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As health care executives create and mold visions for the future of their institutions, they are discovering that one critical factor is that the vast potential power of information technology be skillfully implemented and managed. Past methods of managing what was at one time called data processing will no longer serve well in this new era. At The Methodist Hospital, innovative management methods have allowed us to bridge the gap from the information systems and management methods of the past. An excellent set of new management techniques has been used to engage project teams in the management of change. Information systems projects have been used successfully as catalysts for dramatic institutional growth and constructive change.

The medical record profession is currently being provided with an excellent opportunity for growth. The recognition of professional status by others is an important objective in the growth of any occupation. This article reports on a study undertaken to examine the perceptions of the professional image of medical record practitioners by members of the profession and by members of other health care disciplines.

A questionnaire was distributed to 1,000 long-term care facility (LTCF) administrators in Texas to obtain their perspectives on consultant pharmacists. The administrators were asked to provide information on drug information and other services provided by consulting pharmacists at their institution and their opinions on those services. The results of the study are presented, and the views of LTCF administrators are discussed. Overall evaluation of the consultant pharmacists was good to excellent. Administrators believe drug information is appropriate and desirable, they are satisfied with the services, but they question pharmacist reimbursement.

As more administrators turn to foundations and other funding agencies for money to buy needed technologies or services, the competition for those funds is heating up. Success in tapping those resources requires knowing the ins and outs of grantsmanship. In addition to providing a library of materials on major foundations and philanthropists, the grants office should function as a clearinghouse of data relating to what the facility needs and what has the highest priority among administrators, medical staff, and operations directors. This will enable the grants officer to match needs to opportunities. Although the project originator and the grants officer do most of the work in preparing a proposal, the process should be a team effort. In general, grants come in three basic categories: private foundation grants, corporate foundation grants, and government grants. Private foundation grants do not require a lot of preparation: minimal paperwork and little or no red tape. In an area with a lot of corporations, corporate foundation grants are obvious places to start. Government grants are major projects that should be attempted only by those willing to spend a lot of time shuffling paperwork and untangling red tape.

The adversarial relationships existing in 1982 among medical students, nurses, and hospital staff members were recognized at Hermann Hospital, a private, nonprofit teaching hospital in Houston, Texas, to be potentially detrimental to patient care. A joint communications committee--composed of medical students, faculty members, and hospital and nursing administrators--was developed to identify ways to improve relations between medical students and hospital personnel. The results of the committee's efforts have been an orientation program offered to medical students by the hospital prior to their third-year clerkships; elective workshops for second-year students on skills such as venipuncture, ventilatory management, and physiologic monitoring taught by practicing nurses and other health care personnel; and roundtable seminars for all medical students. Three years after its inception, the committee continues to offer and refine the orientation program and skills workshops. In the authors' opinion, the success of the committee can be attributed to the fact that medical students have been instrumental in directing and evaluating the programs.