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1st appeared 19 January 2001

Team to Steer Information Technology

UCSF has formed a new governance structure for information technology that seeks to improve the campus’ complex computing environment by providing a forum to set priorities and make decisions.

Medical Center Kicks Off Clinical IT Project The UCSF Medical Center yesterday (January 18) kicked off an ambitious clinical information systems project that ultimately aims to improve the quality of patient care, in part by implementing a computerized application for physician order entry (CPOE). Planning for this project is expected to be an inclusive process involving a cross-section of users and health care providers, including physicians, residents and nursing staff. A description of the project will appear in future issues of Newsbreak and Daybreak.

To date, information technology development (IT) at UCSF has largely involved ungoverned, decentralized and uncoordinated activities. IT planning for the most part has been ad hoc and reactive to the immediate and individualized IT needs of the multiple schools, departments and units.

Major disadvantages to this approach are that it results in gaps in service, higher costs and disjointed, short-term IT investments, rather than a coordinated plan aligned with a long-term vision.

To better meet and support the changing IT needs campuswide, UCSF has created a governance structure to proactively improve the accountability, stability, flexibility and responsiveness of campus computing.

The new structure has three major components: campus IT governance, clinical enterprise IT governance and joint IT governance. Each of these groups is represented by a committee. UCSF officials hope that all interests including research, clinical, programmatic, educational, administration and geographic will be adequately represented under the new governance system.

Last December, Chancellor Mike Bishop appointed Mark Laret, CEO of the UCSF Medical Center, and Vice Chancellor Steve Barclay to co-chair the Joint IT Governance Committee to represent the campus and clinical enterprises as a whole. It’s envisioned that the joint IT governing body could help the leadership decide on an approach to maximize the value of campus investments, improve services and ensure alignment with UCSF goals.

The joint IT governing board also will take on critical security policies and procedures for systems and support services common to both the campus and clinical enterprise. In an era of computer hacking, securing systems is essential to preserve confidentiality and protect proprietary information.

Questions that could be answered or at least discussed through the IT governance process are some of the most fundamental today. Should the University use a single centralized email system? Should UCSF form a centralized IT support service to serve the entire campus rather than depending on decentralized IT support? How can UCSF improve the level and range of services for remote access?

Part II -- Taking a New Direction

Part III -- Following Principles

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