ABSTRACT
The term stakeholders refers to the groups that will be impacted by the EMR implementation and whose participation or support is needed to reach the goal. Identifying and understanding stakeholders is a critical early step in organizational readiness work. A comprehensive stakeholder/sponsor map is an important foundational building block in an EMR implementation. Resistance to change is a natural and inevitable human reaction, even when the changes are self-imposed and considered positive. Positive resistance is the process of exploring and testing the proposed change to gain the knowledge required to embrace the change. The questions and concerns are legitimate and lead to understanding and acceptance. The intent of negative resistance is to derail the change. It can be active, such as lobbying others to not support the change, spreading rumors, attending meetings, sabotaging the change effort in some way, being disruptive and refusing to participate.
