Write a 3–4 page executive summary outlining a recommended strategy for ongoing communications with HIM system end users and vendors.

Note: Each assessment in this course is supported by the work you have completed in previous assessments. Therefore, complete the assessments in the order they are presented.

Given that health information systems are very complex, today’s health care leaders need to have the communication skills to ensure employees and end users are utilizing technology efficiently. Today’s health care leaders must also have a strong understanding of how to develop positive working relationships with vendors and other external stakeholders related to their HIM systems. Often, the vendors provide support, training, and other involvement with an organization’s health information systems. Some health organizations are said to be extremely dependent on their vendors. Today’s health care leader has to be successful at ensuring a positive and strong working relationship among managers, vendors, and end users.

This assessment provides an opportunity for you to hone the leadership and problem-solving skills needed for improving communication with vendors and end users to ensure that technology has a positive impact on the organization.

Resources

HIM Technology Management and Leadership

• Davoudi, S., Dooling, J. A., Glondys, B., Jones, T. L., Kadlec, L., Overgaard, S. M., Ruben, K., & Wendicke, A. (2015). Data quality management model (updated). Journal of AHIMA, 86(10), 62–65.
  • Read this article to gain an understanding of quality management related to EHRs.
• Siwicki, B. (2018). Future-proofing enterprise imaging: AI, cloud, consolidated viewers are on the way. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/future-proofi…
  • This article addresses rapid technological change in the field of digital imaging, providing insight into the future of technological change in health care.
• Richter, A., von Thiele Schwarz, U., Lornudd, C., Lundmark, R., Mosson, R., & Hasson, H. (2016). iLead—A transformational leadership intervention to train healthcare managers’ implementation leadership [PDF]. Implementation Science, 11, 108–120.
  • This resource describes a project to test and develop an implementation leadership intervention for improving the managers’ implementation leadership skills.
• Wilson, L. (2019, September 6). Shift to cloud-based EHR needs careful preparation: There’s shared responsibility for both the provider and vendor to ensure information security, disaster recovery and uptime. Health Data Management (Online).
• Priestman, W., Sridharan, S., Vigne, H., Collins, R., Seamer, L., & Sebire, N. J. (2018). What to expect from electronic patient record system implementation; lessons learned from published evidence. Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics, 25(2), 92–104.

Assessment Instructions

Note: Complete the assessments in this course in the order they are presented.

Preparation

Before you begin writing your executive summary for this assessment, be sure to complete the following Vila Health simulation. You will use the information gathered from this activity to complete the assessment.

• Vila Health: Effective Leadership and Communication.
  • In this simulation, you will meet with various end users of the hospital’s HIM systems to learn about problems they are encountering. You then will have the opportunity to apply communication best practices in conversation with the vendor’s customer service representative.

Instructions

Continue assuming the role of a mid-level operations manager at Vila Health’s main hospital. Your superior has asked you to communicate with the vendor of the organization’s billing software. Several key employees and end users are complaining that the software is frequently updating during busy times and that several bugs in the software are slowing down the billing process or causing the staff to have to frequently restart, causing them to lose work. Your first task is to speak with the end users and get some of the specifics and then to call the vendor’s account representative to discuss possible solutions. Your superior has cautioned you not to strain relations with this vendor, however, as they have been very accommodating in the past.

After examining the situation in Vila Health

• Develop ongoing strategies for communicating about updates and changes to the system.
• Demonstrate ways to manage relationships with vendors and support organizational growth.
• Design ways to meet new challenges, considerations, and risks of the technology environment using sound management principles.
• Identify opportunities to act in a leadership capacity in the implementation and use of health care technology and solutions.

Submission Requirements

• Length: 3–4 pages in length (in addition to title and reference pages). Your explanation of any workflow plan should be done in narrative format with a workflow attached as an appendix.
• References: At least three peer-reviewed resources to support the best practices you are presenting.
• Formatting: Use current APA style and formatting, paying particular attention to citations and references.
• Font size and type: 12 point, Times New Roman.

Make sure you write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics, and correctly format the paper and citations using current APA style.