User training costs in medical information system implementation

Implementation of a Medical Information System (MIS) in a hospital environment is a complex, problematic, long-term endeavor. St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center (SVHMC) in Portland, OR, completed the implementation of its base MIS five and one-half years after the original contract was signed. SVHMC prepared the MIS users through an extensive and well-documented training program focused on user competence and user acceptance. Over five and one-half years, 4581 individuals received 9,359 hours of training. Direct training costs were $116,000; total training costs were $317,000. There are many other costs to implement a major MIS project. Reported here are only the costs related to training the system's users. Training costs can be insidious and are often under estimated as institutions plan for large scale MIS projects.