In order to minimize the risk of project failure with respect to the Epic system implementation, I would suggest three specific strategies to the board. First, for the roll out, SHC should follow phased implementation approach starting from back office. Though phased implementation takes longer duration, it will minimize the risk because if any problem occurs at any point of transition, you can resolve the problem at the particular point. If SHC goes with the “big bang” approach, then it is very difficult to identify the phase at which the problem has occurred since the entire implementation has already taken place and resolving the problem becomes more tedious and time consuming. Additionally, starting from back-end ensures valuable implementation experience with Epic before rolling it out in a safety-critical environment (pg. 14). However, if Epic system is implemented starting from clinics or hospitals then any changes required after implementation is largely going to affect the safety of the patients. Hence, keeping the patient safety and patient quality in mind, it is reasonable and less risky to start the phased implementation from back office.
Secondly, Epic System implementation facilitates standardization. So, in order to achieve this standardization, I propose SHC to buy content from a third- party content provider with more experience than Epic in developing order sets. I believe that this will minimize the risk because if customization is allowed while the system is still being implemented, then it may complicate the system and create confusion. Once the system is implemented, then later limited customization feature can be added without impacting the standardized procedure across all the departments. In order to achieve this standardization, SHC should also