Summary
Change is difficult and managing change even more so. With the advent of Electronic
Medical Records (EMRs) and the difficulty of its acceptance, understanding physician’s
attitudes and the psychology of change management is imperative. While many authors
describe change management theories, one comes nearest to describing this particularly
difficult transition. In 1969, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross wrote her seminal treatise, On
Death and Dying, detailing the psychological changes terminally ill patients undergo.
Her grieving model is a template to examine the impact of change. By following a physician
through the EMR maze, understanding the difficulties he/she perceives and developing
a plan other change agents are able to use, the paper gives practical recommendations
to EMR change management.
Keywords
Change management - Electronic medical records