Healthcare’s Digital Era - 10 Health IT + Digital Innovation Must-Reads

Much like the practice of medicine, technology is constantly evolving. In healthcare, the health IT landscape is being reimagined to better meet the needs of providers and the expectations of patients amid the pandemic and the rise of virtual care. These 10 must-read articles examine healthcare in the digital era and include CIO predictions about the future of health IT in the next five years, digital health investment red flags, and a look at the use of technology at leading organizations like Cleveland Clinical and Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger.

Digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has carved a new role for CIOs in corporate boardrooms as decision makers, a shift that IT leaders expect to be permanent, according to a Jan. 5 Wall Street Journal report. “The pandemic has shown us that digital transformation is the number one business imperative right now, and, as a result, the role of the CIO has never been more crucial,” Chris Bedi, CIO of cloud-software company ServiceNow, told the publication. Before COVID-19, issues such as corporate strategy were not primary responsibilities for most senior IT managers; however, with the widespread adoption of cloud computing during the pandemic IT leaders have compiled real-time data on fast-changing markets, giving more weight to advanced analytics in the corporate decision-making process. With business decisions relying more on cloud computing and software applications, tech leaders told the publication that they are increasingly being judged on business results rather than as leaders overseeing IT systems.