To Far Ahead of the It Curve
HBR CASE STUDY
Too Far Ahead of the IT Curve?
Peachtree Healthcare’s patchwork IT infrastructure is in critical condition. Should the CEO approve a shift to risky new technology or go with the time-tested monolithic system?
by John P. Glaser
F
Daniel Vasconcellos
after their squash game, Max Berndt drank iced tea with his board chairman, Paul Lefler. Max, a thoracic surgeon by training, was the CEO of Peachtree Healthcare. He’d occupied the post for nearly 12 years. In that time the company had grown – mainly by mergers – from a single teaching hospital into a regional network of 11 large and midsize institutions, supported by ancillary clinics, physician practices, trauma centers, rehabilitation facilities, and nursing homes. Together, these entities had nearly 4,000 employed and affiliated physicians, who annually treated a million patients from throughout Georgia and beyond. The patients ranged in age from newborn to nonagenarian; represented all races, ethnicities, lifestyles, and economic conditions; and manifested every imaginable injury and disease. Many of them, over the course of a year, would be seen at more than one Peachtree Healthcare facility. Max’s marching orders were to ensure quality, consistency, and continuity of care across the entire network – and to
RESHLY SHOWERED AND COOLING DOWN
HBR’s cases, which are fictional, present common managerial dilemmas and offer concrete solutions from experts.
hbr.org
|
July–August 2007
|
Harvard Business Review 29
MANAGING FOR THE LONG TERM
|
HBR CASE STUDY
|
Too Far Ahead of the IT Curve?
deliver all that with the highest levels of efficacy, economy, and respect for patients and staff. Max, still sweating lightly, finished his tea and ordered more. He and Paul commiserated over the steady vanishing of squash courts in the metro Atlanta area. This particular block of four courts was located in a health club not far from Peachtree’s Marietta headquarters. Apart
Too Far Ahead of the IT Curve?
Peachtree Healthcare’s patchwork IT infrastructure is in critical condition. Should the CEO approve a shift to risky new technology or go with the time-tested monolithic system?
by John P. Glaser
F
Daniel Vasconcellos
after their squash game, Max Berndt drank iced tea with his board chairman, Paul Lefler. Max, a thoracic surgeon by training, was the CEO of Peachtree Healthcare. He’d occupied the post for nearly 12 years. In that time the company had grown – mainly by mergers – from a single teaching hospital into a regional network of 11 large and midsize institutions, supported by ancillary clinics, physician practices, trauma centers, rehabilitation facilities, and nursing homes. Together, these entities had nearly 4,000 employed and affiliated physicians, who annually treated a million patients from throughout Georgia and beyond. The patients ranged in age from newborn to nonagenarian; represented all races, ethnicities, lifestyles, and economic conditions; and manifested every imaginable injury and disease. Many of them, over the course of a year, would be seen at more than one Peachtree Healthcare facility. Max’s marching orders were to ensure quality, consistency, and continuity of care across the entire network – and to
RESHLY SHOWERED AND COOLING DOWN
HBR’s cases, which are fictional, present common managerial dilemmas and offer concrete solutions from experts.
hbr.org
|
July–August 2007
|
Harvard Business Review 29
MANAGING FOR THE LONG TERM
|
HBR CASE STUDY
|
Too Far Ahead of the IT Curve?
deliver all that with the highest levels of efficacy, economy, and respect for patients and staff. Max, still sweating lightly, finished his tea and ordered more. He and Paul commiserated over the steady vanishing of squash courts in the metro Atlanta area. This particular block of four courts was located in a health club not far from Peachtree’s Marietta headquarters. Apart