This document provides a list of potential interview questions for a CIO or clinical informaticist position. It includes questions about the role and responsibilities of the position, technology decisions and implementations, financial considerations, safety and security, patient focus, and clinician involvement in IT. The interviewer should select 5-6 questions from this list that are relevant to the specific position being interviewed.

1. Potential Interview Questions for the CIO or Clinical
Informaticist
attached is a list of potential questions for your CIO interview.
Select 5 or 6 questions from this list for your interview. Select
questions that interest you and are pertinent to the position of
the person you are interviewing.
Role of the Individual You Are Interviewing
· What are the three most important responsibilities of your
position?
· What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
· What challenges do you face in meeting your responsibilities?
· What do you feel are essential skills and qualities that a CIO
must possess?
· What preparation and degrees does an individual need to be
successful in your position?
· How did you decide to focus on a career in IT?
· How long have you been in your position and have the
priorities of the position changed over time?
· What area interests you most: application, data or
infrastructure ?
· What are the most important projects that you and your team
are planning or working on now?
· How do you keep your staff current when technology is
constantly changing?
· How do you motivate your staff in meeting the IT priorities?
Technology/Decision making/Implementation
· How does the strategic plan for IT fit into the organization’s
overall strategic plan? Was IT involved in developing the
organization’s strategic plan?

2. · What are your top three priority projects?
· How do you measure the value of IT performance in the
system?
· What are your biggest challenges in moving toward a
completely electronic record?
· How close is the organization to becoming a fully electronic
clinical environment?
· What are your plans for future enhancements of current
systems or implementation of new systems?
· What are the top three obstacles/hurdles in implementing a
new technology in your institution?
· What approach do you take when implementing a new
technology? Do you implement system-wide or in pilot areas?
· What unexpected issues have you encountered when
implementing a new system?
· They say hindsight is 20/20.... is there anything you would
have executed differently or not at all?
· How do you maintain an EHR over time? What needs to be
accomplished during a “down time”?
Financial
· What percentage of the organization’s budget is dedicated for
IT, what does it include (equipment, training), and is it
sufficient?
· What percentage of your current IT spending is for
maintenance versus growth and transformation activities?
· How do you go about making cost decisions related to
technology?
· How large is your staff? How are they trained?
· Has the current economy had an effect on your department?
· Is your organization participating in Meaningful Use and why
or why not? (Hospitals and ambulatory practices only)
· Will your organization be able to meet the Meaningful Use
2015 requirements?
Safety/Security

3. · What measures are taken to keep patient information safe,
secure and intact? Who is responsible for this task?
· Have you seen an increase in requests for electronic evidence
in recent years?
· How is disaster planning accomplished?
· What are the biggest security threats and HIPAA breaches you
face and how do you handle them?
· How do you deactivate an employee’s access?
· How do you track unauthorized users?
· How do you dispose of outdated equipment?
Patient Focus
· Do your patients have electronic access to their medical
records?
· From your perspective, what impact does an electronic health
record have on patient care?
· Will technology be used for patient education?
· Will social media be used to reach out to patients? What is
the appropriate use of social media in relation to healthcare?
Clinician Involvement in IT
· What is the role of the nursing administrator and frontline
nurses in creating and implementing new technologies?
· How do you include clinicians, i.e. nurses, physicians and
others, when making decisions about changes or upgrades to
your current system?
· What expanded opportunities do you personally see for
nursing in technology?
· How do you maintain contact and communication with clinical
department heads?
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