I believe that, at the very least, a log should be kept of the functionality that was bypassed so it can be reviewed at some point down the road.  However, I have a concern when a department is content to stay right where they are and chooses not to grow and expand.  Change simply for the sake of change isn’t good – but staying with what has worked in the past just to avoid change has equally negative implications.  One email signature line I have seen says, “If there were no change, we wouldn’t have butterflies”.

 

Another issue that can come up within a system like Meditech is that a new functionality may appear in this version and is optional.  But, as programmers move down the road they program additional new functionality that springs off that first item.  So, by skipping some stuff and burying it under all the other stuff we deal with a department may find themselves having to retool or reorganize in order to get back up to speed at some future time.

 

Usually new “features” within Meditech are designed to address some issue brought to light by someone.  So, I would think that most new features should be implemented when they become available.  However, a specific department could elect to wait a version or two to allow Meditech time to get the kinks worked out of a particular feature.

 

Daniel Davis, RN


From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bob Hooper
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 11:45 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [MEDITECH-L] MEDITECH Steering Committee

 

Can anyone tell me what method they use at their hospital to gain consensus as to the enhancements and features of MEDITECH they will implement?

 

Our hospital, like most, reviews the list of enhancements and features with our customer departments prior to every upgrade to determine which ones we need to test and implement.  Some departments may not be willing to implement a new feature or enhancement, because they are content with the way they have always done business.  They are not looking to change their ways. 

 

The problem lies in the fact that an enhancement that is implemented in one department, although it may represent a change for that department, may reap benefits for other areas of the hospital.  It is like the physician that does not want to spend the extra time entering in orders into MEDITECH.  They think of their own time and efforts, without realizing the benefits that are gained by others in the hospital (pharmacy and patients in the form of legibility and patient safety). 

 

The end result is that we do we not implement that feature or enhancement at the time of the upgrade, we tend to forget about it, and we never re-evaluate its usefulness at a later date.

 

I thought that we could form a MEDITECH Steering Committee to evaluate these enhancements and features.  We would make a determination to implement each based upon the good of the entire hospital (not just the good of the department).  I am concerned, however, that members of this committee would get bored if we discussed items that 80 percent of the time were not relevant to their own department.

 

I am looking for guidance on the make up of the group, the approach that is used, the level of detail that is discussed with a group, and the method used for building consensus.

 

Any suggestions or guidance that you may have would be appreciated

 

Thank you,

 

Bob Hooper

Corporate Director of Applications/MIS

Suburban Hospital

8600 Old Georgetown Road

Bethesda, MD 20814

301-896-2529

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 


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