Deploying a Culture Change Programme management approach in support of information and communication technology developments in Greater Glasgow NHS Board

This article reports on the project management and Culture Change Programme adopted by the NHS Greater Glasgow Health Board to deliver an electronic patient record (EPR) to support cardiology and stroke clinical services. To achieve its vision for the EPR (`to “really make a difference” to patient care by providing to the right person, the right information, under the right safeguards') the Board recognized that attending to social and organizational issues is at least of equal importance to addressing strictly technical concerns. Consequently, an ICT Culture Change Programme (ICT CCP) was devised and implemented to assist in the management of change, and in particular to facilitate a visionary clinical and cultural environment operating in conjunction with the evolving technical environment. In this article we describe the key components of this approach, outline the benefits we believe have accrued, and describe the steps being taken to build upon lessons learned.