In IT for the long haul

Two weeks ago, the CMS launched an unprecedented advertising campaign in more than 50 U.S. newspapers advising patients to comparison shop using three dozen quality measures posted on a federal Web site (May 26, p. 8). The campaign and its message underscores the increasing financial and public pressure on healthcare providers to reduce costly, harmful inefficiency and errors.

With the mounting pressure for quality, patient safety and cost reduction facing the entire industry, information technology, now more than ever, is recognized as a necessary and viable solution. One of this year’s winners, James Mongan, president and chief executive officer of Partners HealthCare System in Boston, put it this way: “What defined the healthcare system 50 years ago was a building; now it’s clear that information technology linkages are the backbone of the healthcare system.”

There is no room for technophobes in healthcare anymore. Only the strong and tech- savvy will survive. However, technology doesn’t matter unless the organization, and the people within that organization, change first. This important and necessary cultural shift must be led by passionate and courageous leaders.

The winners of the sixth annual Modern Healthcare CEO IT Achievement Award, co-sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, are true leaders and innovators who understand how to use technology to solve healthcare’s problems.

As a publication, Modern Healthcare is committed to reporting on the people, news, events, trends and innovations of healthcare IT. The CEO IT Achievement Award program is another element of our commitment. Through it, and through our partnership with HIMSS, Modern Healthcare has the opportunity to salute innovations in health IT. And more importantly, we’re able to take our hats off to this year’s winners who make this IT innovation happen.

This year’s recipients, Diane Cecchettini, Douglas Hawthorne and James Mongan, fully understand the power of IT when it comes to patient care and improving quality outcomes. All have had to deal with resistance to change and all had the courage to make tough decisions in order to force necessary improvements. In the end, they succeeded because it is clear that each and every one of these CEOs believes not only in the power of IT but also that it’s their personal obligation to promote it within their organizations because it’s the right thing to do.

It takes strong leaders who have the vision and courage to take the necessary steps to transform healthcare. We, at Modern Healthcare, applaud the courage, vision, innovation and unwavering commitment of this year’s winners.