Power to the people: Why digital healthcare transformations fail without effective change management

For most healthcare organisations, digital transformation such as a new EPR or a move to the cloud, is now a strategic necessity. Yet the returns often fall short, with one analysis estimating that around 70% of these programmes fail to deliver their intended value. In addition, with the limitations in money, human resources, and skill sets during implementation, many organisations are unable to take full advantage of their digital investments until well after implementation.

The issue is rarely the technology; it’s the people who are expected to use it. That’s because there’s often a divide between what the system can offer and what the workforce feels prepared or motivated to adopt. Bridging this requires disciplined and deliberate change management and investment in adoption after go-live.

As we look at recent investments in the NHS, money has now pivoted away from implementation of new EPRs and instead directed towards maximising the use of existing systems to help improve operational efficiency and productivity. In this article, we explore how readiness, stakeholder engagement, and sustained optimisation can boost the success of your digital investment.

The risks of neglecting change management

When organisations overlook the human side of digital transformation, two types of risks quickly emerge:

• Underused systems: When clinicians lack confidence or training in advanced EHR features, such as decision support or patient portals, the system becomes an expensive but underperforming asset.
• Prolonged disruption: A temporary drop in productivity after going live is predictable. Without strong change support, this dip lasts longer and runs deeper, dragging down clinical throughput and delaying a return on investment.

• Risks to patient safety: Confusion or resistance often leads staff to create manual workarounds. These introduce variability and weaken data integrity, which is vital for safe and reliable care.
• Burnout and turnover: Poorly managed implementations add pressure on clinical teams. Frustration builds, morale falls, and retention suffers, which further disrupts operations and increases recruitment costs.

An end-to-end approach to change management

Change management should be treated as a disciplined, evidence-based process to align new technology with people and clinical processes. Frameworks like Prosci's ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement) can help boost adoption in a sustainable way.

First, prepare your organisation for change. Make sure your infrastructure, build, and configurations are fully validated - and equip your staff with the knowledge and confidence for new workflows from day one. Change management is the critical link between these, aligning technology with operational realities to minimise disruption and ensure a safe, high-performing go-live.

Next, make sure you have genuine support across your organisation. Executive leadership must visibly champion the transformation, clearly articulating your "why" and linking the system directly to patient outcomes. We coach leaders to model desired behaviours and maintain consistent communication across their organisations.

Similarly, empower your “frontline” by involving clinicians and staff as co-creators of the transformation. By including them in your workflow redesign, you’ll convert any potential resistance into active support, building a culture of ownership that sustains adoption.

But the biggest value appears after go-live, through a continuous improvement model. This will help you establish a governance structure that will manage the system's ongoing evolution, keeping it aligned with changing clinical needs. Focus your post-go-live efforts on proactive optimisation: try to improve the performance and user experience, rather than fixing adoption failures. This is crucial for maximising long-term quality and ROI.

Three ways to elevate your technology transformation

Leaders who want full value from their digital investment should commit to three priorities:

Change management must be funded and embedded from the earliest stages, including vendor selection. Early involvement reduces complexity, speeds adoption, and positions change management as a driver of value.

Executives should expect clear insight into adoption and performance. Dashboards that track workforce engagement, efficiency gains, and workflow utilisation help connect leadership decisions to system outcomes. This allows continuous improvement to become a structured cycle rather than an aspiration.

A successful go-live is only the starting point. Long term value depends on a dedicated continuous improvement team with the authority and funding to drive regular optimisation cycles. This keeps the system aligned with evolving clinical practice and prevents stagnation.

Put people at the heart of your transformation

Technology can support better care, but only if people are prepared and motivated to use it. Without effective change management, even advanced systems underperform, putting patient safety, staff wellbeing and financial performance at risk. But, by prioritising readiness, engaging stakeholders, and embedding continuous improvement, healthcare leaders can bridge the adoption gap and realise the full value of their digital investments.

Contact us to learn more about our proven approach to healthcare change management.

References

• (2021). Critical Capabilities for Digital Health Platforms.
• Harvard Business Review. (2020). The Role of Leadership in Driving Digital Transformation.
• Health Affairs. (2022). The Productivity Dip in Healthcare IT Implementations.
• (2022). System Readiness Frameworks for EHR Deployment.
• Journal of Healthcare Management. (2022). Frontline Engagement in Healthcare Transformation.
• Journal of Patient Safety. (2023). Impact of EHR Workarounds on Patient Safety.
• McKinsey & Company. (2020). Unlocking Value in Healthcare Digital Transformation.
• NEJM Catalyst. (2021). Clinician Burnout and EHR Implementation Challenges.
• (2023). ADKAR: A Model for Change Management.