Strategic Planning in Health IT: Navigating Challenges and Mitigating Risks (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Welcome to this module, Strategic Planning in Health IT. Strategy is the development of long-term goals and objectives of an organization, the adoption of a course of action, and the allocation of resources to carry out those actions. Communication systems and technology strategy combines the mission and goals of the organization, the activities they need to undertake, and the structure of the department. IT can be one of the most challenging areas because of the awareness of how quickly technology is changing and the relative slowness of organizational change. Moving from senior management to the IT management team is a crucial factor in keeping everyone on the same page. Failure in IT initiatives can be very significant, and it can happen when a project is over budget or takes longer than anticipated. Taking action to mitigate risk factors is an important objective in managing projects. Some negative vital signs of a project is the lack of clarity or purpose, especially if the details or the purpose are uncertain. Another issue is insufficient leadership support, which can happen if the primary sponsor takes a job with another organization. A third issue can come from underestimating the complexity of the project. There are always problems and changes that come up during a project, and effective change management is essential. A last issue can be organizational inertia. This can happen after too many projects have been initiated with little or no results. Projects are stressful, and careful planning can help to avoid the additional stress on an organization. In some industries, it may be common to see information systems and technologies as giving an organization a competitive advantage. This is rare in healthcare because of the complexity of the industry, the regulations of the federal government, and the overall goal for the industry, which is to improve the health of people and populations. New and better systems and technology are just tools, and they cannot eliminate poverty, cure cancer, or solve other world problems. There are too many other components of the healthcare industry that influence the competitive advantage of a healthcare organization. However, it's important to acknowledge and respect the place that technology plays within these organizations. Thank you.