CIO Halamka Highlights 5 Health IT Challenges In Year Ahead

One question that healthcare CIOs are asked time and time again to answer is: What keeps you up at night? Answers to the question vary depending on the type of organization the CIO works for and the complexity of the health IT systems it maintains or is planning to implement.

Writing on his personal blog, Life as a Healthcare CIO, John Halamka, MD, MS, has shared his feelings about what lies ahead for him in his role as CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Unsurprisingly, Halamka identifies no less than five concerns that are at the foremost of his mind as his prepares for the end of 2013 and challenges that await healthcare organizations and providers in 2014.

The first which the healthcare CIO calls “mergers and acquisitions” seems better served under the heading of interoperability — that is, the challenge of interfacing disparate EHR and health IT systems made more urgent by the implementation of accountable care models and healthcare reform.