Breaking the Silence: Preventing EHR Failures Through Open Communication
Explore how silence and fear led to an EHR disaster at Athens Regional Hospital and learn how leaders can foster openness to catch risks early and ensure patient safety.
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Chapter 1
Imported Transcript
Timothy Chester
A few years ago, I was asked to join the board of a local hospital after its electronic health system implementation collapsed at go-live. The root cause was not the software; it was silence. Clinical leaders had been sidelined while the CIO drove the project. The CEO reacted so strongly to bad news that teams stopped surfacing risks. People never voiced their growing concerns because they feared the consequences of telling the truth. The board, trusting green reports, never pressed deeper. By the time anyone confronted the real issues, the system was already compromising patient safety.
Timothy Chester
In today’s Dispatch, we name the warning signs that this kind of catastrophe is building. We describe how ERP leaders can create a culture that raises friction early. Silence in the design phase is not alignment. It is the first signal that the institution is losing its ability to see downstream consequences. When people nod through decisions rather than scrutinize them, the cascade begins. And once it begins, it is very hard to stop.