Healthcare IT News - October 2007 - (Page 15)

www.HealthcareITNews.com October 2007 ■ Healthcare IT News 15 O M M n T R y It’s about the knowledge Doing without has its price By MaTThew GroB, CPHIMS R was a need to codify, promote and validate a body of knowledge around healthcare information and management systems, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society launched a credentialing process in 2002, designating each qualified candidate as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS). Five years later and with more than 900 professionals having earned the Matthew Grob CPHIMS designation, the increasing value of the credential has been demonstrated throughout the industry – and throughout the world. With the rapid growth of healthcare information and management systems needs around the globe and the commensurate demand for qualified professionals, HIMSS began last year administering its certification examination internationally. ecognizing there indicator of both technical and managerial competence in the realm of information services,” states Lt. Col. Matthew Escher, CPHIMS, Air Force health services administrator at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. “Working on a large-scale project with someone who has the CPHIMS credential gives me a greater level of confidence that the project will be successful.” Because the exam is supplemented by educational and work experience requirements, the CPHIMS credential confirms knowledge and conveys expertise, thus providing a differentiator in the marketplace to all stakeholders. I By NeIl rouda, Healthcare IT News eMPloyeR PRefeRenCe The credential sends a clear message that a set of skills has been validated by a reliable third-party and expectations are set higher in terms of what a CPHIMS-credentialed professional can bring to the table. Earning the credential has also found its way into professional development plans and is often a requirement for promotion. At Albany Medical Center, Senior Vice President and CIO George “Buddy” Hickman both challenges his staff to obtain the credential and provides public recognition for achieving it. “When I sat for the GroB see page 16 Value of CPHIMS The credential fulfills a need to identify those who possess the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve success. “Earning the CPHIMS credential provides a recognizable best “reputation?” Which provides “better if the caller is nice, and especially if the clinical outcomes?” And which has “state-ofsubject is interesting, I sometimes take the art clinical information systems?” They a few minutes of my time to complete a sur- wanted to know if I knew, and they wanted vey on this or that. to know if I cared. So when I got a call last month at dinnerFor the healthcare IT industry, the survey time to ask my opinion about healthreveals more than just the growing care, I stayed on the line. The caller importance of consumer choice. As didn’t reveal the sponsor, but I’ll bet hospitals From it was one of the two big hospitals in hone their the publisher town. The line of questioning kept messages me guessing. – surely Which healthcare institutions that was the real purpose of the call could I identify by name? Which do Neil Rouda – healthcare IT can, and should, be I prefer? Which would I choose to go to if I central to the story. had an accident? Cancer? Heart trouble? If How well a hospital or other provider uses my wife had a baby? – and promotes – its information systems can Then the queries got to the point. The caller have a big impact on its reputation, not to menwanted to know where I got my information tion both its clinical outcomes and its ability to about healthcare facilities. Who I trusted for document and properly parse those outcomes. advice. And how much I really knew. And, if enough people like me believe Did I make choices based on the opin- that top-flight clinical information systems ion of my friends? My family? My doctor? matter when we make healthcare choices, How important to me is a good score in the there could be a big marketing dividend that U.S. News & World Report rankings? How would make the cost of good systems more important is what I read or hear on radio, affordable, and the cost of not having them, TV or the Internet? expensive indeed. Which facility in my area has the “most One more comment, for what it’s worth. advanced treatment facilities?” Which has Of all the questions I was asked, not a single “more personalized care?” How important is a one of them was about the price. ■ new building, the “most experienced” doctors? More at healthcareITNews.com Then came the clinchers. Which has the ●Connect: rouda 1007 e don’t take telemarketing calls. But, IT Adoption: The rules of the game must change By Charles Fred & BoB Bulow, The Breakaway Group R in which a game is played. In a work-related environment, the “rules” we use to operate and make decisions have evolved from an enduring system of incentives and rewards that reinforce how things get done. Often these rules are so ingrained that they define the culture of an organization. Therefore, if the rules are developed to drive the people of an organization toward its mission, then the leaders have created a rich environment for success. But, if the rules are incongruent with the purpose of the organization, frustration and anxiety among those attempting to deliver on the mission prevail. Frustration is an understatement for many clinical leaders attempting to support the introduction of any new IT application. The rules they live with daily are centered on the quality of care provided to the patient. The accord created with the Charles Fred rules of patient care is often challenged by an unfamiliar set of rules introduced with a new IT application. The reality is that the introduction and adoption of new IT applications – especially clinical applications – can be disruptive, inefficient and slow. Of course, that reality means excessive time spent away from the primary task of providing patient care. The foreign rules that take the providers away from the patient are born in a veritable clash of objectives between installation and end-user adoption. Rules around installation drive behaviors toward managing an event, and are measured in terms of project-related milestones with the purpose of all activity is the go-live. The end-user’s ability to use the new application, given the drive toward installation, is viewed as a task in the overall plan – not as the primary objective. With installation rules driving most decisions, the actual adoption of the new ules dictate the way workflow by the care provider is overlooked as the reality of thoroughly training end-users during the frenetic golive sequence is untenable. This conundrum is made even more complex when traditional methods of instruction for IT and workflow related skill development not only take healthcare providers offline, but are focused on the features and functionality of the application without regard to roles and tasks necessary to get the job done. End users are often left to their own devices for figuring out how to incorporate the technology into the nuances of their daily workflow. Consider a new set of rules for the introduction of IT applications in healthcare – rules that are created to support the rapid adoption of the application by those treating patients and rules and that ultimately safeguard the promise of the expected ROI to the healthcare organization. End-user adoption as the primary objective versus installation will fundamentally reposition the effort to focus on Bob Bulow the outcome of the application via the skill of its users. The short and long-term results of this repositioning are significant and healthcare leaders who are using these new rules are realizing actual benefits that are often out of reach for those who continue to view IT applications as installation projects. To realize end-user adoption, leaders must change their approach and the rules they use to judge success. First, healthcare administrators must focus on leading change. When integrating new technology, significant emphasis should be placed on planning and execution. Engaging the workforce at the outset, promoting the need for change and creating an environment that calls for action are key factors for success. End-users need to be included in the process, especially when it involves workflow reengineering. Decision-makers must realize that end-user adoption is primarily a change leadership challenge, not a technology project. Second, the education of healthcare providers must be meaningful and relevant to the roles and tasks that they perform. One of the biggest and most common mistakes made in the design of training is overwhelming learners with features and functions that they don’t necessarily use on a daily basis. Instead, for each end-user role, define the primary tasks to be completed with the new technology and employ learning tools that include scenario-based simulations to make the learning process relevant. Once end-users gain confidence in using the application to perform their routine duties, they will naturally explore and expand their knowledge of the full potential of the new technology. Third, healthcare organizations must provide continuous support of knowledge transfer throughout the useful life of the technology solution. Job aids and refresher training are among the tools used to sustain the gains. High turnover rates in today’s healthcare organizations demand robust strategies for a continual effort to educate the workforce. Lastly, what gets measured gets done. The rules and metrics that leaders apply to significant IT investments must be consistent with the overall mission of the organization. End-user adoption must move to the top of the leadership agenda for organizations striving for both high-quality care and fiduciary responsibility. ■ More at healthcareITNews.com e Connect: rules 1007 ● Charles Fred is chief execu http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7833 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7834

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Healthcare IT News - October 2007 Contents Global Harmony Telegrowth New Rules Keeping Tabs What's Free? PHR of Its Own Intelligent Closing Practice Management Paper Tiger

Healthcare IT News - October 2007

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