Mastering IT Governance: Strategies, Insights and Innovations for Growth

Planning and prioritizing healthcare technology investments is one of the most important aspects of IT governance explains Peyman Zand, chief strategy officer at CereCore during a podcast interview with Phil Sobol, chief commercial officer at CereCore. Striking the right balance in IT governance and aligning with an organization’s initiatives and strategies can be unpopular. Zand discusses the importance of establishing a multidisciplinary governance structure, avoiding overly complex or simplistic models, and integrating emerging technologies like AI without hindering progress. Stream the podcast episode for the full conversation. 

Listen to this conversation on The CereCore Podcast | Episode: Why IT Governance Leads to Innovation and Growth 

Find conversation highlights below for practical advice your healthcare organization can use to master IT governance and navigate today’s challenges from tight capital budgets to cybersecurity threats. 

Editor’s note: Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.   

1. Strategic planning and execution

“Strategic plans need to be grounded in reality and, most importantly, have an achievable tactical plan to go along with them. We live that mantra every day at CereCore,” said Peyman Zand. 

• Ensure that strategic plans are achievable and have a tactical plan to support them. Use measurable and actionable strategies tied to a measurement tool like a balanced scorecard.
• Align strategic plans and enterprise goals. Cascade strategic plans down to every service line to ensure alignment with overall enterprise goals. Regularly track progress and make adjustments as needed.
• Strategic goals should deliver measurable value to clinicians and patients.  

“We also go a step further and make sure we are helping our clients in their journey and that we are aligned with their strategic goals. That's how we've been successful in delivering measurable results for our clients,” said Zand. 

2. Effective IT governance structure

“Governance establishes processes, measures performance, and holds accountability consistently across the organization. I've seen overly complicated governance structures and loosely defined ones, and neither side of the spectrum is ideal. We recommend a multidisciplinary governance structure that is aligned well with the enterprise and business unit goals, and that's a delicate balance to actually achieve,” said Zand. 

• Establish a balanced, multidisciplinary governance structure. 
  
• Focus on technology investment planning and prioritizations that support organizational goals. 

3. Red flags and pitfalls with IT governance

“We know every organization has a certain level of governance already developed. Reassessing them is really a first step,” said Zand. 

If you were to evaluate the effectiveness of your IT governance structure, how would your organization score?  

• Watch for these signs of ineffective governance: too many governance structures, using governance to slow progress, lack of multidisciplinary participation, and misalignment with company objectives. 
• Regularly reassess your IT governance structures and establish a regular cadence of activities that will help ensure alignment with organizational objectives.  

• Does your organization currently have too many governance structures? Not enough? 
• How effective is communication about health system goals to the governance structures? 
• Is governance being used to intentionally slow progress? 
• How does the use of governance impact the trust of your peers? 
• Are active participants from healthcare operations and clinical disciplines involved in your governance processes? 
• Is your prioritization process tightly aligned with the overall health system objectives and service line goals? 
• When was the last time your health system reassessed its governance structures? 

Get advisory services with CereCore so your organization can align investments and drive progress for your organization.  

4. Pilot emerging technologies to prove ROI

“Governance should be also concerned with value delivery, risk management, resource management. Governance by itself is not an isolated process. It needs to be actively involved in the regular management or oversight of major projects and programs,” said Zand. 

• Use governance to better serve the organization by facilitating pilot projects rather than slowing down adoption. 
  

• Adapt governance structures to address emerging technologies, cybersecurity threats, and tight capital budgets. 

• Form active task forces to address new technologies like AI. Implement these technologies in smaller pilot phases to evaluate their feasibility, benefits and return on investment (ROI). 

5. Communication and transparency gain buy-in

“If you want to get stakeholders' buy-in, they need to have good visibility into what's happening across the organization. That's why transparency and communication are still the underlying success factor,” said Zand.   

• Use tools like heat maps to visually represent project status and alignment. 
  

• Establish and maintain open communication about project progress and alignment with strategic goals 
  

• Give stakeholders visibility into project decisions and status to gain their buy-in. 

6. Measuring Success and Tracking Progress

“I was asked by a CIO and C-suite to establish IT governance for a healthcare system....We developed the proper framework, which was aligned with the key attributes of the strategy. We loaded up the cost, resources, risks and other things. You have to do the value analysis as well as how well you can execute on that. When we put all that together, the priorities completely changed from their capital planning process. That was an aha moment,” said Zand. 

• Schedule regular stage gates for major projects and evaluate changes in value, resources, risks, and costs.  
• Make decisions to continue or halt projects based on these evaluations. 

More insights from Peyman Zand 

• Future-Proofing Healthcare: Long-Term Vision for EHR Optimization and Beyond 
• Healthcare's Digital Frontier: 5 Key Insights and a To-Don't List Approach 
• Predictions and Prerequisites for Healthcare IT in 2025 and After 

Listen to more healthcare leaders 

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