IT Project Implementation Failures
HCS/483
September 19, 2012
Dr. Alex Kadrie
IT Project Implementation Failures
An IT implementation process can be long and tedious, or short and simple, depending on the size and needs of an organization. While implementing this process it is important to understand the roles and responsibilities of each step. Sometimes when the process is not thought out correctly, IT failures happen. IT failures are common reasons that systems do not work, or have many flaws.
Implementation Process “The time and resources needed to implement a new health care information system can vary considerably based on the scope of the project, the needs and complexity of the organization, the number
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Lack of clarity of a project is one failing indicator. Although the CEO was determined to have the system up and running in the remaining months of the implementation, it was unclear to the project manager the point of the project if the system was not ready. Other indications are insufficient leadership support and candor, because with all the issues that the project manager had, she should have been able to talk to her boss about the lack of manpower and money to complete the system on time. Dr. Sparks was not open to hear bad news. I would have spoken with the manager to figure out what was wrong and to help solve the problem instead of ignoring the fact that something was wrong. Organizational inertia is a problem as some of the physicians did not want to incorporate a new system because they felt as though it would put more stress on their workload and turn them into more like secretaries than doctors. Along with these indicators is also lack of an appropriate reward system. Physicians can be awarded for many things, but at times when the small things matter the most there is no reward. For me I would have given more initiative for help with the system for all staff to be on board with the new system. Initiative undernourishment was also a problem because of the huge demand of work needed to be done with little staff instead of the right
Planning is the most critical part of the organization’s information management process and requires the collective involvement of all employees of the hospital. Therefore, staff and licensed independent practitioners, selected by the hospital, should participate in the assessment, selection, integration, and use of information management systems for the delivery of care, treatment, and services.
When developing a new information technology system such as a health documentation system, a team will work through a series of steps “in order to conceptualize, analyze, design, construct and implement a new information technology system”. (Morris, 2009). Traditionally, there were five phases to developing a new system, but it has been found that having seven phases can provide analysts and developers create a system that can more precisely meet the needs of a company. The stages include: planning, systems analysis, systems design, development, testing, implementation and
Anita Ground also stresses on the huge importance of this planning stage by using a concept of system life cycle. It consists of feasibility study, analysis, design, programming, implementation, and lastly maintenance (Ground, 2011, VA TMS training material). The analysis phase in particular would coincide with what the author Yoshihashi is presenting in figuring out office strategy and researching EHR options. Identification of stakeholders and system requirement would play a critical role in EHR adoption (Ground, 2011). Stakeholders would include patients, family, clinicians, billing, registration, and coding as well as the external users such as Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Bottom line is that the new system being purchased would need to provide meaningful use to the clinic based on the current certification standards.
The executive and the management team were very excited about the change to the electronic medical record. They initiated the ground process without any background without any history with electronic medical records which created a major problem. The leadership in the company did not adapt well to the change. Most of the clinic providers were not computer savvy, so they were afraid to use computers, they preferred paper record instead. To receive the government funding the organization had to incorporate the new government policies by transitioning into the electronic health record (EHR) by bring in the qualified personnel to implement the process. Management exercise their power and hiring several qualified individuals to come in and support this transition. As the application analysts my job was providing leadership to the staff, bring them up to speed on how electronic medical record was to work and provide computer training to the members of the organization. Management job was to motivate the employees and eliminate the fear that they had of making this transition, and my job was to simplify this process so that they would not be intimidated. I found a handful of people within the organization, that had some computer skills and I started to train them on the application, so that they could assist in training others, the train the trainer program was initiated. Leadership entails influencing behaviors in organizations. Effective leaders influence behaviors in positive ways. Ineffective leaders also influence behavior, but they do not achieve desirable results. Leadership takes place at all levels in many organizations. Dr. Baack, Michael R. Charles M. (2014) Chapter 5.1 pg
Though not all parts of the standard process may apply, as Cheri noted a standard process should still act as a checklist with steps that should be evaluated or considered as a healthcare system looks at a new system. However, as Eileen pointed out, not every healthcare setting has the expertise and resources to complete every step, though they may be the groups who can benefit from this process the most. As the Altarum Institute states, “Unfortunately, the limited information available on health IT adoption in small, rural hospitals provides only modest guidance on how to manage the unique financial, structural and human resources that affect the successful implementation of health IT” (p.1)
In defining the selection and acquisition framework for the healthcare information system under consideration, the creation of an Information technologies (IT) strategic plan is first needed. By definition, an IT strategic plan defines in very specific terms how a proposed IT system will align with and contribute to the strategic plans, objectives and goals of a healthcare organization (Davis, Adams, 2007). The process of selecting and acquiring the healthcare information system under development needs to take into account change management, process-based, systems-integration and lifetime cost of ownership considerations. In addition to these factors, a balanced scorecard of system performance and its contribution to each department in the organization also needs to be assessed (Chow, Ganulin, Haddad, Williamson, 1998). Healthcare system planning and evaluation has progressed beyond the basics of defining functional performance aspects of software towards the inclusion and encompassing of how roles in a healthcare enterprise can be made more efficient from their use (Spil, LeRouge, Trimmer, Wiggins, 2011). The process of selecting and acquiring the information system then must be designed to take into account stakeholder's needs while also delivering financially significant value to the enterprise over time (Davis, Adams, 2007). The intent of this analysis is to define how the
The case study of the Memorial Health Systems CPOE implementation illustrates why the IT implementation process needs to be rigorously applied to complex system definition, implementation and maintenance. The lack of role and responsibility definition, followed by the highly dysfunctional performance of the entire executive team serves as a cautionary tale of why rigorous use of IT implementation processes and frameworks are essential. The implementation failed on many levels, with the factors from Chapter 7 of our text (Wager, Lee & Glaser, 2009) providing a framework for evaluating why the organization in the case failed. In addition, the five dominant causes of project failure as defined in Chapter 14 of our text (Wager, Lee & Glaser, 2009) are also very evident in this case.
A team of clinical adoption strategists from Cerner met with representatives at the acute care hospitals. These process team leaders, who are subject matter experts for the team they represent, will serve to ensure that all designs, decisions, and work flow changes are discussed at the hospital level and communicated so all have an equal voice in this project. These process team leaders will meet with all levels of staff at their hospital to gather information related to current processes and practices. The IT Clinical analysts are assigned to work with each process team to facilitate, gather, and support completion of assigned tasks. This information will be shared with all other process teams at weekly meetings as they work to implement a standardized, enterprise wide clinical information system. Cerner Solution Architects or SA’s, are assigned to each team and will guide us through this process every step of the way.
The successful implementation and subsequent meaningful use of information technology solutions within a health care organization is a challenging and iterative process. The organization must engage in careful and ongoing strategic and tactical planning to ensure that the implemented technology will ultimately be effective and beneficial for its practitioners, staff, and patients.
The healthcare sector is one among the few areas that are vital for the wellbeing of individuals and the societies. Due to people’s dependence on sound healthcare systems, current and emerging technologies have been developed to provide health practitioners, especially nurses with an opportunity to improve patient outcomes. The improved outcome is influenced ease of information access that helps in various decision-making processes. Qualified nurses play a key role in leading unit and organizational changes that focus on incorporating emerging technologies to promote patient safety and enhance quality of care. Based on a case scenario where a healthcare organization is merging with another organization of comparable size, a health information system is required to offer services to underserved populations in a facility with remote technology. As an informatics nurse specialist working in the primary organization, the current paper will highlight the process and rationale for leading a project committee that is tasked with overseeing the migration to a common health information system that meets federal regulatory requirements. Moreover, it will highlight the specific health information system that can be used to promote patient safety and enhance overall quality of care.
Health information systems (HIS) are complex and it is helpful to understand advantages and disadvantages to some key components of a HIS. This section will describe the advantages and disadvantages of usability, interoperability, scalability and compatibility.
. Second the lack of system integration, specifically between operational systems and the customer systems of record often dooms any IT or CRM project to fail (Ramrattan, Patel, 2010). Third, not having an effective series of analytics and metrics of performance to measure the relative levels of contribution fro IT systems in general and CRM
Northern Health Authority (NHA) currently seeks an integrated clinical information system to close the gap when it comes to information access and communication across the health authority. Inefficiencies in regards to client registration and integration of Admission Discharge, Transfers within additional applications in use within the health Authority has lead ADT and Client Registration to be determined as a top priority for the initial implementation. This document offers an evaluation of the RFP from both a client perspective and the receiving vendor perspective. Qualitative and Quantitative criteria will be determined as a means for scoring potential vendors and separating essential, nice to have, and unique requirements from both perspectives. Understanding the RFP from both perspectives allows for a holistic view of the procurement process NH will undertake that must be met to ensure collaborative and efficient partnership.
Taking a look at this organizational chart allows us to see the hierarchy of the organization. This hierarchy consist of all levels of management from record management to Center of Health Statistics Director/CEO. This specific Organizational chart includes Team Members, Supervisors, Directors and CEO/ Managing Director. In regards to implementing a completely new system of information management the whole organization should have some part in it but in the end the CEO would have the most control and power to manipulate the changes that may or may not need to occur in his/her organization. This organizational model represents all aspects of information management and this includes raw data, information filled records, hospital surveys, and etc. With this chart in mind accessing certain information through paper trail can be considered tedious, whereas if all of the content was placed electronically into one repository that is accessible through authority can prevail very effective and efficient for the organization (Menachemi, 2011). This method would allow retrieval of information to happen at a faster rate intern leading to more accurate records being registered. Since this Organizational chart is based on health statistics, electronic health record are essential for the success of researchers due to them needing accurate and concise information to maintain the integrity of their paper. Furthermore the information gathered by health statistics
The most important purpose for a hospital using an information system is the access and