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Real IT Success Comes With Use, Not Deployment By Donald A. Marchand, PhD Professor of Strategy Execution & Information Management International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Founder and Chairman, enterpriseIQ®  True IT Success Begins After the Rollout If you ask senior healthcare executives and managers whether their organizations are extracting the desired value from their investments in information technology, the answer is often "no." It's true that after years of lagging behind other industries, healthcare is beginning to catch up. Hospitals are increasingly able to provide physicians, patients and administrators with tools that create greater efficiency and better outcomes at lower cost. Yet, despite all the advanced electronic health records (EHRs), bar-code scanning and online portals, only a small number of organizations are reaping the full benefits of these technologies. Managers devote considerable time, energy and funds to planning IT projects, aligning IT with clinical and organizational needs, budgeting and investing in IT, and dealing with the IT function and external suppliers. Some even think they can solve clinical or financial problems if they just implement the right technology. What many fail to perceive is that implementation does not automatically result in usage. For an EHR deployment to be effective, for example, it must be accompanied by significant behavior and culture changes in the ways that information and IT are used by those on the front lines. Without these changes, the result is often low levels of compliance and adoption coupled with declining outcomes and efficiency. IT Deployment vs. IT Usage Healthcare can take a lesson from other industries. Academic research has demonstrated that only about 20% of the business value of IT is linked to its investment and deployment. About 80% of the business value of IT and information is connected to so-called "soft factors." This value is measured by the usage of information and IT by managers and employees in the company, and externally by customers, partners and suppliers. Yet most managers devote 90% of their time and resources to the 20% value of IT (investment and deployment). Clearly, this represents a disconnect from perceived and actual value. Healthcare managers must realize that the greatest payoff from IT is determined by how effectively information and IT are used once systems are in place. Healthcare organizations achieve effective use when systems deliver comprehensive, actionable information to every stakeholder — from physicians and nurse managers to executive leadership. Instead of just creating reports, IT systems must create an environment of transparency and shared accountability at every level. Deployment Enables, But Does Not Drive Use Managers need to see the business value of IT as extending beyond deployment and the IT function to the knowledge and information possessed by their staff. Managers who take a broader view of effectiveness incorporate the human behaviors and values related to information and IT use and practices. We call this the organization's Information Orientation (IO). Effective information and IT usage by people is the key to high performance. This process of building the people, information and IT usage capabilities of an organization is its Information Orientation Maturity. Since the IO Maturity can be measured and benchmarked, managers can evaluate their progress in deploying solutions. IT deployment can enable use of information and IT, but value is created by the effective use of information, people and technology. The collection of information, people and IT capabilities needed for high IO Maturity is difficult to replicate. IT Matters, But IT Use by People Matters More Effectively managing IT deployment and function in a company does matter. Organizations must select and deploy EHRs, computerized physician order entry and other solutions effectively. However, settling for good deployment without concurrent focus on usage means that the organization will fall far short of reaching the important goals of improving patient outcomes while reducing costs — essential in today's highly competitive healthcare landscape. Hospitals that deploy and use data effectively not only can achieve bragging rights for quality of care, but also can effectively manage costs and create strategic plans that will ensure their survival. By improving the IO Maturity of its people, information and IT practices, organizations can extract a far greater share of the real value from information and knowledge. Healthcare managers must strive to emulate their brethren in other industries that are going after the 80% of value resulting from effective use of information and knowledge by their managers, employees, customers and partners. Donald A. Marchand is Professor of Strategy and Information Management at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is also Founder and Chairman of enterpriseIQ, a global business analytics company that measures how effectively a company manages and uses knowledge, information, people and technology. He is author of numerous books including: Information Orientation: The Link to Business Performance (2000), and Making the Invisible Visible — How Companies Win with the Right Information, People and IT (2001).
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