Even with sophisticated technology solutions like IHIE’s CareWeb or Docs4Docs, which provide millions of patient records to more than 90 hospitals across Indiana, when new and improved options come out, IHIE’s Chief Technology Officer Brian Lawson is ready to see how they can impact care. He sees advancements like AI as beneficial to improving efficiency in the organization as well as to their services for healthcare providers.
Q: AI is transforming a lot of industries right now. What does that kind of change look like for IHIE and health information exchange, overall?
A: In a lot of ways, honestly. Being the CTO, I have a strong technology bias, so my first instinct is to think about things like our software development teams, our security profile, our ability to react to zero-day exploits or patching situations. But what’s actually more interesting to me is the impact AI will have on even our non-technical roles. AI is going to affect everyone’s job in some capacity, some more than others, but it’s going to be pervasive. Whether you think of yourself as a technology professional or not, it’s going to change the way we execute our workflows across the board.
Q: Beyond the IT side of the organization, how does that play out for the other parts of IHIE?
A: It literally is going to be across the board. We’re a small not-for-profit, so any efficiency we can gain across any of our teams and resources helps them be more productive and get more of their job done — which means more health information exchange being performed in Indiana. That applies to project managers, customer relationship managers, even something as simple as meeting recordings and transcriptions. Being able to have notes and action items generated automatically, facilitating that kind of communication and collaboration with the push of a button, keeps everyone on the same page with so much less friction and effort. It’s transformative from a workflow perspective, not just a technical one.
Q: With all of that data and technology running through IHIE every day, what does it mean to you to know how important that responsibility is?
A: IHIE has a culture where we understand that we are stewards of this data. We are not owners of this data; we’re just responsible for managing it, and we take that responsibility very seriously. That shows up as a real investment: in our security programs, and in integrating privacy, legal, and compliance into all of our systems, all of our workflows, all of our technology… it’s built into how we operate from the ground up.
Q: Why is the CTO role important at a health information exchange?
A: Our expressed purpose is making sure that providers have what they need: the information and support they need in order to do their job as best as possible…But knowing that I can be some sort of underlying, foundational support that still affects how they (healthcare providers) perform their job…that’s fulfilling.
Q: As someone who also uses the healthcare system as a patient, how do you think about the work you do in that context?
A: It’s something we almost take for granted now. You go to different doctors, and they say, “Oh yeah, I have that,” or “I can pull that blood work,” or “I’ve got that record” — and we just expect that to happen. As a patient myself, I take that for granted too. But knowing the work that goes into making that possible, that’s exactly what makes it feel important. That’s what we’re doing every day — making sure that when someone shows up at a doctor’s office, their information is already there waiting for them.
