Risk Never Sleeps Podcast – Episode #103 Summary

Episode Title: Transforming Healthcare Through Technology and Strategic Risk Management
Guest: Ed Ricks, Managing Director at Baker Tilly US
Host: Ed Gaudet
Date: October 24, 2024

Brief Overview

In this engaging episode, host Ed Gaudet sits down with Ed Ricks, Managing Director at Baker Tilly US and veteran healthcare IT leader, to discuss the intersection of technology, risk management, innovation, and patient safety in today’s healthcare landscape. They explore challenges and opportunities facing healthcare IT, delve into the importance of mission-driven work, share career advice, and close with a lively conversation about personal passions—travel, music, hobbies, and taking risks in life and work.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Ed Ricks’ Journey into Healthcare IT

• Background:
  • Over 20 years as VP and CIO in health systems, mostly on the East Coast.
  • Transitioned from electrical engineering to computer science, ultimately landing in healthcare IT through a software company serving hospitals.
• Career Evolution:
  • Progressed from a 60-bed hospital CIO to roles with broader responsibilities, earning a master’s in health administration.
  • Shifted from the provider side to consulting and advisory with Baker Tilly, leveraging industry relationships and expertise.

"The light bulb moment was...trying to help support one of our customers and tell them, 'here's how the system works.' They said, 'here's how the hospital works.' ...We gotta, you know, think about this completely differently. Which was a great thing for me." – Ed Ricks [03:23]

The Mission and Culture of Healthcare

• Mission-Driven Mindset:
  • All healthcare organizations, regardless of for-profit status, ultimately aim to deliver better care in their communities.
  • Clinicians and support staff are notably mission-driven—“they like taking care of people and there’s something really good about that.”
• Differences in Culture:
  • Consulting and advisory roles are rewarding but different from the direct mission-driven energy of provider organizations.

Strategic Challenges in Healthcare IT

• Resource Limitations:
  • Funding is a persistent challenge: “There’s just not enough money to go around anymore, and that’s not going to change.” [06:14]
• Focus on Optimization:
  • Organizations want tangible ROI: reducing expenses, improving workflows, and enhancing revenue.
  • Optimization services are critical—“help you get more value out of the investment you’ve already made.”

Innovations and the Role of AI

• Pragmatic Adoption over Buzzwords:
  • AI, especially generative and computer vision tools, is making a real impact (e.g., virtual nursing, documentation, clinician note-taking).
  • Ed notes improvement in both efficiency and care amidst workforce shortages.

“If you let the AI and algorithms help, you also catch things in advance. And the computer vision part I think is awesome.” – Ed Ricks [09:29]

AI Governance in Healthcare

• Organizational Risk vs. IT Risk:
  • Emphasizes the need for institution-wide AI governance (not just IT-led).
  • Risks differ based on AI application, especially those influencing clinical decisions.

“It’s not an IT problem again, it’s an organizational risk management problem. It really is.” – Ed Ricks [11:39]

• Current State:
  • Fewer than 50% of organizations have a formal AI governance model.
  • Baker Tilly helps organizations establish these frameworks.

Building IT-Clinical Relationships

• Service Mentality:
  • IT’s role is to serve providers and, by extension, patients—not just operate as a “lights-on” technical function.
  • IT leaders should be proactive in understanding clinician needs and avoid being “no people.”
• Bridging the Gap:
  • Importance of IT reporting structure—reporting to the CFO frames IT as an expense; reporting to the CEO or CMO frames IT strategically.
  • Coaches IT leaders to build relationships, frequent clinical spaces, and seek direct feedback.

“You will never waste a minute if you’re spending it with people that are on the front line. And you’ll learn a ton. The more you will elevate the role in IT.” – Ed Ricks [16:44]

Career Advice: Leadership and Personal Growth

• Work that Energizes:
  • “Find work that gives you energy. Don’t find work that takes energy away from you.” [24:36]
• Save Early, Change When Needed:
  • Encourages financial prudence and not being afraid to pivot when work becomes draining.
• Empathy & Risk Focus:
  • Empathize with users, focus on the healthcare mission, and remember that information security is a risk—not just a technical—problem.

“A lot of people think that information security is a technical problem. It’s not. It’s a risk management problem.” – Ed Ricks [41:21]

The Reality of Risk in Healthcare IT

• CIO Anxiety:
  • Constant concern about information security incidents.
  • Expansion of “ancillary department” oversight – learning from managing diverse teams.
• Professional and Personal Risk-Taking:
  • Recalls taking on significant professional challenges, motorcycle trips, and unique experiences like a hot air balloon exit from his wedding.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Healthcare’s Mission:

  “If you read the mission statements…everyone’s there to deliver better health care for the communities that they serve.” – Ed Ricks [04:54]

• On AI Governance:

  “Talk about it. The more you understand what your risks are, I think the better that you can stand up to them and know what you’re worth.” – Ed Ricks [12:59]

• On Building Relationships:

  “Go start talking to the doctors and nurses around every day…Talk to patients…you will never waste a minute if you’re spending it with people that are on the front line.” – Ed Ricks [16:44]

• Work Advice:

  “Find work that gives you energy. Don’t find work that takes energy away from you…It’s time for a change.” – Ed Ricks [24:36]

• On Risk:

  “That 24/7 fear that something bad is happening from an information security perspective…that has so much risk.” – Ed Ricks [25:23]

Personal Passions: Music, Travel, and Hobbies

Music

• Desert Island Albums:
  1. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
  2. You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish – REO Speedwagon
  3. Royal Albert Hall (Live) – Peter Frampton
  4. Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era)
  5. Led Zeppelin IV
• Best Concerts:
  • Desert Trip (2016), Indio, CA: Dylan, Stones, Neil Young, McCartney, The Who, Roger Waters
  • Peter Frampton at Royal Albert Hall
  • Stones at Soldier Field (recently)

Hobbies & Quirks

• RV travel with wife (and sometimes dog and bird)
• Golf aficionado
• Avid motorcycle traveler
• Has traveled abroad and enjoys food, wine, and music-focused trips
• Bird owner (African Grey), longtime Lab lover

Notable Segments & Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |------------|---------------------------------------------------| | 03:23 | Ed Ricks talks about entering healthcare IT | | 04:54 | The true mission of healthcare organizations | | 06:14 | Strategic financial and tech challenges | | 09:29 | AI in practice: camera/mic innovations | | 11:39 | The push for AI governance | | 13:42 | Advice for building IT-clinical relationships | | 16:44 | How IT leaders can gain respect in provider orgs | | 24:36 | Career advice: energy, change, and risk | | 25:23 | The 24/7 risk focus as a CIO | | 28:51 | Desert island albums, music discussion | | 35:46 | Best and most memorable concert experiences | | 40:43 | Advice for newcomers to healthcare IT/cyber | | 41:21 | Security: A risk management, not technical issue |

Episode Tone & Style

Conversational, candid, and reflective, with a mix of light-hearted personal anecdotes and practical, mission-focused leadership wisdom. Frequent asides on music and travel keep the discussion energetic and relatable, while hard-won lessons about risk, governance, and career satisfaction ground the insights in real-world experience.

Final Advice for Listeners

• Center your work on the mission and people you serve.
• Build deep, reciprocal relationships across silos—especially between IT and clinicians.
• Address new risks proactively, particularly as AI transforms care.
• Don’t just chase technical solutions—manage risk strategically.
• Love what you do, and don’t be afraid to adapt when you don’t.

Notable closing words:

"Remember to keep that empathy front and center. Because we serve right and serve alongside. Don’t serve in spite of. Always remember what you do and why you’re doing it and the mission of healthcare, which is where we started and where we’ll end." – Ed Gaudet [41:32]

For more on risk management and patient safety in healthcare, visit Censinet.