My journey from a Clinical Oncologist to a Clinical Chief Information Officer with Dr Penny Kechagioglou

ZA: Thank you so much for taking some time out today Dr Penny, initially I'd like to ask if you could explain briefly your career background prior to becoming a CCIO within the NHS and some added detail about your current role.

PK: Yes, thank you for inviting me. I am a consultant clinical oncologist by background and I have been a consultant for 13 years in the NHS. During my 20 year career in the NHS as a doctor, I also trained in Public Health and healthcare management at masters level, which is when I started to develop interest around the dynamics of the whole healthcare system and the important role of leadership in healthcare. So I continued doing an MBA, which enabled me to gain understanding of finance and accounting, the importance of business planning, strategy and execution. Then I got interested in innovation and transformation, after working as a medical director in a private Oncology Group, which used 'innovation' as a means of differentiation and growth. I ended up doing a doctorate research degree on innovation and leadership enablers which I completed last year. During that time, I was working in the NHS as clinical director of two divisional groups and I got myself into digital transformation which is when I started my Clinical Chief Information Officer role in 2021. I love my role because it plays to my strengths and involves strategy, transformation and clinical leadership. It's a fast-paced, innovative field and it allows me to also keep my clinical practice which is very important.

ZA: Wonderful. You mentioned you enjoy your role because of it being so innovative and sort of the transformational aspect of being a CCIO. Are there any particular challenges or risks associated with implementing and using healthcare technology in your opinion?

PK: There are lots of benefits with implementing healthcare technology and there are of course risks. Healthcare organisations need to manage risk whilst transforming digitally. 

Risks are inevitable if we want to change and transform. So there's always a balance between keeping our 'business as usual' going and implementing change. Patients need to be treated, services need to carry on as they are but at the same time, we need to enable our teams to think about problems to solve and using technology to do this. We need to be constantly thinking about how we can improve and do better, what our patients and staff need and what our healthcare system needs. A lot of those answers come when you work and engage with people and trying to find the right answers through technology, together. Examples like Telecare and Virtual consultations that flourished during the pandemic, they are now revolutionising the way we engage and communicate with patients. Also, remote patient monitoring systems are literally transforming the way we deliver healthcare. So there is a lot going on at the moment in healthcare and clinical leadership is key to be able to achieve those technological benefits.

ZA: So Dr Penny, you mentioned there are a lot of technologies already in operation within healthcare settings, how do you ensure that healthcare professionals are properly trained to use these? 

PK: Training is really important. And, you know, when I started this role, I wouldn't say that I was the most technologically savvy clinician, there are lots of people much better than me, but it's about being curious. It's about having the willingness to learn. I'm current doing a digital health leadership course with Imperial College which exposes me to other clinicians and non-clinicians who work in digital transformation. There are fellowships, such as the Topol Digital Fellowship where clinicians can also gain knowledge and skills. So that's one way of learning and the other is basically collaborating with technology suppliers, who have got valuable knowledge of their systems. So at the moment, we are implementing an integrated EPR in our organisation and I have learned loads from just sitting down with our supplier consultants, strategists and architects, learning how the system works and how we can innovate through changing things in the system. 

ZA: How are you protecting your NHS healthcare institution from cyber threats and attacks?

PK: All organisations should have a cybersecurity strategy and our organisation is no exception. It's very important as clinical informatics team to work very closely with CIO teams, IT and IG colleagues to ensure that we take all appropriate measures. This is an essential enabler to digital transformation, because we need to protect digitised data and enable safe technological interoperability.

ZA: Finally, do you have a roadmap for the future of technology in healthcare and what are some of the goals that you have set within your NHS practice?

PK: Every organisation and integrated care system should have a digital roadmap strategy and again, we are no exception to it. This is really important because the digital roadmap can be used as a framework and gives a joint vision for organisations within the system, so that everyone is engaged and works towards the same goals and ambitions. It also helps with resourcing and financing new services as a system. The priority areas include virtual wards, remote patient monitoring, electronic patient records and artificial intelligence and I think these are the four areas which are on the majority of the organisational digital agendas.

ZA: Thank you very much for your time Dr Penny, we look forward to hearing from you at CIO UK&I in May.