IT plays pivotal role in supporting patient care at London Health Sciences Centre

IT executive David Schned advances IT operations and security to enable and protect excellence in healthcare delivery

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is one of Canada’s largest acute care teaching hospitals. Located in London, Ontario, LHSC is a multisite facility that includes University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, and Children’s Hospital, as well as several specialized healthcare centers and clinics, research institutes, and foundations. Dedicated to excellence in patient care, teaching, and research since 1875, LHSC today sees more than 1 million patient visits each year.

Supporting the delivery of high-quality patient care is David Schned, who oversees IT Operations and Information Security at LHSC. Schned’s responsibilities also extend to St. Joseph’s Health Care London as part of the city’s integrated system of hospital care.

Schned joined LHSC more than 10 years ago after an extensive career in the private sector, and he appreciates the responsibility of his role at the hospital: “What we do every day is enable patient care. It’s important that the people on the front lines have the right tools, capabilities, and technology at their fingertips. That’s one of the reasons I joined LHSC.”

Digital initiatives to drive modernization

Over the years at LHSC, Schned has tackled a number of sweeping enterprise-wide initiatives aimed at modernizing hospital systems, including a world-class wireless network infrastructure, a virtual desktop system, and migration to a new email and collaboration platform.

Schned described the accelerated migration of 23,000 users from an older email platform to Microsoft, which occurred against the backdrop of the pandemic: “We fully migrated to Microsoft 365 and Teams. It was a really big deal and a big accomplishment. We came so far in a very short period of time.”

Running through the list of digital achievements at LHSC, Schned added, “We also created our own in-house urgent messaging system right from the ground up. Now, other hospitals are wanting to use it as well.”

“We fully migrated to Microsoft 365 and Teams. It was a really big deal and a big accomplishment. We came so far in a very short period of time. We also created our own in-house urgent messaging system right from the ground up. Now, other hospitals are wanting to use it as well.”

– David Schned, Director of IT Operations and CISO, LHSC

A trusted resource that delivers value and results

Throughout Schned’s tenure at the hospital, he has relied on the best-practice research and advisory services of Info-Tech. From step-by-step research and diagnostic tools to one-on-one analyst calls and workshops, Schned has turned to Info-Tech’s expertise to help drive IT initiatives at LHSC. “We’ve leveraged all aspects of our Info-Tech membership. The research material has continued to improve over the last decade and is really top-notch. We’ve used Info-Tech when we’re looking at different technologies to find out what’s the best one, and we’ve leveraged the Info-Tech diagnostic tools as well,” said Schned.

In particular, they’ve leveraged Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision diagnostic survey several times to provide insight into their business stakeholders’ view of the IT organization. Schned explained that the feedback helped ensure that IT was focusing resources based on what the business deemed most important: “It helped us focus on the right things and ensure maturity of the IT organization.”

Schned noted the value of Info-Tech to LHSC, which operates with limited funds and a responsibility to taxpayers: “From a return on investment point of view, the Info-Tech membership offers very high value and a great return for the price. As a public hospital, we’re always cognizant of the fact that we aren’t here to make money. We’re here to save lives. Plus, we have to think about public coffers. The value that we get from Info-Tech’s insight aligns with our organizational vision at a very fundamental level because we always think about the best way to invest tax dollars.”

To support his organizational and leadership goals, Schned has also taken advantage of a dedicated executive counselor from Info-Tech, who provides experienced one-on-one guidance: “I have used Info-Tech’s executive services and have found them very useful in clarifying my priorities and creating a visual roadmap of them.”

Reinforcing defenses with best-practice resources and expert advice

As CISO, Schned shoulders a heavy responsibility. Hospitals have become popular targets for cyberattack, and Schned confessed, “I’m terrified of an incident all the time.” In the event of a cybersecurity incident, Schned worries about the risk to hospital functions: “If hospital systems go down, patients’ lives are at risk.”

Building out security strategies has been a top priority at LHSC, and Schned and his team have turned to Info-Tech analysts for support. “I have a call with Info-Tech security analysts almost once a month. We bounce around ideas and share our thinking. We ask for insight and best practices. Because security is so broad and involves so many components, we needed to build a multidisciplinary, multifaceted approach. Info-Tech has research on everything across the entire spectrum, and they have helped set the stage for our approach to security.”

“Because security is so broad and involves so many components, we needed to build a multidisciplinary, multifaceted approach. Info-Tech has research on everything across the entire spectrum, and they have helped set the stage for our approach to security.”

– David Schned, Director, IT Operations and CISO, LHSC

Mapping the future with a steady partner

As Schned charts a course for the future at LHSC, he has some of healthcare’s biggest challenges on his radar, including rising operating costs and shrinking tax dollars. Maintaining the pace of digital transformation remains high on his list along with the broader challenge of an integrated health system. He explained, “Hospitals are like an island in the health system, and they need to get connected with all the other islands in order to improve patient care. Navigating the healthcare system as a patient is too complex. It’s got to get better.”

Reflecting on IT’s accomplishments so far, Schned is proud of the progress they’ve made. He notes Info-Tech’s role in that success: “Info-Tech has been very supportive and helpful over the last 10 years. Initially, I didn’t always think about Info-Tech when we needed help. But now, I always think of Info-Tech first. I don’t know what I would have done without Info-Tech’s help along the way.”