Hospital Executive Positions Explained: Understanding Healthcare Leadership

When your Medtech company is marketing or making a sales pitch to a hospital, should you be talking to the chief administrative officer (CAO), the chief clinical officer (CCO), the chief information officer (CIO) — or all three? 
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This list of hospital executive positions and a brief explanation of the roles and responsibilities of hospital leadership can give you a better idea of who needs to know about your Medtech system or products, which relationships are worth the investment of time to build, and who needs to be at the table when it’s time for a decision. 

Top of the Org Chart: Chief Executive Officer

A hospital CEO is responsible for all aspects of operations to ensure they are functioning properly and in a manner that allows the hospital to deliver the best possible care. Ultimately, the CEO is responsible for the hospital’s financial performance, compliance with laws, regulations, and internal policies, clinical procedures, and overall operational excellence. It’s likely that only the largest capital purchases and negotiations will involve the CEO. When marketing your systems and products, more likely targets would be other members of the C-suite such as:   

Chief Administrative Officer

The CAO is responsible for managing hospital operations. These hospital executives help to develop the hospital’s budget and monitor finances, ensure operations comply with laws and regulations, and participate in hiring. They also communicate information about operations with other hospital executives and the board of directors. CAOs are often a part of business negotiations. 
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The list of responsibilities for a hospital’s Chief Operating Officer is similar to the CAO, and in some cases, it is the same position. 

Chief Business Development Officer

​A hospital’s CBDO is responsible for growth and expansion of the organization, both in the services it currently provides and in new areas of opportunity. The CBDO oversees development of a growth strategy, including implementation of systems and solutions that will advance progress toward the hospital’s goals. 

Chief Financial Officer

​A hospital CFO’s primary responsibility is the financial health of the organization. The CFO keeps a close watch on expenses and revenues, helps budget for capital expenditures, participates in merger or acquisition negotiations, and studies how trends or new payer models will impact their organization. Their input is a given if you sell medical capital equipment.  

Chief Medical Officer

The CMO oversees care, hires, trains, and evaluates physicians, and acts as a liaison between medical staff and hospital administration. They’re likely to be interested in technology that will help the hospital provide better care in more efficient ways and can lead to increased profitability.  

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Chief Clinical Officer

​This healthcare executive position has emerged to address patient engagement and the quality of care. They are familiar with EHRs and how to mine data for insights that will improve hospital procedures and patient outcomes. 

Chief Information Officer

​CIOs are responsible for the hospital’s information technology and make recommendations and purchasing technology purchasing decisions. They’re also responsible for implementing IT solutions and training staff. CIOs are also challenged to manage growing volumes of data and find the best ways to extract value from it. 

Chief Information Security Officer

​CISOs are responsible for the hospital’s IT security, developing security policies, increasing awareness of security risks, communicating best practices, complying with security regulations, and responding if a data breach should occur. 

Chief Nursing Officer

The CNO supervises nurses and nurse managers and acts as a liaison between nurses and administration. Some hospitals have a chief nursing informatics officer (CNIO) as well, who is responsible for nursing strategies related to health IT. 

Chief Innovation Officer

People holding these executive positions in a hospital organization are responsible for staying informed of industry trends and new opportunities. 
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The full list of leadership positions within your prospect’s organization may also include hospital executives who are responsible for areas such as marketing, fundraising, philanthropy, government relations, human resources, population health initiatives, patient safety, quality, or research. 

Hospital Directors & Managers

In addition to identifying members of a hospital’s C-suite that you should target with your marketing and sales initiatives, it may also be advantageous to identify managers and directors who work in their departments. These leaders within a hospital’s organization may quickly and clearly see the need for your Medtech systems and have the ability to influence other decision makers. Depending on the systems or products you offer, consider reaching out to directors or managers of specific hospital departments and services, such as: 

• Emergency
• ICU
• Rehabilitation 
• Laboratory
• Home health 
• Radiology 

Research Your Prospect’s Unique Organization

​Hospital executive roles have evolved and expanded over the past decade with the emergence of new technology, new regulations, and new care models, so you may encounter different titles with different responsibilities from hospital to hospital. Using a sales acceleration platform can help you sift through the data on your prospect and determine who the best contacts will be at that hospital. How well you understand hospital executive roles, however, will ultimately determine whether you get your message to the right decision makers and influencers.

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About the Author

Carevoyance contributor Bernadette Wilson of B Wilson Marketing Communications is an experienced journalist, writer, editor, and B2B marketer, specializing in content for technology companies.