{"id":18707,"date":"2016-11-18T15:38:46","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T20:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/"},"modified":"2016-11-18T15:39:56","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T20:39:56","slug":"a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2009, President Obama signed into law the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) as part of an economic stimulus package. HITECH\u2019s primary goal was to increase the number of healthcare providers using electronic health records (EHR) as opposed to paper ones. Starting in 2011, healthcare providers that could prove \u201cmeaningful use\u201d of EHR software would receive substantial government subsidies [1]. In 2015, the economic incentive would flip to an economic penalty and providers not using EHR’s would lose out on a percentage of government Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement [2]. Although the deadline was subsequently pushed back due to slower progress than expected, the legislation has been successful in catalyzing a trend towards the digitalization of healthcare. EHR adoption is clearly the way of the future and is no longer a question of if but when.<\/p>\n

Partners Healthcare, a large Boston-based hospital system, is in the midst of its multi-year and $1.2 billion EHR implementation [3]. According to Keith Jennings, the Chief Information Officer at one of Partners\u2019 affiliate hospitals, “a project like this, this is not an IT implementation, this is a business transformation for your clinical systems, your clinical user” [4]. The business model transformation Jennings mentions has to do with how EHR\u2019s change the entire healthcare delivery system.<\/p>\n

\"partners-healthcare-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

EHR\u2019s improve healthcare quality by increasing coordination across all of the settings that a particular patient receives care. Regardless of specialty or physical location, any doctor can immediately access a patient\u2019s medical history. This information gives the doctor tremendous insight into the patient\u2019s comorbidities, allergies, medications, and past treatments, which all factor into the doctor\u2019s subsequent treatment plan. The software surrounding the EHR can also provide recommendations based on clinical guidelines and best practices for particular indications [5]. In addition to improved efficacy, EHR’s have the ability to save healthcare providers money through the elimination of duplicative tests, paper storage, etc. [6].<\/p>\n

Despite its benefits, implementing an EHR system does not come without friction. The move from paper to electronic records has required a transformation in the way hospitals operate. Some healthcare providers find electronic data entry to be more efficient than paper methods, but others are overwhelmed by it. The Boston Globe cited sources who thought that the EHR brought an \u201cinsatiable demand for information that, keystroke by keystroke, click by click, overwhelms the already tightly wrapped day inside a hospital, eats away at time with patients, and sometimes forces them to work longer shifts\u201d [7, 8]. It will likely take time and continuous training for Partners to unlock the bulk of the efficiencies offered by EHR. In order to ensure a smooth transition, Partners has hired hundreds of IT workers to prepare and optimize the software. It has also staggered the implementation in phases, so that learnings from one hospital can be incorporated into the next hospital\u2019s implementation [7].<\/p>\n

\"partners-healthcare-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

EHR implementation is just the tip of the iceberg for how information technology can revolutionize the practice of healthcare. As the number of electronic health records grows and time passes, the longitudinal health data they contain will be extremely valuable. It will allow for the comparison of treatment efficacy across patient types to help inform best practices and can also be used for predictive analytics [9]. Healthcare providers can use this data themselves or potentially monetize it through selling the data to pharma companies or software vendors. Despite all the current and future benefits, Partners Healthcare needs to be vigilant about the risks. EHR’s contain extremely sensitive health information, which means Partners must make sure it has a state of the art cyber security system that is continuously upgraded. Only time will tell the true costs and benefits associated with EHR implementation. (619 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] 性视界 HealthIT, \u201cHITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act),\u201d http:\/\/searchhealthit.techtarget.com\/definition\/HITECH-Act, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[2] National Business Coalition on Health, \u201cGetting A Return on Electronic Health Record Investments,\u201d http:\/\/www.nbch.org\/nbch\/files\/ccLibraryFiles\/Filename\/000000003612\/Getting%20A%20Return%20on%20Electronic%20Health%20Record%20Investments.pdf, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[3] Health IT & CIO Review, \u201c8 Epic EHR implementations with the biggest price tags in 2015,\u201d http:\/\/www.beckershospitalreview.com\/healthcare-information-technology\/8-epic-ehr-implementations-with-the-biggest-price-tags-in-2015.html, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[4] 性视界 HealthIT, \u201cEpic’s EHR: Challenges and lessons learned at Mass General,\u201d http:\/\/searchhealthit.techtarget.com\/video\/Epics-EHR-Challenges-and-lessons-learned-at-Mass-General, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[5] Boston Globe, \u201cPartners\u2019 $1.2b patient data system seen as key to future,\u201d https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/business\/2015\/05\/31\/partners-launches-billion-electronic-health-records-system\/oo4nJJW2rQyfWUWQlvydkK\/story.html, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[6] Health Affairs Blog, \u201cA Standard Model For Evaluating Return On Investment From Electronic Health Record Implementation,\u201d http:\/\/healthaffairs.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/06\/a-standard-model-for-evaluating-return-on-investment-from-electronic-health-record-implementation\/, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[7] Boston Globe, \u201cNew $1.2b Partners computer system brings prescription for frustration,\u201d https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/business\/2016\/05\/16\/partners-healthcare-new-computer-challenges-some-doctors-nurses\/1I4QsWGjCJ97xFmUbcDbaJ\/story.html, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[8] McCullough, J. S., Casey, M., Moscovice, I., & Prasad, S. (2010). The effect of health information technology on quality in U.S. hospitals. Health Affairs, 29(4), 647-54. Retrieved from http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/docview\/204628452?accountid=11311)<\/p>\n

[9] Electronic health records market (EHR) to grow at 5.53% CAGR to 2020 driven by digital and connected healthcare technologies. (2016, Jun 29). PR Newswire Retrieved from http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/docview\/1800114803?accountid=11311<\/p>\n

Image Sources (in order of appearance)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pulse Headlines, \u201cElectronic health records are a major cause of doctors\u2019 burnout,\u201d http:\/\/www.pulseheadlines.com\/electronic-health-records-major-doctors-burnout\/37906\/, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

Partners Healthcare, \u201cPartners HealthCare opens new Assembly Row complex, http:\/\/www.partners.org\/Newsroom\/Articles\/Assembly-Row-Complex-Opens.aspx,\u201d accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

HealthIT, \u201cPredictive Analytics will Revolutionize Healthcare,\u201d http:\/\/healthitmhealth.com\/predictive-analytics-will-revolutionize-healthcare\/, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“this is not an IT implementation, this is a business transformation”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2483,"featured_media":18719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[639,2560,1289,1291],"class_list":["post-18707","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boston","category-electronic-health-record","category-hospitals","category-partners-healthcare"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nA Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""this is not an IT implementation, this is a business transformation"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-18T20:39:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"599\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-18T20:38:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-18T20:39:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":599},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"\"this is not an IT implementation, this is a business transformation\"","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2016-11-18T20:39:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":599,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/","name":"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg","datePublished":"2016-11-18T20:38:46+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-18T20:39:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Partners-Healthcare-1-1.jpg","width":900,"height":599},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-hospitals-1-2-billion-digital-transformation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A Hospital\u2019s $1.2 billion Digital Transformation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/18707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2483"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/18707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}