Part I of these series can be found here. As new posts in the series are added the forward and back links will be updated in order for readers to "walk the posts" in a quasi presentation like format.
There are a significant number of stakeholders that must participate in both in an EHR implementation and in getting everyone all board with the HITECH/HIPAA compliance strategy. The game has changed too radically to simply turn either one of these efforts over to HIT or to a compliance officer/legal. Too much is at stake. This is now a boardroom issue. Only time will tell which boards recognizes that this paper tiger is now an electronic beast.
The board and the senior management team are the ones that must recognize that the organization will need a considerable amount help if they are going to succeed. They need to quickly jettison their "not invented here" predisposition and bring to bear the best available talent, both within and without the organization, in order to meet this challenge. This applies to facilities and providers of all sizes, with the biggest difference being one of degree and not kind.
Part III of this series can be found here.
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