5 Lessons From a Focused CIO Discussion

Healthcare IT leaders face a constant tug-of-war: implement critical projects and priority initiatives quickly, but do it without overloading their already stretched teams.

That balancing act, the human side of healthcare IT, is now inseparable from something leaders are talking about more than ever: a strong healthcare IT workforce strategy.

That connection was front and center in our recent CHIME Fall Forum focus group Medix Technology hosted with hospital CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives. The conversation made it clear: timelines, quality, and project success are only as strong as the people powering them.
If you’re also feeling the strain, here are five human-centered considerations that emerged from the discussion:

1. Your Talent Strategy Is Now a Project Risk Strategy

Leaders agreed: you can’t separate workforce strategy from project risk anymore. Resource constraints, turnover, and hiring delays are visibly impacting timelines, quality, and morale.

Several participants shared that:

• On-site roles take significantly longer to fill than remote ones
• Smaller health systems are losing out on talent to bigger brands and coastal pay rates
• Retirements and long-tenured employees stepping away are leaving deep knowledge gaps

The takeaway: EHR and priority projects live or die by the human equation. Leaders are increasingly treating talent strategy (who works on what, in what model) as a core component of risk mitigation, not an afterthought to the technical plan.

2. Blended Models Free Your Best People for the Work Only They Can Do

A major theme from the focus group: leaders know they’re underutilizing their most valuable people.

One executive’s example stood out. Their “green team,” some of their strongest internal talent, was spending 80% of its time on run-and-maintain work. By bringing in MedixFlex resources to handle routine tasks, they were able to retrain and reposition that internal team toward more strategic initiatives, with Medix consultants also serving as mentors during the transition.

Similarly, MedixDirect resonated for its ability to:

• Build local bench strength by developing talent from within the community
• Take operational healthcare workers and give them a path into IT and Epic
• Create a continuous pipeline instead of scrambling for each new project

The common thread: blended models (FTEs + MedixDirect + MedixFlex + select consulting) help organizations:

• Keep critical institutional knowledge in-house
• Shift high-value internal staff to strategic work
• Use external partners for volume hiring and sustained run operations

It’s not about outsourcing your problems—it’s about structuring work so your core team isn’t stuck at the wrong level.

3. Culture, Knowledge Transfer, and “Named People” Still Win Over Managed Services

Many participants currently use managed services for infrastructure, help desk, and even some L2/L3 support. But several also admitted they’ve moved away from certain managed services models because they “didn’t have that personal connection” and often didn’t know who was actually working on their systems.

The discussion highlighted a few things leaders still value deeply:

• Named, integrated team members instead of faceless support pods
• External resources who feel like part of the internal team, not a black box
• Clear, intentional knowledge transfer so the organization doesn’t become permanently dependent

That’s where MedixDirect and MedixFlex stood out. Leaders liked the idea of:

• Medix resources being embedded with the team and absorbed into the culture over time
• Using external talent to strengthen and upskill the internal team, not replace it.
• Treating engagements as partnerships that leave the organization stronger

The human factor here is trust. People want to know who is behind the keyboard, how they work, and whether they’re invested in the long-term success of the team.

4. Modern Workforce Realities Require Creative (But Grounded) Flexibility

The focus group shared some very real, very timely workforce dynamics that are shaping how leaders think about resource models:

• Double-dipping employees working multiple jobs simultaneously, sometimes even on the same team
• AI-generated resumes and interview prep making it harder to gauge true capability
• Return-to-office mandates creating friction for previously remote-first teams
• Flexible schedules (“40 hours, you choose when”) that help with retention but make coverage tricky

Some organizations are responding with stricter HR policies and conflict-of-interest rules. Others are experimenting with part-time post-retirement arrangements, repayment agreements for training investments, or more flexible schedules to retain key people.

What emerged from the conversation was not a single “right answer,” but a clear reality: EHR and priority projects are happening in a talent market that is more complex, more fluid, and more remote than ever.

That’s driving interest in:

• Local, vetted talent with clear expectations and accountability
• Partners that can shoulder some of the recruiting burden and screening complexity
• Workforce models that can flex with policy changes, mergers, and shifting demand

5. Reframing the Question: “Why Not Just Hire Full-Time?”

One of the most direct challenges raised in the session was:

“Why wouldn’t I just hire people to do it myself?”

It’s a fair question. And one your CFO, COO, or board may be asking too.

The discussion surfaced a few practical realities:

• Headcount caps are real; some leaders simply can’t add FTEs even when the work is there
• Mergers and acquisitions can temporarily leave teams “fat” in some areas and stretched in others
• Specialized Epic and project roles are needed intensely for certain phases, then taper off

In that context, participants saw models like MedixFlex less as a replacement for FTEs and more as a capacity and flexibility layer:

• Cover L2/L3 support so internal experts can focus on optimization, M&A, or new builds
• Ramp resources up or down without permanent headcount commitments
• Use external subject-matter experts to mentor, not just “do the tickets”

On the MedixDirect side, leaders appreciated a way to:

• Quickly stand up teams for implementations and expansions
• Convert proven consultants to FTEs once the long-term fit is clear
• Fill gaps with certified, vetted talent without overloading HR and recruiting teams

In other words, the real question isn’t “Why not just hire FTEs?”—it’s “Where does FTE hiring make the most sense, and where do we need a different lever?”

At the end of the day, EHR and priority projects are human projects. The leaders in this focus group reinforced that success hinges on how you structure your workforce: the mix of internal staff and external partners, how well those people integrate culturally, and whether your best talent is working at the highest level of their license.

If you’re exploring how models like MedixDirect and MedixFlex could help your team balance run, grow, and transform work—especially in the middle of M&A, return-to-office shifts, or major Epic initiatives—we’d love to keep the conversation going. Let’s connect.