Grand Jury: Ventura County, Calif., Mishandled Electronic Health Records Transition

In Ventura County, California, "the function of the Grand Jury is to act as a civil oversight of county and city government, special districts, governing boards, personnel commissions, school districts, and humane officers. It is their responsibility to insure that government is serving the best interests of Ventura County's citizens" (http://www.ventura.org/grand-jury).Even under such a grand jury, the need for true Health IT experts (instead of amateurs) seems to have gone unnoticed.A 2013-2014 Ventura County Grand Jury conducted an investigation in response to information received regarding the implementation of a new Electronic Health Records system by the Ventura County Health Care Agency (VCHCA).Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report "Healthcare Records Processes and Procedures" (full PDF at http://vcportal.ventura.org/GDJ/docs/reports/2013-14/Healthcare_Records-05.29.14.pdf)From the May 29, 2014 Ventura County Grand Jury Final Report "Healthcare Records Processes and Procedures" (full PDF at http://vcportal.ventura.org/GDJ/docs/reports/2013-14/Healthcare_Records-05.29.14.pdf).  Read the full report.  Any reader of this blog or my Drexel HIT site at http://cci.drexel.edu/faculty/ssilverstein/cases/ will recognize very familiar patterns.Here are some highlights:In April 2012, VCHCA hired an independent Information Technology (IT) consultant to oversee the EHR implementation; however, he was not authorized to be project manager.An "independent IT consultant"...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Management Tags: Healthcare IT failure ill-informed management Ventura County Source Type: blogs