Implementing a Capacity Management Information System

CASE 3: IMPLEMENTING A CAPACITY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM Doctors’ Hospital is a 162-bed, acute care facility located in a small city in the southeastern United States. The organization had a major fi nancial upheaval six years ago that resulted in the establishment of a new governing structure. The new governing body consists of an eleven-member authority board. The senior management of Doctors’ Hospital includes the CEO, three senior vice presidents, and one vice president. During the restructuring, the CIO was changed from a full-time staff position to a part-time contract position. The CIO spends two days every two weeks at Doctors’ Hospital. Doctors’ Hospital is currently in Phase 1 of a three-phase construction project. In Phase 2 the hospital will build a new emergency department (ED) and surgical pavilion, which are scheduled to be completed in eleven months. Information Systems Challenge The current ED and outpatient surgery department have experienced tremendous growth in the past several years. ED visits have increased by 50 percent, and similar increases have been seen in outpatient surgery. Management has identified that inefficient patient flow processes, particularly patient transfers and discharges, have resulted in backlogs in the ED and outpatient areas. The new construction will only exacerbate the current problem. Nearly a year ago Doctors’ Hospital made a commitment to purchase a capacity management software suite to reduce the inefficiencies that have been identified in patient flow processes. The original timeline was to have the new system pilot-tested prior to the opening of the new ED and surgical pavilion. However, with the competing priorities its members face as they 478 · CHAPTER 14: HEALTH IT LEADERSHIP CASE STUDIES deal with major construction, the original project steering committee has stalled. At its last meeting nearly six months ago, the steering committee identified the vendor and product suite. Budgets and timelines for implementation were proposed but not finalized. No other steps have been taken. Discussion Questions 1. Do you think the absence of a full-time CIO has had an impact on this acquisition project? Why or why not? 2. What steps should the CIO take to ensure that the capacity management system will be purchased and implemented? What do you see as the critical first step in this process? Why? 3. Discuss who you think should serve on the project steering committee. Who should serve as chair? Why? 4. At this point, what do you think is a realistic time frame for implementation of the capacity management system? What steps can be taken to ensure the new timeline is met despite competing priorities?

Discuss how this case can be applied to the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

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The commitment by the Doctor’s hospital to purchase the capacity management software suit was to reduce the existing inefficiencies in the patient flow processes. However, the absence of the full-time CIO has impacted the acquisition of the project. By making the CIO a part-time contract position, it is evident that IT is not a priority for the organization (Brown & Yarberry Jr, 2010). Besides, the CIO spends two days in the office for every two weeks thereby making the IT project an afterthought (Brown & Yarberry Jr, 2010). As such, the IT project is isolated and not given the same level of urgency as compared to the construction project. Notably, it is important for the CIO to develop an approach to enhance both the purchase and implementation of the capacity management system. The distinct steps include identifying the transformation objectives (in terms of business outcomes), evaluating the technology enablers in the market, envisioning the organization’s transformation based on the suite’s capabilities, master the product’s lifecycle, organize the firm for the digital transformation and……..

APA 405 words