2 Project Manager Job Description

Section2.3 Plan

Section 2 Plan—Project Manager Job Description - 1

Project Manager Job Description

This job description provides the key functions, responsibilities, skills, and experience required by an health information technology (HIT) project manager.

Time needed: 2 hours
Suggested prior tools: 2.2 Project Management

How to Use

You can use this job description to find the right project manager for your HIT or electronic health record (EHR) project.

Key Functions and Responsibilities

Aid in educating the organization about HIT, and help assess readiness. Where organizational issues, computer skills, or general knowledge about HIT need improvement, work with the organization to correct issues and build skills and improved understanding.
Conduct workflow and process mapping analysis to identify potential functions for the type of HIT support being sought, such as EHR.

Conduct an inventory of existing information systems to ensure they can connect with the HIT being sought.
Trace the flow of processes that will be impacted by HIT to understand how they are currently performed and what changes may be applicable for the HIT sought.
Measure the volume and/or time it takes to perform these processes, in order to conduct a cost/benefit analysis and/or benefits realization study.

Review vendor offerings and make recommendations to the HIT steering committee.
If desired by the organization, develop a request for proposal (RFP), manage responses, analyze results, and present findings. If an RFP is not used, compile functional requirements specified by the HIT steering committee. Arrange for demonstrations and other forms of due diligence in evaluating products, as needed.
Manage the vendor selection process to ensure fair analysis and unbiased selection. Utilize information systems and financial and legal consultants, as necessary, to help narrow the field, calculating return on investment, arranging financing for the project, and negotiating a contract.
Coordinate with the vendor to develop an implementation plan for process improvement, chart conversion, installation, data conversion, system build, testing, training, and other aspects of HIT implementation.
Oversee the tasks, timelines, and resources necessary to implement the EHR, ensuring that the project stays on time and on budget.
Maintain an issues resolution log for the organization, post issues to a vendor’s issues log, and escalate issues to achieve resolution, as appropriate.
Lead the internal implementation team. For a small organization, this may entail hardware and/or software installation, network setup, system configuration and user preference design, testing, training, and report generation. Or, the project manager may coordinate with the vendor and/or a consultant who performs such activities. For a large organization, the project manager will coordinate all vendor implementation activities with appropriate staff members, vendors, and/or consultants.
Routinely monitor adoption and use of the HIT and take/recommend corrective action, as necessary.
Apply or manage the application of updates, patches, and customizations over time.
Evaluate and recommend upgrades and enhancements over time.

Skills/Experience Required

Familiarity with health care delivery in general, and preferably experience with nursing homes.
General understanding of computers and appreciation for information systems theory and design.
Analytical skills to identify problems and offer solutions.
Political and people skills to effectively manage change.
Business acumen and insight into clinical processes.

Recommended Requirements

HIT or other equivalent project management experience.
Educational background in health informatics or other equivalent background.

Section 2 Plan—Project Manager Job Description - 1