Recommendations for Peachtree Healthcare IT Challenges - Essay Example

Recommendations for Peachtree Healthcare It Challenges Peachtree Healthcare has been encountered IT problems within its group of healthcare institutions. Peachtree management wanted to adopted new Information Technology infrastructure; prove to be competent in the healthcare industry. The CEO Max Berndt after so many meetings and discussions with his board of trustee, end up with two new IT infrastructure implementation options. He either has to select the safer mode or he has to go for riskier option which might give him outstanding results.

The first option is of unified set of IT infrastructure throughout the Peachtree Healthcare which would give more consistency in work and provide ease to its users, but the drawback for that system is that it would not allow doctors to individually and specially treat each of their patient’s cases. The second riskier option of system is SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). It is a system which has never before experienced in a healthcare industry, that’s why so much risk and uncertainty is associated with it.

However there are so many goods are attached with this newer system but the risk factor is so much high because in healthcare industry the uncertainty is not limited to financial losses but it is a matter of life and death. There are advantages and disadvantages attached with each system. Some good factors of single system are that it cost less to the management of Peachtree Healthcare, through this system the doctors would gat chance to work as team, and it would not need to separate and specialized training for its user.

Similarly there are also merit and demerits of SOA system. It provide standardization on large level but on ground level it would able each Peachtree Healthcare entity to have system of its unique needs, main drawback is high cost of it, risk associated with it being a new technology which has never been experienced within healthcare industry.( Sam Herrick,2009,p.1) The management of Peachtree has to opt for certain option for its IT infrastructure.SOA can be proved good option for them if they play safe by implementing it within single entity of Peachtree Healthcare and if they get desired results then SOA could be adopted for the entire body of Peachtree Healthcare, initial partial implementation would lowers the risk factors as well as save the financial losses which otherwise Peachtree would have to bear.

Another option could be hiring an outsourcing company on predefined conditions, which first take the quotations from Peachtree Healthcare and then hire an IT company which builds the IT infrastructure for Peachtree. In this way Peachtree, would be on safe side and if losses occurs then it would have to be beard by the outsourcing company. Although it would little bit increase the cost factor but also increases the guarantee for the implementation of correct system which be according to the needs of Peachtree.

The management has to perform several responsibilities, but if outsourcing company would be hired then it would be the responsibility of the outsourcing firm to ensure the implementation of right system which would fulfill the unique needs of the Healthcare institution. Beside the above suggested solution for Peachtree Healthcare, several other experts have also proposed solutions according to their judgments for Peachtree IT infrastructure problem. But two of the suggestions if merged with the above mentioned idea of outsourcing then there is no reason to attain the success in that matter.

One commentary given by George C. Halvorson is that the higher management of Peachtree should call a meeting of the board of trustees and then jot down the desired outcomes which they want from the new system, once they would be clear on the thing they want, they can better deal the problem. Otherwise without any requirement regarding the wanted system is like walking in the dark, no one knows where they are going and what is going to be happen next. Another commentary given by Monte Ford is about partial implementation of SOA system.

Monte Ford comments that Peachtree can minimize its risk factor through partial implementation of SOA system. In this way Peachtree would be able to check the results of SOA; if the system delivers the desired results then the full adaptation can be made of SOA. Partial implementation will also give much time to the management as well as the employees to understand the new system, and gradual implementation would decrease the behavioral conflicts which could be raised if the new system would be adopted in a single attempt.

References John P. Glaser. (2007). Too Far Ahead of the IT Curve? Sam Herrick. (2009). Too Far Ahead of the IT Curve: Peachtree Healthcare George C. Halvorson. (2007). How should Peachtree try to fix its IT infrastructure problem? Case commentary Monte Ford. (2007). How should Peachtree try to fix its IT infrastructure problem? Case commentary Randy Heffner. (2007). How should Peachtree try to fix its IT infrastructure problem? Case commentary John A. Kastor. (2007). How should Peachtree try to fix its IT infrastructure problem?

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