Consultants help identify the factors for success and an approach to health IT planning and implementation that meets the needs of the health care provider organization.  We provide experience and in-depth knowledge to our clients.

Typical worksteps in a client engagement:

• Design QI – IT:  Quality Improvement Integrated into Information Technology (QI-IT^TM) is an approach based on principles of QI, information analytics, clinical workflow re-engineering, and years of experience working to implement quality improvement strategies as part of HIT.  At the core of the QI-IT approach is the idea that when specific quality improvement goals, clinical processes, and outcome improvements are integrated into the strategies and plans for using information technology, then there is a clear QI-IT link and expectation that HIT will support the hands-on caregiver team using clinical best practices on a routine basis.

• Planning:  Assist in building business case for health IT, identify practical short-term and long-term measurable goals, understand how and where interoperability between providers needs to be considered,  develop reasonable timeline and workplan given available resources, incorporate measures of ‘meaningful use’ and clinical performance metrics.  Assess readiness for implementation and identify strengths and weaknesses to address in work planning and resource allocation.

• Selection:  Facilitate a systematic approach to system selection including: coordinate interactive process between provider and health IT vendor, provide resources to decision-makers such as selection guidelines, evaluation tools, vendor comparison analysis, and assist in contract negotiation, identify software requirements for clinical systems.

• Implementation: Support project team in developing a detailed plan, including identifying work groups.  Assess core clinical and operational processes targeted for automation, identify specific user requirements, serve as liaison with health IT vendor, confirm that prioritized best practice guidelines and quality improvement requirements are in system functionality, Define reporting requirements for targeted processes, including clinical decision support tools. Develop staged implementation approach to optimize technology features and incorporate into workflow.