Alan Cranford – Director, Client Services

Last month I discussed the importance of ensuring you address security concerns as you migrate services to the cloud. Security, in my opinion, is the most important responsibility of an IT organization. The good news is that cloud services have matured to the point that they typically provide very secure environments, sometimes even more secure than […]

As a former CIO, I believe the most important aspect of an IT organization’s job is to protect their IT infrastructure and data that resides within it through advanced security. While it is obviously important to implement new technologies and applications, if the environment is not safe then nothing else matters. Part of this responsibility […]

There is a lot of excitement about Artificial Intelligence. The excitement is certainly warranted based on the potential that these solutions can offer. In an industry that has massive amounts of data and is very dependent on the data to both run efficiently and, more importantly, delivery high quality patient care any technology which can […]

In my previous blogs I discussed a variety of non-traditional technology delivery methods including outsourcing and utilization of cloud-based service offerings. My last blog focused on the cloud and that, while healthcare is historically slower than most industries to implement newer technical trends, cloud services in one form or another are used by most providers […]

In my most recent blogs I discussed the potential cost savings and other benefits of alternative IT delivery models. In this blog I want to focus specifically on healthcare’s move to cloud based delivery which was one of the delivery models discussed. One thing I have learned in my almost 30 years in healthcare IT […]

In my previous blog I discussed the growing use of alternative service delivery models to reduce overall IT costs. As a recap, examples of these delivery models include: Software as a Service (SaaS) or remote hosted agreements where the application vendor provides application support and operational services. Cloud based services where the processing and storage […]

There is always contention for IT funding, especially with the increasing requirements for digital solutions and to incorporate emerging technologies such as block chain, predictive analytics and artificial intelligence into the more traditional IT application portfolio. As a result, provider organizations are constantly looking for ways to lower IT support costs.  In the past that […]

The HIMSS 2018 conference recently wrapped up and as usual, it was educational, informative and exhaustive. Around meetings and other obligations at HIMSS 2018, I walked the exhibit hall to catch up on the general state of the health IT market. The traditional health IT vendors enhanced their existing products and, in many cases, expanded […]

It’s almost time for the annual HIMSS conference which will be held March 5-9 in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. I’ve been going to HIMSS for 25 years and every year I look forward to what I will see and the people I will speak with regarding Health IT challenges and […]

2018 is shaping up to be an unusually challenging year for healthcare providers. On top of the typical revenue cycle management and payer reimbursement concerns providers deal with every year, there is ongoing regulatory and political uncertainty which could adversely impact revenue. Meeting these challenges is a difficult balancing act. Internally, there is ever greater […]

As HIMSS 2013 has come to a close, I’ve had a chance to look back at the experience of the last few days. I’ve been going to HIMSS for over 15 years. I can’t remember one where I didn’t learn things, meet new people and get excited about the innovations in health IT. However this […]

While many people likely left after Monday it hasn’t been obvious from the crowds on the exhibit floor and hallways. The only major difference I noticed was that there were fewer people in the education session I attended. However, one I attended was first thing in the morning and there have been vendor receptions each […]