Tales from the Frontline: Implementing an E-Prescription Technology

Abstract

Health Information Technology (HIT) has great potential to enhance patient care and improve efficiency of health care delivery if it is appropriately designed, implemented and used. In 2009 the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) created Meaningful Use (MU) incentives to promote HIT adoption, which has spurred major investment in HIT, but the program has shown no reduction in use errors. Because the MU program mainly focuses on clinical process measures, with no attention to the processes of system design and implementation, many organizations encounter challenges to attain the MU. Previous studies identified lack of adequate implementation plans, lack of team support, lack of workflow analysis, and lack of dedicated resources as main barriers to MU attainment. We have identified similar concerns, and here present tales from the frontline to show perceptions of end users when our organization rushed through the implementation of e-prescription technology to meet the MU deadlines. Insufficient attention to the design and implementation process has put our organizations at risk. Reactive mitigation solutions were put in place to counteract the identifiable potential risks.