The Mayo Clinic planned to convert its entire business and hospital patient records into a paperless electronic scheme. The company wanted to convert all the existing financial, laboratory and demographic data into electronic so that the needs of various types of practice such as inpatient, trauma care, clinical research and specialized practices could be met. More than 300, 000 patient records had been converted in this scheme. About 35 new systems had been converted in this process and it involved 2 LAN’s, 1 WAN and having more than 75 user interfaces.
On the whole the new system helps the organization to meet its objectives in providing high quality patient care by forming strong clinical teams that were working together. In the year 1996, the Mayo Clinic Arizona had a plan to improve its business plan. The objectives of this plan were: – 1. To improve productivity 2. Integrate and build the hospital 3. Initiate a new Arizona health package for the people 4. Initiate new primary care health centers 5. Build an effective supportive healthcare network.
A committee was formed to bring about involvement and proper coordination of the implementation of the information system. This committee reviewed the situation and said that five areas needed to be addressed, namely: – 1. Using the business objectives for the information services 2. Involving the entire system of the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale 3. Having the implementation of the application on time 4. Planning the budget 5. Bringing about certain changes. The Committee that implemented the information system (ISSC) had to transform the business objectives into Information system implications.
This was the most important and difficult part of the program. The committee developed a method of identifying the business plan and having an IS implication. Developing the electronic record and modifying it accordingly. Having a unique patient numbering and identifying system Developing and strengthening the infrastructure required Developing an open system architecture Supporting the development of standards Supporting the managed care plans and organizations Having integration of the clinical services Having productivity reports
The Committee released the entire process of conversion into the electronic health record scheme into 3 phases, namely silver release, gold release and platinum release. This ensured that the entire process could be coordinated properly. In the silver release the basic infrastructure was launched in order to meet the basic requirements. In the Gold release, the main objective was to make the medical records paperless. In the platinum scheme, the supporting system was developed. The organization also formed a department within the organization to ensure that standards and processes were met.
The main objective of this group was to provide a quality control system in place. It included managing several processes such as risks, clinical guidelines and workflow. This department met with bringing about certain standards by following certain guidelines and tasks. As these tasks were simple, it was easy to follow and implement. The implementation had a plan for reengineering the business processes and the workflow. The entire plan followed a scientific system and ensured that the most efficient method was being followed.
The new workflow involved greater amount of coordination from various departments of the hospital. They also required that the staff members had to be trained for use and that they became more responsible with the work. The entire information system was implemented in a 20-month period. The organization had selected 20 consultants to ensure that the entire process of implementation was hassle-free. Once the project was actually implemented, the consultants were phased-out the project. These consultants also trained the staff on the manner in which the information system had to be utilized.
On the whole, a lot of collaborations and interdisciplinary interactions were required with the implementation of the information system. This ensured that the entire hospital worked as a healthcare team, each performing its own specific roles. The structure and the functions of each personnel of the project had been framed. The changes were implemented in an effective manner such that the staff did not have any difficulty. Competent staff members monitored the functioning of the entire system. The staff for the implementation of the project was selected in an efficient manner.