Jorge Silveira: on making the CIO Top 50 and the potential of Precision Fertility

Making the CIO50 is great, but the biggest achievements still lie ahead.

Over the summer break, I have had the chance to reflect on the honour of being named among Australia’s 50 most innovative technology and digital leaders – for the second year in a row.

The 2021 CIO50 listing is an honour I share with the team at Virtus Health. It is recognition of our drive to transform the delivery of fertility services through digital technology.

For us, the real work is just beginning. By the end of this year we will be launching Precision Fertility, our global initiative to bring together our key clinical and administrative processes to enhance the experience of our patients, our people and our partners across our five countries in three continents.

For patients, Precision Fertility means all their information will be at their fingertips. They’ll have a personalised view of their fertility journey, access to trusted educational resources, the ability to chat online with their care team. Those are just a few of the many patient benefits.

For our people, streamlined workflows will free up more time to focus on our patients and their outcomes. They will be able to access advanced patient insights that will support decision-making around treatment options, linked with new technologies such as AI.

Ultimately Precision Fertility is designed to support the number one goal for both our workforce and our patients  – to improve outcomes; to increase the likelihood of a successful pregnancy and to speed up the time to pregnancy.

We have set a demanding schedule for the months ahead. By mid-year, we will have populated key elements including a global data warehouse, data & analytics dashboards and a patient resource centre.

By the last quarter of the year, we will be testing and trialling our systems and conducting training for our teams in how we harness Precision Fertility’s awesome capabilities.

And from December onwards, we begin rolling out Precision Fertility over four months across our worldwide network of clinics, laboratories and day hospitals.

Make no mistake, this is a huge undertaking. It will place Virtus Health in a position of global leadership in the delivery of personalised fertility services. More importantly, it will enable patients to be more connected with information and support when they need it, and it will allow us – our workforce – to help more people become parents.

It is exactly the reason why a chose a career in digital health. There is nothing more satisfying than setting and overcoming a tough challenge, especially when it can help people achieve their dream of starting a family.

That’s an even bigger reward than CIO50!