Executive Brief No. 001
Why Go-Live Is an Operational Event, Not an IT Event

Executive Problem

EHR implementation and transition change clinical workflows, communication, professional roles, coordination, and governance.,4,5

For this brief, operational readiness refers to preparedness of the organization, its teams, workflows, support processes, and safety practices for EHR activation.
 

Executive Summary

EHR transition literature describes implementation as a complex organizational and sociotechnical change, rather than solely a technology change.5

Implementation literature identifies organizational readiness, leadership engagement, implementation climate, available resources, access to knowledge, end-user involvement, training, support, and workflow as relevant implementation-context factors.1-3,8
 

Organizational readiness for change is defined as a shared psychological state in which organizational members are committed to implementing a change and confident in their collective ability to do so.2
 

EHR-transition research identifies useful practices before, during, and after go-live, including communicating the rationale for change, understanding baseline workflows, personalizing training and support, investing in internal support, addressing challenges, and continuing investment after activation.5

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Executive Bottom Line

The cited literature describes EHR implementation as an organizational and sociotechnical process that involves readiness, leadership, workflows, end users, training, support, resources, and safety-related practices.1-8

For executive leaders, go-live should be managed as an operational event supported by technology implementation activities- not as an IT event imposed on operations.

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