Reorganization of the information technology program at a United States medical school: is there a lesson for academic medical informatics in Japan?
Reorganization of the information technology program at Baylor College of Medicine commenced with the goal of obtaining a client-focused organization instead of a classically departmental structure. Legacy organizations independently established by request or serendipity had gaps and overlaps in services and could no longer respond to new issues, such as integration of several hospitals, resource sharing of health care delivery, administration of a shared library, and an academic informatics program. The renewal of the information technology program has led to departments of Telecommunications, Enterprise Services, Client Services, and Medical Informatics, and has also allowed cross-departmental projects led by a technology architect. In contrast with that of Baylor, the approach of the Yamaguchi University School of Medicine in Japan may be construed as economic efficiency at the cost of client services. Effective client services by friendly and efficient staff groups is the most important factor for an academic information technology program, if the goal is to reorganize in anticipation of future challenges to the medical center.
Inoue
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Office of Information Technology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Beck
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D003199:Computer Systems; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000458:organization & administration; D007255:Information Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D007256:Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D016490:Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems; D007564:Japan; D008122:Local Area Networks; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D012577:Schools, Medical; D018511:Systems Integration; D013781:Texas