High-Level Business Case/Management Plans to Deal with Risk Template

Transcription

1 Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care/Local Health Integration Network Annual Service Plan Section G: High Level Business Case/Management Plans to Deal with Risk High-Level Business Case/Management Plans to Deal with Risk Template Section 1 Central LHIN Information Management (IM)/Information Technology (IT)/ ehealth Strategy Overview Briefly describe the risk and options considered for management of the risk. Define the objectives of the proposal. Identify the population (health service consumers) that would benefit from the proposed changes, and the service or quality gap that exists now The Province Of Ontario and LHINs recognize that ehealth is a major health care system enabler. Each LHIN has a steering committee led by a LHIN ehealth Lead who sits at a provincial planning table. In 2006/07 all LHINs created ehealth strategies to guide their ehealth initiatives. The Central LHIN has a comprehensive ehealth strategy requiring significant ehealth funding. Without an additional investment in ehealth, it would be difficult to implement change in the local health system. While the Province funds the development of many large ehealth solutions, little investment has been made in local connectivity, implementation and ongoing delivery structures within the community. To deliver these services, the Central LHIN is requesting $11M in additional funding in years 2008/09 to 2010/11 for local ehealth initiatives. With this additional annual funding, the people living in the Central LHIN and health care professionals will benefit from access at the point-of-care to their medical information, providing more efficient and accurate service delivery. Background Central LHIN ehealth Vision and Guiding Principles The Vision The Central LHIN IM/IT Strategic Plan (which was revised to align with the LHIN s IHSP) envisions the provision of timely accurate health information to consumers, caregivers, health service providers and system managers to improve access, coordination and effective and efficient management across the continuum of care. Guiding Principles The focus of the LHIN s IM/IT/eHealth Strategic Plan is on system-level opportunities rather than individual organization initiatives The IM/IT/eHealth Strategic Plan supports the strategic directions of the Integrated Health Service Plan (IHSP) and supports integration across the continuum of care through improvements in access, coordination, efficiency and effectiveness IM/IT/eHealth initiatives will be based on best available evidence and practice The IM/IT/eHealth Strategic Plan will leverage provincial and national IM/IT initiatives and funding to accelerate the development of the local IM/IT infrastructure IM/IT/eHealth decisions will build on existing investment where appropriate and possible, be fiscally responsible and make effective use of existing resources The IM/IT/eHealth Strategic Plan will balance opportunities for quick wins with initiatives leading to the achievement of our long-term vision The implementation of the Provincial and Central LHIN ehealth strategies requires appropriate structures at the provincially and locally. The Province recognized the need to create more robust governance, leadership and project management through the creation of its ehealth office. In the same way the Central LHIN recognizes the need to develop local level resources for implementation to complement the stewardship role played by the Province.

2 Stakeholder engagement identified five ehealth priorities: Sharing clinical information o Ability for clinicians to seamlessly view patient information across the continuum Timely access to patient information from referral sites Connecting acute care facilities with community agencies (community care access centres, family practitioners, and emergency rooms for example) o Strong support for a clinical portal vs. a single health information system platform Improving connectivity and infrastructure o Robust and secure infrastructure providing network connections to the last mile o Common and secure Sharing resources o Shared helpdesk, data centres, and other IT support services o Sharing administrative services such as a common transcription system and shared outsourcing for coding and abstracting Improving operational efficiency o Common procurement o Common financial systems/payroll o Standardization of clinical best practices, systems, and processes o Leverage existing investments Engaging patients in self-care o Patient portal o Chronic disease management 2 of 2

3 Strategic directions drive priority initiatives: Accessibility: Increase access to information sources within and outside the LHIN for patients and providers across the continuum of care Quality Improvement Support: Quality improvement initiatives such as patient safety and chronic disease management initiatives Early Adopters Advocate for and support the early implementation of provincial IM/IT/eHealth initiatives that align with the Central LHIN s strategic directions Alignment with Canadian Health Infoway (CHI) Blueprint Obtain Canada Health Infoway and provincial funding for early development and implementation of electronic health record components Collaboration with other LHINs Make optimal use of resources and support care across LHIN boundaries by leveraging and coordinating initiatives with other LHINs Leveraging resources Accelerate improvements in information systems within the Central LHIN by coordinating efforts, leveraging resources and initiatives and sharing scarce IM/IT resources. Improved connectivity and secure Smart Systems for Health Agency ON Clinical and patient portals Central LHIN website Clinical portal Chronic disease management Enterprise Master Person Index (Enterprise Master Person Index) (non-acute) Wait Times and Enterprise Master Person Index Chronic disease management e-referral Clinical and patient portals Chronic disease management Toronto East Network Diagnostic Imaging Picture Archiving and Communication System Repository (TEN PACs) Central Ontario HealthCare Purchasing Alliance (COHPA) Supply Chain E referral with Toronto Central (investigation) Shared Project Management Office with Toronto Central 07/08 Shared Project Management Office (Project Management Office) with Toronto Central 07/08 Integration Strategy 3 of 3

4 Four Key Enablers The Central LHIN ehealth strategy encompasses a number of initiatives. However, four key enablers (shown graphically below) will allow the Central LHIN to implement the strategy. The LHIN s providers must be connected and use common identifiers for their patients (i.e. connectivity, Enterprise Master Person Index (EMPI) and secure Smart Systems for Health Agency ON ). Past investment in IM/IT ehealth must be leveraged by providing an integration framework that allows stakeholders to talk together, implement a comprehensive strategy within the LHIN s diverse group of health service providers and establish a Shared Project Management Office (PMO). Enterprise Master Person Index (EMPI) Provides capability to accurately and consistently identify individuals Integration framework Enables disparate information systems to communicate for the purposes of sharing information within the regional Clinical Portal/EHR Shared Project Management Office (PMO) Essential to ensuring the coordination and ongoing management of timelines, resources and budgets, for all the priority initiatives Improving connectivity Enables providers in all sectors of the healthcare system to security and reliably communicate with one another in support of care deliver across the continuum 4 of 4

5 Roadmap for Implementation of the Central LHIN ehealth Strategy VISION & GUIDING PRINCIPLES April April March April April March April March April April March April March Provincial IM/ IT initiatives EMPI (Phase 2) -Unique patient identifier Wait Times *ODB ED *E-Referral *OLIS *Public Health Increase access to information sources Technical Analysis Improved Connectivity - Increased bandwidth Phase 2: Implementation Secure - Ability to send confidential materials to providers Integration Framework Supporting Clinical Projects - Integrating disparate systems across multiple sites Phase 1: Analysis Phase 1: Proposal Phase 1: Proposal Phase 2: Vendor Selection Phase 2: Implementation Phase 3: Implementation *Common Patient/Client Scheduling *elearning and Knowledge Management Central LHIN Website - Access to all health care services available within the LHIN Clinical Portal - Sharing clinical information (eg. pt. demo, radiology, pharmacy, laboratory) across multiple sites Phase 1,2,3: Analysis, Define Phase 4: Implementation Requirements, Vendor Selection *Common Procurement Leverage Resources and initiatives Shared PMO -Shared project management resources *TEN PACs - Sharing digital diagnostic images Align with CHI EHR Blueprint Support Quality Improvement initiatives EMPI (Phase 3: Non-acute care) *EMPI (others TBD) -Unique patient identifier across the province Supporting IHSP Clinical Priorities (eg. Chronic Disease Management) Phase 1: Supporting Phase 2: Planning Phase 3: Implement Infrastructure Program Development and Evaluation *Expand to other initiatives Collaborate with other LHINs Patient Portal - Patient access to health information, test results, appointments Phase 1: Analysis Phase 2: Implementation *Expand Patient Portal *Note: Budgets for these projects were not included One Time Costs Annual Operating Costs April March 2008 April March 2009 April March 2010 April March 2011 April March 2012 N/A $1.7M $2.5M $4.6M TBD N/A $500K $800K $800K TBD Total Costs N/A $2.2M $3.3M $5.5M TBD 15% contingency has been applied to all costs and offsets and efficiencies by collaborating have been included. Additional costs may be required for provincial and regional initiatives including ereferral, Ontario Laboratories Information System, Public Health, Toronto East Network Picture Archiving and Communication System (TEN PACS) To achieve the Central LHIN s ehealth vision, sustained and committed investments are required. The estimated total spending including one time and ongoing costs for April 2008 to March 2011 (a three year strategy) is $11M. Since funds requested for 07/08 have not been made available, an additional fiscal year has been added. Assumptions (below) have been made regarding the sector s readiness; a detailed assessment will be required. Assumptions: The total operating budget of the LHIN s health service providers is $1.2B per year (2004/05) The estimated total spending including one time and ongoing costs for the transitional year April 2006 to March 2007 is $1.4 M During this transitional year, investment will be required to develop the shared Project Management Office to manage shared initiatives and conduct technical analysis and proposal development for future strategic initiatives 5 of 5

6 The LHIN proposes a gated investment approach. The Steering Committee will determine how to move forward on the three year strategy based on the outcome of the transitional year The estimated total spending including one time and ongoing costs for April 2007 to March 2010 (3 year strategy) is $11.0M An incremental investment of approximately 0.3% of the Central LHIN s total operating expenditure over the next three years is required to achieve the LHIN s ehealth vision IT spending in the Canadian healthcare system has been disproportionately low for years. IT investment needs to be 5-7% of total operating funding to address the level of past under-funding and to improve the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of health care delivery. 1 Financial services, by comparison, devote between 9% and 13% of their revenues to IT expenditures. 1 The LHIN s IM/IT ehealth Steering Committee has completed preliminary high level business cases for each of the above initiatives and it is prepared to begin implementation. Two brief summaries of business cases (Improving connectivity and a Shared Project Management Office) have been attached as appendices. Business Outcomes Drive the Central LHIN s ehealth Strategy Improving patient care Timely access to critical patient information Reduced risk of errors through access to patient/client information via a clinician portal Computer use in hospitals lower mortality rates, according to 100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems, AHA Connecting to community care Increased access to integrated patient information across the continuum of care Improve communication and integration of health care communities Patient portals, chronic disease management programs, and self-diagnosis tools drive shift to community services Meeting Ontario s health care transformation and e-health agendas Consistent with Infoway s Interoperable EHR program Consistent with Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) initiatives including Wait Time Information System and provincial Enterprise Master Person Index initiative Aligns with Hospital e-health Council s agenda Supports the MOHLTC s transformation agenda and family health team initiatives Improving process efficiency Maximize clinical staff time and increase worker efficiency Improved information and system management resulting in reduced administrative time and costs Help to mitigate health human resource shortages A consolidated ehealth Strategy will allow the Central LHIN to build on existing relationships and initiatives to meet the demands of a growing list of business drivers. It will also maximize current IM/IT and human resources investments and deliver benefits to stakeholders more quickly. 1 Canada Health Infoway Inc: Infoway Pan-Canadian EHR Survey: Phase 1: Results and Analysis 6 of 6

7 Benefit to the Community Briefly describe how this proposal will improve the health care system and/or health status of your community e.g. health outcomes, access to health services, quality of care, coordination of services, patient s choice, uptake of best practice Supporting Central LHIN Strategic Directions with Central LHIN ehealth Strategic Directions Central LHIN Strategic Directions Access - the opportunity a consumer has to fully benefit from a necessary specified service, as well as necessary concurrent and follow-up services, in a timely way. (John Butler) Coordination the process of harmonizing and connecting the structures, functions and operations of health agencies in order to facilitate the delivery of a broad range of health and supportive services. Effectiveness (Quality) capability of producing the intended results for the person receiving the healthcare service and for the person providing the service. Central LHIN ehealth Strategic Directions Access - increase access to information sources within and outside the LHIN for patients and providers across the continuum of care. Coordination - Advocate for and support early implementation of provincial IM/IT initiatives that are aligned with the strategic directions of the Central LHIN. Apply the Canada Health Infoway Electronic Health Record Solution Blueprint to the Central LHIN to secure CHI and provincial funding for early development and implementation of the EHR components. Effectiveness - Support quality improvement initiatives such as patient safety and chronic disease management initiatives. Efficiency avoiding waste of time and/or effort by improving processes. Efficiency - Leverage and coordinate initiatives with neighbouring LHINs to make effective use of resources and support care across LHIN boundaries Leverage resources and initiatives within the Central LHIN for providers to share scarce IM/IT resources and coordinate efforts to accelerate improvements in information systems. By 2011, with the additional funding of $11M, the people living in the Central LHIN and the healthcare professionals serving them will have access at the point-of-care to pertinent information and tools that will enable the planning and delivery of effective, appropriate and safe care. Mental Heath & Addictions Assessments Demographics Care Plans & Notes Labs, Drugs Hospitals Assessments Demographics Lab DI/PACS Drugs Transcribed Documents Wait List Community Care Access Centres Demographics Assessments Discharge Planning Case Management e-referrals Lab Drugs LTC Facilities Assessments e-referrals Demographics Care Plans & Notes Consumers & Provider Community Community/ Home Support Services Assessments Demographics Care Notes e-referrals Building of Regional EHR (Viewing information via Clinical Portal) Consumer Personal Health Record Labs, Drugs Chronic Disease Management Tools Community Health Centres Assessments Demographics Care Notes Primary Care Chronic Disease Management Tools Labs, Drugs, DI Medical History Discharge Summary ER report Wait List Others 7 of 7

8 Collaboration Briefly describe your partnerships and how the collaborating LHINs/HSPs will work together (in general terms) to implement this proposal The Central LHIN s health service providers have a history of working together on IM/IT ehealth initiatives. For example, over 600 physicians at Southlake Regional Health Centre and York Central Hospital have access to a clinical portal that provides them with laboratory/ radiology results and historical clinical information from within or outside the hospital. There has been a 95% adoption rate. Physicians at York Central Hospital can now complete their charts on-line, resulting in 75% of the charts being completed within 72 hours of discharge and 15% within 21 days of chart assignment. IM/IT collaboration between Southlake Regional Health Centre (SRHC) and Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) has allowed SMH to leverage the same HIS vendor as SRHC for 1/7th of the costs of implementing independently. SRHC and York Central Hospital have amalgamated their IT departments under a Joint CIO. Some examples of achievements are: Increased onsite technical support hours Increased overall size of the IT team, providing better depth in skills and ensuring support is maintained during vacation or illness Accelerated pace of technology innovation and adoption for both hospitals through a decreased duplication of effort and through the realization of synergies by jointly implementing new technology initiatives including clinical systems Optimized costs through improved economies of scale in operations and human resource utilization. Community care access centres work closely with the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres on IT collaboration. This collaborative IT model has enabled the following: Acquisition of very low lease costs for computers, laptops, switches, servers and firewalls. The Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres represents CCACs that require over 6,000 computers. Adoption by the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres of excellent software and hardware standards and processes to deploy software, anti-virus protection and patches across the province Deploying a centralized solution that is currently used by CCACs. This has greatly reduced costs because CCACs no longer need one solution for each CCAC. Providing a network infrastructure (domain) that offers centralized administration of key functions while permitting local administration of local resources. Through the Shared Information Management Services Partnership, St. John s Rehab and the North York Community Care Access Centre were able to develop comprehensive IM/IT strategic plans that leverage significant project management, technical operations, infrastructure and vendor relationships available from other partners. Implementation for these two organizations will be at least two times faster and at one quarter of the cost of implementing independently. Through this partnership, savings of 50-75% were achieved in license cost reductions. Health service providers have endorsed the Central LHIN s ehealth strategies. Without additional funding it will be difficult to implement all of the LHIN s ehealth initiatives. Health System Sustainability Briefly identify how this proposal will result in efficiencies to the health care system and/or your LHIN, e.g. reduced duplication of services, new model of care, reduced length of stay, reduced readmissions, demonstrated cost benefit, collaborative budgeting, reinvestment of existing resources Past partnerships in the Central LHIN have provided some benefits. For example, IM/IT collaboration between Southlake Regional Health Centre (SRHC) and Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) has allowed SMH to leverage the same hospital information system (HIS) vendor as SRHC for 1/7 th of the costs of implementing independently. Further collaborative efforts through the Central LHIN s ehealth strategy will result in additional cost benefits and efficiencies. 8 of 8

9 Performance Identify performance indicators impacted by the proposal, their source (e.g. IHSP, MLAA), and how indicators and targets will be impacted The Central LHIN IM/IT ehealth strategy aligns with the LHIN s IHSP priorities. Throughout the implementation of this strategy, health service providers will experience improvements in patient flow, reduction of wait times, and efficiency. This will have a positive impact on the local health system. Decision(s) Required Briefly describe what is being requested in this proposal and identify the decisions to be made, for example: annualized funding realignment, sector changes including new line item/cost centre/name, Government/MoHLTC policy changes, new initiatives, etc. If the LHIN is aware that a decision may be required by Treasury Board/Management Board of Cabinet in association with their request, the nature of that potential decision may be noted here. Not applicable Additional Information Use this section to provide any additional information, including, but not limited to - Explanation of impact if initiative does not proceed - Jurisdictional analysis including other LHINs, comparing other programs and results achieved If additional funding for the ehealth initiative is not provided, there will be potential risks in implementing the Central LHIN s ehealth strategy: Without appropriate investment in local ehealth governance, leadership and project management structures, there is high risk of: o Project cost overruns o Uneven local readiness o Uncoordinated local timelines o Failure of e-health projects to achieve required results or results on time Both the Central LHIN and the MOHLTC are clear that a high level of investment in ehealth requires successful outcomes. To achieve success the Central LHIN, like the MOHLTC, has designed appropriate governance, leadership and project management structures for the ehealth agenda. This includes constant attention to and significant resourcing of local ehealth design, change management, communication and project implementation. Resourcing these needs requires the investments requested in this plan. Without appropriate resources there will be insufficient connectivity between and among providers and between providers and the public. This means: o People will not have electronic access to their own health information. Those who want to will not be able to participate more fully in discussions with their clinician or provider because they will continue to lack the information to do so. o Information given to one clinician or provider will continue to be unnecessarily repeated. This is inefficient and can be unsafe if verbally transmitted information is inaccurate. o Clinicians and providers will not have access to complete information such as a full health history, what prescription drugs a person is taking and recent lab results. This puts patient safety at risk and results in inefficiencies such as duplicated tests. 9 of 9

10 Section 2 - Strategic Alignment Alignment with Integrated Health Service Plan (IHSP) Briefly identify which of the LHIN IHSP priorities relate to this risk and explain how this proposal addresses it The Central LHIN IHSP identifies ehealth as a key enabler of health system transformation and essential to improved integration and coordination of services. In this context, ehealth is not just about automating health care and its processes. Instead, ehealth enables a fundamental change in the way care is delivered by considering what could be done if information could move to new parts of the system, including to clients and patients and to different health care providers who did not have access previously. Alignment with MOHLTC Strategic Plan/Priorities Briefly identify which of the MOHLTC priorities relate to this risk and explain how this proposal addresses it The Province has identified the implementation of the Provincial and local ehealth strategies as key to health system transformation. Research indicates that no other jurisdiction in the world has successfully transformed its health system without ehealth as a key initiative. However, to achieve success, local capacity is required. This requirement was unanimously identified and supported by all 14 LHIN ehealth leads and CEOs at the 2007 LHIN ehealth Lead Strategic Retreat. At the time, the senior MOHLTC official in attendance outlined the way in which the LHINs ehealth role is expected to evolve over the next three years: A continued critical role in ehealth Strategy development, specifically for: o Electronic health records o Drug ehealth o Physician ehealth o Client registry expansion. An enhanced role in local implementation of Provincial ehealth initiatives The need to maintain and upgrade LHIN ehealth plans An expanded role in oversight and implementation of the Provincial ehealth infrastructure. Alignment with Ministry-LHIN Accountability Agreement (MLAA) Briefly identify how this proposal meets the commitments outlined in the MLAA Schedule 11 of the MLAA sets out specific obligations related to ehealth. These include a requirement for the Central LHIN to implement its approved LHIN ehealth strategy through its ehealth work plan and service accountability agreements with health service providers. The MLAA also requires the Central LHIN to implement an ehealth governance model to allow the LHIN to oversee the development and management of its ehealth strategy and to contribute to the implementation of Provincial ehealth priorities and strategic directions. Proposals that do not align with a LHIN IHSP or MOHLTC priorities If this risk doesn t line up with the IHSP or the Ministry strategic plan/priorities, briefly identify why this risk should be a priority for the local health of the community Not applicable 10 of 10

11 Section 3 Service Details & Financial Impact The Central LHIN s IM/IT Strategic Plan envisions the provision of timely and accurate health information to consumers, caregivers, health service providers and system managers to enable improved access and coordination and effective and efficient management of health services across the continuum of care. Funding Changes Funding details Comments New Funding Requested $500,000.0 $1,300,000.0 $2,100,000.0 Savings Identified One-Time Funding $1,700,000.0 $2,500,000.0 $4,600,000.0 Start Up Funding Consultation/Training Staff Other (specify in Comments) Ongoing Operating Capital Other Funding Sources Ongoing base funding for Health Service Providers. To manage start-up, one-time equipment and other cost. 11 of 11

12 Appendix 1 Improving Connectivity Project Description Improved connectivity is fundamental for sharing information across the LHIN and for initiatives such as building an electronic health record Based on the understanding that Smart Systems for Health Agency is not providing sufficient bandwidth, it is desirable to combine LHIN-wide efforts to prepare a strategy and proposal for negotiating increased bandwidth from Smart Systems for Health Agency. The proposal should clearly indicate current and future bandwidth requirements Project Scope and Objectives Phase I: Development of Proposal Coordinate meeting with Central LHIN representatives and Smart Systems for Health Agency to determine the extent Smart Systems for Health Agency can meet needs Coordinate meeting with LHIN CEOs and Smart Systems for Health Agency to determine if Smart Systems for Health Agency can meet requirements Develop a proposal and meet with Smart Systems for Health Agency to determine whether Smart Systems for Health Agency can meet needs within a specified timeframe Phase II: Implementation (dependent on the outcome of Phase I) Develop an implementation strategy and propose an implementation schedule to Smart Systems for Health Agency Work with Smart Systems for Health Agency to roll out increased bandwidth Project Interdependencies Integration framework: depending on the systems that need to be integrated. For example, to send diagnostic images, adequate bandwidth is required Clinical portal: depending on the information that is being shared and viewed for example, viewing PACs images, improved connectivity to current infrastructure is required Project Assumptions Committee agreement that proceeding with Smart Systems for Health Agency is the only viable option Benefits Facilitate information exchange between providers Supports Central LHIN business strategies of access, efficiency and coordination Supplementary Project Information: Challenges Costs for planning purposes are not readily available Availability of network connectivity to all locations may be a challenge Alignment with IHSP strategic directions Improving connectivity is required for timely access to patient information and for coordination of sharing of patient information across the continuum of care. Alignment with ehealth strategic directions Improving connectivity is an essential building block for increasing access to information sources for patient and providers across the continuum of care. Alignment with IM/IT themes Improving connectivity and having a secure network were identified as key priorities by stakeholders across the Central LHIN. Alignment with Infoway s EHR Blueprint Improved connectivity is an enabler. Potential for quick wins This is a high potential quick win project. Relationship to provincial and national trends Connectivity is an essential infrastructure component and prerequisite for all ehealth initiatives. 12 of 12

13 Appendix 2 Shared Project Management Office (PMO) Project Description Develop a shared project management office for the Central LHIN Initially, the LHIN will provide a core team of project management support staff and the Project Management Office will report to the LHIN ehealth Lead On a project-by-project basis, project managers for shared ehealth projects may be identified from organizations that are participating in the shared initiative As additional shared ehealth initiatives are included, Project Management Office staffing will expand as required. Project Management Office resources may be drawn from Smart Systems for Health Agency, the LHIN and organizations participating in shared initiatives The main role of the Project Management Office is to: Coordinate the implementation of ehealth strategic projects Provide project management training Provide project managers to assist with the development of project management documentation including project budgets, project charters, and status reports Centralize the support and monitoring of regional ehealth strategic projects Prioritize ehealth projects Identify and manage project inter-dependencies, including those of the MOHLTC Identify requirements for and implement a project documentation system such as a knowledge/ document management or portfolio project management system May provide project management staff to support local initiatives Ensure there is an appropriate change management strategy in place for each project implementation, including a strategy that assesses change readiness, organizational culture, drivers, champions and resistance within organizations. The change management strategy should include staff awareness, education and training to ensure adoption of ehealth initiatives Ensure that a communication plan and strategy is in place for each project Evaluate the potential to leverage Central Community Care Access Centre strengths in change management Project Scope and Objectives Identify and evaluate existing project management offices and project managers in the Central LHIN Determine the location of the shared Project Management Office Create an Information Management Project Steering Committee (with a chair, members and terms of reference) Determine the type of projects that will be monitored by the central Project Management Office Review existing project management templates and standardize the project methodology and templates (a project plan, charter, status report and communication plan for instance) Identify project management staff (Project Management Office Director, Project Office Coordinator and Project Managers) Provide orientation/training regarding the project management methodology to staff Develop strategies for change management and communications as part of the project management methodology Determine project documentation storage requirements and procure and implement a solution Review and evaluation project document management system vendors Purchase and pilot the project document management system. Full implementation will be considered a second phase. Project Interdependencies To successfully manage regional/local initiatives, a shared Project Management Office with clear project management guidelines is a prerequisite. A shared Project Management Office will enable the Central LHIN to fully plan and coordinate shared initiatives and facilitate change across all members. 13 of 13

14 Project Assumptions Shared project management office Six month project duration for development of the Project Management Office implementation of the project documentation system Sharing of privacy specialists will be part of a separate initiative. Benefits Enables sharing of limited project management resources and tools Provides formal and informal project support and guidance, project management skills, and structure, processes, tools and templates Establishes a common project management methodology and critical mass of expertise Monitors, tracks and reports on project activities and progress Enables the Central LHIN to fully plan and coordinate shared initiatives and facilitate the necessary changes Supplementary Project Information: Challenges Willingness of all Central LHIN health service providers to support a central Project Management Office Providing adequate funding to support the Project Management Office Governance of the Project Management Office Alignment with IHSP strategic directions This is not directly aligned with IHSP directions, but is an enabler to those projects that are aligned Alignment with ehealth strategic directions A central Project Management Office will allow sharing scarce project management expertise across organizations Alignment with IM/IT themes Is aligned with a priority theme identified by key stakeholders: improving operational efficiency Alignment with Infoway s EHR Blueprint Not applicable Potential for quick wins This is a potential for a quick win Relationship to provincial and national trends The Shared Information Management Services (SIMS) partnership also shares project management services. St. John s Rehab and the North York Community Care Access Centre provided excellent feedback on the positive impact to their organizations from this shared service 14 of 14