Donahoe-Anshus, Amerett L.

Community organisations, alternative schools and business institutions worldwide prepare youth for the workforce. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in work—life decisions and business needs have led to a shortage of talent. To equip students with the skills and mindset needed to be future ready, the power of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) must be harnessed through a network of meaningful connections and partnerships. A small group at Mayo Clinic, sharing a common interest in DEI and the local community, explored ways to encourage diverse, young talent to embark on careers in science, technology, education and mathematics. Input from community organisations and professionals indicated that collaborating with educational institutions is vital, which led to the initiation of a pilot programme involving one high school. The group collaborated with the school’s Work Experience Coordinator and students to develop and implement a pilot Career Preparation Programme (CPP) as part of a Work Experience Seminar (WES) course to deepen students’ knowledge of healthcare careers and provide one-on-one and group mentorship. Through discussions about career possibilities, levers of success and a higher purpose, the team sought to help students appreciate available and attainable career opportunities. Student evaluations were conducted after each of the two semesters. A total of 93 students participated in the pilot programme, of whom 85 (91 per cent) reported that the combined offering was engaging and worthwhile. The primary takeaways were ‘the importance of soft skills’, ‘following dreams and passions’ and ‘being a lifelong learner’. Inspired by this experience, the students established a club focused on career mentoring and tutoring. Throughout the process, trust, credibility and role modelling were emphasised. In addition, flexibility, patience and openness to bidirectional learning and creative ideas were identified as the main elements of programme’s success. The team plans to expand the pilot programme to include a non-healthcare focus and implement the programme at additional high schools. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/ business/.

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has presented healthcare delivery challenges the world has never encountered before. Healthcare and its practitioners, while finding themselves in difficult situations, must still care for patients with emergent needs and ensure the safety and well-being of all patients and staff. At Mayo Clinic, effective navigation of the dynamic and complex situation created by COVID-19 required unique multidisciplinary collaborations to design and implement solutions quickly. Frontline care providers and staff of ancillary services and other critical healthcare functions partnered with the Department of Management Engineering and Consulting (ME&C) team to organise and re-engineer operations to iteratively adapt to the dynamic ‘new normal’. Health systems engineers (HSEs) and project managers (PMs) accelerated the implementation of innovative interventions by leveraging advanced engineering and consulting frameworks, models and methods. Utilising a patient and staff-centric systems approach to align electronic systems, operational processes, staffing resources and organisational infrastructure has been invaluable for speed and effectiveness. Harnessing the promise of digital technology and advanced analytics was imperative and set the stage for a broader set of possibilities to transform healthcare. These possibilities include scaling of consumerfocused virtual services in multiple and unfamiliar settings, new assets that could be reused for future emergencies, accelerating the implementation of time-sensitive solutions, applied analytics and modelling to predict clinical, financial and community impacts and reimaging the healthcare supply chain. As more has been learned about the trajectory and management of COVID-19, the need to rapidly evolve and pivot interventions for short-, medium-, and long-term applications continues. This article addresses the unique contributions of ME&C during the COVID-19 crisis and the results-oriented collaborations with staff in critical business functions. We believe that the experiences, outcomes and lessons learned through this journey are broadly transferable to other healthcare and nonhealthcare organisations.

Over the last two decades there has been considerable deliberation, experience, and research in the arena of Health Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Electronic Health Records (EHR), and more recently, Electronic Personal Health Records (PHR). Despite the challenges involved in adopting these systems and technologies, there is consensus that they bring significant value to the delivery of trusted and affordable healthcare. The investment involved and the impact on customers, clinical and non-clinical staff, and processes are significant and far reaching. This chapter attempts to synthesize the vast amount of information, experience, and implementation perspectives related to Electronic Health Records with the intent of assisting healthcare institutions and key stakeholders make informed choices as they embark on designing, developing, and implementing an EHR. EHR considerations, challenges, opportunities, and future directions are also addressed. The chapter highlights the power of management engineering to facilitate planning, implementation, and sustainability of the EHR, a critical asset for a healthcare organization and the overall healthcare industry.

Over the last two decades there has been considerable deliberation, experience, and research in the arena of Health Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Electronic Health Records (EHR), and more recently, Electronic Personal Health Records (PHR). Despite the challenges involved in adopting these systems and technologies, there is consensus that they bring significant value to the delivery of trusted and affordable healthcare. The investment involved and the impact on customers, clinical and non-clinical staff, and processes are significant and far reaching. This chapter attempts to synthesize the vast amount of information, experience, and implementation perspectives related to Electronic Health Records with the intent of assisting healthcare institutions and key stakeholders make informed choices as they embark on designing, developing, and implementing an EHR. EHR considerations, challenges, opportunities, and future directions are also addressed. The chapter highlights the power of management engineering to facilitate planning, implementation, and sustainability of the EHR, a critical asset for a healthcare organization and the overall healthcare industry.