Dive Brief:
- New York City Health + Hospitals President and CEO Ramanathan Raju denied reports he is under pressure from City Hall to launch an EMR system before it is tested and ready, Becker’s Health IT and CIO Review reports.
- The $764 million Epic EMR is set to launch systemwide on April 1.
- According to Becker’s, an anonymous source told the New York Post that city officials threatened to fire Raju if he missed the deadline.
Dive Insight:
Becker’s said that Raju told Mayor Bill de Blasio’s staff during a recent meeting that he set the April 1 go-live date and could extend it if necessary to ensure the system’s readiness. “Nobody is going to fire me,” he was reported as saying.
Raju also said former CIO Bert Robles’ resignation was related to lack of experience on the EMR project. The health system previously told Becker’s that personal conduct triggered Robles’ dismissal, Becker’s stated.
In a resignation email last month, Charles Perry, former CMIO of NYC Health + Hospitals’ Queens and Elmhurst Hospital Centers, called for an external review before the EMR system launches, comparing the situation to the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster.
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health system in the country, serving 1.4 million patients.