Thomas Mason, MD, became the CMO of the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT at the end of February.
He is a board-certified internist who previously served as CMIO of Cook County Health and Hospital Systems in Chicago.
Here are three key thoughts from Dr. Mason on health IT, as told to iHealthBeat.
On why he wanted to join the ONC
"I've dedicated my entire career to public service. Earlier in my career as a medical director of a group of federally qualified community health centers in Chicago, I was tasked with converting our paper-based system to an EHR system. It was at that time that I really saw and realized the potential of information and technology if used the right way to be a major driver to improve quality, to improve patient safety, to improve clinical outcomes and also to improve efficiency."
On meaningful use
"I think workflow redesign for achieving meaningful use has worked very well in certain areas and has been challenging in others….We really changed the framework of meaningful use and talked more about meaningful outcomes and sort of how meaningfully using the system will lead to…improving the health of our population.
It was very important what we did in terms of structuring the program and focusing on specific areas, including consensus building, reaching out to not just physicians but everyone in the clinical workflow [so everyone] had a voice in the way that their electronic documentation process was changed and also how it was designed to improve the health of the patient. So we established a governance structure, which was very important with bringing everyone on board and helping with the decision-making process."
On tips for a successful EHR implementation
"I would start with saying to develop an engagement strategy that includes physicians from the front lines. It's very important that you pull providers away, and it's very difficult to pull those providers who are usually the busiest, that have the most time dedicated to direct patient care, to get their feedback and their input on the design. I would say to not rush that process and to engage not just the physicians but everyone in the clinical workflow to assess the nursing, the administrative [and] the clinical workflow, how it was done on paper and not to forget how it was done on paper as we design the process for making it electronic.
It's a continuous process and quality improvement project. It does not end with implementation. Optimization following the implementation process is just as essential as the structure and the focus and the energy that went into the initial process."
To read the full interview, click here.
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