Lesson+2+The+Problem

New center at Duke University to focus on healthcare IT

The biggest problem the research teams are facing at Emory is the lack of standardized protocols for submitting proposals. Currently, there is no dedicated source of information for researchers to turn to. The process becomes standardized once the proposal is submitted, and it flows fairly quickly throughout the command chain. But that process is also flawed in some aspects, and could be improved to make the process even more efficient and quicker. But the biggest problem lies in the lack of: coordination, information, and education. There are often times when proposals will won't even be submitted, rejected because they were late, or flat out denied because the submitter didn't have all of the appropriate documents. The only real resource right now for researchers is essentially word of mouth. They ask around until they finally find the right person who would be able to direct them on the correct path.

The link above helps to show that this kind of issue isn't just limited to Emory. There are many wide ranging problems currently in Healthcare IT, such as a lack of standardized protocols (as in Emory's case), poorly trained operators, and inefficient medical records systems. Thus new research centers are being created to help address this problem.

Hardy, Kyle. "New center at Duke University to focus on healthcare IT." //Healthcare IT News// 4 December 2009: n. pag. Web. 12 Feb 2010. .