On an annual basis the hospital that I am employed at develops an information technology plan. In order to develop the information technology plan, an information needs assessment is performed and a strategic plan is developed based on the needs assessment. The information technology plan is developed in conjunction with the business plan for the hospital. The information technology plan is extensively written and outlines very specific tasks to be accomplished. In the following paper I outline the strengths and suggest opportunities for improvement for the plan.
Strengths .
The technology plan is very through and covers each individual department in the hospital. Strategic objectives are identified with timetables for completing the objectives. The plan identifies the person responsible for completed the objective. .
Hardware which has reached its useful life or that is absolute is identified. Cost estimates for replacing these items are contained within the plan.
The plan also addresses shortcomings in software applications and identifies what applications need to be replaced.
Weakness .
I had trouble reading the plan because it contained multiple abbreviations and acronyms that do not have an explanation for what they stand for.
Working with the Information Systems (IS) department, I am aware of the amount of work the two-man department is capable of completing. It is obvious that the IS department could not possibly complete all the objectives and meet the timeframes the plan identifies.
The IS department has expired turnover during the last year and the tasks identified for the employee which left have not been completed. .
The plan contains a lot of fluff to meet the regulatory requirement that hospitals must meet. The fluff does not contain improvement that will improve or make the information systems in the hospital easier to use.
Improvement Opportunities .
If all the objectives contained within the plan were meet, the information systems at the hospital would be much better.