Managing Change

Successfully introducing major information systems into complex health care organizations requires an effective blend of good technical and good organizational skills. The system that is technically best may be woefully inadequate if its implementation is resisted, as it may be by people who have low psychological ownership of the system. The leader who knows how to manage the organizational impact of information systems can overcome behavioral resistance to change, particularly to new technology, to achieve a more rapid and productive introduction of information technology.

The Cornerstone on Managing Change investigated the nature of change in informatics by outlining theories and strategies for the management of change, offering a thought-provoking and realistic case scenario and presenting different views on managing the process of change as illustrated by the case.

The format for the session included a presentation by Nancy Lorenzi, PhD, based on the paper of Drs. Lorenzi and Riley published in this issue.¹ This was followed by the presentation of the hypothetical Mercer Medical Center case, which was acted out by the informatics master's students who wrote it—Natalie Norcross, MSIS, Jody Pettit, MD, and Patricia Yao, BS.

In answer to the question posed in the case—“What should Dr. Reed do?”—three panelists, representing different perspectives, presented their answers. These are included here with the case presentation.² James Anderson, PhD, Professor and Director, Sociology and Anthropology, Purdue University, offered a sociological and ethical view. Rita Zielstorff, RN, MS, Corporate Manager, Clinical Systems Research and Development, Partners Healthcare System, Brookline, Massachusetts, gave the implementer's perspective. Finally, Paul Gorman, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Medical Infomatics and Outcomes Research, School of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, described the clinician's view. Members of the audience were then invited to provide their solutions.