Contemporary Organization Evaluation
In 2019, the first case of covid19 was discovered in Wuhan, China. The spread of the disease followed to other countries, leading to adverse impacts on the population and healthcare institutions. Currently, most of the global nations, including the US continue to struggle with ensuring the realization of the health needs of covid19 patients. Healthcare institutions have played a proactive role in ensuring the provision of high quality; safe and efficient care to covid19 patients and their significant others. In doing this, they have transformed their systems and processes to ensure that they address adequately the emerging needs of covid19 patients. Ther
efore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the manner in which the University of Mississippi Medical Center is responding to surging rates of covid19.
Description of the Organization and Change it is responding
The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) is a teaching and tertiary hospital that is located in Jackson. The institution is known for its quality services and education for healthcare professionals. The hospital has health science schools that include dentistry, nursing, medicine, population health, pharmacy, health related professions and graduate studies. The hospital also provides general as well as specialized care to its populations. It currently has specialized hospitals that include children’s hospital, critical care, and women and infants hospitals. The population can benefit from a wide range of services that include organ transplant, specialized surgeries, access to physicians, and high quality nursing care that addresses their care needs (UMMC, n.d.).
UMMC is currently responding to the surging rates of covid19 in the state. Accordingly, the rates of new infections has been rising over the past few months in Mississippi, overburdening the healthcare organizations. The rise in rates of covi19 infections is largely attributed to the poor uptake of covid19 vaccinations in the state. The state ranking shows Mississippi as the least vaccinated state, with 38% of its population vaccinated. The uptake of covid19 vaccination has been low due to misinformed population that is not willing to be vaccinated. The consequences of low uptake of vaccination include high rate of covid19 infections, hospital visits, hospitalizations, and mortality rate (Willingham, 2021). As a result, UMMC has been in the forefront in embracing interventions that aim at reducing the burden of the disease in the state.
Disruptive Nature of the Change and Organizational Response
The rise in the cases of covid19 in Mississippi has been disruptive to healthcare organizations. Firstly, the rise has led to healthcare providers being overwhelmed by hospital visits and admissions for covid19 patients. The high number of covid19 patients has led to increased workload in most institutions, including UMMC. For example, workers in UMMC reported that the surge in cases has led to their exhaustion due to prolonged working hours and burnout from staff shortage. UMMC has also suffered from the shortage of facilities to address the care needs of covid19 patients. For example, intensive care units and emergency room are beyond its capacity due to covid19 patients (Maan & Harte, 2021). The bed capacity is also at its maximum capacity due to the daily admission of covid19 patients for treatment.
The overburdened resources in UMMC have led to delays in service delivery, as evidenced by delayed response by paramedics to prioritize the care needs of potential patients requiring admission in the hospital. The unintended consequences of the overburden healthcare system can also be seen from the deaths of pregnant mothers that needed emergency C-sections, with some of the babies born prematurely. Based on the above, covid19 has been significantly disruptive in UMMC. UMMC has however responded to the increasing demands from covid19 by adopting a number of interventions. They include tightening its vaccination policy, creating extra spaces for patient admissions and working with other stakeholders to reduce the impacts of the pandemic (Gooch, 2021).
Strategies used in Change Plan and Level of Success
UMMC has adopted a number of strategies to address the surge in covid19 cases in the state. One of the strategies is its efforts to create additional spaces in the hospital. Accordingly, the hospital has tried to meet the care needs of the increasing number of patients by putting beds on the hallways to expand patient coverage. The hospital has also taken initiatives to ensure that the sickest patients get the care that they need in its facilities. It does this by delaying its paramedic response, as they prioritize the care needs of the different patients requiring urgent admission and treatment (Associate Press, 2021). UMMC has also tightened its vaccination policy in response to the rising cases. The hospital requires that anybody seeking employment must be vaccinated to minimize the risk of contracting the virus and severity of symptoms. Students are also expected to be fully vaccinated in a bid to lowering the burden of the pandemic in the state (Gooch, 2021). The last strategy adopted by UMMC is working with international donors to strengthen its response to covid19 rising cases. Samaritan’s Purse is currently working with UMMC to create additional beds for covid19 patients in the hospital. Samaritan’s Purse is currently establishing a mobile field hospital in conjunction with the State Department of Health to support intensive care services for covid19 patients. The mobile clinic will increase the number of covid19 patients seen in the hospital, easing the overstretched resources in UMMC (Johnson, 2021). The effectiveness of the strategies has not been determined, as the response is currently ongoing.
Effect of Change on Stakeholders
Stakeholders in healthcare have been significantly affected by the surge in cases of covid19 in UMMC. One of the stakeholders affected is the healthcare providers. The rise in cases of covid19 translates into increased workload for the healthcare providers. Healthcare providers suffer from the complex care needed by the covid19 patients, predisposing them to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and emotional exhaustion. Healthcare providers also highly predisposed to contracting covid19 from their patients, hence, the effect. The surge in covid19 cases has also affected UMMC management. It has led to an acute shortage of resources needed to provide the care needed by covid19 patients. An example of this effect is seen from the shortage of intensive care beds and general beds for covid19 patients. A further increase in cases is also likely to result in staff shortage in the institution (Maan & Harte, 2021). The other stakeholders affected by the rise in covid19 cases are the population. Populations in Mississippi suffer from barriers in accessing the care they need for covid19 due to scarcity in resources and spaces in healthcare institutions. Therefore, covid19 has severely affected the healthcare stakeholders in Mississippi.
The population in Mississippi continues to resist covid19 vaccinations despite the increase in the daily rate of the infected populations. Factors such as stereotypes and misinformed population have contributed to the low uptake of covid19 vaccines. The effective management of covid19 spread in the state requires optimum uptake of ovid19 vaccines in the state (Associate Press, 2021). Therefore, there is a need for interventions that create the desired awareness among the population on the benefits of vaccination.
Implications of Change on Interdepartmental Collaboration
The rising cases of covid19 have increased the need for inter-departmental collaboration in UMMC. Healthcare providers have to work in collaboration in exploring effective interventions that can be used to ensure efficiency in resource utilization in addressing the surge in covid19 patients. They also have to collaborate in developing best practices that will minimize the spread of the virus among the healthcare providers. The change also increases the need for inter-departmental collaboration to create awareness on the need for covid19 vaccination for the public. Departments of health have to collaborate in adopting interventions that will influence the public to be vaccinated (Willingham, 2021).
Opinion
The leaders of UMMC have responded effectively to the surge in covid19 cases. They have ensured efficiency in the existing resources for the provision of high quality, safe and efficient care to covid19 patients. The leaders have also been effective in seeking the desired support from other institutions and the department of health. The response adopted by the leaders is therefore likely to minimize the impact and burden of the disease on the organization and population.
Modifications
One of the modifications that I would recommend for the leaders of UMMC is advocating for increased uptake of covid19 vaccinations in the state. The leaders can mobilize other institutions and legislators to play an active role in supporting public campaigns aiming at increasing the vaccination rate in the state. Through it, the potential impacts of covid19 on the population will reduce significantly.
Conclusion
Overall, UMMC has been affected adversely by the rising cases of covid19. Healthcare stakeholders such as healthcare providers have been affected by increasing workload and exhaustion. The interventions adopted by leaders of UMMC have been effective. However, a focus should be placed on adopting measures that minimize the impacts of the disease on the population and healthcare institutions.
References
Associate Press. (2021). Hospitals in Crisis in Mississippi, the Least Vaccinated US State | Voice of America—English. https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/hospitals-crisis-mississippi-least-vaccinated-us-state
Gooch, K. (2021). U of Mississippi Medical Center tightens vaccination policy amid COVID-19 surge. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/u-of-mississippi-medical-center-tightens-vaccination-policy-amid-covid-19-surge.html
Johnson, K. (2021). Samaritan’s Purse to assist UMMC in COVID-19 response. Https://Www.Wtok.Com. https://www.wtok.com/2021/08/16/samaritans-purse-assist-ummc-covid-19-response/
Maan, A., & Harte, J. (2021, August 14). Mississippi hospital puts beds in parking garage to cope with COVID-19 surge. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/mississippi-hospital-puts-beds-parking-garage-cope-with-covid-19-surge-2021-08-13/
UMMC. (n.d.). About Us. University of Mississippi Medical Center. https://www.umc.edu/UMMC/About-Us/About-Us-Overview.html
Willingham, L. (2021, August 17). “Heartbreaking”: Mississippi gets 2nd field hospital in days. AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-mississippi-0601fa79209539675f77f608fb5ee65f
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Change is undoubtedly a constant in the healthcare industry. The change may happen from internal forces or various external forces. Healthcare organizations may either fail or rise significantly due to change. This depends on how the organization reacts to change, realigns, and reorients its processes, management, and strategy to accommodate change. One of the most outstanding changes in the healthcare industry is technological change. For instance, digital technology is rapidly changing the healthcare systems and the organizations that are yet to adopt digital services acknowledge that they need to embrace and respond to disruptions caused by the technology. The present-day health consumers are more adapted and networked to technology, which makes their lives easier and faster. As such, healthcare organizations are increasingly embracing the application of technology in their practices. The purpose of this paper is to explore how electronic health record (EBP) technology has influenced New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center and how the organization is responding to the change dynamics.
Description of the Organization and the Change to which it is Responding
The New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center is a medical facility associated with Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (New York-Presbyterian, 2023). It provides primary, emergency, and specialty care in nearly all fields of medicine. The setting is committed to delivering superior quality and compassionate care and services to every patient and their families in a friendly environment. This institution attracts patients from the New York City metropolitan area, nationally, and internationally. New York-Presbyterian/Columbia has always been reputable as a leader in groundbreaking research, medical education, and innovative patient care. The vast nature of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia necessitated the existence of a centralized system of handling patient issues relating to data leveraging (New York-Presbyterian, 2023). Consequently, the organization is currently responding to the healthcare disruptions attributed to technology by adopting the EHR to centralize patient data. The desire to enhance patient services has led to the collaboration between New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center to integrate EBP to create one platform that shares crucial health data in a secure and timely manner. This program is intended to develop and maintain a superior quality and flawless user experience for patients and providers, assisting in promoting coordination across the continuum of care.
The Degree to Which the Change has been Disruptive and how the Organization has Responded to the Dynamics Created by this Change
The adoption of EHR by New York-Presbyterian/Columbia caused considerable disruptions in the healthcare settings. The disruptions were mainly witnessed during the formative stages of the EHR. New York-Presbyterian/Columbia experienced dissatisfaction among the physicians and other healthcare providers in the settings due to a lack of necessary skills to implement the EHR. Moreover, the implementation of the EHR system led to a reduction in healthcare quality because the implementation process confused the workflow. Moreover, the patient waiting time was significantly impacted since care providers struggled with the intricacy of the EHR system leading to longer patient waiting times (Jung et al., 2021). The New York-Presbyterian/Columbia responded to the dynamics created by this change developing a corporate culture for implementing changes to improve workflow.
The Strategies the Organization Used in its Change Plan and Determination of the Level of Success the Organization Experienced with the Strategies
The New York-Presbyterian/Columbia employed various strategies in the change plan to address the technological disruptions. The first strategy was stakeholder involvement in the change process (Klecun et al., 2019). The organization ensured that all pertinent stakeholders were involved in all phases of the implementation process. The organization experienced a greater level of success using this strategy because it helped in winning their support for the change. The second strategy was ensuring stakeholders are ICT compliant. The leadership of the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia ensured that all stakeholders were ICT compliant to foster the change implementation process. The management of the organization performed training programs to increase the awareness and competency of workers in handling the new system and how to utilize them in increasing workflow (Jung et al., 2021). The organization also provided real-time support to the workforce to leverage the maximum learning capability of the staff at the facilities. The other strategy was the development of a vibrant corporate culture aimed at enhancing personal attitudes towards the use of EHR technology in the provision of healthcare services.
After completing the implementation process, the organization performed a successive review to assess the progress and success of the organization. The review revealed that the implementation of EHR helped in eradicating paperwork and facilitated the installment of networks and systems that supported and connected all healthcare providers and patients and also improved communication systems. This is an indicator of a high level of success.
Determination of the Effect of the Change on Stakeholders, the Degree Stakeholders have Resisted, and Assessment of how well Stakeholder Resistance was Addressed The change brought various changes in both medical and administrative processes. The organization experienced an increase in discharge process efficiency, which brought convenience to the healthcare providers and satisfaction to the patients (Arabi et al., 2022). The implementation of EHR also addressed the conflicting situations between the organizational management and the government due to security and privacy policies. Although the EHR implementation was successful, the organization encountered resistance from some stakeholders. The nurses and other healthcare professionals felt isolated in the implementation process and thought that they were part of the project. This led to opposition to the project in its initial stages. Moreover, the skilled clinician champion who would facilitate the process resisted because they were not involved in the initial stages. Some stakeholders also resisted because of a lack of necessary skills and knowledge about EHR. The resistance led to the resignation of some staff while others changed their preferred setting. The stakeholder resistance was addressed by consistent training, the appointment of competent change champions, and the development of a sound corporate culture toward EHR adoption (Arabi et al., 2022). Ultimately, the organization attained positive outcomes. The Overall Implications of the Change on Interdepartmental Collaboration
The implementation of the EHR at the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia has significantly improved interdepartmental collaboration within the organization. The connected environment facilitated communication between interdepartmental members. The access and sharing of patient health data from one department to the other has also become more efficient. The implementation of EHR has also enhanced interdepartmental collaboration relating to medication management and other aspects of patient care. The EHR also led to the use of clinical decision support at the organizations, which has assisted in fostering decisions by interdepartmental members regarding patient healthcare.
Assessing the Response of Leaders Towards the Change
The leadership of the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia planned well for the change by allocating resources and providing goodwill to ensure the success of EHR implementation. Although the leadership thought that the staff had the goodwill to support the change, it turned out that the staff resisted the change. However, after noticing the resistance from staff, the leadership implemented effective strategies that helped to address the resistance and steer the change process to the desired outcomes. For instance, the implementation of strategies such as training the staff and the involvement of stakeholders in the change process significantly influenced how the stakeholders embraced the change process. As such, leadership adopted the best strategies that helped in ensuring successful change implementation.
Recommended Modifications
The management of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia can better address the change dynamics by implementing various strategies such as consistent updating of the EHR system to keep abreast with the emerging threats that may pose risks to the system and also threaten the privacy and security of the patient health data and healthcare professionals (Arabi et al., 2022). The additional strategy that the organization can use to help through this change is the introduction of incentives to staff to motivate them to develop a positive attitude towards the change management.
Conclusion
This paper focused on the EHR change implementation at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Despite the initial staff resistance to the change, the change brought various changes in both medical and administrative processes. The EHR use significantly improved interdepartmental collaboration within the organization including medication management and other aspects of patient care. The leadership of the organization played a critical role in the success of the project. The recommended modification includes consistent updating of the EHR system and the introduction of incentives to motivate staff concerning change implementation.
References
Arabi, Y. M., Al Ghamdi, A. A., Al-Moamary, M., Al Mutrafy, A., AlHazme, R. H., & Al Knawy, B. A. (2022). Electronic medical record implementation in a large healthcare system from a leadership perspective. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 22(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-022-01801-0
Jung, S. Y., Hwang, H., Lee, K., Lee, D., Yoo, S., Lim, K., … & Kim, E. (2021). User perspectives on barriers and facilitators to the implementation of electronic health records in behavioral hospitals: qualitative study. JMIR Formative Research, 5(4), e18764. Doi: 10.2196/18764
Klecun, E., Zhou, Y., Kankanhalli, A., Wee, Y. H., & Hibberd, R. (2019). The dynamics of institutional pressures and stakeholder behavior in national electronic health record implementations: A tale of two countries. Journal of Information Technology, 34(4), 292-332. https://doi.org/10.1177/0268396218822478
NewYork-Presbyterian. (2023). NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. https://www.nyp.org/locations/newyork-presbyterian-columbia-university-medical-center