Implementing Changes in Medicine - Essay Example

"Implementing Changes in Medicine" is an interesting example of a paper on the health system. 
Change is a fundamental factor in the organizational setting. Different organizational practices prompt the need for change from time to time. This is because organizations operate in volatile environments that call for change over time. On the same note, the need for organizational change is informed by influential factors that are diverse and dynamic (Wolper, 2004). Notably, this observation is more or less the same in the healthcare environment. A health care organization would have to strategize on change implementation, in particular the shift from paper charts to medical records that are of an electronic form.

To fully implement electronic medical records, a total shift from the paper charts is needed. This change is critical to the overall functionality and operations of the organization, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the organization’s administrators. The administrators are expected to design functional ways of ensuring that the desired change is fully implemented (Wolper, 2004). On the same note, such a change is expected to improve the performance, functionality, and operations of the implementing organization.

One of the strategies that health care administrators should employ to ensure successful implementation of the said change is to bring organizational players and other involved stakeholders to terms with the change. In other words, the change should not be so abrupt or so slow to a point of causing operational ineffectiveness and inefficiency. For this reason, all participants in this change should be aware and ready to get accustomed to the change. The idea is to ensure that the change is well understood and ready for implementation.

Once the organization is aware and ready for change implementation, the next strategy is to ensure a smooth transition from the paper charts to electronic medical records. Individuals charged with the roles and responsibilities associated with electronic medical records should be well trained. This is to ensure that the organization does not suffer an operational lag (Wolper, 2004) as the electronic medical records replace the paper charts system.

Finally, administrators must make a follow-up on the change to ensure that the desired outcomes are realized. This follow-up should run across all departments within the organization to ensure that each impacted area is accounted for. Moreover, feedback gathering and assessment of the new system are vital from time to time. This practice is fundamental in monitoring the successful conversion of the health care organization subject to the desired change.

The process of change implementation is not without its challenges. At times, the desired outcomes are not always realized even after successfully implementing the change. On the same note, resistance or reluctance may be realized among key players in organizational change, an aspect that further challenges the prospects of change implementation (Wolper, 2004). When such or other challenges emerge, it is upon the administrators to make critical and creative decisions that streamline the process. Drawbacks to the implementation process should be treated as opportunities to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the change in question.

Change implementation should be allowed adequate time. In the health care organization context, implementing electronic medical records require that shifts from and subsequent adjustments on the paper charts be made. A timeline-based this factor would call for at least three months and up to six (or even 12) months for effective and efficient change implementation. However, this depends on the size, capacity, and operations of an organization.