5 phases of Information Systems
One of the most costly mistakes home infusion companies make in regards to their information technology is not considering their information system phase into account when budgeting and planning. More fundamental than this is that many companies seriously underestimate the value of reinvesting in systems on an ongoing basis.
Often we blame the system for our results rather than effectively using what we’ve got and working to make it better. Consider these five phases with corresponding “scapegoat” and key focus statements.
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Phase
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Scapegoat
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Key Focus
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Making do with an inadequate system.
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The system is the problem; it is out of date and behind the times. It doesn’t support our needs.
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A good craftsman is not constrained by his tools. Focus on the fundamentals and build functionality and safeguards around the system.
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Implementing a new system.
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We don’t understand the system and have to keep working the old while we learn the new.
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Put your best resources on the future and challenge your existing processes to take advantage of the new system.
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System needs to be refined and reestablished in one or more areas.
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The system was set up wrong. If we had known then what we know now we would have done it different.
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Rather than trying to do it right/perfect the first time, focus on doing it better every time you refine and reset the system. This is an ongoing process.
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Changing business structures
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Our system wasn’t to set up to handle this volume or structure. Business is changing and we can’t keep up.
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Hold the business leaders accountable to understanding the system impact of business changes and leading the changes in the system as well as the changes in the business.
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Stable system effectively meeting needs.
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No excuses.
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Continually audit and provide incentives for staff to continue to maximize the benefits of the system on a day to day basis.
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Staffing, training, system management and audit requirements are different depending on the phase you are in. If you do the right things with the right people and utilize the right audits and metrics you will be successful regardless of the phase you are in. In future articles we will look further at the specific challenges and responsibilities in each of the phases defined above.