Joseph Kerollos

Change Management in Primary Care: the Management and Sustainability of Organizational Change in Primary Care Adoption of Electronic Medical Record Systems Joseph Kerollos

We are living in the age of Information Technology (IT) which has positively affected our lives in almost every aspect. IT has been implemented in every industry that is affecting our daily life such as banking, transportation, manufacturing, and healthcare. The use of IT has resulted in cost reduction, quality increase, faster response to market forces, and achieving true economies of scale. In healthcare, IT has also led to extensive advances such as increased diagnosis accuracy, more efficient equipment, and increased medication prescription safety. While Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) have been in use for years in Europe; North America especially Canada, the focus of this book, has been lagging behind in adopting EMRs. One of the main reasons behind this lag is the physicians' resistance to change. Primary care in Canada is very unique in its nature and despite the availability of different change management models, it was essential to design a unique change management model that is fully dedicated towards primary care in Canada.