Change management and the sustainability of health ICT projects

The development of the electronic health record (EHR) is a strategic and important enabler of the delivery of integrated healthcare. As each innovative aspect of the EHR is implemented in New Zealand, long-term success is essential for its overall sustainability on the national scale. How we achieve this success is dependent upon how people adapt to the changes brought about by the implementation of these innovations. The transition period of the change process we follow during this adaptation is characterized by a capability crisis, in which we tend to predict failure in our attempts to make the changes to which we are committed. This could be a signal of the first step toward sustainable change as people adapt to changed processes, technology and relationships. Once we have mastered the incremental changes brought about by health ICT projects for the implementation of the EHR, we are able to connect health services by means of the same EHR and provide enabled, sustainable integrated healthcare.