Managing the learning and work of new information technology users.

The information technology revolution has transformed work from modest-paced serial processes to complex, fast-paced networked ones that depend not only on the technology but also on skilled and effective users of the technology. This evolution has woven a complex quilt of interdependencies among new information technologies, new users of those technologies, new skills required, new information management policies and procedures, and new opportunities. We must impose a new structure for managing the learning and work of new users, their tolerance of complexity and continuous learning, value-added usability, minimization of human error, and new support services for deployment, administration, and help.

Factors that cause industries to lead or lag in use of information technology: does health care lag?

The rate of diffusion of information technology varies among industries, as does its resultant added value. The different paces of work transformation are determined by the opportunities of the differing work processes, efficiency of exchange of workplace ideas, and relationships among constituencies. The differences raise the question of why the maturation process is accelerated (or restrained) in different industries, how the health care industry fares in comparison, and how information technology may be more effectively used as health care evolves toward new forms of work interaction, control mechanisms, and information technology management paradigms and as information processing moves toward higher levels of complexity.

Deploying a new model for clinical information delivery.

Information is a dynamic, potentially high-value resource that institutions can use to achieve superior performance. The myriad of advanced information technology projects, however, delivers to the institution's clinical and business processes unpredictable deluges of information objects, both paper and electronic, that may add little value to the processes. Also, because the information arrival is often a trigger for work steps, its illogical arrival may actually dilute productivity and quality. The article describes an information distribution engine in use at a large hospital in the southwestern United States that allows remotely located recipients to define individualized rules for controlling the subset of diverse information that they receive, select its transmission and display media, and choreograph the sequence and timing of its arrival at their desktops.

Information systems vendor support and CQI.

As we providers of health care use information technology more comprehensively in the information-intensive and labor-intensive work of health care, we are finding that the quality of daily, on-the-spot support for use of that technology has become a critical success factor. And, since we use a great range of vendor products, the quality of vendor support is especially critical. This article describes our practical application of CQI indicators of vendor responsiveness and quality, and the vendor responses to this new strategy.

Reengineering and improving the information-intensive work of patient tracking for inpatients and outpatients.

This article describes a CQI-driven effort to reengineer the tracking procedures for both inpatients and outpatients, refined to the extent that they have been identified as "best practices." The goal was to shift the work paradigm from a departmental focus to one that accepts work as a network of processes, but also to prepare for the new era of the electronic medical record, moving computer record keeping far closer to the point of care, requiring more precise recording of patient location.

Software life cycle demands reform, calls for open networks.

Healthcare organizations can no longer accommodate the four-to-eight-year cycle for information software development. The senior VP of a large teaching hospital in Houston offers solid ways to shorten the cycle and be prepared to incorporate more rapid changes in technology.

CIO. Roles and relationships. Interview by Walter Wachel.

Today's chief information officer has a dual role. As a technical expert, the CIO must stay atop rapid changes and strategically plan, implement, and build an organization's technological backbone to support better patient-care delivery, quality, and cost-containment efforts. As an executive, the CIO must possess the management know-how to lead organizational change and work processes.

Experience using the CQI model in health care management.

This article describes practical applications of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) concept applied to management of the Information Services Departments of a health care institution. The article is valuable for two reasons: (1) it is valuable as a successful application of CQI in an award-winning information services division of an award-winning health care institution, and (2) since the work of the information services function is so complex, has major interdependencies with many other functions throughout the entire organization, and is driven by fast-paced change, successful use in that function can be a model for other major functions of the hospital.

Include information needs in corporate planning.

Constraints placed on the healthcare industry throughout the 1980s make long-term planning for information systems needs difficult and, at the same time, vital to an organization's survival. One hospital's model for information systems planning balances strong executive leadership with participation from groups inside and outside the hospital and incorporates an analysis of the information systems environment into the facility's annual planning cycle. The hospital's experience highlights several issues to be considered in an information systems plan.

Growth and change through information management.

As health care executives create and mold visions for the future of their institutions, they are discovering that one critical factor is that the vast potential power of information technology be skillfully implemented and managed. Past methods of managing what was at one time called data processing will no longer serve well in this new era. At The Methodist Hospital, innovative management methods have allowed us to bridge the gap from the information systems and management methods of the past. An excellent set of new management techniques has been used to engage project teams in the management of change. Information systems projects have been used successfully as catalysts for dramatic institutional growth and constructive change.