What excites you most about Health IT?
The industry continues to change and challenges me every day. I enjoy the variety and like helping organizations transform their operations by better leveraging technology.
What are employers looking for when hiring for this field?
Connection to the industry – staying active in local and national chapters of HIMSS, HFMA, AHIMA, or other relevant industry groups. And an added bonus — these are great ways to network with potential employers!
What are the two most important skills a candidate can have?
A learning mindset — many of us, myself included, do not have extensive clinical backgrounds yet we’re working in an industry supporting workflows and technology needs of clinicians. Be open to learning new skills and perspectives of the customers you work with to strike a balance between health care and technology.
Ability to innovate — There are major challenges facing organizations and employers are looking for individuals who are willing to put forth creative solutions to complex problems.
What trends do you see or anticipate?
Health care organizations by now have generally made their move to electronic health records. These are huge investments for organizations so now we are seeing more health IT work shift to optimizing systems currently in place vs. projects to completely swap out technologies.
Why do you like teaching Health IT?
I enjoy being able to share my experiences working in Health IT with students and hearing the perspectives students bring to discussion. Talented Health IT professionals are in high demand so teaching in this program is important to the industry’s future.
As a Lead Consultant at Cerner Corporation, Heidi Waldschmidt is focused on all aspects of Revenue Cycle Health IT projects at the largest non-profit health system in the country. She makes an impact on clients by helping achieve their organizational goals through adoption of Cerner’s recommended workflows, content and capabilities.
Heidi joined Cerner in 2012 as a Senior Analyst in Revenue Cycle Consulting. She has held roles with the company such as Solution Architect and Intellectual Capital Strategist. During her time at Cerner, Heidi developed Cerner’s Revenue Cycle Playbook, an integral piece of Cerner’s best practice strategy. Heidi collaborates with multi-disciplinary teams across Cerner to ensure solutions enhance clinical and business practices. Prior to joining Cerner, Heidi spent two years at St. Francis Health Center in Topeka working in financial operations.
Heidi is a graduate of the University of Kansas Medical Center with a Master of Health Services Administration and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology from the University of Kansas.
