Leading Change

Implementing Change: Adopting Electronic Medical Records in

Community Health Centers

By

John T. Cahill

A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements of

LEAD 570 LEADERSHIP FOR THE FUTURE

December 2009

Abstract

Change is inevitable, especially in the ever-changing world of technology and healthcare. In many Community Health Centers, we see the lack of resources and/or leadership to implement change effectively. The government is pushing community health centers to move to an electronic platform for their patient records. This paper will discuss the many barriers involved with implementing Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in a federally qualified community health center (FQHC). In addition, this paper will also discuss the specific steps needed to change the culture in order to achieve success in the implementation process.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Barriers to Successful Adoption 6

Types of Change 8

Senior Leadership 9

Create a Vision for Change 10

Communication 12

Champions for Change 14

Team Infrastructure 15

Collaboration and Empowerment 16

Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) 18

Sustaining the Gains 19

Change the Culture 20

Conclusion 21

References 22

Appendix A 23

Implementing Change: Adopting Electronic Medical Records in Community Health Centers

Introduction

In the United States, there are over 3000 federally funded community health centers (FQHC’s), providing health care to under-insured and underserved populations. Their funding comes from federal and state government grants, along with other outside funding. In February of 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included the Health information and Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). HITECH provides monetary incentives for health organizations, including the FQHC’s, to adopt a change in Health Information Technology (HIT) including the...