For Jackie Rice, there’s so much more to being a CIO than guiding the technology strategy. It’s understanding how all of the departments work together to ensure patient needs are being met. It’s finding a way to continue the “purpose-driven work” she did during her 20-plus years as a NICU nurse — something she has instilled in her staff at Frederick Health, an organization based along the western coast of Maryland.
Recently, Rice spoke with Kate Gamble, managing editor of healthsystemCIO, about how the pandemic has underscored the importance of building a culture around that purpose, and bringing every initiative back to the patient. She also discussed the “very accelerated pace” her team maintained during the height of Covid-19; how they’re thinking out of the box to lower the risk of phishing attacks; and why she believes healthcare organizations need to embrace data as “one of our biggest resources.”
LISTEN HERE USING THE PLAYER BELOW OR SUBSCRIBE THROUGH YOUR FAVORITE PODCASTING SERVICE. 

Key Takeaways

* Although Frederick Health is independent, the organization collaborates with the University of Maryland as well as non-profits to better understand the needs of its community and “positively impact the well-being of every individual.”
* For Rice’s team, “the pace was very accelerated” during the height of the pandemic, as telehealth services were quickly stood up across the practices, and smartphones were deployed to enable patients to facilitate communication within the hospital.
* Other initiatives that were stood up to meet the rapidly changing needs of patients included a virtual waiting room, remote monitoring and asynchronous telemedicine.
* Going forward, one of the key goals is to leverage analytics to learn which technologies are being utilized most and will require optimization. “It’s looking at our data and understanding what we need to refine.”

Q&A with CIO Jackie Rice, Part 1
Gamble:  Let’s start with an overview of the organization — what you have in terms of hospital beds, some of the other services provided, and where you’re located.
Rice:  We are located in Frederick County, Maryland. We are a growing community; we’ve grown 40 percent in the last 25 years. We have about 300 licensed beds and 20-plus ambulatory sites with lab, radiology, and other services. We have Frederick Health Medical Group, which has 100-plus providers. We have a diverse community, with young families moving in, a rural farming area, and a tech corridor.
We opened in 1902 and have been independent since then, although there are more organizations that are merging and being acquired through acquisition. We try to stay on top of that so we can be an independent organization and provide all the services right here in our county.
 
Remaining independent
Gamble:  It’s a rare thing now to be an independent organization. Is that becoming increasingly challenging?
Rice:  We do a lot of collaboration. We have worked with different programs through the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins, which are two big organizations in Maryland. We do a lot of collaboration with the nonprofits right here in Frederick to understand what our community needs. I think that is key. The marketplace is ever-evolving and the pace of change is accelerating, but our mission has always been to positively impact the well-being of every individual in our community, and we feel like we can still do that as an independent organization.
It’s important to understand the health equities within your own commu...