With 97% of well being knowledge at the moment going unused and clinician burnout at disaster ranges, the healthcare business is dealing with a vital inflection level: the transition from legacy “techniques of file” to dynamic “techniques of intelligence.” On this deep-dive interview, Sandra Johnson, Senior Vice President of Consumer Providers at CliniComp, outlines the structure of the “New Period EHR”—a platform outlined not by static documentation, however by agility, true interoperability, and embedded AI.
Johnson explains why the normal method of incremental upgrades is failing to deal with foundational dangers like system outages and knowledge fragmentation, and he or she challenges leaders to rethink their modernization methods. From bridging the divide between CIOs and scientific leaders to redefining long-term ROI, Johnson offers a strategic blueprint for organizations able to undertake expertise that actively drives scientific choices moderately than merely recording them.
How do you outline a “New Period EHR,” and the way does this new commonplace essentially differ from the legacy techniques that dominated the market over the past decade?
Sandra Johnson, Senior Vice President, Consumer Providers, CliniComp: New Period EHRs are outlined by agility, intelligence, and true interoperability. The place legacy EHRs have been in-built silos, designed to seize knowledge moderately than join it. New Period EHRs bridge fragmented techniques and rework knowledge into real-time scientific intelligence. It’s not about layering on extra options; it’s about reimagining how knowledge, workflows, and AI come collectively to empower clinicians and enhance affected person outcomes. These advances mark the shift from techniques constructed merely for documentation to clever, built-in care platforms that actively drive scientific and operational choices. Healthcare techniques want companions with a New Period EHR mindset that consider in steady innovation and offering an EHR platform that evolves alongside healthcare. Having a totally built-in, end-to-end EHR resolution suite with embedded AI delivers significant insights on the level of care, eliminates downtime via seamless, behind-the-scenes upgrades, and offers suppliers extra time with their sufferers and fewer time navigating expertise.
What persistent ache factors are at the moment forcing healthcare organizations to maneuver previous incremental upgrades and significantly think about a full EHR alternative or modernization technique?
Sandra Johnson: Well being techniques are recognizing that incremental upgrades can’t repair foundational points like interoperability gaps, fragmented knowledge, and expensive downtime. Proper now, right now, about 97% of well being knowledge goes unused as a result of it’s trapped in siloed EHRs that don’t or can’t successfully use, analyze, or share the dear knowledge contained inside them. Information fragmentation turns into a compounding downside when there’s an outage. Throughout the final 10 years, extra than 96% of hospitals reported not less than one EHR outage each three years, and greater than 70% of the time, that lasted longer than 8 hours, underscoring the main points we’re seeing throughout healthcare. Patchwork options solely add complexity, extra interfaces to handle, extra upkeep, and extra operational threat. Immediately’s healthcare organizations are demanding scalability, interoperability, and sustainability. CIOs desire a platform that may increase seamlessly throughout service traces or amenities with out disruption. In a survey of CIOs earlier this yr, we discovered that CIOs wish to AI and interoperability to assist them with these points; greater than 1 / 4 of them stated shared that growing interoperability and knowledge accessibility are a high precedence for his or her AI technique. Clinicians are additionally searching for reprieve; it’s well-documented that greater than half of clinicians are experiencing burnout. They want expertise that simplifies workflows and helps higher care supply, not one other layer of friction. By embedding AI immediately into the platform, well being techniques can scale back reliance on third-party instruments, decrease whole price of possession, and unlock real-time scientific intelligence that drives sooner, extra knowledgeable choices.
When a well being system invests tens or tons of of tens of millions in a brand new EHR platform, what particular metrics (past easy implementation success) ought to CIOs be utilizing to measure the long-term ROI and operational success?
Sandra Johnson: True ROI goes far past a profitable go-live; it’s about sustained operational, scientific, and monetary enchancment over time. Implementation is the muse, not the end line. CIOs ought to measure ROI via a stability of economic and operational KPIs that mirror each system efficiency and scientific affect. These embody clinician effectivity (time spent within the system vs. time with sufferers), uptime and reliability, knowledge accuracy, and the pace of innovation deployment. Simply as vital are outcomes-based measures resembling affected person throughput, scientific high quality indicators, compliance, discount in denials, time to collections, and general satisfaction for each clinicians and sufferers. Designing a platform round these outcomes is vital. By delivering steady efficiency, adaptability, and real-time insights, organizations notice measurable worth throughout each service line, guaranteeing that their funding not solely improves effectivity but additionally empowers clinicians and enhances the standard of care.
What’s CliniComp’s perspective on the road between core EHR performance and best-of-breed third-party functions? How ought to leaders decide what performance should stay inside the EHR versus what ought to be dealt with by specialised distributors?
Sandra Johnson: We consider in stability and openness. EHRs ought to present strong, end-to-end performance throughout the enterprise; documentation, orders, imaging, analytics, and extra, whereas remaining vendor agnostic and API-friendly. Within the new period, integration shouldn’t require compromise. Core performance ought to at all times stay inside the EHR to make sure continuity and real-time efficiency, however leaders ought to have the liberty to increase capabilities via interoperable, standards-based APIs. Having structure that’s constructed to help each is vital. You really want a totally built-in resolution suite that performs nicely with others.
Given the shift to real-time, AI-driven intelligence, how important is an open API technique to a “New Period EHR”? Does the platform function a knowledge supply, a knowledge client, or each?
Sandra Johnson: For any New Period EHR, an open API technique is important; it’s the spine of a related healthcare ecosystem, and it’s the place hospital IT is headed. In a survey of CIOs earlier this yr, we discovered that 55% of them consider AI can clear up their biggest problem: documentation burdens. Fashionable EHRs should operate as each a knowledge supply and a knowledge client, seamlessly exchanging data in actual time. Importantly, they have to even be constructed with interoperability in thoughts in order that they will simply combine rising applied sciences whereas sustaining safe and dependable connections with already current and in-use instruments. The power to combine native AI immediately into the end-to-end platform is essential. This eliminates the necessity for exterior AI instruments whereas guaranteeing that intelligence operates repeatedly within the background, augmenting decision-making, not interrupting it. An open framework ensures knowledge fluidity throughout techniques, enabling organizations to innovate freely whereas sustaining stability, safety, and efficiency.
What widespread legacy workflow points do new techniques nonetheless wrestle to resolve, and the way are fashionable platforms particularly designed to scale back the infamous “administrative burden” that drives clinician burnout?
Sandra Johnson: One of many largest challenges legacy techniques created, and plenty of fashionable techniques nonetheless wrestle to beat, is cognitive overload. Clinicians are burdened by fragmented workflows, extreme clicks, and an excessive amount of irrelevant knowledge competing for consideration. These inefficiencies result in frustration, burnout, and time misplaced on the bedside, the place they actually need to be. Fashionable platforms have to be designed with the clinician on the middle, they usually have to be intuitive, clever, and purposeful. The main target for brand spanking new and upgrading techniques ought to be on simplifying clinicians’ work, not including complexity. To be really significant, any new EHR should automate routine duties, floor related data in actual time, and get rid of downtime disruptions that derail workflows. Embedding AI and workflow automation natively inside the EHR to scale back administrative burden on the supply is crucial. Actual-time insights change handbook chart opinions, automation minimizes redundant documentation, and a holistic affected person view helps extra well timed, personalised care. The result’s expertise that provides clinicians again their Most worthy useful resource, time with their sufferers.
The place do you usually see the best misalignment between CIOs (centered on structure and value) and Medical Leaders (centered on outcomes and workflow) throughout an EHR analysis? What steps could be taken to make sure each are aligned on a expertise choice?
Sandra Johnson: CIOs usually concentrate on infrastructure, scalability, safety, and value, whereas scientific leaders prioritize usability, workflow, and outcomes. Whereas they each finally have the identical finish objective, a disconnect arises when every group views their EHR via their very own lens, as both a technical mission or a scientific instrument, moderately than as a shared strategic funding in affected person care. The important thing to alignment is early, sustained collaboration. When scientific and IT stakeholders interact from the beginning and outline shared objectives, success metrics, and ache factors, the group ensures the EHR helps each operational effectivity and scientific excellence. We’ve seen the best success when alignment occurs from day one. We companion carefully with each CIOs and scientific leaders to construct belief via transparency, co-design, and measure outcomes, guaranteeing each choice advances not simply the IT technique however the general mission of enhancing affected person care.
Past optimizing scientific documentation, how can a modernized EHR platform act as a proactive companion in driving a well being system’s long-term strategic objectives, resembling inhabitants well being administration or value-based care readiness?
Sandra Johnson: A contemporary EHR ought to function the digital spine for enterprise intelligence, powering inhabitants well being, analysis, and value-based care initiatives. When knowledge is unified, dependable, and repeatedly out there, it transforms right into a strategic asset that drives predictive modeling, operational planning, and system-wide optimization. Having a platform that gives that basis with real-time knowledge and analytics throughout scientific, operational, and monetary domains permits proactive decision-making and aligns care supply with long-term organizational objectives.
Wanting forward three to 5 years, what single innovation (e.g., ambient AI, predictive analytics) will develop into the non-negotiable foundational commonplace for all EHR platforms?
Sandra Johnson: The subsequent era of EHRs will likely be outlined by steady, clever interoperability. AI will likely be embedded— not bolted on as an afterthought— throughout EHR platforms to reinforce choices, automate workflows, and enhance security. The actual differentiator will real-time, standards-based knowledge sharing and techniques that by no means require disruptive downtime. The long run commonplace will likely be vendor-neutral platforms that evolve with each interplay, turning knowledge into steady scientific intelligence that makes care extra related, dependable, and actionable.
Any last ideas?
Sandra Johnson: Healthcare is coming into a transformative period the place expertise can lastly maintain tempo with scientific ambition. New Period EHRs are about greater than modernization; they characterize a real companion that connects folks, knowledge, and intelligence in actual time. The objective is to assist well being techniques transfer past static knowledge techniques to dynamic platforms that carry out with out interruption, evolve with out disruption, and empower clinicians to concentrate on what issues most: delivering distinctive care for each affected person, day-after-day.
