Using Organizational Development for Electronic Medical Record Transformation

With mandates requiring the transition from paper medical records to the use of electronic medical records, organizations are embarking on a change process. To engender this process, organizational development models and interventions based predominantly on the theories of Chris Argyris, Warren Bennis, and the team of Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch are explored. Interventions are subdivided into behavioral and structural as organizations benefit by recognizing a need for change and, perhaps, a cultural shift in addition to refocusing their mission. To support these interventions, a champion or super user is recommended to maintain the momentum of the transformation and enculturation. With so many changes in the internal and external environments, organizations must respond systematically for, in health care, lives depend on it.