The classic advice is ‘begin with the end in mind’ by defining and documenting your goals for the project. Similar to the relationship between interventions and goals in your plans of care for your patients, transitioning from paper to electronic records is not an end in and of itself – it is the means to an end. Many prospective clients begin shopping for electronic medical records before they define their goals and their measures for success for the transition. Those goals need to be carefully chosen and defined first; they will be your guiding light for the selection of the best products and vendors, for the implementation itself, and for your measurement of success after implementation.

Dispel any misconceptions that the transition to electronic documentation is something that a vendor comes in and does to your organization. A more healthy perspective is that this is a change that the organization decides to do with some outside help from vendors. By acknowledging ownership of the transition, you stand the best chances of not only achieving the goals of the transition, but more importantly, of sustaining and growing those gains in the years after the initial transition.

There are several key preparation steps that can help maximize success:

• Recognize that the key to success is managing the human elements of change. For the most part, your staff will be going through this change from paper to electronic health records for the first time in their professional career. A natural result is fear, uncertainty, and doubt for each individual – how will this effect me? Is my job at risk? Will I be able to adapt? If you understand and appreciate what your people are experiencing from their perspective, it will help you plan, communicate, and execute much more effectively and keep your people engaged and enthusiastic rather than frightened and resistant.
• Demonstrate strong clinical and organizational leadership.  Ensure that the Project Lead is well respected by the clinic staff, is a strong leader, and has the public support of the clinic's owners.  Plans will need to be made, and changes in workflow, process, and even job descriptions will need to be carried through with confidence. All participants will require frequent encouragement and clear communication on progress toward the organization’s goals. The vendor’s project lead should help with all of this to a significant degree, but the Client's Project Leader is the public face to the staff and the real ‘owner’ of the change. This will set up both a smooth transition as well as the conditions for sustained success after the vendor’s staff are long gone.