Managing Knowledge and Technology to Foster Innovation at The Ohio State University Medical Center

Timothy J. Cain, Ruey L. Rodman, Fred Sanfilippo, Susan M. Kroll
2005 Academic Medicine  
Biomedical knowledge is expanding at an unprecedented rate-one that is unlikely to slow anytime in the future. While the volume and scope of this new knowledge poses significant organizational challenges, it creates tremendous opportunities to release and direct its power to the service of significant goals. The authors explain how the Center for Knowledge Management at The Ohio State University Medical Center, created during the academic year 2003-04, is doing just that by integrating numerous
more » ... resource-intensive, technology-based initiatives-including personnel, services and infrastructure, digital repositories, data sets, mobile computing devices, high-tech patient simulators, computerized testing, and interactive multimedia-in a way that enables the center to provide information tailored to the needs of students, faculty and staff on the medical center campus and its surrounding health sciences colleges. In this article, we describe the creation of a unique and innovative knowledge management organization closely aligned with a library at an academic medical center. The challenges encountered, efficiencies achieved, and synergies realized through our alignment of informational resources, state-of-the-art technologies, and expert personnel have enabled us to streamline delivery of information and educational resources, enhance technology support, and foster knowledge-based innovations at The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC). Growth. The ubiquity of technology and knowledge-based systems across mission areas continues to drive demand for expertise, infrastructure, training, and support. Keeping up with this demand, anticipating what the next operating system or application release will bring, and having staff trained and ready to support the next mobile computing device that finds its way into users' hands all challenge the most agile of support teams. We have and will continue to experience these and other growing pains as the CKM evolves. Realignments and support services Concomitant to the evolution of the CKM, major strategic realignments have been occurring within the IT organization that serves our OSU Health System, its five hospitals, and network of central Ohio outpatient care facilities. Appointed in 2004, our chief information officer began developing a shared IT services model across major business units, established a shared governance structure spanning all mission areas, and began optimizing alignment of IT resource allocation with the medical center's strategic plan. As a result, efficiencies and economies of scale have been realized with key enterprise-level IT support and services (e.g., networking infrastructure, data warehousing, e-mail, telecommunications, business application support). Currently aligned as an academic partner, the CKM works closely with the health system's IT organization, with ongoing synergies and alignments continuing to evolve. Table 1 Support and Services Offered through the Center for Knowledge Management, The Ohio State University Medical Center, 2005* Since its inception, the audiences and the support services offered for them through the CKM have included: Students. Mobile computing devices (e.g., laptop computers, personal digital assistants, pagers), document searches, online educational resources, electronic student records, computer-based testing facilities Researchers: faculty and research scientists. Literature reviews, research data sets and mining tools, funding opportunities, technology commercialization, intellectual property, poster production, Web applications and tool Clinical and teaching faculty. Instructional design, online course development, best practices in using instructional technologies, design support for digital learning objects, copyright expertise, educational scholarship, literature searches for clinical reviews and studies Administration. Reporting tools using integrated canonical data sets, online surveys and assessment instruments, benchmarking and metrics, quality, safety, demographics data Community. Educational tools, quality health information New initiatives The CKM's early successes in blending personnel, services, and support infrastructure have made it possible to establish several new, technology-intensive, knowledge-based initiatives (see Table 1 ). Some of these are described below. Computer-based student assessment. To facilitate processing of medical student examinations, incorporation of multimedia into exams, and improvement of examination score reporting and item analysis, we began piloting computer-delivered student assessments in 2001. The success of the two-year pilot prompted the expansion of computerized testing throughout the curriculum for all first-and second-year medical students. In November 2004, a new state-of-the-art student computer and testing center was unveiled that is housed in the Prior Library and staffed by the integrated information technology support staff of the CKM and library. Intellectual property and commercialization. To promote and sustain focused and effective technology transfer and commercialization of our intellectual assets, we have recently reexamined our overall strategy in these areas. Recruiting and retaining entrepreneurial faculty is one part of the equation. However, it is crucial that we provide faculty, research staff, and students with refresher training on the nuances of invention disclosures, material transfer agreements, patent basics, licensing options, and commercialization vehicles. Because we saw the value the CKM could bring to such efforts, we commissioned development of an intellectual asset management system that is now being used to track activity across the medical center campus. Synergy among our technology commercialization efforts and those of the CKM are obvious and being fostered. Copyright and digital rights management. To facilitate important issues involved in the copyright process (e.g., steps and processes for securing copyrights, implications of the TEACH Act 19 within the digital classroom) and digital rights management (e.g., licensing digital products for educational, research, and clinical use), the CKM in partnership with the library plans to provide copyright expertise, training, and staffing support resources to the medical center's faculty, staff, and students. Securing copyrights and digital rights for intellectual property in education and research will enhance the use and sharing of information in knowledge-based resources and assets. Clinical skills and assessment center. The state-of-the-art Clinical Skills and Assessment
doi:10.1097/00001888-200511000-00010 pmid:16249301 fatcat:64pwi7gxvfbwdhrbazcczqh3ya