When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the U.S., healthcare organizations were forced to adapt and move at a speed that most had not previously experienced. Solutions that would have taken years to deploy were fast-tracked in weeks or even days. Telehealth and remote work were no longer nice to have; they were now a must to meet the public health emergency.
At Hackensack Meridian Health, headquartered in Edison, N.J., nondirect patient care staff began working from home in March 2020. CIO and CTO Mark Eimer says the technology the health network had didn’t work well for remote work, so the IT department adapted on the fly.
“We basically used an agile methodology approach where we would try it, and if it didn’t work, we’d pivot and move on to something else,” Eimer says.
Eimer and many healthcare IT leaders across the country showed great resilience during the pandemic. The steps taken should be examined and built upon so that health systems can be proactive should more crises arrive, whether in the form of a pandemic surge, a cyberattack or a catastrophic weather event.
As healthcare organizations look to improve their IT resilience, they should invest in critical support for their team members, conduct regular tabletop exercises and penetration testing, and develop key partnerships to complement their strategies.
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This article is written by Mike Grisamore
