Moving from Paper to Electronic with Elfster

My family has organized a Christmas gift exchange for the past several years. Typically, this process requires me or one of my sisters to write each person’s name on a piece of paper, place all the names in an envelope, and then, send this envelope via snail mail from one family group to the next, allowing each adult to draw a name.

In the true spirit of Christmas, each child receives a gift from every family unit, so anyone under 21 is not required to draw a name. The next step in the process involves requesting a wish list of 3 gift items from each person and sharing that list with all family members.

Like any paper-based system, the process was cumbersome and time-consuming, requiring many verbal reminders, phone calls and messages to make it successful. This year, I decided to explore options for doing the Christmas gift exchange online.

So what, you might ask, does this have to do with health IT?  

As I was working through this process of switching our family gift exchange from a manual to electronic system, I was struck by how similar the transition was to our experience with the many systems implementations that are now underway.

Just as many of you have likely wondered during your own projects, I had to ask myself if it was worth the time and effort it took to automate the process. In my case, it was easy to find and acquire Elfster – it’s a free application available at www.elfster.com, thus eliminating the need for a system selection methodology or multi-departmental budget review. 

But, other challenges remained, including having to work through my own learning curve to configure the system, set up the draw rules, invite the participants and gain their buy-in. Of course, the stakes are not as high with implementing Elfster as they are with healthcare information systems. My job was easier, since I didn’t have to address HIPAA, or worry about patient safety concerns.

What were the benefits of automating our family gift exchange?

I had expected the online exchange to provide better access to more information and offer improved organization of the process, and it did. However, there were also other unexpected benefits.

The wish lists are now available at any time, and since the user profiles include birthdays, this information will come in handy throughout the year. The personal profiles can be linked with Face Book, so if there is a pre-existing profile, data can be easily uploaded. We can also send group messages, which can be used, for example, to provide updates as to when and where the Christmas gift exchange will occur.

I imagine you are realizing similar expected and unexpected benefits and outcomes with the implementation of healthcare information systems in your own organization.

But, you also know that implementing technology is not without its challenges. Was there any gain in efficiency? Certainly not this year! It probably took many of my family members twice as long to use the electronic gift exchange than it did with the previous paper-based system. And some of them opted out of the online process completely, requiring me to act electronically on their behalf.

There was, not surprisingly, a bit of a generational divide in acceptance of this ‘new’ way of doing things. My Dad, who is 84-years-old, will not touch a computer (how did I ever become an informatics nurse??), but my granddaughters loved Elfster. After creating a wish list of about 30 or more items, my 9-year-old granddaughter turned to me and said, “Grandma, I love technology!”

Our shared experience in moving from paper to electronic systems includes both painful and joyful moments. It is exciting to see the industry moving more rapidly to adopt technology and beginning to realize better workflow, elicit business and clinical intelligence and improve patient outcomes.

I am interested in your thoughts and stories about the progress that is being made or challenges that you are experiencing. And I hope that you will take some time to relax and reflect on a job well done during the coming holidays.