Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with hundreds of healthcare IT leaders, watching both as they work with their teams and as they work with clients. It’s been eye-opening to watch firsthand what sets apart the leaders who are truly making a difference.
These standout individuals and teams don’t just build great products. They have a vision, they don’t exchange the long-term wins for the short-term wins, and they are amazing listeners. They also have a humility that is unique for many leaders I meet today.
In this blog, I highlight four examples of healthcare IT vendor leaders who, to me, exemplify what it means to be a leader and true healthcare IT partner.
1. Asking the Right Questions: ClearStep’s Adeel Malik and Bilal Naved
In 2023, KLAS published an Emerging Company Spotlight report on ClearStep, a company offering AI chat-based solutions that simplify the triage process and aid digital health platforms focused on patient engagement. Following the report, ClearStep was voted by 35 provider thought leaders as one of the 2023 Top 20 Emerging Solutions for both improving outcomes and enhancing the clinician experience.
While their technology is impressive, what stood out most to me was the leadership of ClearStep’s founders, Adeel Malik and Bilal Naved. As we worked with them, I was struck by their remarkable ability to ask the right questions. In an era flooded with AI solutions searching for problems, Adeel and Bilal’s focus on identifying the right problems to solve is a pivotal differentiator. Their clarity and curiosity ensure that their innovations are grounded in real-world needs—a trait that defines great leadership in healthcare IT.
2. Seek First to Understand: A.L.I. Technologies, Mckesson, and Change Healthcare’s Rod O’Reilly
I met Rod O’Reilly nearly 20 years ago at a HIMSS meeting. We sat by each other at a lunch event, and I knew he was the imaging leader at McKesson (who had acquired A.L.I. Technologies for their PACS, which ended up being a very good decision). I expected him to regale me with stories of how innovative A.L.I. Technologies was and how much impact they were making at McKesson in the imaging world. None of that happened.
He literally asked me questions for an hour straight. No pitch. No marketing. Just questions about what clients were saying, about what we were seeing in the market, and about how we thought the market was going to change. It was absolutely unexpected.
3. Humility Under Fire: Cerner, M*Modal, RevSpring’s Scott MacKenzie
I have watched and worked with Scott MacKenzie for decades. The first meeting was in a pressure-filled situation. In his leadership role, he had been sent by a big EHR vendor to “set KLAS straight” on what was happening in the early days of CPOE. He came into the meeting in our small offices around a literal card table in the basement. We had no shiny sign, no huge presence in the market, and no attorneys on staff.
Instead of pounding the table to make his point, he first listened. What were we trying to do? Who had we talked with? What had we discovered? He realized that we knew much more than his employer was sharing publicly, and a deep conversation ensued regarding technology for physicians in the marketplace and how the world was changing. We still have significant wrestles, but they are always held thoughtfully and with the customer in mind.
4. Having The Courage to Do What’s Right: MEDITECH’s Helen Waters
MEDITECH and KLAS have not always seen eye to eye, nor do we always today. However, two key decisions from MEDITECH really stand out in my mind. One decision was to make the leap to a next-generation platform. Nearly every EHR vendor was looking at this option 10 years ago, and almost none successfully made the leap. MEDITECH went from their MAGIC and client/server versions to web-based Expanse. It was a big, bold decision that has paid off as they remain one of the few viable EHRs in the hospital market today.
Around the same time, Helen Waters invited KLAS to “come and see” at MEDITECH. While they had essentially skipped participation with KLAS for years and had disagreed with some of our findings, she took a leap of faith that our organizations could have a reasonable, rational discussion about the state of the market. She put her own name on the line for what she believed was best, even when other voices were not aligned.
Leaders Shape the Future
The healthcare IT landscape is evolving rapidly, and the challenges we face are complex. But time and again, we see that the most effective leaders are those who stay grounded in purpose, listen deeply, and lead with integrity. These are the individuals shaping the future of healthcare—not just through technology, but through the way they lead.
If you are one of those passionate leaders, I look forward to meeting you.
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