Electronic medical record implementation in a large healthcare system from a leadership perspective

Abstract

Background Information on the use of change management models to guide electronic medical records (EMR) implementation is limited. This case study describes the leadership aspects of a large-scale EMR implementation using Kotter’s change management model. Methods This case study presents the experience in implementing a new EMR system from the leadership perspective at King Abdulaziz Medical City, a large tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We described the process of implementation and outlined the challenges and opportunities, throughout the journey from the pre-implementation to the post-implementation phases. Results We described the corresponding actions to the eight domains of Kotter’s change management model: creating a sense of urgency, building the guiding team, developing a change vision and strategy, understanding and buy-in, removing obstacles, creating short-term wins, building on the change and anchoring the changes in corporate culture. Conclusions The case study highlights that EMR implementation is not a pure information technology project but rather is a technical-based complex social adaptive project that requires a specific set of leadership competencies that are central to its success. It demonstrates that change management models might be useful for large-scale EMR implementation.

A values-driven academic affiliation between a public medical school and a private healthcare provider: exploring the perceptions of key opinion leaders

“…As such, it provides more visibility, raising awareness about a potential way forward and probable in uencing factors. Several elements of the 'Key milestones' theme resonate with Kotter's change model which has been repeatedly deployed in times of transformation in the education and healthcare sectors [49][50][51][52]. The respective model starts with creating a sense of urgency, followed by forming a guiding coalition, building strategic vision, initiating change communication, removing barriers to change, generating short-term wins, sustaining change as a continuous process, and lastly incorporating change into organizational culture [50,53].…”

Population health data in KSA: Status, challenges, and opportunities

“…Although there have been gradual improvements in population health data in KSA over the years, challenges remain ( Figure 1 ). 4 , 5 , 6 First, most of the currently available datasets do not allow for deep assessments of the wide determinants of health. Related challenges include the lack of any granular level analyses variables.…”

“…The UMR is another Saudi Vision 2030 goal that aims to have a unified health record for each citizen or resident in KSA. 21 Many hospitals and medical cities across the Kingdom use different UMR platforms 4 without any current plan of an agreed minimal dataset, making it harder to combine and link the data at the national level. Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are the backbone of national diseases registrations and care utilization statistics.…”

“… 3 Population health data have witnessed improvements and initiatives on communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors in KSA. 4 , 5 , 6 Yet, some challenges remain, and innovative approaches are currently needed to tackle the increasing burden of NCDs in the kingdom. 7 , 8 These challenges include the need for reliable population data, the absence of relevant policies on the linkage of different population datasets, and the delay and complex process of making data available to researchers.…”

Usability Evaluation of Tablet-Based Electronic Medical Record Interface in Supporting Elderly Medical Doctors

“…The shortcomings of PMRs are apparent; they can be unreadable, incomplete, and poorly organized. These flaws make healthcare quality assurance difficult [1] [2].…”