The case is centered around two interdependent healthcare organizations, which are the Leonard Williams Medical Center (LWMC) and Williams Medical Services (WMS), where the latter is a captive professional corporation of the former. The main problem is focused on the electronic health records (EHR) installation process at WMS, which is being done alongside the LWMC’s computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system integration in a disconnected manner. Both entities are attempting to install some form of information system to improve their work processes, operations, and efficiency by automating various functions. However, WMS is not utilizing the technical expertise and experience of the chief information officer (CIO) and IT department, which is why it is a worrisome problem for the CEO. One should be aware that implementation of any form of EHR in a medical facility is a highly challenging and resource-intensive endeavor, which is why any outside expertise should be utilized to ensure a successful integration. One of the most common challenges of EHR installation is its cost, which can easily exceed the allocated budget without a proper plan (Sinhasane, 2019). Therefore, the problem is the lack of cooperation between LWMC and WMS, which can impact not only the competitiveness of the organizations but also their future financial performance.
Scope
The overall scope can be considered large since the issue encompasses two organizations in their entirety. It is important to note that the impact of the scope will be affecting the operational effectiveness of WMS. A failure of proper installation of EHR at WMS will burden not only the latter but also LWMC as well due to their interoperability needs. It is stated that “despite government incentives and regulations to encourage greater interoperability, data sharing remains a serious issue among healthcare providers” (Langlois, 2021, para. 16). In other words, even if the LWMC is able to integrate CPOE successfully, poor implementation of EHR at WMS will damage their ability to exchange valuable data, which can also hurt patients by violating their data privacy and introducing errors in healthcare service delivery. WMS offers tertiary medical services, where stakes or costs of failure are higher than usual due to the complicated nature of the services, which include surgical interventions and advanced medical interventions. Therefore, the scope of the problem is not only local for WMS but also will affect LWMC, which makes the need for collaboration much more urgent since the impact of failure will influence patients, staff, and organizations.
Significance
The problem is highly significant because failure to install EHR in a proper manner will incur major direct costs from the budget and indirect costs in terms of halted operations and further inefficiencies in operations. In addition, the impact will be affecting LWMC and the patients of the organization. The main reason is manifested in the fact that EHR implementation needs to be well-coordinated and effective due to the risks of lost productivity and lack of full implementation, as well as poor data migration issues (Vant, 2019). These problems can easily arise alongside staff resistance, which not only will halt an already complicated process but result in a waste of resources and time, and the latter will damage the organization’s financial performance and future growth. The issue is organization-wide because both LWMC and WMS rely on the exchange of data and patient information when the former direct or refer patients to the latter. Therefore, even if both are able to integrate their systems successfully in a disconnected manner, the lack of interoperability might cause issues when exchanging data due to differences in protocols and system functionalities.
References
Langlois, L. P. (2021). Overcoming the top EHR implementation challenges. Physician Practice. Web.
Sinhasane, S. (2019). Top 10 EHR implementation challenges and how to overcome them. Mobisoft. Web.
Vant, A. (2019). The top three EHR implementation challenges faced by practices. EHR in Practice. Web.