Assessing the efficacy of information technology systems at academic medical institutions

Academic medical institutions face a challenge which is not unique in the information technology world but one which is compounded by the life and death nature of their business. Over the years most of these institutions have acquired information technology systems which may provide the information necessary for data tracking and analysis but which rarely communicate with each other, are grossly inadequate; and are extremely expensive to replace. Few of these institutions have a clear picture of the information technology installed in their numerous departments nor what their market is doing in terms of information infrastructure. During the winter of 1996, JRH Associates was engaged to assist ten medical teaching universities in assessing their information systems. In order to evaluate a maximum number of the systems in a minimum amount of meeting time (2-4 hours per session) with 10 to 30 of the institutions' executive level participants, JRH Associates used collaborative technology. The systems were judged in terms of their effectiveness and their "market need" using a format designed by JRH Associates in conjunction with university consulting consortium. This paper describes the planning needed to set up the assessment meetings, the process utilized to conduct the sessions and the valuable insights gained through completion of the project.