Improving Health Care Provider Availability through Information Technology
Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine if the use of information management would lead to the successful implementation of eUCAPERS (Electronic Uniform Chart of Accounts Personnel System) and increase provider availability at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The study reviews the five key elements for successfully implementing change within an organization: defining the need for a change, assessing whether the climate is right for a change, marketing the idea to stakeholders, establishing accountability, and removing the old way of doing things. This study identifies the need for change in collecting data on patient care time, reviews different methods/systems for gathering data, documents the implementation of the selected system (eUCAPERS), and evaluates the level of success of the implementation. The study was conducted as a limited users project to determine if hospital-wide implementation should continue. The study compared total time available (TTA) and patient care time (PCT) as reported by 28 providers (10 intern/residents and 18 staff) during a 4-month period, November to December 2004 (pre-implementation) and January to February 2005 (post-implementation), to determine if the implementation of eUCAPERS resulted in a statistically significant change in provider productivity. The results of study revealed that the sample's increase in patient care time (18%) was statistically significant (F(1,28) = 24.47, p < .05) and that the decrease in TTA (1,882 hours) was statistically significant (F(1,28) = 8.87, p < .05). Based on these positive preliminary results, it is recommended that the hospital continue with full implementation of eUCAPERS hospital-wide.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 15, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA443966
Entities
People
- Jon R. Lasell
Organizations
- Tripler Army Medical Center