Health Informatics: Stakeholder Communication Plan
For this assignment, you will create a communication plan for your professional project.
Effective communication ensures that stakeholders are aware of the project plan. A communication plan includes a defined process for delivering information, including what information should be disseminated, what channels will be used to deliver the information, and to which stakeholders.
Part I:
In 750-1,000 words, develop a project communication plan that details how your project will be communicated to the stakeholders (internal and external). Develop a draft communication document or presentation.
Meet with your mentor and any appropriate stakeholders to review your communication plan and communication document/presentation. Ensure that the communication plan is relevant to the proposed solution and appropriate for the organization.
Include the following:
Identify and describe the stakeholders who need to be included in the communication plan. Explain their role, why their involvement is important, and what information needs to be communicated to each stakeholder or stakeholder group.
Evaluate what tools or channels are available and how these will be used to communicate information to the different stakeholders.
Analyze the types of events that generate a need to communicate.
Propose who is responsible for delivering the communication and who is responsible for ensuring the information is received and comprehended. Describe how you will maintain open communication with stakeholders. Include requirements for frequency of communication, channels for feedback, expectations for stakeholders, etc.
Part II:
In addition to your 750-1,000-word paper, create a communication document or presentation that will be used during your stakeholder meeting and demonstrates mutual respect and shared values. The communication document or presentation will be electronically sent to your stakeholders.
Include the time it takes to complete these tasks as part of the practicum hours.
You are required to cite a minimum of three scholarly resources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the past 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and health care and health informatics content.
Refer to "Health Informatics Practicum Project Overview," located in Class Resources, for further information.
You are required to cite to a minimum of three sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the past 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and health care and health informatics content.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Health Informatics Applied Practicum
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor
Due Date
Health Informatics Applied Practicum
Part I
Stakeholders Identification and Description
Stakeholders include parties or groups of individuals possessing important information about the project's performance and can offer critical insights into the clinical or financial implications of the system to the implemented. In this vein, stakeholders can also include any group or person whose performance within the healthcare organization would be impacted by the decisions related to the mass notification system project, such as the type of system deployed or whether or not to purchase or replace it. The mass notification system project plays a significant role in alerting stakeholders concerning events related to health care delivery and is tailored to foster situational awareness within the hospital. The stakeholders for inclusion in the communication plan also include those highly impacted by poor communication within the healthcare system. The mass notification system project is a multifaceted structure of communication relevant information to patients, healthcare professionals, information technology experts, and different hospital departments (Acharya & Werts, 2019). The most impacted healthcare units include operational theatre complex, nursing, and emergency departments.
Stakeholder Roles, Importance, and Information Needs
Patients' role within the communication plan is to make inquiries about their treatment, care, and physician's recommendations. Patient involvement in the project is significant because understanding the time they are required in healthcare organizations, including issues related to physicians' advice regarding their treatment plans and prescriptions, positively impacts their health outcomes. As specified above, information communicated to patients includes their appointment date and time, physician's prescriptions, and treatment plans. Healthcare professionals and leaders play an essential role in ensuring effective care delivery in tandem with clients' preferences, wants, and expectations. Healthcare providers' involvement is crucial because they are positively impacted by the implementation of the mass alerts since they reduce time costs in addressing unnecessary patient inquiries, thus enhancing their performance. Medical professionals will be provided with information regarding patients' experiences, preferences, and appointment times to ensure timely care delivery.
In addition, the mass notification system is related to information systems. Therefore, information systems professionals such as software developers, network engineers, and computer system analysis comprise vital stakeholders to ensure appropriate processes are adhered to during implementation. These stakeholders will facilitate different steps of the project and thus ensure it is successful. For example, the computer analyst will evaluate the hospital and create solutions to enhance efficiency. The information needs for the information systems professionals include the need to embrace interprofessional collaborations, inform how system problems would be solved, system design, and network architecture for the specific project. The operational theatre complex, nursing, and emergency departments provide the practice environment to gauge the efficacy of the mass notification system within the healthcare organization. For instance, the emergency unit requires immediate feedback because it manages critically ill clients. Information delays within this department would culminate into irreparable ramifications that undermine patient care outcomes. These departments require information related to patient diagnosis, treatment interventions, and follow-up procedures.
Communication Tools or Channels
The project would be communicated via phone or electronic programs such as personal digital assistant resources. It is also important to deliver information via internet-based social networking sites for the healthcare organization, including YouTube channel, Twitter, and Facebook page. The healthcare organization will also use group or problem-specific social networks for patient subgroups and professional organizations. As mentioned above, the communication enhances the project's reach by distributing it widely to various stakeholders and across diverse settings. Accordingly, it is crucial to motivate stakeholders to use and apply the mass notification system by increasing interest in it. Opinion leaders such as recognized experts within different departments of the healthcare organization can lend their name to dissemination efforts to create credibility and subsequent buy-in. For example, the opinion leader would be the hospital's chief executive officer, department head, or an external expert within a specific field applicable to the project's mass notification system. The opinion leader will communicate the project by endorsing it, playing a central role in its development, or providing advice on strategies. Lastly, social networks such as informal (friends, family, or peers) or formal (nurses/provider/patients) networks could also help disseminate the project information.
Events that Generate a Need to Communicate
The need to communicate the project could derive from misinformation concerning implementing the mass notification system. Misinformation could result in undermining stakeholders' judgments and decision-making, mainly because they are impacted by the implementation of the new information system. A communication plan can help mitigate misinformed views concerning the application of the mass notification system within the health care delivery framework (Ecker et al., 2022). In addition, medical errors could create the need to communicate. Medical mistakes potentially cause patient injury or unexpected mortality, thus undermining health outcomes. Increasing cases of wrong diagnosis and medical errors also create the need to communicate. Noteworthy, ineffective communication or lack of it within the healthcare system is attribut...