EHR Implementation Project Plan
This is a practical guide to building a project plan for an ehr implementation project — the integrated document that defines how the project is executed, monitored and controlled, adapted to the realities of implementing an electronic health records system.
What a Project Plan is
A project plan is the integrated document that defines how the project is executed, monitored and controlled. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Plan. On an ehr implementation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for an EHR Implementation project
EHR Implementation projects live or die on implementing an electronic health records system. A well-built project plan gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how ehr implementation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Scope and deliverables
- Schedule and milestones
- Budget
- Roles and responsibilities
- Risk and communication approach
EHR Implementation-specific considerations
Tailor the project plan to the risks that most often derail ehr implementation projects:
- Clinical workflow disruption
- Patient-data privacy
- Clinician adoption
Example
On a real ehr implementation project, the project plan would be shaped by implementing an electronic health records system. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — clinical workflow disruption, patient-data privacy, clinician adoption — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.