HealthData Talks: Evolving Health IT Priorities

• The 229 Project connects healthcare IT leaders through executive dinners, summits, and regional roundtables to share insights and solve complex challenges.
• The organization recently launched a CIO survey initiative to better understand the evolving priorities of healthcare leaders.

• CIO participation and engagement in the survey were extremely high, with leaders providing detailed feedback beyond standard survey responses.
• AI adoption is accelerating, with more than 80% of surveyed organizations reporting AI initiatives that have moved beyond the pilot stage into production.
• Healthcare organizations are increasingly focused on AI governance, prioritization, and ROI, ensuring projects deliver measurable value rather than implementing AI for its own sake.
• Data quality and data management have become even more critical as organizations recognize that successful AI initiatives depend on trustworthy, well-managed data.

• DeFord emphasized that healthcare leaders value true partnerships over feature-rich products.
• CIOs prefer vendors that understand workflows, help solve business problems, support implementation, and remain engaged after the sale.
• The ability to collaborate and deliver outcomes is often more important than product features alone.

• AI is expected to remain a major topic, particularly around ambient listening technologies and Epic’s evolving capabilities.
• Healthcare leaders are eager to learn about Epic’s product roadmap, upcoming innovations, and implementation timelines.
• Recent leadership changes at Epic have generated significant interest because the company has historically been known for its stability. While not causing concern, the changes have prompted curiosity among health system leaders.

• DeFord’s primary recommendation is to stay flexible.
• Healthcare organizations face increasing uncertainty from changing regulations, funding models, technology advancements, AI innovation, and market conditions.
• CIOs should build both organizational structures and technology architectures that can adapt quickly to change.
• The leaders who thrive will view disruption as an opportunity to drive transformation rather than as an obstacle.

Closing Thought