Clinical Transformation Project will Power URMC Strategic Plan

URMC is launching a “Clinical Transformation Project” that will provide a firm foundation as it endeavors to win talented recruits, secure research funding, and ultimately realize the full vision of its overall strategic plan: promoting patient safety and quality, and growing its integrated disease and innovative science research programs.

The project aims to improve clinical workflow and patient safety by embracing new integrated information technology (IT) solutions that share access to clinical information. The project will help URMC keep pace with top academic medical centers (AMCs) nationwide, where leaders are also adopting cutting-edge IT solutions.

URMC’s Clinical Transformation Project revolves around building a shared acute care electronic medical record (EMR) that integrates and communicates critical patient data health system-wide. Additionally, other proposed project elements being considered include tools that: match patient ID numbers between Strong and Highland (giving providers a consolidated view of a patient’s records, regardless of where they were first admitted); pool and store clinical and financial data (for translational research, tracking quality metrics, and performing other forms of business intelligence); and better support URMC's referring network.

Technology change projects are enormous undertakings, and URMC leaders recognize that the Clinical Transformation Project’s success depends on the extent to which affected users welcome the new solutions. To ensure the best reception of the tools that are ultimately selected, URMC leaders have met with more than 300 employees who currently use clinical information technology to perform their jobs. They’ve also engaged experts at Deloitte, a consulting firm tapped to lend a national perspective to this planning process.

Given that national economic volatility may complicate securing financing for capital investments – and also, considering the sheer size of the project – a degree of flexibility must be maintained regarding both the scope and timeline. To that end, a comprehensive vendor selection process has already begun and once proposals are received, URMC leaders will further analyze financial feasibility. By December 2008, leaders plan to select a lead vendor to coordinate the project. Assuming that target is met, tentative plans to begin implementation could begin as early as summer of 2009.

To learn more about the Clinical Translation Project, click here.