Assignment: Potential Interview Questions for the CIO or Clinical Informaticist

Attached is a list of potential questions for your CIO interview. Select 5 or 6 questions from this list for your interview. Select questions that interest you and are pertinent to the position of the person you are interviewing.

Role of the Individual You Are Interviewing

• What are the three most important responsibilities of your position?
• What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
• What challenges do you face in meeting your responsibilities?
• What do you feel are essential skills and qualities that a CIO must possess?
• What preparation and degrees does an individual need to be successful in your position?
• How did you decide to focus on a career in IT?
• How long have you been in your position and have the priorities of the position changed over time?
• What area interests you most: application, data or infrastructure ?
• What are the most important projects that you and your team are planning or working on now?
• How do you keep your staff current when technology is constantly changing?
• How do you motivate your staff in meeting the IT priorities?

Technology/Decision making/Implementation

• How does the strategic plan for IT fit into the organization's overall strategic plan? Was IT involved in developing the organization's strategic plan?

• What are your top three priority projects?

• How do you measure the value of IT performance in the system?

• What are your biggest challenges in moving toward a completely electronic record?

• How close is the organization to becoming a fully electronic clinical environment?

• What are your plans for future enhancements of current systems or implementation of new systems?

• What are the top three obstacles/hurdles in implementing a new technology in your institution?

• What approach do you take when implementing a new technology? Do you implement system-wide or in pilot areas?

• What unexpected issues have you encountered when implementing a new system?

• They say hindsight is 20/20.... is there anything you would have executed differently or not at all?

• How do you maintain an EHR over time? What needs to be accomplished during a "down time"?

Financial

• What percentage of the organization's budget is dedicated for IT, what does it include (equipment, training), and is it sufficient?

• What percentage of your current IT spending is for maintenance versus growth and transformation activities?

• How do you go about making cost decisions related to technology?

• How large is your staff? How are they trained?

• Has the current economy had an effect on your department?

• Is your organization participating in Meaningful Use and why or why not? (Hospitals and ambulatory practices only)

• Will your organization be able to meet the Meaningful Use 2015 requirements?

Safety/Security

• What measures are taken to keep patient information safe, secure and intact? Who is responsible for this task?

• Have you seen an increase in requests for electronic evidence in recent years?

• How is disaster planning accomplished?

• What are the biggest security threats and HIPAA breaches you face and how do you handle them?

• How do you deactivate an employee's access?

• How do you track unauthorized users?

• How do you dispose of outdated equipment?

Patient Focus

• Do your patients have electronic access to their medical records?

• From your perspective, what impact does an electronic health record have on patient care?

• Will technology be used for patient education?

• Will social media be used to reach out to patients? What is the appropriate use of social media in relation to healthcare?

Clinician Involvement in IT

• What is the role of the nursing administrator and frontline nurses in creating and implementing new technologies?

• How do you include clinicians, i.e. nurses, physicians and others, when making decisions about changes or upgrades to your current system?

• What expanded opportunities do you personally see for nursing in technology?

• How do you maintain contact and communication with clinical department heads?