximately 600 beds and a health care team of 3,700 staff, 700 physicians and 900 volunteers. As a regional referral centre, Osler provides programs and services to nearly one million area residents. Its faculties offer acute and ancillary health care in the growing and diverse communities of Etobicoke and Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
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Read executive summary of CIO panel
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