CIO Stories, V University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago: Best of Breed, Single Vendor, or Hybrid

Abstract

The changing requirements of health care in a highly competitive marketplace have given rise to many new challenges that encouraged the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago (UIMCC) to embark on a journey of transformation that fully utilizes health information technology. These challenges include national nursing and pharmacist shortages, increased complexity of ensuring safe care delivery, and changing care delivery models in the midst of an environment of increased costs and reduced revenues. All these challenges have augmented the long-standing desire of clinicians to improve the communication of clinical information within the healthcare organization.

After weighing the pros and cons of best of breed versus integration, UIMCC opted for a hybrid approach in its journey toward a multidisciplinary electronic health record.