Throughout his career, Jason Foland says he's held three personal values most dear: accountability, integrity and mutual respect. Carrying out those high ideals on a day-to-day basis, however, requires an assist from his IT department.
"I cannot recommend enough for leaders to really learn how to use their information technology software to help them be more effective," says Foland, M.D., pediatrician-in-chief, The Studer Family Children's Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Florida. "Sticky notes don't seem to cut it."
For Foland, leveraging technology to maximize effectiveness was born partly out of necessity-he says it's essential to remaining plugged into a health care network that spans 146 hospitals and 9,000 physicians.
"It's a huge organization," Foland says. "And we have partnerships with multiple private practices and universities, so really focusing on communication and collaboration-the software has been a big help to me."
5 applications crucial to boosting efficiency
While most common collaboration and productivity software suites boast a myriad of features and capabilities, Foland says these applications are most helpful in keeping him organized and connected:
- Video chat. Useful for quick interactions.
- Secure text messaging. Allows care teams to freely discuss patient care issues quickly and safely.
- E-mail reminders. Building notifications into emails and tasks keeps all parties aware of deadlines.
- Cloud-based sharing. Documents shared via the cloud enable all parties to participate in editing in real-time.
- Virtual chat rooms. Can be quickly and easily created for groups to discuss issues rather than long back and forth e-mail threads.
