Inside CHIME: An ‘Obligation’ to Advance Health IT

Inside CHIME - header

Weinstock 70x70 1.19.17 by Matthew Weinstock
Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME

CIO Focus Groups give CHIME members a unique opportunity to shape the direction of products and services that will ultimately end up in the health IT marketplace.

Sean Moynihan keeps a busy schedule. Like all CHIME members, the CIO of Virginia Urology, Richmond, VA, is focused on implementing IT systems that will enable clinicians to deliver better care to patients. He also knows he can’t go it alone.

“I understand how valuable my time is,” Moynihan says. “But getting the tools that I need to succeed is just as important.”

One key way he accomplishes that is by participating in CIO Focus Groups. He says CHIME members have “an obligation” to support Foundation firms, just “as they support us.”

Moynihan started attending online and in-person focus groups almost immediately after joining CHIME two years ago. He participates in 15 to 20 focus groups a year, and it is not for the honorarium; he donates that back to the Education Foundation. Rather, he says Foundation firms are critical to helping members improve their operations, which in turn contributes to CHIME’s success.

“Focus groups are where our partnerships with Foundation firms really have a chance to come together,” he says. “Foundation firms can present products, services or concepts that we think the market needs and we can give them valuable feedback. We are all partners in the development and direction of health IT. The success of those partnerships should have a positive outcome on our patients and physicians.”

Moynihan also appreciates the interaction that takes place with fellow CHIME members during focus groups. He says it usually leads to “great discussions and sometimes presents a roadmap I may not have initially considered.”

As you get ready for the CHIME-HIMSS CIO Forum, make sure you too are working to build partnerships across the industry and advance health IT. Sign up for focus groups taking place every two hours starting at 8:00 AM, Feb. 20-22, in Orlando. Regardless of which CIO Focus Groups you participate in, know that your insights are highly valued, there are tangible takeaways, and they are a great opportunity to share your expertise with your fellow CHIME colleagues.

More Inside CHIME Volume 2, No. 2: