Week 7

By Lili Hozakowska:

Because of last week’s detour we’ve gotten a bit behind in our class, meaning we were only able to discuss HIT strategic planning today. While I related HIT strategic planning to last week’s post-election discussion in my last reflection, this time I wanted to focus a little more on the lessons learned from the case study. During the presentations today, team Mason showed an IBM advertisement for a new health IT system. It looked like a great product! However, our class began questioning its validity just as we have been taught to do since the first day of this MHA program. How were we supposed to know if it was working accurately?

We began discussing the case study with our teams while still in this skeptic mindset. How necessary are these smart pumps? Did they truly work only half the time, or was that an exaggeration? Why do they need to come out of the IT budget? Before making any decision, it’s important that all of these questions are considered so that we are armed with all necessary information. However, we should always keep the bigger picture in mind as well. If these smart pumps are taken out of the IT budget, then we won’t be able to complete the CPOE implementation. How might that affect the organization? Would the pumps or the CPOE system be more beneficial at this time for Moyen Sante as a whole? While there are strong arguments made for the pumps, it is the job of the executives to make the best decision possible for their entire organization, rather than focusing solely on department-specific benefits.

One last question that was brought up today that I wanted to discuss was about the impact of advancing technology on IT strategic planning. How are we supposed to account for technologies that have yet to be invented when we formulate a 3 to 5 year IT strategic plan? The fear of creating a plan that will soon become obsolete should not be a deterrent, however. In my opinion, the best plan would detail the first year thoroughly and then provide more of an outline for the following years. An IT strategic plan should always be monitored and revised to keep up with the times, both internally and externally of the organization. Taking this approach should make the process of developing a comprehensive HIT strategic plan a little less daunting. Health IT will only continue growing in importance and it is vital that we, as health care students and one day health care administrators, learn how best to adapt and embrace this ever-changing environment.