Dive Brief:
- Last week in a resignation email, Dr. Charles Perry, formerly the CMIO of the Queens and Elmhurst Hospital Centers at the NYC Health + Hospitals system, urged for an "external review" before the health system launches an EMR system next month, the New York Post reports.
- A $764 million EMR systemwide launch date is set for April 2. According to the New York Post, "insiders warn it isn't ready and patients will suffer."
- According to the Post, Perry compared the situation to the Challenger disaster, where seven crew members died when the shuttle exploded under two minutes after liftoff in 1986.
Dive Insight:
An earlier report from the New York Post states NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Ramanathan Raju is "under the gun from City Hall to meet the deadline and fears he'll be fired if he doesn't." The Post adds an insider source noted Raju has threatened to fire individuals if the launch isn't on time.
The health system serves 1.4 million patients and is the largest municipal health system in the U.S. The EMR system to be launched is an Epic system, according to the Post.
In his email, Perry, the Post notes, called for an implementation delay in the face of “vehement entreaties to make the April 1st date by officials and consultants with jobs and paydays on the line.”
According to the New York Post, city officials maintain the launch is "on-time and within budget." Karen Hinton, Mayor Bill de Biasio's spokesperson, told the Post, "The idea that we’d jeopardize patients to meet a deadline is simply wrong...If a patient safety issue is identified, the project will stop until it is addressed."
She continued, “NYC Health + Hospitals and its Epic implementation experts have assembled a team of about 900 technicians and Epic experts who will work around the clock through the week surrounding the transition in both Queens and at remote data centers to ensure we shift to the new system as smoothly as possible.”