The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote and hybrid work in health systems, especially within IT teams. Healthcare organizations expect this trend to continue due to the flexibility it offers employees.
"Munson Healthcare has embraced remote and hybrid work models for select IT roles, capitalizing on this flexibility as a strategic advantage for attracting and retaining talent throughout the state of Michigan and nationwide," Michael Saad, CIO of Traverse City, Mich.-based Munson Healthcare told Becker's. "This approach has been instrumental in filling pivotal IT leadership and technical roles."
Mr. Saad emphasized that providing remote and hybrid work options for IT staff has emerged as a significant benefit for employees. This flexibility not only enhances productivity but also plays a crucial role in retaining skilled talent within the organization, he said.
At Baton Rouge, La.-based Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, 60% of the team works fully remote, 15% hybrid and 25% onsite.
"While there are many advantages and some disadvantages of the remote/hybrid model, we have not seen a material impact on the speed of implementing IT projects," Will Landry, CIO of the health system, told Becker's.
As a result, Mr. Landry expects to maintain this configuration for the IT team.
"At this time, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages," he said. "We are committed to focusing on more interdisciplinary rounding and spending more time at the elbow with our clinicians."
Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai leans heavily on a hybrid approach. At the health system, 10% of its team operates fully remote, 20% of IT staff are on site while the remaining 70% work in a hybrid model.
"Our hybrid team members reside locally and come into the office based on business requirements and customer needs. This flexibility has proven invaluable, particularly during critical events," Craig Kwiatkowski, PharmD, CIO at Cedars-Sinai told Becker's.
In particular, Dr. Kwiatkowski said during the nationwide Crowdstrike IT outage, hybrid team members came together to address urgent issues on-site for several days, ensuring a prompt and effective response.
"Such instances highlight the importance of having a critical mass of local team members who can transition seamlessly between remote and in-person work, depending on the demands of the moment," he said.
Additionally, the hybrid IT teams have remained as productive as ever, according to Dr. Kwiatkowski.
However, the shift toward remote and hybrid work arrangements hasn't been seamless.
"One of the biggest challenges of remote and hybrid work is maintaining effective collaboration and communication among team members," Zafar Chaudry, MD, chief digital officer and chief AI and information officer at Seattle Children's told Becker's. "While technology can help bridge the gap, it can also lead to misunderstandings and a lack of connection."
At Seattle Children's, the organization has fully embraced remote and hybrid work models, with most employees working remotely. This shift has led the organization to implement additional collaboration tools, prioritize enhanced cybersecurity and support tools to ensure that employees have the necessary technology and support to work effectively remotely.
Matt Junk, interim CIO of Arlington, Va.-based VHC Health echoed some of Mr. Chaudry's thoughts stating that maintaining team cohesion and fostering innovation in remote work settings remains a challenge for healthcare organizations.
"Innovation often thrives on these unplanned moments, you can't schedule innovation over a Teams meeting," he told Becker's.
Despite this, Mr. Junk said hybrid and remote models have allowed employees to manage their work and personal lives more effectively, leading to improved morale and job satisfaction
"This flexibility also opens up the recruiting pool nationally, enabling VHC Health to attract top talent from across the country, bringing diverse skills and perspectives to the team without the expense and barriers of relocation," he said. "Additionally, remote work can enhance productivity by providing opportunities for longer, uninterrupted focus periods, if employees can create personalized, distraction-free work environments."