In a health care system, the governance team is typically made up of administrators, IT professionals, clinical staff, and, of course, physicians. These individuals need not be experts in technology or power users of the software. Actually, it is important that they represent multiple points along the proficiency continuum to ensure that all views are represented.
Regardless of who is on the committee, it should be the clinicians who drive the process. Further, it is critical that those who have taken on the first three steps above be present at this level of their institution. With the right blend of talents and motivation, this can be the most successful tool in driving HIT improvement.
5. Embrace the Change
This last step is really an observation. In our experience, the most successful users of any EHR implementation are those who are most enthusiastic about it.
This is not to suggest that physicians should not look critically at the software or be blinded toward ways to improve the process. Instead, it is the idea that those who are most committed to "making it work" will typically hold the most respected opinions in their organization, and be the most successful in bringing meaningful change to improve health care delivery across their entire community.
Dr. Skolnik is associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital and professor of family and community medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia. He is also editor in chief of Redi-Reference, a software company that creates medical handheld references. Dr. Notte is in private practice in Chalfont, Pa. They are partners in EHR Practice Consultants, helping practices move to EHR systems. Contact them at info@ehrpc.com.