Running head: INITIAL PLAN DEVELOPMENT 1 INITIAL PLAN DEVELOPMENT 2 Initial Plan Development Nicholas Calhoun Foundations of Project Management South University January 28, 2020 Initial Plan Development The statement of need: Write a brief description of the chosen organization and discuss the background information associated with the problems that need to be solved. Due to the passing of the Affordable Care Act ten years ago, there has been an increased demand for medical services in the United States. This has led to medical institutions serving increased patient numbers. Consequently, physicians, clinical staff and healthcare providers have had difficulties in managing the medical records of patients manually. This created the need for organization in the process of documentation and retrieval of patient records. The Electronic Medical Record, EMR, system comes in and its implementation and acquisitions would facilitate the following. The retrieval, management and capturing of patient data such as medical history, lab results, and demographic data (Jawhari, Keenan, Zakus, Ludwick, Isaac, Saleh, Hayward, 2016). Research indicates that an effective EMR system can centralize and acquire crucial patient information efficiently leading to enhanced service delivery. EMR offers the ability to incur improvements on patient safety through the provision of timely and consistent care to patients in performance and through compliance with clinical regulations and standards, and the avoidance of duplicates. It can also lead to lower health care costs and improved efficiencies by promoting single patient records entailing integrated information. This would ensure improved coordination and continuity of care by reducing redundant tests and waste. The goals and objectives of the project: Identify project goals and the underlying objectives. Quantify the measurable performance expectations of the project plan to determine whether it meets the planned objectives. Performance should be defined in terms of: · The product or process specification An EMR is an electronic version of a paper-based record-keeping system. It is a computer-based system for retrieving, organizing and storing patient information and is expected to improve the safety and quality of healthcare tremendously. An EMR can entail information such as the following. Research and education that would be accessible from various departments of a hospital institution under confidentiality, patient privacy and the protection of security. A plan of care, vital signs, patient progress assessment, hospitalization, surgical and medical history, test and laboratory results, allergies, past and present medication history (Morris, Sheehan, Lamichahane, Zimbro, Morgan, Bharadwaj, 2019). Others include insurance information, person to be notified in case of an emergency, gender, date of birth, complete address and full names. · The total budget at completion of the plan The budget for ...

1. Running head: INITIAL PLAN DEVELOPMENT 1
INITIAL PLAN DEVELOPMENT 2
Initial Plan Development
Nicholas Calhoun
Foundations of Project Management
South University
January 28, 2020
Initial Plan Development
The statement of need: Write a brief description of the chosen
organization and discuss the background information associated
with the problems that need to be solved.
Due to the passing of the Affordable Care Act ten years ago,
there has been an increased demand for medical services in the
United States. This has led to medical institutions serving
increased patient numbers. Consequently, physicians, clinical
staff and healthcare providers have had difficulties in managing
the medical records of patients manually. This created the need
for organization in the process of documentation and retrieval
of patient records. The Electronic Medical Record, EMR,

2. system comes in and its implementation and acquisitions would
facilitate the following. The retrieval, management and
capturing of patient data such as medical history, lab results,
and demographic data (Jawhari, Keenan, Zakus, Ludwick, Isaac,
Saleh, Hayward, 2016). Research indicates that an effective
EMR system can centralize and acquire crucial patient
information efficiently leading to enhanced service delivery.
EMR offers the ability to incur improvements on patient safety
through the provision of timely and consistent care to patients
in performance and through compliance with clinical
regulations and standards, and the avoidance of duplicates. It
can also lead to lower health care costs and improved
efficiencies by promoting single patient records entailing
integrated information. This would ensure improved
coordination and continuity of care by reducing redundant tests
and waste.
The goals and objectives of the project: Identify project goals
and the underlying objectives. Quantify the measurable
performance expectations of the project plan to determine
whether it meets the planned objectives. Performance should be
defined in terms of:
· The product or process specification
An EMR is an electronic version of a paper-based record-
keeping system. It is a computer-based system for retrieving,
organizing and storing patient information and is expected to
improve the safety and quality of healthcare tremendously. An
EMR can entail information such as the following. Research and
education that would be accessible from various departments of
a hospital institution under confidentiality, patient privacy and
the protection of security. A plan of care, vital signs, patient
progress assessment, hospitalization, surgical and medical
history, test and laboratory results, allergies, past and present
medication history (Morris, Sheehan, Lamichahane, Zimbro,
Morgan, Bharadwaj, 2019). Others include insurance
information, person to be notified in case of an emergency,
gender, date of birth, complete address and full names.

3. · The total budget at completion of the plan
The budget for the acquisition and implementation of the EMR
is estimated as follows.
Activity
Estimated Cost
Software Development and Acquisition
$5000
Roll-out
$1000
Hardware
$6000
Training
$1000
Sub Total
$13000
Contingency Cost
$1300
Grand Total
$14300
· The time frame for completion of the plan
The estimated timeframe for the completion of the project is as
follows.
Activity
Estimated Time
Software Development and Acquisition
8 weeks
Roll-out
8 weeks
Hardware Acquisition and Installation
4 weeks
Training
4 weeks
Total Estimated Time
24 weeks
Stakeholders and project requirements: Identify the project’s
stakeholders. Analyze their needs and wants and create a list of

4. project requirements derived from the inputs provided by the
stakeholders.
The adoption of EMR technology requires administrative
technological capabilities. This means that there will be the
need for a system administrator and IT administration team who
would be responsible for access control, maintenance and
security (Yuan, Kane, Fletcher, Nembhard, 2019). Additionally,
there will be a need for collaboration with hospital
administrators to ensure that the system is contextually viable
for the specific hospital environment as a way to gain effective
implementation.
General practitioners will also need to be involved and offered
financial support to help in offering incentives for use of the
EMR technology, supporting system implementation as needed,
and to purchase additional equipment or gadgets needed to
allow the seamless implementation of the new system.
The users and patients are the other stakeholders and are the
most vital ones when it comes to EMR implementation. The
institution needs to educate them on the system and its benefits
(Pandya, Clarke, Scarsella, Alongi, Amport, Hamel, Dougherty,
2019). This would also allow for consent according to the
regulations in place for information sharing. The need for EMR
is mainly driven by its promise of improving patient safety and
care. As such it is mainly addressed to patients as a way to
increase safety, accessibility, accuracy, and efficiency.
The project requirements are as follows.
Training and quality management where EMR acts as an
enabling system that inculcates focus on improvement in
information processing and quality management. This entails
the legibility of records, reduction in errors, improved results
management, and streamlining accountability and work
processes. Research indicates that with effective training, the
use of EMR can reduce up to two-thirds of medication problems
when implemented.
Compliance with regulations where the EMR deals with medical
records that are legal documents. This means that these records

5. are the property of the healthcare providers in the facility or
institution produced. As such, access and retrieval should be
done in accordance with specific state or federal information
and data regulations. Moreover, the information within these
medical records is owned by the patients who have the right to
obtain copies of these records and to view them (Mashoka,
Murray, George, Lobue, Mfinanga, Sawe, White, 2019). As
such, it is crucial that all the records captured in the system are
authenticated and stored unaltered by those who create or access
the records.
Project scope development: Identify the scope of the project to
define the work that needs to be performed to meet the project
objectives.
Research defines project scope as a component of project
planning that entails documenting and determining deadlines,
costs, tasks, deliverables, and specific project goals. As such,
project scope is crucial to the success of any project. It also
allows the project manager and his team to set the project
timeline as assign the needed resources. For the acquisition and
implementation of the EMR project, the anticipated scope
entails the following. Adoption of changes that are in-line with
stakeholder needs. Identification of likely challenges, problems,
and risks that may curtail implementation. Listing the project
expectations and success factors. Acquisition of resources to
ensure successful project implementation. Confirmation of
project objectives and goals. Lastly, identification of the needs
of the project and those behind the need for the project.
This project is expected to be implemented in a hospital setting.
This creates the need for training for the medical staff on how
to use the system. Moreover, there needs to be system
development that factors in the needs of the particular hospital
and the specific hospital environment. The equipment and
hardware needed should be provided and the project manager is
to oversee the utilization of the resources provided. The
estimated time for the completion of this project is estimated to
be twenty-four weeks and its implementation will be done

6. through piloting. This entails rolling out the system in specific
departments and subsequently rolling it out in other
departments. Project success factors include effective
implementation, adequate training for the staff and effective
education of the patients on consent and the need for the system
(Othman et al., 2019). The project will be termed successful if
it increases accuracy, reduces documentation errors and
organizes documentation in a way that is accessible and
informative.
References
Jawhari, B., Keenan, L., Zakus, D., Ludwick, D., Isaac, A.,
Saleh, A., & Hayward, R. (2016). Barriers and facilitators to
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) use in an urban
slum. International journal of medical informatics, 94, 246-254.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386505616
301769
Mashoka, R. J., Murray, B., George, U., Lobue, N., Mfinanga,
J., Sawe, H., & White, L. (2019). Implementation of electronic
medical records at an Emergency Medicine Department in
Tanzania: The information technology perspective. African
Journal of Emergency Medicine, 9(4), 165-171. Retrieved from

7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X18
301587
Morris, D., Sheehan, B., Lamichahane, R., Zimbro, K., Morgan,
M. K., & Bharadwaj, P. (2019). Validation of an automated
mortality index using the electronic medical record system in a
network of acute care hospitals. Journal of Hospital
Administration, 8(3). Retrieved from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bc02/98d12b73ac95c22f60fcf5
54f73af1a68461.pdf
Othman, K., Bashir, O., & Arabi, M. (2019). Implementation of
Electronic Medical Record in Vascular and Interventional
Radiology. Journal of Radiology Nursing, 38(3), 201-209.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1546084318
302232
Pandya, C., Clarke, T., Scarsella, E., Alongi, A., Amport, S. B.,
Hamel, L., & Dougherty, D. (2019). Ensuring Effective Care
Transition Communication: Implementation of an Electronic
Medical Record–Based Tool for Improved Cancer Treatment
Handoffs Between Clinic and Infusion Nurses. Journal of
Oncology Practice, 15(5), e480-e489. Retrieved from
https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JOP.18.00245
Yuan, C. T., Kane, G. C., Fletcher, J. M., & Nembhard, I. M.
(2019). The role of social influence and network churn in
beliefs about electronic medical record technology. Journal of
Social Structure, 20(3), 29-49. Retrieved from
https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/the-role-of-social-
influence-and-network-churn-in-beliefs-about-e
Running head: INITIAL PLAN
DEVELOPMENT
1

8. Initial Plan Development
Nicholas Calhoun
F
o
undations
of Project Management
South University
Janua
ry 28, 2020
Running head: INITIAL PLAN
DEVELOPMENT 1

9. Initial Plan Development
Nicholas Calhoun
Foundations of Project Management
South University
January 28, 2020
Running head: PROJECT PLAN 1
PROJECT PLAN 5
Project Plan
Nicholas Calhoun
Project Management
South University
January 21, 2020
Project Plan
Industry: Healthcare
Project: “Implementation of Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
systems”
Project Overview
The growth in technology has seen the inception of healthcare
informatics whereby hospitals are required to utilize software

10. systems to “facilitate workflow and improve the quality of
patient care and patient safety” (Chang & Choi, 2016).
Following the enactment of Affordable Care Act in 2010, the
demand for healthcare services has increased drastically.
Consequently, hospitals across United States serve a huge
number of patients in a single day –hence making it hard for
healthcare providers, clinical staff, and physicians to handle
patients’ medical records manually.
Considerably, some level or organization is required in order to
facilitate process of documentation and easy retrieval of patient
records. Acquisition and implementation of a EMR system helps
to capture, manage, and retrieve patient data like demographic
information, lab results, medical history, among others with a
single click. According to Coleman et al. (2015), “a strong EMR
system can effectively acquire and centralize vital patient
information” –something that is effective and efficient service
delivery.
Thus, this project involves the process acquiring and
implementing EMR to facilitate workflow and enhance service
delivery in hospitals.
Synopsis
The project success is entirely anchored on proper “planning
and management” of the activities and processes involved (Serra
& Kunc, 2015). As a course, project management has a number
of objectives which must be fulfilled and this project is fully
aligned those objectives. First, there is need to ensure that
projects are aligned to the organizational strategy and hence,
this project is in line with the need to provide quality care to
patients. The project plan will involve the process of creating a
WBS that will act as a point of reference as far as project
planning and control is concerned. Developing a network
diagram for the project is also key in managing this project.
Cost and time estimation is a key element of this project is
essential in ensuring that the implementation team works within

11. the required timeframe and budget. Values and risk analysis
also forms is a key element of project plan to ensure that its
implementation does not result into losses. The acquisition of
high performing team is critical in ensuring that the necessary
knowledge, skills, and expertise is acquired to spearhead the
implementation process. Understanding procurement process is
necessary in order to acquire all the relevant materials and
equipment to facilitate the installation and maintenance of
EMR. Finally, assessment and evaluation of the project is
essential to ensure that it meets the required standards
(Clarizen, 2018).
Project Scope
Rouse notes that “project scope is the part of project planning
that involves determining and documenting a list of specific
project goals, deliverables, tasks, costs and deadlines.” Notably,
project scope is vital in ensuring project success. It allows the
PM to assign the necessary resources and set the project
timeline. The anticipated scope for this project include:
· Identification of the project needs
· Confirmation of project goals and objectives
· Acquisition of the resources required for project completion
· Listing down the success factors including the project
expectation
· Identification of possible risks, problems, and challenges that
may hinder project implementation
· Adoption of changes that reflect stakeholder needs –patients,
doctors, management, among others
· User training and adjustments
Project Outcome
Putting in place a flawless and efficient EMR to allow medics to
capture, store, and retrieve patient data. All the required tools
must be incorporated into the system to ensure efficiency in
healthcare service delivery.

12. References
Chang, H., & Choi, M. (2016). Big data and healthcare: building
an augmented world. Healthcare Informatics Research, 22(3),
153-155. Retrieved from:
https://synapse.koreamed.org/search.php?where=aview&id=10.4
258/hir.2016.22.3.153&code=1088HIR&vmode=FULL.
Clarizen, T. (2018). What Are the Objectives of Project
Management?. Retrieved from:
https://www.clarizen.com/objectives-of-project-management/.
Coleman, N., Halas, G., Peeler, W., Casaclang, N., Williamson,
T., & Katz, A. (2015). From patient care to research: a
validation study examining the factors contributing to data
quality in a primary care electronic medical record database.
BMC family practice, 16(1), 11. Retrieved from:
https://bmcfampract.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875
-015-0223-z.
Rouse, M (n.d). Project Scope. Retrieved from:
https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/project-scope.
Serra, C. E. M., & Kunc, M. (2015). Benefits realisation
management and its influence on project success and on the
execution of business strategies. International Journal of Project
Management, 33(1), 53-66. Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786314
000519.
Running head: PROJECT PLAN
1

13. Project Plan
Nicholas Calhoun
Project Management
South University
January 21, 2020
Running head: PROJECT PLAN 1
Project Plan
Nicholas Calhoun
Project Management
South University
January 21, 2020