The healthcare IT landscape is in the midst of one of the fastest-moving revolutions we’ve seen over the last 25 years. As financial pressures mount and artificial intelligence (AI) evolves at an unprecedented velocity, healthcare IT staffing is being challenged on many fronts. Healthcare CIOs are left at a crossroads, wondering how they can address the need for strategic innovation while continuing to deliver on their organization’s core mission. The answer lies in their strategic staffing mix: ensuring they have the right people in the right roles for the right stretch of the journey.
HCTec CEO Bill Grana sat down for an interview with Healthcare IT Today and AltaMed to discuss how CIOs can lead with strategy to achieve the right IT staffing models, build business cases for AI, and improve outcomes for their organization. Watch the full interview here.
The Strategic Role of CIO
At the start of the millennium, CIOs were tactical utilities. But today’s CIOs have stepped out of the back office onto the frontlines of organizational strategy, wielding the same level of strategic importance as any other C-level executive.
This shift can largely be attributed to the rapid evolution of healthcare IT. From the 2020 pandemic response and subsequent recovery period, to the major introduction of AI in 2023, to trying to understand and fully grasp the velocity of AI throughout 2024 and 2025, the healthcare IT sector has experienced some of the most drastic changes in recent history.
At the same time, reimbursement headwinds from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, drastic Medicaid cuts, and sizable grant reductions have put many healthcare organizations under enormous financial pressure. It’s an incredibly fast reflection point—and one that requires CIOs to have a seat at the strategy table.
Approaching AI Adoption
Nimble CIOs are embracing AI but proceeding with caution, understanding that blind adoption and implementation without clearly defined business cases rarely produce the desired outcomes. As technology providers and platforms announce new embedded AI functions, they’re immediately going to the drawing board to map out which functions will be available and when, what their best use cases are, and what the ROI will be. They’re making sure they have the right data, change management, and retooling plans to achieve successful implementation.
Most importantly, successful CIOs are closely evaluating and dynamically managing their IT staffing mix. One of the biggest expenses in any healthcare organization is its people, and it’s up to the discretion of the CIO, in alignment with finance and human resources, to determine the best mix of labor resources—full-time, contract, or outsourced —to efficiently adapt to technology advancements amid financial pressures.
Finding the Right Staffing Mix
To get the right people, in the right roles, moving in the right direction, it’s crucial to differentiate between “core” work, which focuses on driving the most important priorities at the heart of an organization’s strategy, and “context” work, which focuses on projects or functions that, while critical to operations, may not move the needle strategically, such as IT infrastructure, call centers, and electronic health record (EHR) management.
Core leaders belong on the permanent, mission-driven team bus, while context contractors may ride a temporary project shuttle. Outsourced or co-sourced partners can operate on their own well-oiled machines to scale support and skills as needed. And the CIO’s job is to find the right mix, regularly asking the hard questions like:
How are we resourcing both the core and context functions of our department? What initiatives are we pursuing, and what outcomes are we hoping to achieve? Do any initiatives require skills beyond those of our internal team? What is the best way to get the work done that we’re responsible for, and where are we falling short?
The answers to these questions will look different for every organization, and adequately adjusting your IT staffing model is easier said than done. But the financial, technological, and legislative challenges facing healthcare organizations aren’t going away, and it’s more crucial than ever for CIOs to regularly evaluate their resources and labor to ensure they’re providing the best possible experience for patients, providers, and the organization as a whole.
Evaluate. Strategize. Achieve.
At the end of the day, the achievement of strategic goals—and ultimately, the missions of healthcare organizations—cannot be accomplished without strong technology and strong technology leaders. If you’re interested in learning more about how a dynamic partner like HCTec can help you right-size your staffing model and accelerate your organization’s mission, reach out.