Online Focus Groups
Dependent upon membership level, Foundation firm members may be eligible to conduct in person focus groups (90 min) with 10-12 CHIME CIO Members at the CHIME/HIMSS CIO Forum and Fall CIO Forum. Additionally, online focus groups (60 min) are available throughout the membership year with 12-15 CHIME CIO members. Focus groups are a great opportunity to receive valuable feedback from the CHIME CIOs (the attendees will be CIOs or the “highest ranking IT executive in a healthcare provider, payer or organization). These sessions are intended to be educational and interactive, not “sales pitches” of the member’s products and services.
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GUIDELINES
NATURE OF THE SESSIONS
– These sessions are intended to be educational and interactive. They are not intended to be “sales pitches” of the members products and services; the Foundation is prohibited by nature of its 501(c)6 tax status from any activities which directly benefit the proprietary and interests of Foundation members. Members are requested to select a relevant topic for the session.
TIP: Instead, share a few sentences on company history, how long you’ve been in business and some brief information about the market sector you would like to reach.
– Remember the audience: The attendees will be CIOs or the “highest ranking IT executive in a healthcare provider, payer or organization”. Your presentation, questions and discussions should be at a level appropriate for this audience.
TIP: Consider the nature of your focus group; do your homework and provide a starting point. Understand the objectives of your audience.
– Have an “internal agenda:” What areas does your firm want input on, and what do you hope to gain from your audience (reaction, feedback, discussion, information, etc)? Consider having a data sheet, if it will help the attendees understand the product/services better.
– Please do lots of listening: Attendees want to give their input. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact the CHIME Foundation staff at [email protected].
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TIPS
RELEVANT INSIGHT ARTICLES
Perspectives From Both Sides of A Focus Group
We reached out to some long-time CHIME members with a unique perspective. These CHIME/CHIME Foundation members have experience in healthcare IT both as CIOs or the equivalent and as Industry partners.
View HerePlanning For Focus Group Success – 9 Best Practices
Tips from the CHIME Foundation team that will set you up for an engaging, robust discussion and a productive session overall.
View Here
SUGGESTED TOPICS
The following are examples of topics of interest:- Healthcare information exchange and the capabilities it enables
- Patient engagement and population health
- IT used to improve clinical performance
- CIO management strategies
- New IT frontiers (the Cloud, mobile devices, analytics and more)
- CIO and senior management topics
- Federal regulatory topics (meaningful use, ICD-10, HIPAA)
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Timeline
AT LEAST Three Weeks Before Session
– Request your online focus group session time using the form in the schedule tab above.
NOTE: three weeks notice works best for scheduling and sending out invites. It may be possible to schedule an online focus group in less than a three week period, but in order to schedule the date and get the invitations out to the CHIME CIOs we need a minimum of 14 business days.
– To schedule your online focus group you will need a topic, brief abstract and presenter information (name, title, and organization).
– CHIME sends an email invitation to our entire CHIME CIO membership. If we have more attendees interested in the session than we can accommodate in one session (a maximum of 15 attendees), we would ask your firm to conduct an encore session that same day. CHIME has found that by going out to the entire CHIME membership with an invite has proven successful in attracting those CIOs who have a specific interest in your firm’s product/service and ensures a full online classroom (up to 15 CHIME CIOs). CIOs who attend the online session receive a $100 honorarium (as paid by the CHIME Foundation) for their participation.
Two Days Before Your Session
– Please send final presentation to Foundation staff no later than 24 hours before your session. Following a few simple design tips will help you create slides that work effectively for your online focus group presentation. Keeping the presentation between 10-15 slides is preferred. Reduce the number/size of any high-quality pictures you include on your slides. Most PowerPoint animations work fine, but sometimes they do not convert well. Please keep this in mind when preparing your slides.
The Day of Your Session
– Using the Session invite sent to you via WebEx ([email protected]), log into the session at least 30 minutes prior to your scheduled session.
– We ask that presenters please login to the WebEx Interface 20-30 min prior to their session for a brief review of the WebEx system and to go over any questions the presenter(s) may have before the session begins.
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TESTIMONIALS
From Foundation Members: “CHIME’s online focus groups give companies like ICG the unique opportunity to select a current, buzz-worthy Healthcare IT topic and then get the thoughts, opinions even experiences from the leaders of Healthcare IT. The perspectives shared by CIO’s attending the online focus groups are incredibly valuable for firms like ICG, as it gives us a look into their world. A forum that connects us with CIO’s is an incredibly valuable tool and that is exactly what the online focus group does.”
Mark Weinig – Sales Associate, Innovative Consulting Group
“Our CHIME Focus Group provided us with the opportunity to perform critical, timely research with CIO’s from all over the country. The CHIME staff was enormously helpful in guiding our preparation efforts – and the actual implementation was less resource intensive and more cost-effective than an in-person focus group.”
Barb Sivek – (Former) Sr. Director of Industry Relations, Siemens Healthcare
“The Breakaway Group has utilized the focus groups to get feedback from CHIME CIOs about our methodology and research. The CIOs have been very interactive and their feedback has been invaluable to evolving our business. The support from the CHIME staff is amazing. They always impress us with their communication and professionalism.”
Heather Haugen – Corporate VP of Research, The Breakaway Group
From CIO members: “As a CIO, I found great value in participating in “in-person” CHIME Focus Groups because I was able to personally meet other CIOs and hear their perspective on common issues/technology first hand. I learned a lot at each session, and went home with some fresh approaches to common problems. The Focus Group sessions were very organized, and the moderators did a great job keeping the participants focused on the objective. In addition, I appreciated the information provided to the participants about the Focus Groups ahead of time, so that I could be a more active and valuable participant. All in all….a very worthwhile experience.”
Terri Rini Barber, PMP, CPHIMS – Vice President/ Chief Information Officer, Southwest General Health Center
“The CIO Focus groups are active, stimulating, and participative. These sessions are small group, interactive, opportunities to learn and share. They are opportunities to influence future products and services in our industry. At the same time, I walk away with new perspectives and possibilities on topics of interest to me. Any CIO would benefit from hearing the thoughts of their colleagues and the group moderators during these Focus Group sessions. I will definitely participate again.”
Dr. Robert “Bob” Latz – CIO, Trinity Rehab Services
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Request an online focus group session using the form below. Your request will be submitted and reviewed by CHIME Foundation staff who will be in touch with your request status within 1-2 business days.
If you have any additional questions regarding the preparation of survey content, please email [email protected] or call 1.734.665.0000 and a Foundation staff member will be happy to assist you.