Tim Skeen: We want to define what ‘good’ looks like and prioritize our digital health investments.

Episode Link: https://thebigunlock.com/2022/05/02/we-want-to-define-what-good-looks-like-and-prioritize-our-digital-health-investments-accordingly/
Podcast: https://thebigunlock.com/the-big-unlock-podcast/

Podcast with Tim Skeen, SVP & CIO, Sentara Healthcare

"We want to define what ‘good’ looks like and prioritize our digital health investments accordingly."

In this episode, Tim Skeen, SVP and CIO of Sentara Healthcare, discusses how he determines his technology priorities and initiatives for driving digital transformation. Norfolk, VA-based is an integrated, not-for-profit healthcare system comprising 12 hospitals. As CIO for Sentara and its affiliated health plan (Optima Health), Tim focuses on driving synergies through technology to improve member/patient experiences, manage population health, and drive efficiencies.

Tim explains how data is the foundation to drive better healthcare outcomes and how the right data sets can identify care gaps, lower the cost of care, and improve overall healthcare outcomes. He discusses their strategic partnerships for cloud-enabled data and analytics with Microsoft, including their investments in industry consortium Truveta. He also talks about their cloud transformation journey and the IP they have developed for cloud migration that they intend to monetize through a commercial venture. Take a listen.

Show Notes
00:54 Tell us a little about Sentara Healthcare, the populations you serve, and your role.
04:39 Many would refer to Sentara as ‘payvider,’ a payer and a provider. How do these drive your technology priorities as a CIO? Can you share some of the unique needs of an entity like Sentara?
08:08 What's the best outcome for the patient population and consequently for the organization? From a technology standpoint, is data a common use of some platforms?
17:54 Where are you in your cloud transformation and CRM journeys? Where does your core transaction platform for the health system – Epic – fit in?
22:09 I see some other progressive health systems doing the same thing – Providence and Intermountain come to mind -- Is it just being opportunistic? What is driving it – talent?
26:51 How do you parse through the enterprise class technology companies - like Microsoft, ServiceNow, Salesforce, etc. – and the digital health startups landscape as a CIO, managing the risks yet driving innovation as you transform your organization?
34:06 How are you managing the governance for all your digital initiatives?
37:30 How do you see the role of the CIO today and what has changed in the last couple of years?