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How do I set up my project plan?

While there are several resources available that provide templates for developing health IT implementation plans, it is important that the development of a plan be a team exercise, which includes individuals in the health center who have been chosen to lead the implementation. A good first step is to review goals and objectives previously identified, and subsequently list out the various components of work needed to meet those objectives. In the context of rolling out health IT, these components or "activity blocks" may include team development, communications within the organization, workflow mapping, handling of existing data, training, upgrading hardware, vendor procurement, customization, systems testing, go-live planning and contingency planning. Vendors often provide limited project plans for the implementation and training components of the project. Thus, vendor supplied project plans often need to be augmented so that they include all necessary project components (e.g., the time taken for workflow and process mapping, infrastructure upgrades or changes to the existing environment to support new hardware). The exact scope and nature of these components will differ depending on the goals of implementation.  Nevertheless, it is useful to review generic guides and sample plans to get a sense of the areas that you should incorporate.

Resources:

• Implementing EHR/EMR (PDF -  264KB) – Developed by HIMSS, this paper provides examples of best-practice organizations recognized by HIMSS as having implemented an EHR (2006).
• EHR Implementation Roadmap (PDF - 627 KB) – Developed by DOQ-IT, this resources provides a comprehensive strategy to implement EHRs.
• EHR Implementation Checklist (DOC - 176 KB)- Developed by DOQ-IT, this resource is a checklist of key tasks at each stage of implementation.