Information Governance
Information Governance
Introduction
Evidence suggests that not only in the healthcare industry, project failure affects all industries, but in a different way. IT project failure is a condition that has affected health care industry for quite a long term. Stories on IT health care related project failure includes failure to meet objectives, the entire project failure, and budget failure, and time failure among others. Different technology failures have affected the world of health care industry where community service provider fails to deliver the appropriate services. This essay will focus on information governance in the healthcare industry, and it will touch on some aspects such as reasons or causes that make IT projects fail and how such problems may be handled. It will also focus on some government health intervention aspects and how they affect this industry.
Discussion
Causes of I.T. Project Failure
The main idea of developing IT in the health industry is to make work easy and manage to provide effective services to clients. The best IT project should be delivered on time, ensure the system works as expected, and its budget is on or under used. Although these are the expectations of any IT project, evidence shows that few projects realize the above success. A number of causes affect information management and information technology to a point of not realizing its goals and objectives. A number of factors contribute to project failure irrespective of its nature. Below are some of common causes of project failure in health care industry and may apply in other industries, (French, 2010).
Lack of user Involvement
Lack of user involvement in information management is one of the causes of project failure in the healthcare sector. Evidence suggests that, without clear involvement or commitment in a given project, the system becomes difficult to handle. Most healthcare information projects fail because nobody tends to be committed with the system. Projects that become successful always get maximum management from relevant parties. Senior management and users must get involved in the project in order to monitor and provide required services. Effort and time are the key aspects in development of healthcare information management and information technology project development, (Frank, 2008).
Inappropriate skills
In most cases, projects on information technology fail because individuals selected to run them lacks required skills. Balance of information technology in the healthcare industry should be established in order to realize results that are bearable. Some of technical information technology systems that require enough skills include HIT and EHR. Failure of the required skills in these fields has been a serious problem in project development, in the healthcare industry. It is a guarantee that certain problems develops when skills does not correspond to the expectations, and thereafter the project comes to a failure, (Beynon-Davies, 2009).
Unclear objectives and goals
Evidence shows that some information management situations fail because the management does not clearly define goals and objectives of a project. For instance, implementation of EHR should have a clear definition of the expected results in order to help parties involved responds to the system in the appropriate manner. When defining goals and objectives of any information technology, the management should ensure that individuals have understood the expectations. Since most projects are to run for long, in order to prevent failure directions should be clearly defined, (Berg, 2011).
Poor planning
Apart from health care information technology related projects poor planning may cause project failure in most industries. Unrealistic time estimates affects most projects resulting to failure of the expected. Resources allocation in information technology projects for healthcare has made projects fail. Management allocates resources in a way that does not resemble the outcomes. When less experienced users are and allocated to accomplish some activities those projects do not get the best and desired results, (French, 2010).
Practices to avoid project failure
Good planning
Appropriate planning on information management in healthcare is one of the practices that should be adopted in preventing project failure. The initial planning of a given project does not entirely mean that the management should not review the planning concepts. Evidence shows that healthcare projects may take wrong turns during the initial planning. The project manager should prepare for re-plan decisions in order to make changes and corrections where things may have gone wrong. To prevent stalls during project implementation, the project manager should consider preparing for re-plan actions just in case something comes on the way, (Frank, 2008).
Develop Clear Responsibility System
Just like any other project, healthcare information technology plans require clear definition of goals and responsibilities. Parties involved in development and implementation of healthcare information technology projects such as HIT and EHR should understand their duties and roles for a given project. By so doing, team members will understand their expectations and health realize goals and objectives of the project. Team members should understand things that they are accountable, and it is through proper communication such things respond appropriately, (Berg, 2011).
Proper communication
Lack of proper communication in project planning and implementation prevents project success in healthcare. It is in this respect managers should properly communicate to team members on expectations of the project. With proper communication, parties involved in information management system will eventually understand things that they are accountable. This will help realize and establish a system effective for responding to project expectations, (O’Brochta, 2002).
Ways to facilitate IM/IT governance
Information technology governance is not easy not only in the healthcare, but within other firms. Some of the common portfolio management approaches used to govern healthcare information system include size and diversity, governance experience, organizational structure, strategic and performance goals, and industry and regional differences. These are key ways under which the management should develop their governance and ensure that proper administration of projects has taken its course. On top of the above aspects, communication should be established in order to provide relevant and effective governance measures for a given project, (Beynon-Davies, 2009).Although ensuring that IM/IT governance is technical, it should be realized that projects requires intervention in order to realize goals and objectives. The portfolio management always focuses on ways that effectively monitor their projects. When a given project is and put in place, the expectations focused are always positive. Proper governance strategies should be put in place in order to monitor the implementation and progress of any project, (O’Brochta, 2002).
Types of government intervention in healthcare
There are different types of government interventions in health care industry that develop positive and negative impacts. These interventions depend on the situation of application and the aim of the said intervention. The common governments interventions include impose regulations, operate public enterprises, enforce antitrust laws, correction for externalities, provide public goods, and sponsor redistribution programs. Smoking of cigarettes is an example of government intervention method under the correction for externalities. This helps reduce the level of patients affected or develop health conditions due to smoking effects. Although not all government intervention methods develop positive impacts, research shows that they play a vital role in ensuring that quality services are to relevant parties, (Frank, 2008).
Without clear government intervention practices, health care industry may fail to provide required services to patients. There are private firms that may be unwilling to produce and provide required or the appropriate goods to patients. It is the work of government to develop relevant intervention methods that appropriate to the needs of the healthcare industry. The problem affecting government intervention in the healthcare industry is the cost. Costs associated with government intervention are not internal cost rather they are external costs. It is through lifetime approach system healthcare industry may manage to determine the extent of external costs that should be get into the plan, (Berg, 2011).
Conclusion
Lack of proper measures in developing information technology projects and information management create a situation of project failure. Project failure is not only in the healthcare industry, but also in other areas. Proper measures such as proper planning and effective communication help healthcare industry deal with the issue of project failure.
Reference:
Berg, M. (2011) Implementing information systems in health care organizations: Myths and challenges Journal of Med Information; 64(2–3):143-156.
Beynon-Davies, P. (2009). Information systems “failure”: The case of the London ambulance service’s computer aided dispatch project European Journal of Information System;4:171-184.
Frank T. (2008) “Free Market Reforms in Medicine: Whom Must we Convince of What?” Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Spring:13(1)16-17
French, D. (2010). Government Healthcare Intervention, the Bigger Picture. Retrieved from, http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article18140.html, On November 19, 2012
O’Brochta, M. (2002). Project Success – What Are the Criteria and Whose Opinion Counts? Proceedings of the Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposiums: San Antonio, TX
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