The roles of biomedical maintenance branch, automation management & informatics departments throughout a clinical information systems's life cycle.

The introduction of new technology, such as a Clinical Information System (CIS), requires hospitals to re-evaluate the roles of the Biomedical Maintenance Branch, Automation Management, and Informatics departments. This paper describes the process a 400-bed hospital underwent to resolve role ambiguity among the three activities. The institution's goal was to reach an optimal solution to using the resources offered by each activity through redrawing lines of responsibilities. This experience demonstrated that relationships among departments are dynamic and vary depending on the stage of the CIS life cycle.