Adoption of New Technology Systems

Adoption Of New Technology Systems

In planning for the implementation of an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, it is critically important to have a solid change management strategy in place well before the technology is introduced. In preparing for a meeting with the nurses one week prior to the training, the following framework has been created to guide the change management strategies for this healthcare facility.

Creating a Change Management Foundation of Trust

One of the most prevalent factors that leads to resistance to change is lack of trust. The five foundational elements of relative advantage, compatibility with existing values and practices, simplicity, trialability and observable results all must be based on a solid foundation of mutual respect and trust (Rogers, 2003). To attain this with mutual respect and trust, the meeting with the nurses must begin with an overview of the EHR project plan, including its goals, objectives and design considerations specific to their individual roles. What also must be included in this first agenda item is the continual striving to create stronger communication between the nurses, system planners and the team implementing the EHR system itself (Hillestad, Bigelow, Bower, Girosi, & al., 2005). Giving each of nurses a 360-degree view of the project will be essential for showing how the proposed system is compatible with their existing values and practices, and also provide them with an overview of the analytics and dashboards that will measure performance over time. One of the primary determinants of anxiety in managing change is needing to see how each of the specific areas of system, process, role, responsibility and authority change impact a person's job with accuracy and clarity (Cresswell, Sheikh, 2009). Nurses fear the unknown changes that the EHR system will bring into their lives; they are concerned that their status, roles, responsibilities and value to the organization may change, often out of their direct control. Resistance to change is more driven by fear than the potential of seeing new opportunities in system developments (Cresswell, Sheikh, 2009).

The framework for the training then must include the following. First, there needs to be a clear, honest statement of direction and a thorough description of the specific goals, objectives, and timeframes of the project itself. The EHR roadmap and associated software components must also be defined, in addition to the process workflows that will be used for customizing them to the nurses' specific requirements as well. The foundational elements of this first item on the agenda include showing the relative advantage of the new system, including greater control over the design and operation of individual screens, greater personalization of the process workflows and more flexibility in defining custom reporting options as well (Cresswell, Sheikh, 2009). When healthcare professionals have greater autonomy and mastery of how a new system is going to be introduced, their trust in its goals and support for its missions often markedly increase (Hillestad, Bigelow, Bower, Girosi, & al., 2005). The framework centers strengthening the compatibility with existing values and practices to also ensure a high level of simplicity and observable results, two other factors crucial to creating an effective framework (Rogers, 2003). All of these elements must also be unified with a simplistic model to make sure the nurses can see the value of the system and their ability to manage it as a resource, not be managed by it.

The second framework element is providing the nurses with the opportunity gain greater mastery over the system by reinforcing the trialability of the system through an extended testing and validation stage. Often technology innovations require an adoption phase where those most affected by its disruptive change have the opportunity to tailor its specific elements and options to their unique needs (Rogers, 2003). This step in the framework allows for greater mastery of the system and more identification with what the system is attempting to provide in terms of additional functionality (Rogers, 2003).