CIO Profiles: Paul Browne Of Trinity Health

Career Track

How long at Trinity Health: I've been with this healthcare network since 1999.

Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Genesis, our $400 million-to-date effort to re-tool the entire enterprise in terms of business operations and the deployment of state-of-the-art clinical information systems. Genesis improves business processes and patient outcomes. And we worked on it very well together.

Most important career influencers: Dave Ross and Tom Walbridge, both formerly with Andersen Consulting/Accenture, were pivotal teachers in my career. Dave taught me the value of self-discipline and hard, focused work, and Tom taught me the about the value of relationships and about how important it is to genuinely care for the people who work for you.

On The Job

IT budget: Around $325 million for operating expenses and $125 million for capital expenses.

Size of IT team: 1,600

Top initiatives:

Vision

One thing I'm looking to do better: This year, we'd like to have more fun. Our work is demanding and we have a lot of highly skilled professionals, all in great demand. I want to keep them at Trinity Health and intend to do it by working with others to ensure this remains a better place to work.

The next big thing for my company: Data interpretation that changes the way we deliver care and, in so doing, patient outcomes. We'll be using all the data we capture in electronic health records to tell us what's really working. We've already begun and made significant clinical gains.

What the federal government's tech priority should be: I'd like to see the federal government set standards for the codification of medical information. In doing so, we'll improve quality and reduce cost.

Kids and tech careers: I would definitely steer kids toward a career in technology. The people in IT are fun, smart, and dedicated.

Personal

Colleges/degrees: University of Michigan, BA in economics and master's in public health

Leisure activity: Tennis

Best book read recently: Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand

Biggest business-related pet peeve: Wearing a tie

If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a minor league baseball umpire

Ranked No. 35 in the 2011