Adding a new technology in a healthcare setting is both exciting and empowering. A well-implemented technology comes along with considerable benefits; however, navigating through the process may be challenging. Change is being observed in the healthcare industry in terms of healthcare technology (Stevens & Schaik, 2020). Currently, many healthcare organizations around the globe are in the process of digital transformation. They are putting in place the necessary effort to introduce novel technology to replace old legacy systems. However, one cannot just directly to the implementation process of new technology since there must be steps to follow. This paper discusses an interview done to a healthcare leader regarding a new technology he selected, planned, and implemented.
The doctor who took part in the interview had planned for the implementation of the electronic health record in all the treatment rooms within the institution. An electronic health record (EHR) is an electronic version of a patient’s medical history. It can be defined as real-time patient-centered records that make information available and secure to authorized users. Electronic health records can be used to transmit data between interdisciplinary teams and departments and to enhance communication between physicians (Palabindala, Pamarthy, & Jonnalagadda, 2016). They enhance the decision-making process, clinical alerts, and reminders, and contain medical information. It is a performance improvement tool, has real-time quality reporting, and has interfaces with lab, registries, and other records. It also has features that can detect medical errors and alert the physician or the user. Therefore, the EHRs have a significant role in maintaining quality care within a healthcare organization.
The doctor stated that he had a step by step plan to enable effective implementation of the technology. The first step involved the identification of the need to implement new technology in the hospital (Morilla, Sans, Casasa, & Giménez, 2017). The leader says that he could see patients experiencing longer lengths of stay, physicians having difficulty retrieving data, cases of medical errors, and some patients missing their appointments. Therefore, he identified the need for an electronic health record system to combat these challenges.
The second step involved communicating his vision with the administration and team members. According to Yadav, Steinbach, Kumar, and Simon (2018), once it is clear that the new technology is going to work in the organizational daily tasks, it is necessary to communicate clear visions to team members. This would be helpful because no one would support a change in their usual routine without a vision. The physician states that he communicated the advantages and the positive change associated with implementing an EHR system to the requisite stakeholders. By so doing, he was able to win the trust of the administration as well as team members.
The third step was the planning phase. Planning is the most important step in the implementation process. A planning team was established to help the process go smoothly. Planning sessions included staff members such as physicians, nurses, administration, and medical assistants (Uzialko, 2018). The planning team reviewed the benefits, disadvantages, budget and the project time frame from planning to implementation. The planning sessions contributed majorly to the acceptance of the idea. The team worked closely with the account manager to ensure that implementation becomes successful. This was a very important process as it contributed a lot to the new technology.
Step four included training programs to ensure all providers underhand how to use the electronic health records system. The training program began by educating all medical staff on basic skills of EHR. The second phase involved training super users of the system in every department (Uzialko, 2018). These super users were meant to continue training other professionals even after the launch of the new technology. The new technology was expected to work better and bring much needed positive change. However, it would not achieve all the expectations unless everyone knew adequately how to work with it. Therefore, before beginning the implementation, a couple of training would make every member comfortable with the system.
According to the interviewee, step five involved the implementation of the EHR system. The physician stated that the implementation could take two approaches such as the big bang or incremental. Big bang means launching the system for all patients and functions on the same day (Uzialko, 2018). On the other hand, incremental involves introducing the EHR
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