The substantial changes associated with implementing major health care information technology projects can be disconcerting for individuals within health care organizations.

Change often involves moving outside one’s comfort zone. The greater the change, the more discomfort it is likely to cause. The substantial changes associated with implementing major health care information technology projects can be disconcerting for individuals within health care organizations. People become comfortable with following a routine process and knowing their job expectations. For some, changes to routine may cause anxiety. Project managers must be able to apply change management methods that enable stakeholders to recognize and accept the benefits of a change. Project managers have a variety of methods at their disposal to mitigate uneasiness resulting from change, including conflict resolution, communication strategies, or team-building. With new health care technologies emerging at an increasingly rapid rate, proficiency in applying change management methods is critical. In this Discussion, you analyze different methods that project managers employ to facilitate change. To prepare: Review this week’s Learning Resources on managing teams and change. Explore the methods project managers use to expedite change in Chapter 5 of the course text Project Management for Healthcare Information Technology. Consider how project managers use conflict resolution, communication, and team-building to facilitate change brought about by new projects. Think about a personal experience in which change was handled ineffectively. What could have been done differently? Explain which management methods could have been applied to more successfully to facilitate the change.