Informed strategy. Information managers should play a key role in determining an organization's direction

Hospital chief executive officers need to set directions for their facilities' information systems, and information professionals need to play a more direct role in strategic planning, according to speakers at the Computers in Healthcare Conference last May. To implement effective information systems, chief information officers must be closely connected with the organization's capital budgeting and strategic budgeting process. A key strategic role for information systems managers is to educate organization personnel in the use of information technology. As demands placed on information systems increase, improving end users' skill level is the best way to take the pressure off. Information managers must create systems that respond to changes in healthcare, including the trend toward outpatient care. The information requirements for strategic planning include an external assessment and an internal assessment. Managers should strive to create information systems capable of answering strategic questions concerning patients, payers, practice patterns, and other key issues. Information systems also must provide data that allow managers to assess strategic decisions. They should also give top managers access to information that will help them identify and pursue broad new goals and directions.