This is How You Can Make A True Difference In Healthcare with Christopher Kunney, managing partner at IOTECH Consulting and host of the Straight Outta Health IT podcast

[00:00:02] Hey everybody.

[00:00:03] Welcome back to the Outcomes Rocket podcast.

[00:00:06] So excited you tuned in to another episode today.

[00:00:10] I have a special treat for you all.

[00:00:12] He is a good friend, managing partner at IO Tech Consulting, Christopher Cunney.

[00:00:19] He's a change maker, a podcast host.

[00:00:21] If you haven't had a chance to listen to his podcast, Straight Out of Health IT.

[00:00:26] Definitely a hot one that you got to check out.

[00:00:29] We'll leave that in the show notes.

[00:00:31] He's an author and just an incredible person.

[00:00:34] Christopher Cunney, thanks for joining us today.

[00:00:36] Well, hi Saul.

[00:00:37] Thank you so much for having me on the program again.

[00:00:40] It's exciting to be a part of it.

[00:00:42] And it's always good to see you too, man.

[00:00:44] Hey, likewise.

[00:00:45] And we're just getting through conference season right now.

[00:00:47] Had a chance to run into you at HIMSS and VIVE, but at HIMSS actually

[00:00:52] something really special happened.

[00:00:54] And I want to make sure that we give you recognition and kudos for that.

[00:00:58] You were awarded Changemaker Award.

[00:01:02] So talk to us about that award and what that means to the

[00:01:05] industry and what it means to you.

[00:01:07] Well, it was great seeing you in both LA and also in Orlando coast to coast.

[00:01:12] And I'm especially honored and humbled by being recognized by HIMSS as one of

[00:01:20] their 2024 changemakers and specifically being awarded and recognized

[00:01:24] for my work around advocacy.

[00:01:26] The recognition means so much to me and it just really validates the work

[00:01:31] and dedication I put in to try to make a positive impact on the industry.

[00:01:36] And again, my passion really is around addressing challenges related to health

[00:01:40] equity and HIMSS not only recognize the work that I'm doing through their

[00:01:45] institution, but also a number of the nonprofits and other associations that

[00:01:51] I've been involved in to hopefully try to close those health equity gaps as well.

[00:01:55] So I'm so grateful to receive the award and it really kept, and I'm again, very

[00:02:01] thankful for all the mentors and colleagues and supporters who inspired me

[00:02:07] and voted for me because it was also, I guess that's the other thing about it

[00:02:10] too is you had to vote on the winners for this award.

[00:02:13] It was my colleagues and folks in the industry that felt that I was

[00:02:16] deserving of the honor as well too.

[00:02:18] So again, thank you to everyone that did vote for me and thank you to HIMSS for

[00:02:22] awarding me the Changemaker of the Year Award.

[00:02:24] That's awesome.

[00:02:25] Yeah, no.

[00:02:26] And I remember when that came through, we definitely voted for you here on the

[00:02:29] Outcomes Rock, I put my vote through for you and I was rooting for you.

[00:02:33] So when I saw that you got it, you were on the big screen there at HIMSS.

[00:02:36] And I was like, yes.

[00:02:38] When I saw him, I'm like, oh, no way he did it.

[00:02:40] It actually happened.

[00:02:41] Yeah.

[00:02:41] So it did.

[00:02:43] It did.

[00:02:43] And look, let's connect the dots, right?

[00:02:46] The advocacy, you don't just talk the talk, you walk the walk.

[00:02:49] And a big part of that is, is the amazing interviews you do with your podcast.

[00:02:55] So talk to the listeners about what you do there and why.

[00:02:59] Sure.

[00:03:00] So Straight Outta Health IT was birthed out of a lot of idle time during COVID.

[00:03:05] Trying to find something to do and stay busy and stay relevant.

[00:03:09] And I had actually pitched it to a previous employer that I was working for.

[00:03:14] And they decided not to pursue it.

[00:03:16] So I said, I've got all this time on my hands and I had actually done your podcast

[00:03:20] before and you said, Hey, Christopher, I think you would be good at this.

[00:03:24] Why don't you consider doing it?

[00:03:25] So I actually literally thought about it and said, what's the worst that could happen?

[00:03:29] And I bomb at it and okay, life is not over.

[00:03:33] I'll keep moving on.

[00:03:34] And so I, again, I had a lot of time during COVID to think about what

[00:03:37] I wanted the podcast to be about.

[00:03:39] And I wanted it to be a platform to advocate for challenges and issues

[00:03:44] and individuals affected by healthcare.

[00:03:48] And this is the podcast, not for me necessarily to pontificate about my views,

[00:03:53] although I interject them when I need to, it really is about my big guest and what

[00:03:58] they're doing in this space and recognizing them for the tireless effort that they put

[00:04:03] in to advocate for the underserved, to provide education knowledge about what's

[00:04:08] happening in the industry, what's happening from a policy standpoint, and then what

[00:04:13] they're very passionate about, but more importantly, what their journey has

[00:04:16] been in healthcare as well too.

[00:04:17] So I think the most interesting thing about the podcast is listening to their

[00:04:21] own individual stories and their testimonies.

[00:04:24] And we just gave it a shot.

[00:04:26] And again, thank you and your team for helping me and guiding me through that

[00:04:30] process and making it sound like I know what I'm doing, but it's been a labor of

[00:04:37] love.

[00:04:37] I didn't think I was going to stick with it as long as I have, but again, it's been

[00:04:42] something that's been a passion of mine.

[00:04:44] And so I'm just so excited that it's gotten the following that it has now.

[00:04:49] And it's nice when I walk into a conference or an event, folks will say, Hey, I like

[00:04:54] your podcast and I really enjoy it or to want to be on it now.

[00:04:57] So I'm getting those requests now.

[00:04:59] So that's exciting as well too.

[00:05:00] And it's just another extension, I think, of what I'm very passionate about is

[00:05:05] really telling the stories of people who are impacted by healthcare in either a

[00:05:10] positive or negative way and what we can do as individuals to help drive change in

[00:05:14] this industry.

[00:05:16] That's fantastic.

[00:05:17] Now, I appreciate you sharing that Christopher and folks, if you're not

[00:05:20] curious yet, you should be, and you should check that out.

[00:05:23] And we're going to leave a link to the podcast inside of the show notes for

[00:05:27] today's episode.

[00:05:27] So you could check it out.

[00:05:29] I think you'll be inspired and you're just so intentional about how you do things.

[00:05:33] Christopher, I love your posts on the stuff that you do, the progress updates.

[00:05:39] And so really love just the touch you've put on it.

[00:05:41] Thank you.

[00:05:42] I try to, again, there is method to the madness, whether it's the podcast or the

[00:05:47] things that I'm blogging or posting about or the events that I'm presenting about,

[00:05:52] or even the work that I'm doing in the community.

[00:05:54] It is all about how do we start to continue?

[00:05:57] How do we continue to transform healthcare and make it better for not only ourselves,

[00:06:02] but for the next generation as well too.

[00:06:04] And so all of it tends to flow and work really well together.

[00:06:09] And again, those things that I've been very passionate about, like I sit on the

[00:06:12] board of the Metro Atlanta YMCA, that's 14 YMCA's in our community, and we advocate

[00:06:19] for a wide variety of issues, but healthcare is a part of that and quality of

[00:06:22] healthcare.

[00:06:23] Also I sit on the local Georgia Health Board and I serve as the advocacy chair

[00:06:28] here, but also sit on the global health equity task force at the national level

[00:06:33] where we're looking at global healthcare challenges as well.

[00:06:37] And then I work with an organization called Caring Meds and we do medical

[00:06:41] missions to West Africa.

[00:06:43] So I've been to West Africa and been a part of that.

[00:06:46] And we're also working with one of the local universities there to establish a

[00:06:50] nursing program and a telemedicine program to start to address some of the

[00:06:54] equity issues within that community.

[00:06:57] And then I'm engaged in various other associations, which I won't run down the

[00:07:01] entire list, that in some form or fashion are dealing with closing these gaps in

[00:07:06] health equity and educating the community about how to get better care.

[00:07:11] And then most importantly, because I am a techie, how do we continue to leverage

[00:07:15] technology to be a catalyst in driving better clinical outcomes and closing the

[00:07:22] gaps on health disparities as well?

[00:07:25] I think that's so great.

[00:07:26] Your involvement in the community is definitely, I think, a really strong suit

[00:07:30] of yours and it's making a big difference.

[00:07:33] And so you've done a lot of different things in your career from CIO to, to

[00:07:37] leader at different businesses, and now you're leading this consulting firm.

[00:07:42] Talk to us about the focus areas there and key things that you want our listeners to know about.

[00:07:48] No, absolutely.

[00:07:49] I have to, first of all, thank my parents who have always had an entrepreneurial

[00:07:53] spirit and instilled that into me at a very young age.

[00:07:57] So I've always kept a little side hustle or a side business, even as I was going

[00:08:03] through college and out of school and now actively serving as the managing

[00:08:08] partner for IoTeX Consulting, which has actually been around since about 2009.

[00:08:13] And I actually actively ran it for almost 10 years.

[00:08:17] Although I've worn different hats for different organizations.

[00:08:20] I've either worn them as part of my consulting practice or I've taken a

[00:08:25] little bit of a hiatus and gone back into corporate and carried a business

[00:08:29] card for another, for various companies.

[00:08:32] But always kept the company moving forward in some form or fashion.

[00:08:36] And so at its core, we are a management consulting and advisory firm.

[00:08:41] We're focused around healthcare transformation.

[00:08:44] We do everything from IT strategy work to and around leadership with focuses

[00:08:49] around things like data privacy and security, lifecycle optimization, cloud

[00:08:54] services, unified communication, informatics and strategy work,

[00:08:59] implementation of technology solutions.

[00:09:01] We advise startups and emerging tech companies on how to bring their products

[00:09:06] to market, and we actually advise academic institutions on the development

[00:09:11] of various curriculum in this space as well.

[00:09:13] I sit on the advisory board for Morehouse School of Medicine's master's degree

[00:09:18] program in health informatics and bioscience, and I also teach part of their

[00:09:22] pipeline program as well as I taught at other universities here locally

[00:09:27] and across the country as well.

[00:09:29] And then I've been a part of various government agency initiatives, the

[00:09:33] Minority Business Development Alliance that focuses on bringing more minority

[00:09:37] businesses into this space, and I've been a part of an advisory group for the

[00:09:42] Blue Button Initiative out of CMS as well too, where I've evaluated technology

[00:09:47] proposals that have come out of that program as well too.

[00:09:50] Again, at its core, we're here to serve our customers in a wide variety of areas,

[00:09:54] either helping drive transformation internally in the organization and

[00:09:58] leading those things, acting as external advisors, and then bringing solutions

[00:10:02] as well.

[00:10:03] It's just not about telling you what your problems are and pointing you in the

[00:10:06] direction, but actually bringing transformational technology into the

[00:10:11] solution set to help drive that change as well.

[00:10:14] That's great.

[00:10:14] Thank you, Chris.

[00:10:15] It really just boils down to transformation.

[00:10:18] It could get technical and you guys pull up your sleeves and help navigate that.

[00:10:23] It could be leadership.

[00:10:24] It could be access and equity.

[00:10:26] Exactly.

[00:10:27] And it's not just Christopher as well too.

[00:10:29] So it's a cohort of very seasoned leaders and professionals in this space,

[00:10:35] and then partners that I've been able to work closely with that bring, again,

[00:10:40] enterprise technologies to the table.

[00:10:42] Some who are emerging tech companies as well too.

[00:10:45] So I definitely want us to make sure that we're hoping to grow businesses

[00:10:50] that are in this space, but also working with very seasoned organizations who

[00:10:54] have a strong credibility and a strong customer base as well too.

[00:10:57] So that organizations feel confident that the solutions we bring to the

[00:11:01] table have been proven, tested, have a track record of being successful as well.

[00:11:06] That's fantastic.

[00:11:06] Now, I appreciate you sharing that.

[00:11:08] And look, in the journey, oftentimes we learn more from the setbacks than the wins.

[00:11:14] Absolutely.

[00:11:15] Do you want to share a setback you've had that's made you even

[00:11:18] better than you were before it?

[00:11:20] Wow.

[00:11:21] There's so many.

[00:11:22] I'll touch on one in particular.

[00:11:25] When I was back in 2016, I was actively running my company.

[00:11:30] It was probably the best time for my company financially and just the number

[00:11:35] of clients and work I was doing, but also probably one of the worst times

[00:11:39] for me personally as well too.

[00:11:41] I was flying back and forth quite a bit to California.

[00:11:44] I was doing quite a lot of work out there and I won't give all the gory

[00:11:48] details about it, but I got sick on one of those trips and flew back home.

[00:11:53] And long story short, went through a series of tests over several months

[00:11:58] and discovered I had two brain tumors.

[00:12:01] Holy smokes.

[00:12:02] Yeah.

[00:12:02] And ended up having brain surgery in the early part of 2017.

[00:12:07] And also decided that at that point I needed to take a hiatus from running

[00:12:12] my company actively just to recover and regroup and think about life

[00:12:16] as well and what's important.

[00:12:18] And I think through that process, learn that life can throw you all sorts of

[00:12:22] curves, right?

[00:12:23] That although I was blessed and the surgery went great and it was successful.

[00:12:28] It also taught me what was important about life as well too.

[00:12:33] At any day, what you think is important in my business and the things I was

[00:12:37] doing could be taken away from me.

[00:12:39] So it allowed me to really reprioritize life, family, again, those things I'm

[00:12:44] passionate about, which is why I probably started pursuing more of the advocacy

[00:12:48] work I'm doing now, why I started doing trips to Africa and Nicaragua and places

[00:12:53] like that because I wanted to continue to give back to communities as a result

[00:12:57] of just my own journey and life.

[00:12:59] And thank God I was able to have quality health care here in the United States

[00:13:03] and get some of the best treatment possible.

[00:13:06] But I've been to places like West Africa where something as simple as malaria or

[00:13:12] hypertension, or we treated a gentleman one time who had pea guy.

[00:13:17] And the fact that if we weren't there to provide antibiotics, he

[00:13:19] probably would have gone blind.

[00:13:21] And so it's just an appreciation of what we have here and understanding

[00:13:26] that too much is given, much is required.

[00:13:28] So that experience actually transformed what I thought was important, which was

[00:13:34] growing a business, making a lot of money, being successful to one now about

[00:13:38] what can I do to help other people be successful and help them and help the

[00:13:43] folks who are less advantaged than I have been in my life.

[00:13:47] Yeah.

[00:13:47] Christopher and I appreciate you sharing that and I'm grateful that

[00:13:51] you made it through that hard time.

[00:13:52] Yes.

[00:13:53] And it was defining for you in a way that really now you're focused on impact

[00:13:59] and growth, but impact is the driver.

[00:14:01] Exactly.

[00:14:01] And I heard something at a conference recently, probably a year or so ago,

[00:14:05] there was a gentleman speaking and he used the term conscientious capitalists.

[00:14:10] We can make money and we can make an impact as well too.

[00:14:13] And so I really took that to heart and said, and now what drives me is what can

[00:14:19] I do that's meaningful, that's important, but also if I can make a good living

[00:14:24] from that as well and help others, why not choose that path versus a path that

[00:14:29] disenfranchises folks or takes advantage of folks in order to be successful.

[00:14:34] And so I try to as much as I can throughout my journey now to think about

[00:14:40] if what I'm doing is going to positively or negatively impact the people that I'm

[00:14:45] involved in and whatever possible, try to choose the path where everyone wins from

[00:14:52] the experience and not a win lose kind of mentality.

[00:14:57] Sure.

[00:14:57] No, I love that.

[00:14:58] Hey, I was recently in an interview and they asked me a great question.

[00:15:01] I think it's appropriate for us today.

[00:15:02] If you could start a movement that creates the greatest good for the

[00:15:08] greatest amount of people, what would it be?

[00:15:10] Wow.

[00:15:11] There's a gentleman, there's an organization called the Pink Socks.

[00:15:16] Nick Atkins.

[00:15:17] Yeah.

[00:15:17] Nick Atkins.

[00:15:18] And yeah, and I ran into Nick at a conference one day and he walked up to

[00:15:23] me and I didn't know him at the time, but he just walked up and said, can I give you

[00:15:26] a hug?

[00:15:27] Did he have his kilt on?

[00:15:28] He had his kilt on.

[00:15:29] Yes, he did.

[00:15:30] His beard and his kilt.

[00:15:31] He did and I was like, okay, this is strange.

[00:15:34] He hugged me in a very genuine way and you could feel the love from him, the

[00:15:39] genuine love from him.

[00:15:40] And then he exposed me to the whole Pink Sock movement.

[00:15:44] Once you get the hug and he tells you about it, you're then given these pink

[00:15:48] socks and now it's your responsibility to go out and find others to disciple

[00:15:52] to and bring them into the fold.

[00:15:55] I think that's what life should be about, right?

[00:15:58] Is how do you inspire others to be the best version of themselves?

[00:16:03] And so I think a movement that would allow me to inspire others to be the best

[00:16:08] version of themselves is something that I try to aspire to now.

[00:16:12] And I think at the end of the day, leaves those ripple effects that will impact

[00:16:18] others long after you're gone as well too.

[00:16:20] And so that's my focus on now.

[00:16:23] And so I do things like helping to educate this next generation of

[00:16:27] pipeline of professionals of color.

[00:16:29] We need more people of color involved in healthcare and healthcare technology.

[00:16:34] I try to teach people how to fish versus fishing for them, building a pipeline

[00:16:38] of nurses and healthcare professionals in places like West Africa so that not

[00:16:42] depending on us having to come over and do medical missions for two or three

[00:16:46] weeks and go and leave and they still don't have healthcare, we need to teach

[00:16:50] them how to create their own healthcare systems, educate them and support them

[00:16:54] in those journeys, and then advocate for the underserved.

[00:16:58] We think about Africa and the continent of Africa and the countries there in

[00:17:02] some cases, third world countries.

[00:17:04] I can tell you, I can go a hundred miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia, and there

[00:17:09] are communities that don't have any healthcare either, that there are health

[00:17:12] disparities there as well too.

[00:17:15] And we have to also look in our own backyard and try to support the

[00:17:19] communities that are closest to us.

[00:17:22] And I do believe that rising tides raise all ships as well too.

[00:17:26] So we hope that the most vulnerable, ultimately that will impact the entire

[00:17:30] healthcare system and we'll have a positive impact on our own lives as well.

[00:17:35] That's great, Christopher.

[00:17:36] That's a great call out for sure.

[00:17:38] And a great focus area for all of us to think about.

[00:17:41] And so look, really phenomenal to connect with you.

[00:17:44] If there's anything you want to leave our listeners with today, what

[00:17:48] would you leave them with?

[00:17:50] And if something you said struck a chord with them and they want to get in touch,

[00:17:54] what's the best way?

[00:17:54] Sure.

[00:17:55] First of all, check out Straight Outta Health IT, my podcast, and a little

[00:18:00] teaser, Saul will be on the show in the near future.

[00:18:03] That's right.

[00:18:04] Check out his episode.

[00:18:05] It'll be coming up soon.

[00:18:07] I think again, we all have a part to play in improving the lives of others.

[00:18:13] And so whether it's what I'm doing in healthcare or whatever you decide to do

[00:18:17] and working with people locally in your community and nationally, internationally,

[00:18:21] I applaud those who are making that commitment and I encourage others to

[00:18:25] step up and step into the game as well.

[00:18:29] And then we have a management consulting practice.

[00:18:32] We would love to help any organization that is looking to drive transformation

[00:18:36] and technology in the organization, whether you're a healthcare provider,

[00:18:40] payer, academic institution, government agency, startups, emerging tech companies,

[00:18:47] we're here to help you in that effort as well too.

[00:18:50] So don't hesitate to reach out to me.

[00:18:52] My website is www.iotechconsulting.com.

[00:18:58] My email address is Christopher.Kunney, K-U-N-N-E-Y at iotechconsulting.com.

[00:19:06] And I'm on LinkedIn.

[00:19:07] I accept every LinkedIn request as well too.

[00:19:10] So please reach out to me.

[00:19:12] I'd love to have you a part of the Christopher Kunney community as well.

[00:19:17] And if there's anything I can do to support and help those who are listening,

[00:19:20] feel free to reach out and I'm happy to do what I can.

[00:19:23] Amazing, Christopher.

[00:19:24] Look, it's always a pleasure to connect with you, to see the work that you did.

[00:19:29] Thanks for being on the podcast with us today.

[00:19:32] And for everybody listening, we got the change maker in the house here.

[00:19:36] So certainly make sure you check out the show notes on today's episode.

[00:19:40] Every way to get in touch with Christopher will be there as well as links to his

[00:19:44] podcast, so you could take a listen.

[00:19:46] You will love it.

[00:19:47] Christopher, thanks for being with us.

[00:19:48] It's been a pleasure.

[00:19:49] No, thank you so much for having me and thank you so much for inspiring me to take

[00:19:53] the journey to become a podcast host.

[00:19:56] Again, audience, this is the man that created this madness on this end.

[00:20:01] So like it or love it, he's the reason behind it.

[00:20:06] And I'm so thankful and appreciative of him.

[00:20:10] Inspiring me to, to move down this path and do something that I never

[00:20:14] thought I would ever do before.

[00:20:15] So I appreciate you and your team that were amazing as well.

[00:20:19] Thank you, Christopher.

[00:20:19] We're happy to be a small part of it.

[00:20:21] So appreciate the kudos there.

[00:20:22] And again, thanks so much for what you do.

[00:20:25] Absolutely.

[00:20:26] Thank you.

[00:20:26] Good to see you.