When implementing Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) projects, providers and organizations have only one goal in mind, and that is to be successful. From day one, administrators take into consideration many factors including cost, resources, and even timelines. Certainly, these factors are the foundations for any HIT project, yet they are not the key elements for success. The reality is that HIT produces an impact on how private practices, healthcare organizations, and particularly their staff, deliver their services. Their ability to quickly adapt and embrace new changes holds the key to any successful implementation.HIT is a process of change that causes different emotions on individuals directly or indirectly involved in the project. From your front desk staff, to your physicians, they all have different reactions as to how integrating this new technology in the office affects their daily routines. John Kotter the author of Leading Change explained that people approach to change based on how they see themselves and how they feel about it. If your staff feels excluded from the project and considers that their opinions are not taken into consideration, no matter how well you execute the project plan, the outcome will not be what is expected.
At this point, if you are a physician or administrator considering implementing new technology in the office, you are probably asking yourself what you can do to secure an effective execution of your project. The answer lies on properly evaluating the person who will be responsible for carrying the project. This person must be someone highly educated and passionate, who is also rigorously trained on how to manage every aspect of a project including the planning, execution, and delivery, and who is capable of dealing with the emotions that encompasses this type of transitions.
The Masters Degree in Biomedical Informatics (MSBI) at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine offers students a variety of courses such as Managing Organizational Behavior for Medical Informatics, Consumer Health Informatics, Leadership in Health Information Technology, and Human-Computer Interaction in Health Care Settings, that are designed to provide future HIT professionals all the necessary skills to manage any type of project. MSBI students are extensively trained on how to make staff assessments and develop techniques of engagement designed to promote change and turn feelings of disassociation into positive proactive feelings.
In 2008, immediately after obtaining my Bachelors Degree in Psychology, I joined the MSBI program. At that time, people asked me what does psychology have to do with information technology. To be honest the answer even surprised me. This is a field of analysis that combines cognition with rationality, much like psychology. Since graduating from the MSBI program in 2010, I have worked as a Clinical Analyst for the University of Central Florida-Regional Extension Center and now as Project Manager for Patient Point. In my current position, my main responsibility is to oversee the implementation of a number of different technology products and services. My clients vary from a single practice doctor, to hospitals from all over the country. The training I received in the NSU-MSBI program undoubtedly gave me the foundation skills necessary for this job. I am very passionate and excited to serve as the funnel between healthcare providers, patients, and technology.
