Electronic medical record implementation in a large healthcare system from a leadership perspective

BACKGROUND: Information on the use of change management models to guide electronic medical records (EMR) implementation is limited. This case study describes the leadership aspects of a large-scale EMR implementation using Kotter’s change management model. METHODS: This case study presents the experience in implementing a new EMR system from the leadership perspective at King Abdulaziz Medical City, a large tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We described the process of implementation and outlined the challenges and opportunities, throughout the journey from the pre-implementation to the post-implementation phases. RESULTS: We described the corresponding actions to the eight domains of Kotter’s change management model: creating a sense of urgency, building the guiding team, developing a change vision and strategy, understanding and buy-in, removing obstacles, creating short-term wins, building on the change and anchoring the changes in corporate culture. CONCLUSIONS: The case study highlights that EMR implementation is not a pure information technology project but rather is a technical-based complex social adaptive project that requires a specific set of leadership competencies that are central to its success. It demonstrates that change management models might be useful for large-scale EMR implementation.