HIS IMPLEMENTATIONS
By Ken Ryan
As your organization submits an RFP for the replacement of clinical and financial applications, it can be a
good time to consider the basic approach of the implementation process that will follow. Bringing the right
project manager on board early will help set the course that makes the most sense for your enterprise.
Two high-level options present themselves:
One-At-A-Time Approach:
The benefits of implementing a clinical and financial application separately would include: reducing the
immediate need for internal or external project resources; allowing focus on the major application being
implemented; and reducing stress and risk on your vendor partner’s organization.
Unfortunately, this approach could also: allow too much focus on the major application being implemented and
lose sight of the larger picture; require additional interfaces from a legacy system or to be re-worked moving
into the replacement of the financial HIS; duplication of work; require re-evaluation of workflow processes
between registration/billing and clinical staff as individual applications are implemented.
Big-Bang Theory:
This approach forces the implementation teams to collaborate, because both clinical and financial
applications must communicate efficiently in order for a go-live to occur. The Big-Bang Theory encourages
global thinking. Benefits of this approach include: efficient workflow enhancement through implementation
duality; faster overall implementation; and truly integrated testing that occurs within the complete production
application environment.
The negatives include: an increase in the immediate need for resources; more risk, depending on the state of
development of major applications being implemented; increased need for internal or external project resources;
potentially more disruptive, albeit temporarily.
Whichever path you choose, a frank analysis of these questions with the involvement of a senior project
management staff member should facilitate a decision that truly fits your enterprise.
Vitalize Consulting Solutions, Inc., (VCS) Project Management Practice have resources available to help
guide you through this decision process. Our Project Management Office (PMO) Methodology, based on commonly
available Microsoft Sharepoint® tools can also be employed to manage project documents, provide automatic
versioning control and serve as the central point from which all project participants can measure project
status. Collaborative processes between implementation teams will be enhanced through this software and PMO
Methodology.
To access this article in its entirety please go to
www.getvitalized.com/resources/knowledge.aspx. If you have any questions please contact Marc Hirshfield,
PMO Practice Director at (610) 444 1233 or email him at
vcs@getvitalized.com.