Floribama Hospital just learned that their current EHR will no longer be supported by the IS vendor starting in two years. In the hospital’s rush to select an IS, it decided to take some short cuts. These short cuts included:
• Creating a committee of only three people to select the system
• Not going on a site visit
• Not performing systems analysis
• Deferring planning until after the contract is signed
This was the recommendation of the chief executive officer of the healthcare facility. The logic behind his recommendation to defer planning was that there will be some time after the contract is signed but before the software is available, so the planning can fill in this time period. The contact was signed yesterday so the planning is ready to commence
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Introduction: The situation presented involves Floribama Hospital, which rushed the selection of a new IS (information system) due to the expiration of support for their current EHR system. In the process of selecting the new system, the hospital took several shortcuts, including creating a committee of only three people, not going on a site visit, not performing system analysis, and deferring planning until after the contract was signed. This led to the recommendation of the CEO to commence planning after signing the contract.
Answer: While there may be some time after the contract signing before the new software is available, deferring planning until after the contract is signed is not recommended. Planning is a crucial part of the IS implementation process and it involves various stages, including identifying project requirements, assessing the existing IT infrastructure, setting goals and objectives, and formulating an implementation plan. By deferring planning until after the contract is signed, Floribama Hospital runs the risk of discovering that the new IS does not meet their needs or is incompatible with their existing IT infrastructure. This could lead to costly delays in implementation or even termination of the contract altogether. Therefore, it is essential to commence planning before the contract is signed to ensure that all aspects of the IS selection and implementation process are considered and addressed appropriately.