Archive for May, 2007
How NOT to use Powerpoint
Cute video regarding common PowerPoint mistakes. Forward it to your favorite offender:
How NOT to use Powerpoint by David Airey of Creative Design
I would add my own presentation tips:
- NEVER use animation – life is too short
- Don’t use notes – they kill the spontaneity
- Don’t over-rehearse – I don’t like robots
- If you find yourself saying “again” you are being redundant, it is OK if the presentation goes quickly
Modern Healthcare Online – EHR and Physician Anger
David Burda’s piece on physician anger with Electronic Health Records is interesting (Alexis Polles is the original presenter). Modern Healthcare’s Daily Dose suggests these frustrations are related to poor design and poor training. Of course excellent design would minimize the need for training. I agree with that take.
However, the original speaker seems to indicate that some physicians are unable to adapt to this way of practicing medicine. Our experience is that 1 to 2 percent of doctors may have trouble embracing clinical IT (regardless of design and training). As you prepare to roll out your clinical IT systems I think it is critical to know how you will handle that 1 to 2 percent. I hear a lot of people talk about a “lack of senior management support” with clinical IT efforts. I think we put senior leaders in a tough position when the checks are signed and the physician problems beginning to pop up. If you have that conversation in advance and agree on the course of action, we will find senior leaders more support.
It will be useful to discuss some real uncomfortable scenarios. What if the one physician hold-out is your top admitter? What if you are experiencing 10% physician resistance? Too often we sugar coat these challenging projects. That will really cause a lack of senior leader support when your EHR or CPOE effort turns out to be something other than the bed of roses it was portrayed.
I report to General Counsel
Over the years there has been a lot of debate regarding where the CIO should report. Most of the noise comes from CIOs that determine their self-worth by reporting to the CEO. I know this, because I used to be this way. But, the CEO is not always the best person. I now strongly believe that this is dependent on the organization and the leaders. There are very few generalities one can apply to this topic. The best example is here at Ministry. I report to the General Counsel. Now, this is very mis-leading. Our General Counsel, Ron Mohorek, is a top executive that just happens to be lawyer by education. Because of that background he is naturally in charge of legal matters. But, his greatest contribution to the organization is his ability to be strategic and tactical. This is where he spends most of his time.
Legal and IT matters are very similar. In both disciplines there is a temptation to hand over a business matter to the lawyer or the IT guy. In both cases this usually results in disappointment, especially when the business leader is not clear on what they are trying to accomplish. Ron’s understanding of this greatly advances my cause to keep the accountability for IT initiatives out of IT (except the technical stuff).
At Affinity I do report to the CEO. And, this seems to be the best fit for that organization. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Swapping Existing Headaches for New Ones
Particularly in IT, the grass is always greener on the other side. The bottom line is that complicated IT systems all have their flaws. It takes a lot of effort to make sure you are not swapping out a set of existing frustrations for a new set that are different, but equally frustrating. And, the cost of that swapping is enormous.
