Project Management solutions

Health Information Technology

Renee Singleton-Bell

IT Consultant

“The Best Health IT Project won’t fix a Broken Process” according to Amantayakul (2007)

 IT projects can be difficult and impacts the whole healthcare organization and its operations. Health IT Projects are expensive and “between 50 and 80 percent of electronic health record projects fail--and the larger the project, the more likely it is to fail," (Manos,2011)

• Poorly Articulated Goals - Ex: Improve patient safety or increase productivity

• Lack of Stakeholder Endorsement- lack of leadership involvement

• Lack of Participation Incentives - gives no reason for personnel involvement

• The Level of Difficulty of the Project - the number of people and processes impacted

• Lack of proven Technology - using new glitzy technology that has many kinks

Reasons For Project FaiLure

• Establish measurable goals and set expectations- Ex: “Reducing lost charges by 20 percent or Reduce duplicate test by 10 percent by ensuring all lab results are available online” (Amantayakul (2007)

• Encourage leadership participation, input and debate

• Create Incentives • Break the project into small phases• Avoid the newest technology

Preventing Project Failure

The use of standards will reduce overlooked tensions in the planning and implementation phases of projects as well as the use of standards.

Project Management Standards

Organize a Project Team-define roles and expectations of each member

Define the Scope of the project with clear objectives Determine the resources, time requirements, and budget of the project Complete a signed Project Charter Conduct Analysis- evaluate current work flow and business processes Create an approved Project timeline with phases and task Develop a Preliminary Plan-combine all phases ,task , resources, cost and risk into the plan for review Establish stakeholders and obtain buy-in Establish the Project Plan- establish after adjustments have been

made Report Progress Monthly- provides issues, milestones, and upcoming activities Close the Project

System Implementation begins after an organization has acquired the technology to be used. It then requires extensive project planning. One must:• Organize a team - to include a vendor representative, an office

administrator, a project manager, nursing staff, clerical staff and a physician super user.

• Establish goals of implementing the technology - what is the desired effect of implementing the technology

• Analyze the current work flow - determine need for space, know everyone’s role, and opportunities for improvement

• System Installation - prepare room, install software, test and retest, pilot the system prior to roll out

• Staff Training - update policies, training materials and train staff by training super users first

• Conversion – convert data from the current system to the new system• Communications - address problems and communicate updates and

progress• Go Live Date- ensure staff availability and a disaster recovery plan

STEPS TO

Implementing Technologies

Once the system is implemented and fully integrated, determining if the project is a success or a failure can be difficult.

Cost vs. Benefit is one measure of success (Egeland,2009)

Cost vs. Benefit = Return on Investment (ROI)

Success or Failure

Measuring Return on Investment

“Healthcare leadership needs to ensure that IT system investments are well thought out, first, and second, measured in terms of overall benefits to the organization.” (Morrisette, 2011) Identifying cost and benefits that contribute to ROI should begin with :• Defining measurable goals and setting expectations• Cost and expenses going out compared to hard and soft saving coming in• Cost going out include the initial investment amount in addition to any ongoing, upgrade, maintenance, and implementation cost• Savings coming in would include expenses that are replaced (hard savings) an patient satisfaction (soft savings)

Patient Related ROI - includes processes required to provide patient care

• Reduction in medication errors• Increase in processing time of lab resultsFinancial and Operational ROI• Reducing payroll errors• Capturing revenue through coding improvement• Reduction in personnel formerly used to file and

retrieve paper charts

Examples of ROI

Process Improvement creates

a Successful

Project Plan

• Amatayakul, M. (2007). Do you plan not to achieve your EHR ROI? Healthcare Financial Management, 61(11), 146-146-7. Retrieved from http://ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/196380602?accountid=6579

• Egeland, B. (2009, November 21). Defining Implementation Success or Failure | Project Management Tips || Project Management, Collaboration and Knowledge Management Blog. Project Management Tips. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://pmtips.net/defining-implementation-success-failure/

• Manos, D. (2009, December 14). Electronic health records not a panacea, researchers say | Healthcare IT News. Healthcare IT News. Retrieved August 5, 2011, from http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/electronic-health-records-not-panacea-researchers-say

• Morissette, D. (2011, March 8). Measuring Return on Investment for Technology Initiatives on Executive Insight . Executive Insight . Retrieved August 3, 2011, from http://healthcare-executive-insight.advanceweb.com/Archives/Article-Archives/Measuring-Return-on-Investment-for-Technology-Initiatives.aspx

• Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. (2009). Organizing Information Technology Services. Health care information systems: a practical approach for health care management (2nd ed., pp. 306-307). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

  

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