The criteria used to pick these organizations was successfully implemented HIT projects in healthcare organizations.
Description of the Selected Health Care Organizations with HIT Projects
Medicaid and Medicare, the leading healthcare insurance providers in America, implemented the Medicare Prospective Payment system to help make the issue of making payments in hospitals much easier (Mohamoud, Byrne & Samarth, 2009). The successful implementation of this project has led to decreased lengths-of-stay in hospitals while waiting for payments to be completed. It has also made it easy for patients to update their information on the health insurance provider’s systems, facilitating their access to health care.
The East Huron Hospital, based in Ohio, implemented the computerized physician order entry (CPOE) project to reduce the number of adverse drug events (AHRQ, n.d). The main objective of this project was to enhance patient safety by improving the five rights of medication administration; right dose, right medication, right time, right route, and right patient. The project took a while to implement fully, but once that was done, medical errors reduced significantly.
The Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau initiated a project to cater for the needs of children and youths with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN). The project was based in North Carolina. The North Carolina Innovative Approaches (IA) initiative works to provide CYSHCN with better access to coordinated health care (RHIhub, 2016). The IA has since been introduced in 19 other counties and has proven quite effective in improving healthcare provision to children and youths with special healthcare needs.
Perspectives on the Use Formal Project Management in Health Care Organizations in Reference to HIT Projects
The potential for HIT to improve the safety, quality, and efficiency in the delivery of healthcare services was recognized since the 1960s. At that time, healthcare delivery systems were not designed to prevent medical errors that could be avoided. However, since then, healthcare facilities have been working to improve their processes in the delivery of healthcare services (Schifalacqua, Costello & Denman, 2009). Information technology has, therefore, been a great addition to this effort. With HIT, it is possible to easily enter data into a system, analyze and store it safely, and access it easily when needed to make decisions. It is also easier to keep track of medication or treatment plan for an individual patient. All these factors have contributed to the better management of health records, and in turn, healthcare facilities can provide quality and safe care, with minimal chances for medical errors (Schifalacqua, et al., 2009).
HIT Project Goals and Project Administration
Each of the projects by the organizations listed above has a set of unique goals, but the common goal for all is to improve healthcare provision. For these goals to be achieved, the organizations have had to work with the backing of Acts, laws, and policies. As a matter of fact, most of these projects were initiated after a policy had been established or following a medical Act. This means that there has to be proper project administration, which is done in accordance to signed charters. There is also the element of accountability where the responsible healthcare facilities have to account for all expenses, activities, and outcomes of projects to stakeholders involved. The project administration or management is done as per the signed charters, or the requirements of entities managing the projects. The project charters for the organization provide the mandate of performance and related expectations that bring together the diversified goals of the stakeholders (Merrell, 2012).
In the real essence, there is a defined way of project administration, which is slightly different from how the organizations listed above did it. Having identified the goals of a project, the next step is to start working out the plan of the project (Biafore, 2010). This is where project management comes in. There are a some project administration of management areas that need to be addressed to guarantee the success of a project. One is scope management, where the scope of a project is defined, written down, and approved (Biafore, 2010). Next is project schedule management, where schedules for working out all activities of the project are set. Cost management is another crucial area where a budget for the whole project is set and costs estimated. In quality management, metrics that will be used to evaluate the project are constituted (Biafore, 2010). For human resources management, the project management works with other stakeholders to pick the right to team to see the project to completion.
Communication is key in any management activity. Communication management is important because it is the only way that all stakeholders are kept to terms with the unfolding of events in the project (Project Management Institute, 2013). There, however, needs to be a plan showing what kind of information should be given, and to whom it should or should not be given (Biafore, 2010). This is needed to enhance data security. There is also the area of risk management, where possible risks are identified, and a viable response constituted. In the procurement management area, all formal processes of procurement are documented. Other critical areas that are addressed in project management are integration management and stakeholder management (Project Management Institute, 2013).
Comparing the Insights
Project administration involves the steps of getting the outcomes of the project. It is creating, observing while measuring the success metrics that define the project’s health. The project goals are for realizing improved quality of health care. The metrics insights tend to alert the symptoms associated with the project that helps in driving mechanisms aimed at eliminating the bottlenecks affecting the achievement of the project goals. Some of the challenges would be lateness of the individuals or employees. There are various elements related to the project goal as compared to the administration. Some include research, information databases, and spreadsheets maintenance including overseeing of the budget. There is also a delegation of tasks, like safety and health regulations as well as the hiring of contract staff during the development of systems aimed at coordinating project activities.
Aspects of Project Management and How they Impact the Ability to Manage HIT Projects
A project manager is likely to encounter all the mentioned areas of project management. There is no specified order in which they should be managed, but it is important for the project manager to apply appropriate knowledge and processes to suit what is presently happening in due course of a project execution. Understanding what each aspect of project administration calls for is the key thing (Project Management Institute, 2013). This is what determines the success or the failure of the whole project. Again, having the right personnel to execute the project is also critical to the success of a HIT project (Project Management Institute, 2013).
Conclusion
It is clear that the task of implementing a HIT project is quite challenging, as it presents some challenges. To deal with such challenges, it is imminent to have strong and skilled leadership, a well-set out approach, and good relationships with the stakeholders involved. Again, the use of strong technical support programs is inevitable in the management of HIT projects.
References
AHRQ. (n.d). CCHS-East Huron Hospital CPOE Project (Ohio). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from https://healthit.ahrq.gov/ahrq-funded-projects/cchs-east-huron-hospital-cpoe-project
Baine, W. B. (2012). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Italian Journal of Public Health, 3(3-4). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2427/5924
Biafore, B. (2010). Microsoft Project 2010: The missing manual. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
Mohamoud, S., Byrne, C., & Samarth, A. (2009). Implementation of health information technology in long-term care settings: Findings from the AHRQ health IT portfolio. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Publication No 08-0087-EF, Rockville MD, AHRQ. Retrieved from https://healthit.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/docs/page/08-0087-EF.pdf
Merrell, P., & Watson, T. (2012). Effective change management: The simple truth. Management Services, 56(2), 20-23.
Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the projects management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (5th Ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author
RHIhub. (2016). North Carolina Innovative Approaches Initiative. Rural Health Information Hub. Retrieved from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/community-health/project-examples/907
Schifalacqua, M., Costello, C., & Denman, W. (2009). Roadmap for planned change, part 1: change leadership and project management. Nurse Leader,7(2), 26-52. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2009.01.003
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