Though not yet 40 years old, David Chou has already made his mark in the world of health IT.
Mr. Chou is currently vice president and CIO of Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas City (Mo.). He has also served as a healthcare IT advisor for East Lansing-based Michigan State University, CIO of Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center and senior director of IT operations at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
On Tuesday, April 18, 2017, Mr. Chou will take part in a panel at the Becker's Hospital Review 8th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place from April 17 through April 20 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Mr. Chou's panel, click here.
Question: What has been the biggest change in the world of health IT over the past five years?
David Chou: Health IT has changed dramatically with the shift to EMRs. Going from paper to electronic documents has been a huge achievement in terms of preparing health IT for the next phase. The question for the future is how we take all the electronic information and make it relevant to providing care for our world.
Q: What are you most excited about regarding the future of health IT?
DC: Technology in general is an exciting place to be because it's at the core of every organization. Now we have to shape strategy so as to provide the best care and value for patients.
Q: What's the last memorable thing you read?
DC: Recently I've been reading a lot of leadership books on how people manage culture. It hits me personally, as I've been in many types of organizations, all of which are looking for transformation. Leaders often fail to recognize the importance of culture and pace of change. Even though you may want to, you can't lead too quickly. It's about finding the right balance between the two.
Q: The panel you're speaking on at the April conference is titled "Innovation and Information Technology." Why do you think innovation is such a key part of IT, especially in healthcare?
DC: In our line of work, the first major IT move was going electronic. Now that everyone's there, what's the next part people have to focus on? Innovation. There are so many types of innovation where technology can play a big role. The next phase is innovation focusing in on how we can make it a personalized experience for the patient.