The New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., the $6.3 billion municipal healthcare organization, has appointed Norberto (Bert) Robles as senior vice president of IT and corporate chief information officer. Robles was chief information officer for the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center.
Meaningful use compliance and a data center consolidation project will be among his management tasks in the new role, Robles said.
As for the former, HHC has adopted electronic health records and computerized provider order entry systems. But the health system will still need to make adjustments to meet the federal government's criteria for earning financial incentives.
Robles said he believes HHC is well positioned to address meaningful use. But he added that compliance will still require a significant effort involving systems modifications as well as operational and reporting enhancements.
HHC is embarking on an IT planning exercise and is "closely monitoring the dialog on meaningful use and compliance," he said.
According to HHC, the health organization has installed EHRs in its 11 public hospitals' inpatient units and outpatient settings. HHC community-based health centers also have access to EHRs.
The data center consolidation program, meanwhile, in ongoing and slated for completion by year's end, Robles said. The project will reduce power and cooling expenditures, generate hardware savings, and boost security.
In addition, Robles pledged to oversee the use of IT to improve health outcomes. HHC has electronic patient registries for monitoring the health of diabetic and heart disease patients.
HHC will continue to focus on the registries, while maintaining a "broader view of how technology can help outcomes and patient safety," he said.
