Scenario

You are the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for a local health system. Your organization held its annual strategic planning session and decided that there needed to be a change in the Emergency Departments (ED) relative to the triage process at one of the facilities. The Chief Executive Officer has suggested a pilot program utilizing telemedicine to supplement its ED services. The use of telemedicine may reduce wait times at the ED and triage non-emergent needs to the appropriate level of care (i.e., urgent care or primary care). It would also allow for more resources to be deployed for ED related services, such as on-call physicians operating remotely.

Instructions

In your role as CIO, you will need to research the use of telehealth in the ED and its implications for the organization. Draft a memo outlining the readiness of the organization to implement the change strategy. Your memo should include:

• A SWOT analysis identifying internal and external forces and trends that may impact the change initiative.
• A discussion of the challenges facing the ED based on research into the utilization practices of the ED in your community or in a community with which you are familiar.
• Recommendation of the organization’s potential readiness for the change, including any actions that should be taken to increase readiness.

Research common challenges facing Emergency Departments. In addition, research utilization practices commonly aligned with ED visits. Use information from your current facility (or one you are familiar with or can research) to develop a SWOT analysis. Your recommendation should be based on both your SWOT analysis and your research into ED challenges.

Rubric 

-Comprehensive SWOT analysis identifying internal and external forces and trends that may impact the change initiative. 

– Clear and thorough discussion of the challenges facing the ED based on research into the utilization practices. 

– Clear and thorough recommendation of the organization’s potential readiness for the change, including any actions that should be taken to increase readiness. 

– Memo and SWOT analysis format were very clear and appropriately formatted.