When an organization makes an investment in an Electronic Health Record, this represents the organizations largest digital health investment. The delivery of that value is based of the ability to effectively implement, utilize and evolve a platform like MEDITECH Expanse. MEDITECH Expanse delivers advance functionality but there are times when it cannot address all the requirements. There needs to be a plan to stop unnecessary technology dilution, as this can compound challenges already faced with various technology deficits.
At Southlake Health, we have made a strategic commitment to adopt a MEDITECH first approach. What does this mean?
- MEDITECH should be considered as the first choice for new functionality.
- When MEDITECH does not offer a module or solution to meet a clinical requirement, or there is a critical functionality gap in the MEDITECH solution, consideration should be given to bringing in a solution that is proven partner of MEDITECH.
- If MEDITECH is not able to recommend a partner, Southlake Health should identify solution providers that offer the required level of integration with MEDITECH and other systems, within the larger Digital Health strategy.
As a regional Cardiac and Cancer Center, there are specialized clinical requirements that need to be addressed to support various requirements and obligations. Irrespective of the technology solution used to address organization requirements, there is still a need to ensure that your EHR addresses People, Process, and Technology.
To understand if your organization is leveraging your largest assets, consideration how you align with the following principles:
- Standardized Workflows: Has your organization aligned clinical service delivery to follow standardized workflows and avoid unnecessary workarounds and ‘band aids’?
- Professional Project Management Standards: Do your projects adopt sustainable project management practices through industry accepted stages (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing)?
- Leverage Existing Systems: Have you focused on MEDITECH standardization and minimized customization to maintain system integrity and efficiency?
- Maximize Existing Assets: Have you optimized the functionality of MEDITECH and non MEDITECH platforms to ensure that you can drive integration and interoperability, eliminating information silos?
- Clinically Driven Design: Do you have processes to leverage clinical transformation teams to guide configuration and ensure alignment with user needs?
- Address Stakeholder Feedback: Do you integrate clinical feedback from information sessions to guide priorities for future projects and functionality?
- Data Governance & Analytics: Have you established strong structures for actionable insights and analytics that will help you use and action of the data for both the delivery of patient care and iterative process improvement?
- AI-Readiness: Have you developed a strong foundation for integrating artificial intelligence technologies (that are evolving)?
Southlake Health is preparing to officially launch a Digital Health Plan (DHP) to establish a visionary framework to transform the delivery of care through an integrated, patient-centric digital solutions. You might ask why a Digital Health Plan and not a Digital Health Strategy?
Southlake Health has a 10-year corporate strategy with five defined priorities, and these are supported with enablers. This new Digital Health Plan is a foundational element of the corporate strategy, focusing on digital transformation as an enabler of clinical and operational success.
Sam Fielding
Chief Information Officer
