IT Consulting Insights

Everyone dislikes the current electronic health record system and no one on your staff knows how to manipulate the EHR tool to get it to do what your healthcare providers and support staff needs. Sound familiar? You are not alone. Setting up an EHR system is not a plug-and-play situation. In fact, each healthcare organization…

Whether you are in a pivotal role of organizational leadership or you are leading a household of budding personalities, there is one thing we can all agree on: Our nation needs improved leadership. By now, you have heard about the meaning of leadership from the perspective of a key support staff member as well as the leadership philosophy…

What does the title “consultant” mean to you? For some people, a consultant is a guide who advises but remains hands-off when it comes to actual implementation. For others, a consultant is someone who swoops in to save the day. Working as a healthcare IT consultant for the past six years, I have seen the…

The risk is real. Failing to optimize your emergency department (ED) can cost more than the valuable time of your healthcare providers; it can also cost lives. As part of the hospital management team, you are responsible for caring for the health of your organization while your staff cares for patients. Many healthcare organizations shy…

The emergency department (ED) in your hospital is faced with unique circumstances that other areas of your healthcare organization do not have to take into account. While most healthcare departments operate on an appointment basis, the ED is, by definition, challenged with an unpredictable influx of patients – and your hospital management systems need to…

If you have been following parts 1 and 2 of our 3-part series on healthcare IT project implementation, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point. Frankly, taking on the responsibility of shifting the mindset of your leadership team, then creating new systems for measuring success, planning, and communication is no easy feat. Yet, the end…

Last week, I discussed the most critical factors to consider when embarking on a healthcare IT project. If I made it sound like a grave, dire situation, good – it is. Healthcare IT projects are massive endeavors that require commitment, fortitude, and dedication because, ultimately, they impact the lives of the patients we serve. However,…

In the healthcare industry, failure is not an option. In the best of circumstances, medical professionals as well as administrators give their all every day to help members of their communities live healthy, fulfilling lives. In the worst of circumstances, these same community heroes strive to mitigate risk, save lives, and improve quality of life…

Healthcare IT projects are daunting. Healthcare organizations notoriously postpone initiating large-scale projects – despite knowing how critical such upgrades are to an organization’s success and infrastructure – due to the vast scope and potential for overwhelm with such a project. Yet, with the right project management techniques, we have been able to guide our clients…

Physicians Thomas Bodenheimer and Christine Sinsky said it perfectly: The Triple Aim is “a compass to optimize health system performance.” The long-admired Triple Aim encompasses three principles: enhancing patient experience, improving population health, and reducing costs. However, time and time again, healthcare organizations have observed that attempts to create the Triple Aim were falling short….

We live in a dichotomous age: On the one hand technology is a massively powerful tool that has allowed us to accomplish large-scale goals in record times. On the other hand, it is an absolute necessity that must be maintained delicately to ensure operations can continue. A balance between these two roles is particularly difficult…

Throughout 2018, my team and I at John Lynch & Associates noticed a trend: healthcare organizations are struggling with major issues that could have been avoided had they addressed small issues with their electronic health records early on. I often work with clients who come to us initially because they have started to see major…