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People are the Key to Successful Technology Deployments By Charmaine McDonald, BN, MHSA Senior Vice President, Customer Success McKesson Provider Technologies Developing Processes That Drive Deployment One of the most asked questions about healthcare IT is how to ensure it is effective. How do we deploy software and hardware so that they pay off in terms of greater efficiency, better patient outcomes and improved cost savings? To paraphrase author Stephen Covey, the best deployments begin with the end user in mind. Physicians, nurses and other stakeholders must be involved in key steps along the path of designing the new system. This means giving them input and understanding how they will use the new technology in their care process. It also means teaching them how they can review and use information differently in making decisions. By bringing users into the design process, organizations create greater confidence that:  The right information is being documented The right information is documented the same way from patient to patient An important aspect of end user involvement includes a clear understanding of the magnitude of change created by the technology. If I am entering an all-electronic world, I need to know how information makes its way to the correct people. This serves to create a high level of confidence that the data is getting to the right person in the right form at the right time. Systems Designed for End Users Equally important is that users must be assured that care methods and critical policies will drive the technology and not the other way around. If today I'm using paper to document an event, I must be able to meet that same requirement using technology. That requires stakeholders to have a say in the content and in the way in which the system is configured. Adoption also becomes easier when systems enable users to document care in a logical manner. I want to follow my care practice in the way that I was taught rather than adopting a different, and perhaps inferior, process. When users are engaged, they can work to discover and remedy the problems that inevitably arise before the system is rolled out to the entire organization. This process also gives them the opportunity to examine and improve their own processes before they are converted to an electronic system. Long-term adoption is enhanced when processes are first optimized without technology. The addition of technology enables consistent application of policy, process and practice. As solutions are rolled out, user training becomes critical to adoption. The most successful efforts provide opportunities for training at various times in multiple locations. To meet the needs of different styles of learning, training should be available in a variety of media ranging from print to classroom to the Web. A Focus on Adoption and Optimization Managers need to see the business value of IT as extending beyond deployment and the IT function. When new technology is not being used as intended, the reason can usually be traced to a lack of focus on adoption and optimization prior to go-live. Effective deployment requires tracking of training and usage at specific intervals. Successful organizations review implementations for the level and success of staff use. Doing so requires a commitment of time and resources to make adjustments and improve systems and procedures. Analytics for Effective Deployments Technology enables organizations to make use of analytic tools to aid in changing behaviors and realizing greater benefits. Once in place, these systems provide managers with the reporting capabilities to pinpoint problems in adoption. The data helps in making better determination of the actions needed to remedy the shortcomings. Analytics provide: The ability to evaluate compliance by drilling down to a specific unit and employee The ability to publicize results within the unitInstead of simply knowing that you have a 50% compliance rate on bar-code scanning, the system can drill down to the specific users who are driving this performance score. By understanding that shortfalls are happening at particular times of day or with particular medications, you can tailor training to focus on a shift or a specific drug to gain greater compliance. Planning for optimization and long-term adoption is often one of the greatest shortcomings in major IT deployments. Because of the scope and level of change required, an organization may not fully roll out the system. Instead of reaching house-wide deployment, some departments are up and running while others are still mired in paper. The longer it takes for full deployment, the lower the ROI and the greater the danger that the implementation will stall. Given the nature of organizational life and politics, a slow rollout also heightens the possibility that other projects will break ahead, delaying deployment even more. In the critical transformation from paper to electronic systems, what you do after the deployment is just as critical as everything that comes before. By understanding the human elements of technology and its effective management, you can achieve success. Charmaine McDonald, BN, MHSA, leads McKesson's Customer Success team. The team helps customers achieve success in deploying McKesson systems, achieving end user adoption and implementing an executive governance process. Previously she was managing director of the United Kingdom team that implemented the UK National Health Service's ESR human resources and payroll system across 586 trusts representing 1.5 million healthcare workers. The project was delivered on time and on budget. In December 2009, Charmaine received industry recognition with the prestigious Stevie Award for her leadership in the implementation and rollout of the multiyear, strategic project.
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