Transformation and Your New EHR

The Communications and Change Leadership Playbook for Implementing Electronic Health Records

Dennis R. Delisle, Andy McLamb, Samantha Inch

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429824593
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicina
• Subtopic: Salud pública, administración y atención

Transformation and Your New EHR offers a robust communication and change leadership approach to support electronic health record (EHR) implementations and transformation journeys. This book highlights the approach and philosophy of communication, change leadership, and systems and process design, giving readers a practical view into the successes and failures that can be experienced throughout the evolution of an EHR implementation.

Chapter 1

Overview of Communications and Change Leadership Model

Change, whether incremental or fundamental, is difficult. When it comes to the implementation of a new electronic health record (EHR), the status quo for your organization may be completely upended. Therefore, your strategy and approach for change leadership must take culture, individual and collective perception, and historical context into consideration. Effective communication is at the core of that change leadership. A thoughtful, well-executed communication plan accompanied by efficiently managed project implementation will lead to the engagement, support, and adoption of your new EHR. Conversely, failing to execute in these critical areas can be catastrophic.

You should be aware that transformations of this magnitude require significant investment in a robust communication and change leadership strategy to ensure individual and organizational success. The change process can be defined in three distinct phases (Figure 1.1):

Figure 1.1 Phases of change.

1. Current Phase

2. Transition Phase

3. Future Phase

The Current Phase represents how things are today, the status quo. The Future Phase is the time when your defined vision is brought to reality. Between those two lies the Transition Phase. Understanding how individuals work through a new change requires an understanding of each phase. By identifying any areas of opportunity or risk, you will position your EHR implementation for success.

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful, it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful, it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident, it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

Anonymous

Current State

The Current Phase is comfortable and predictable, representing how things are today or “the way we’ve always done things.” In order to generate the momentum needed to shift away from this comfortable state, you must establish a sense of urgency and create a clear vision for the future (Figure 1.2). Here are key questions that you should consider when crafting your change leadership strategy:

Figure 1.2 Current state.

Making a Case for Change

■ Why do we need to change?

■ Why does it have to happen now?

■ What could be improved over how we do things today?

■ What is better about the vision and future state than what we have now?

■ Are there specific threats or opportunities that create additional urgency for change?

■ What are the primary barriers to challenging the status quo?

Defining a Vision

■ What should the future of the organization look like from the perspective of patients, providers, staff, and other stakeholders?

■ How will we define success?

■ What are our guiding principles during this time of change?

■ Who is leading the effort, and how will senior leadership be engaged?

■ What teams and partnerships do we need to develop or leverage?

■ What changes will the new vision prompt for specific individuals, teams, and departments?

Communications Considerations

■ Who are the target audiences we need to reach (individuals and groups) and what are their information and communication needs?

■ What key messages need to be relayed to the appropriate stakeholders?

■ What modes of communication will we use (e.g., email, website, fliers, presentations)?

■ When and how often will communications and messages be delivered?

■ How will we solicit feedback and drive bidirectional communication?

Transition State

The Transition Phase is uncomfortable and unpredictable. During this phase, employees are in neither the status quo nor the future environment, but may feel trapped between the two (Figure 1.3). As long as the future remains uncertain, anxiety will continue to increase. Transitional periods are times of high risk. Communication strategies must be created to support and reassure staff along the way. The following are some key questions you should consider when crafting your change lead...