An earlier column described the challenges that an EMS system was experiencing while reviewing and determining which handheld patient care reporting system to select. During the evaluation of one product a crew experienced significant challenges and switched back to the paper-based system. This was followed by several less-than-positive discussions during their shift change that subsequently trickled through several stations and crews.

The EMS system's leadership team responded to this by following-up with all of the crews in an effort to promote the successful integration of the handhelds. During the meetings three general trends were noted. First there were the crews that were ready to accept the handhelds and to begin using them immediately. Second were the crews that were not quite as eager as the first group, but they were still willing to adopt the handhelds. The third group consisted primarily staff that appeared to be opposed to the handhelds from the start.

After identifying the 3 general groups, the leadership team decided to allow all crews 2 additional weeks to field-test the handhelds. By the time the 2 weeks were over, it was fairly evident that several employees were not doing well transitioning from paper to computer. In fact, because using the handhelds was a mandatory part of their job performance, some of the employees were concerned about their job security. Question such as, "What happens if I cannot get the device to work?" and "It just does its own thing... I'm not even touching the screen and things on the display change," and, "Great, I don't like this thing... am I going to get fired?" arose throughout the crews.

After learning about the reactions, the leadership team met with each employee that had expressed a concern and attempted to determine what could be done to help to assist the employee's success with the handhelds. Throughout the process the leadership team encouraged all employees to approach the leadership team with any feedback or concerns the employees might have so that the concerns could be addressed. This approach had never previously been used in the EMS system and it seemed to be welcomed by a majority of the staff, including those most reluctant to use handhelds.

The leadership gained some valuable insight as to what challenges were being encountered by the crews. They also identified some opportunities for improving the successful implementation of the handheld system. While some of the items were technical issues that would require the handheld vendor's input, others reflected similar challenges experienced around the world by thousands of people in a variety of businesses.