Your software vendor search is over. Your preferred servers, routers and operating systems have been selected. It was a grueling process but, now that it is over, you can relax, maybe give your IT department a half day off.
According to a newly unveiled White Paper from Informatics Corporation of America, you had better not.
Nashville, Tennessee-based provider of technology services to healthcare providers and health information exchanges, Informatics Corporation of America (ICA) has made available an informative white paper, “Health Care IT Investment Heightens Need For Effective Implementation: Introducing five key elements for successful roll-out of clinical information systems (CIS).”
Co-authored by John Tempesco, vice president of client services and marketing at ICA, and Larry T. Mercer, eCare training director for Sentara Information Technology, the paper is available for download at
http://www.icainformatics.com/news-and-events/white-papers. It is available at no charge but requires registration.
Tempesco explains that the paper outlines the critical steps for successful implementation of clinical information systems (CIS) in order to ensure the value of past, current, and future IT investments.
“Given the high cost of health care IT investments, it is devastating when the implementation process fails at some point in the process,” added Mercer. “This white paper draws on ICA and Sentara’s combined experience in successfully putting clinical information systems into practice, offering a road map that identifies the strategic components for achieving an optimal roll-out. As a result, health care systems can look forward to maximizing their investments while improving the quality of data and patient care across the board.”
The five elements featured in the white paper provide guidelines for avoiding clinician frustration, lack of adoption and — at the extreme — de-installation of these systems. The paper demonstrates how to enhance the implementation process by:
- Developing a comprehensive business plan
- Demanding executive commitment and leadership
- Setting realistic expectations
- Securing operational ownership of the project
- Piloting and nurturing the implementation
Sentara is a nationally awarded Integrated Delivery System in Southeastern Virginia with a fully integrated electronic medical record (EMR) across the continuum of care. The EMR includes multiple inpatient and ambulatory clinical and administrative IT applications, from scheduling to order entry.
