This week, Becker’s Health IT published an article that explores hospitals and health systems experimenting with off-site IT work, either from a full-time or part-time perspective. We thought it might be helpful to pass on to you some highlights arising from this article, so that our readers can begin discussions with their own teams as to the potential benefits and drawbacks of such a model.
A Promising Approach
As they say, crisis is the mother of invention. The COVID pandemic forced many hospitals to think outside the box for ways to protect their mission-critical staff members from infection. Obviously, this was difficult for clinicians. But even there, telehealth was utilized where possible to limit health risks. However, hospitals don’t just run on their clinicians. There’s clerical staff and the IT team—individuals who aren’t required to make incisions or fix fractures. Some hospitals were able to find a way during the early 2020s to lessen the health risk to their IT personnel by allowing them to log in from home.
For example, Michigan-based Munson Healthcare has implemented such a program. CIO Michael Saad had this to say about their new model:
Munson Healthcare has embraced remote and hybrid work models for select IT roles, capitalizing on this flexibility as a strategic advantage for attracting and retaining talent throughout the state of Michigan and nationwide. This approach has been instrumental in filling pivotal IT leadership and technical roles.
According to Saad, providing remote and hybrid work options for IT staff has emerged as a significant benefit for employees. This flexibility not only enhances productivity but also “plays a crucial role in retaining skilled talent within the organization.”
This emerging paradigm shift is not only found in the far north but has made its way to more southern environs. At Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 60 percent of the IT staff works remotely on a full-time basis, while 15 percent are hybrid workers; that is, they work from both home and the hospitals based on a set schedule. Only 25 percent work exclusively at the facility.
Franciscan’s CIO, Will Landry, had this to say about their new model:
While there are many advantages and some disadvantages of the remote/hybrid model, we have not seen a material impact on the speed of implementing IT projects. At this time, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. We are committed to focusing on more interdisciplinary rounding and spending more time at the elbow with our clinicians.
As a result, Mr. Landry expects to maintain this configuration for the IT team.
Let’s not leave out the West. Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai leans heavily on a hybrid approach. Ten percent of its team operates fully remotely, while 70 percent work in a hybrid model. That leaves 20 percent of the IT staff working on site. Their CIO, Dr. Craig Kwiatkowski is high on this approach, saying:
Our hybrid team members reside locally and come into the office based on business requirements and customer needs. This flexibility has proven invaluable, particularly during critical events.
Dr. Kwiatkowski pointed out that during the nationwide Crowdstrike IT outage, hybrid team members came together to address urgent issues on-site for several days, ensuring a prompt and effective response.
Nothing’s Perfect
Despite these glowing reviews from those in charge and in the trenches, the Becker’s article is careful to point out that there may be potential drawbacks to the remote or hybrid model. According to Zafar Chaudry, MD, chief digital officer and chief AI and information officer at Seattle Children's:
One of the biggest challenges of remote and hybrid work is maintaining effective collaboration and communication among team members. While technology can help bridge the gap, it can also lead to misunderstandings and a lack of connection.
In other words, maintaining team cohesion and fostering innovation in remote work settings remains a challenge for healthcare organizations who adopt the remote work approach as it pertains to their IT staff. Nevertheless, at Seattle Children's, the organization has fully embraced the remote and hybrid work models. But, with this new commitment, the organization has made a firm effort to implement additional collaboration tools that prioritize enhanced communication and accountability.
So, the takeaways are fairly straightforward. First, hospitals and health systems should seriously consider the benefits of remote work, as attested to by some of the above-referenced IT professionals who have implemented this approach at their facilities. Second, where a facility concludes that this is a model where the benefits may indeed outweigh the negatives, strong controls should be put in place to maximize team cohesion and minimize security risks. With these measures in place, the remote and hybrid models may be just what the doctor ordered.