Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The Healthcare Information Technology Maturity Model


Previously I wrote about Frameworks for IT Management, including the Capability Maturity Model.

Recently, I collaborated with Intel Corporation, HIMSS Analytics and Innovation Value Institute to evaluate the BIDMC IS organization and better understand our strengths and weaknesses.  

Here's an overview of the process

The report evaluated our ability to manage IT like business, manage the budget, manage our capabilities, and manage our portfolio of projects to optimize business value.

Given the volatility and uncertainty in healthcare and technology, it's important to continuously evaluate priorities, opportunities, and threats.    Some days can feel like ADHD.    Some weeks can feel overwhelming.

As a manager, I need to focus more on the areas that need improvement and less on the areas that are good enough.

Benchmarking exercises to discover where you have high and low maturity compared with other organizations are useful.   Sometimes you do not know what you do not know.

In my career, I've moved very fast on issues such as web-enabling applications, hosting in the cloud, and securely sharing data.   I've moved slower on areas of disaster recovery, social media policy, and some aspects of formal documentation.

The HIT Maturity Model was a useful exercise that helped me focus my plans for the next year.

The great thing about being an IT leader is that our work will never be done.   Frameworks for IT management and benchmarking tools help us with the journey.

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