Organizational Change Process: The EMR in Health Care Settings
In the past decade, new advances in technology have changed health care. Experts continue to speculate that information technology has and will play a key role in efficiency, costs, and quality of patient care (Mehlman, 2010). With these changes comes the demand for hospitals to keep up with the times. In January 2009 President Barack Obama spoke about the government’s recent stimulus package and drive to have Americans’ health records electronic “within the next five years in order to save both dollars and lives” (Childs, Chang, & Grayson, 2009, para. 2).The “meaningful” use of electronic medical records promises to improve processes, decrease errors, and extend far beyond cost savings for the hospital, physicians, nurses, and the patients. Transforming a paper-based system into an electronic health- record application will allow real-time patient information to pass through multiple sources faster, enhance communication throughout the hospital into the community, and provide fiscally responsible care with the click of a mouse.
Updating to an electronic form of medical records storage has been proven to be more economical and efficient. However, organizations are often met with resistance when moving forward with plans to transition without adequately preparing the employees of the organization. Whenever a breakdown in the communication between the administrators and staff members has occurred, a barrier to change will also occur.
Organizational Barriers to Change
As with any change, there always will be barriers that need to be addressed in order for the change plan to be successful. Organizational barriers need to be monitored closely so that the change process is seamless. Some major organizational change barriers may include the multiple choices of computerized programs, inadequate staff