Case Study on Hospital Computer System   Term Paper ID:34228 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: This case history of Methodist Hospital of Indiana and its attempt to create an ...... More...

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Paper Abstract: This case history of Methodist Hospital of Indiana and its attempt to create an Information Services Department that would meet its complex needs demonstrates that even when a process does not go as smoothly as planned it can, with a good organizational basis and enlightened management, succeed. Discusses the implementation of a new computer system. Paper Introduction: Overview This case history of Methodist Hospital of Indiana and its attempt tocreate an Information Services department that would meet its complex needsdemonstrates that even when a process does not go as smoothly as planned itcan still with a good organizational basis and enlightened management succeed The implementation of a new computer system that linked thehospital\'s departments workers and patients suffered a number of setbacksthat cost the hospital in terms of both time and money However the factthat the hospital\'s administrators had Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Only substantial testing of a system by those who will actuallyhave to use it under realistic conditions can be anything like an adequatetest. Overall this is a study in success. Finally, as the case study notes, the increasingly logicalcategorization of knowledge within the hospital's information system (andits arrangement within a relational database) should allow the hospital tobegin making important contributions to medical research, research that ispossible when such a large body of data is available - and organized -electronically. At the beginning of this case study, the hospital's communicationsystem was deeply inadequate, with a number of different competing systemsthat could not communicate with each other and a staff that was dividedrather than united by its communication technologies. Another key decision that Zerrenner made that contributedsubstantially to the overall success of the new information system was todesign and implement the two-stage pilot program and to involve physicians(the most powerful single group in any hospital) in testing the system (p.441). Analysis The description of the IS department at this hospital provides anexcellent sense of how complicated the process of communication can be in alarge organization - even among those who are in fact anxious tocommunicate with each other. But a second reason for having the actual users of the system test it(rather than relying on vetting by computer technicians) is that high-techexperts will find almost any system workable because computers are theirmilieu. This is a step that is far toooften forgotten or neglected when institutions seek to make major changes:The first thing to do is to determine why those major changes are necessaryand what the "finished product" should look like. (1997). Case Study III-3: Methodist Hospital of Indiana. What Next? The mainframe andlocal area network systems created significant bottlenecks in the system,required numerous wasted hours of staff effort and reduced the quality ofpatient care in numerous ways. ReferencesMartin, E.W. This last isessential in the first place because doctors (as well as the other groupsof hospital employees who were brought in at a later stage to test thesystem) are the ones who know what the system will actually be called uponto do. However, there are still important improvements that can andshould be made in the system. 448). Once those goals had been articulated(as spelled out in the pyramid chart on p. However, the factthat the hospital's administrators had a clear sense of the hospital'smission and maintained firm control over the implementation of the newsystem produced a generally successful result. The implementation of a new computer system that linked thehospital's departments, workers and patients suffered a number of setbacksthat cost the hospital in terms of both time and money. The system should be expanded and made morerobust so that it can allow for the two-way communication options thatphysicians want, options that will allow them to order lab tests and X-raysand to prescribe medication (p. By the end of the implementation of thesystem, the newly networked system allowed better use of the faculty'shighly skilled staff, allowed medical staff far faster access to neededinformation (such as lab results) and helped to reassure patients thattheir needs were of primary concern. Despite the sound planning behind this project and the attention todetail displayed all throughout the pilot program, the new informationsystem still had significant flaws, and this is where the final major gooddecision on the part of the administration was made: Rather than scrap asystem in which there was already so much time, money, and emotioninvested, the hospital continued to revise the system until it becameworkable. The most important step that Walter Zerrenner(the chief information officer) took in correcting the problems that hefound when he joined the hospital was not a technical one but was apsychological one: Without clearly articulated goals the hospital could notorganize its resources efficiently. Both of these steps are also often ignored by organizations at theirperil: Any communication system that must do as much as the one at a largehospital must be tested on a small scale to work out the inevitable bugs.And the people testing the system at this stage of the process must not betechie types but those who will actually be using the system. Certainly the process was notflawless, but given that the hospital could not simply shut down while anew information and communication system was being installed and tested, itis hard to imagine that there would not have been at least some significantproblems. 436), every choice thatZerrenner made became clearer and easier. Overview This case history of Methodist Hospital of Indiana and its attempt tocreate an Information Services department that would meet its complex needsdemonstrates that even when a process does not go as smoothly as planned itcan still - with a good organizational basis and enlightened management -succeed. An increase in the capacity of thesystem will also allow easy access to records beyond the current six-monthbuffer, which would allow the hospital better to serve those many patientswhose visits are farther apart. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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